NYD - 48° Nord

Rating: 12.5
Author: Gault&Millau

67220 BREITENBACH

12.5/20
Gourmet Restaurant

1 PHOTOS

Chef: Julien Schaffhauser
Cooking: French
Services: Accomodation
Style: Romantic

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

69 to 89

Gault&Millau's review 2026

At 48° Nord, Reiulf Ramstad's architecture creates an inhabited landscape at an altitude of 430 meters: fourteen wooden and slate "hyttes", with a wise geometry looking out over the Vosges and the plain, a terrace fringed with simple plants and grasses and, inside, a room with round tables and studied chiaroscuro lighting. All this is pervaded by a sovereign calm that gives the sensation of living at a much higher altitude. Here, nature sets the pace. On the plate, Julien Schaffhauser of l'Alchémille claims a Nordic vein - vegetable gardening, foraging, short circuits - and a "sharing" service that brings together Staub pans, salad bowls and chopping dishes. Tomato confit with fresh Bournemottes goat's cheese is a clean, fresh variation on caprese, where cheese becomes a condiment. The exemplary cooking of the catfish elevates this unloved delicacy to the status of a delicacy, and the accompanying butter is served hazelnutty rather than "montered" as advertised. The accompaniments - a rich salad of herbs and flowers, pan-fried vegetables and mashed potatoes garnished with numerous croutons - play on rustic generosity. As for the beef effiloché, it's a lighter version of pot-au-feu, revisited with a minty broth. For dessert, garden blackberries and fromage blanc ice cream offer a supple texture and clean perfume. The very Alsatian cellar offers solid crémants, fine pinots noirs and deep rieslings, right up to the rare Clos Sainte-Hune 1997. All that remains is to improve the welcome and explanation of dishes to enhance this seductive cuisine of herbs and landscapes so that it becomes the major experience that this exemplary site calls for.