Le Petit Kembs

Rating: 13
Author: Gault&Millau

49 Rue du Maréchal Foch, 68680 Kembs, France

13/20
Chef's Restaurant

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1 PHOTOS

Chef: Lionel Stolz
Cooking: French | Gastronomic
Services: Accommodation
Style: Romantic

Budget (€)

Indicative price per person (excl. drinks)

48 to 65

Gault&Millau's review 2026

There are restaurants unlike any others. Lionel Stolz’s is one of them: the chef welcomes his guests, cooks, serves the meals, and recommends wines—all on his own—at the helm of a restaurant stripped down to its simplest form. It’s an impressive feat. Having trained at La Palme d’Or, Senderens, Olivier Bellin, and Georges Wenger, among others, the chef offers two surprise menus—three or four courses—crafted according to the day’s market arrivals. To start the meal, slices of eggplant are first confited and then glazed with miso, before the chef pours a shiitake dashi broth at the table: the dish captivates with its summery freshness and the umami depth of the broth. The chef’s technique shines even more with the thick, single-sided roasted perlon gurnard, its pink, melt-in-your-mouth flesh beneath a crispy skin; it is accompanied by butter-sautéed edamame and a herbaceous, peppery basil pesto that is particularly expressive. The same precision is evident in the rosemary-scented veal tenderloin, cooked at a low temperature until tender and pink, served with a remarkable tomato mousseline seasoned with cayenne pepper; it’s a shame the dish arrives at the table nearly cold. To finish, the white peach with verbena is presented as brunoise, purée, and ice cream, with a deliberately restrained sweetness and granola that provides the expected crunch. This cuisine focuses on the essentials: clearly identifiable ingredients, precise cooking techniques, and clean plates—with the rare talent for bringing out the best in humble ingredients without masking them. The wine list follows a very distinct approach: about 40% Alsatian wines, mostly natural, organic, or biodynamic, complemented by solid selections from other regions. The dining room, vividly colored in blue and turquoise, evokes the Rhine, while the woodwork suggests the nearby Hardt Forest and Petite Camargue. Prices are reasonable given the quality of the food. But this frugality has its downside: no small touches throughout the meal, and, above all, no one in the dining room to give this solitary effort the recognition it deserves.