Kaysersberg: Le Chambard

Fifteen minutes from Colmar, Kaysersberg’s cobbled streets are lined by pastel-painted half-timbered houses. At Easter, the trees are festooned with hand-painted eggs, while December brings garlands of twinkling lights and a famous Christmas market. All year, kugelhopf (Alsatian brioche), flammeküche (bacon and onion tart) and choucroute are served in snug winstub taverns. Against incredible odds, it remains an honestly charming place where the clock seems to have stopped a century ago.

At the entrance to town, Le Chambard, a stout 1899 building with a steep red-tiled roof, doesn’t break with the gemütlich village decor until you step inside for a fast-forward to a 21st-century version of Alsace. The Nasti brothers bought the old inn in 2001 and have since made it one of the hottest destinations in eastern France. Olivier, who trained with Roellinger in Brittany and Marc Haeberlin at L’Auberge de l’Ill, does the cooking, while Emmanuel, an architect, designed the hotel’s makeover and as sommelier also runs the dining room with his wife Corinne.

The interior has been boldly redecorated—gold leaf, zebra stripes and a sleek bamboo-green front desk. An indoor pool, a spa and most importantly a superb restaurant have been added. “Nothing stands still,” says Emmanuel, “so the best way to protect the integrity of Alsatian tradition is to create a complimentary modernity… to prevent the classic from becoming kitsch.”

Not only is it modern, Olivier’s cooking is stunning. Morel mushrooms, gathered the same day in the neighboring Vosges mountains, were stuffed with a delicate chicken mousse, topped with slivered green asparagus just harvested from local fields. An eggshell filled with chicken liver mousse and finely diced country ham completed the seasonal, regional and perfectly balanced dish.

A half portion of goose foie gras came with a bold ribbon of beerawecka, a traditional mix of candied fruit and nuts. Cod steak with a shellfish marinière was a perfect foil for a Gustave Lorenz Altenberg de Bergheim 2005 Pinot Gris. “If there’s a reflexive resistance to change in Alsace, the region is also very gourmand. What won over the neighbors is my brother’s cooking,” says Emmanuel. “Now they’re proud to have a hotel-restaurant that’s modern and innovative while still respecting tradition.” Besides the restaurant, there’s a colorful, bustling winstub offering traditional Alsatian specialties.

Hôtel Le Chambard 9-13 rue du Général de Gaulle, Kaysersberg, 03.89.47.10.17. website

Originally published in the June 2010 issue of France Today; updated in October 2012