Restaurant in Ammerschwihr, France
One Michelin star, serious Alsatian technique.
A Michelin-starred address (2024) in the Kaysersberg Valley wine village of Ammerschwihr, Restaurant Julien Binz delivers technically precise, Alsace-anchored modern cuisine from a chef trained at the Auberge de l'Ill. Rated 4.8 on Google across 719 reviews, it earns its place on a serious Alsace itinerary. Book three to four weeks ahead minimum; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Yes — if you are prepared to plan ahead. Restaurant Julien Binz holds a Michelin star (2024) and a 4.8 Google rating across 719 reviews, which together point to a kitchen that performs consistently at a high level. The venue sits in Ammerschwihr, a wine-growing village in the Kaysersberg Valley south of Colmar, and the journey from Colmar takes under 15 minutes by car. For a food and wine traveller already exploring Alsace, this is a natural anchor for a serious meal. For someone travelling solely for the restaurant, the case is slightly harder to make — but the surrounding wine road offers enough context to justify a longer stay. Browse our full Ammerschwihr restaurants guide or our full Ammerschwihr hotels guide to plan the wider trip.
Michelin's own description of the setting uses the word "plush" , a stylised, formal dining room that signals occasion without tipping into stiffness. Visually, the room carries the weight of a serious meal: this is not a bistro with white tiles and chalkboards, but a dressed environment that tells you early the kitchen means business. The plates follow that register. Julien Binz trained with the team at Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern, one of Alsace's most decorated dining institutions, and the cooking reflects that grounding: technically disciplined, regionally anchored, and built around seasonal produce. Michelin flags specific preparations including duck foie gras crafted two ways, a striped trout with choucroute and a Kaefferkopf riesling sauce, and Munster cheese tortellini with buttery stock. These are Alsatian reference points handled with classical French technique , a combination that rewards diners who come with an appetite for regional depth rather than international trend-chasing.
If you are visiting Alsace regularly or building a serious regional eating itinerary, Restaurant Julien Binz earns a slot across multiple visits precisely because the kitchen anchors itself in seasonal produce. The Alsatian calendar shifts meaningfully across the year: spring brings lighter preparations, autumn leans into game and root vegetables, and winter is when the choucroute and riesling-based cooking feels most at home in its surroundings. A first visit in summer or autumn gives you the full seasonal contrast of the Kaysersberg Valley; a second visit in late autumn or winter delivers the Alsatian comfort register at its most coherent.
On a first visit, prioritise dinner on a Friday or Saturday , the kitchen has the full menu available and the evening service gives the meal appropriate pacing. On a second visit, lunch on a weekday (Thursday through Sunday, 12 PM to 2 PM) is worth trying for a different rhythm: weekday lunch at starred restaurants in France often runs at a more relaxed pace, and pricing on a set lunch menu, where offered, tends to be more accessible than dinner. Note that the restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday, so mid-week travellers need to plan accordingly.
For a third visit, pairing dinner at Restaurant Julien Binz with time at the surrounding wineries adds a layer of context that sharpens the food pairing. Kaefferkopf, the grand cru vineyard referenced in Michelin's own description of the riesling sauce, sits within the commune of Ammerschwihr. Exploring it in the afternoon before an evening service is the kind of sequencing that makes the cooking land harder. See our full Ammerschwihr wineries guide for winery options in the area.
Autumn (October through November) is the strongest window. The Alsatian harvest season brings the wine road to life, the kitchen's seasonal ingredients are at their most diverse, and the village setting reads as intended. The summer tourist season (July through August) is the busiest period for the Alsace wine road generally, which means accommodation books out faster and the surrounding area is at its most crowded. Spring is a quieter alternative if you want the starred experience without peak-season pressure on logistics. Avoid planning around Monday or Tuesday , the restaurant does not open either day.
Booking is rated hard. A Michelin-starred restaurant with a 4.8 rating, a limited number of covers (seat count not published), and a location that attracts both local regulars and visiting food travellers from across Europe creates a tight reservation window. Plan a minimum of three to four weeks ahead for a weekend dinner booking. Weekday lunch slots are more available but still require advance notice given the short service windows (12 PM to 2 PM). There is no published online booking platform or phone number in the current venue record , check the restaurant's own channels directly for current reservation method.
| Detail | Restaurant Julien Binz | Context / Peer Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Price range | €€€€ | Comparable to other Alsace starred rooms |
| Michelin stars | 1 Star (2024) | Same tier as Au Crocodile in Strasbourg |
| Lunch service | Thu–Sun, 12 PM–2 PM | More available than dinner; weekday pace slower |
| Dinner service | Thu–Sat, 7 PM–9 PM; Sun 7 PM–9 PM | Hardest to book; weekend slots fill fastest |
| Closed | Monday and Tuesday | Plan travel days accordingly |
| Location | Ammerschwihr, Kaysersberg Valley | Under 15 min from Colmar by car |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | 3–4 weeks minimum advance notice recommended |
| Google rating | 4.8 (719 reviews) | High confidence signal for consistent execution |
If you are building a broader itinerary across Alsace or the wider French starred circuit, these restaurants offer useful reference points. In Alsace, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern is the region's most historic starred room and the house where Binz trained , worth the visit for context alone. For mountain-adjacent starred cooking, Flocons de Sel in Megève occupies a similar register of technically precise, regionally anchored French cooking. Further afield, Assiette Champenoise in Reims is a useful comparison for understanding how a €€€€ regional French kitchen performs outside Paris. Within Ammerschwihr itself, Le Valtrivin is the natural fallback if you cannot secure a booking. For bars and experiences around the visit, see our full Ammerschwihr bars guide and our full Ammerschwihr experiences guide.
Workable, but not optimised for it. At €€€€ pricing, solo dining at a formal Alsatian starred restaurant carries a significant per-head cost without the benefit of sharing multiple dishes across the menu. If solo exploration of the kitchen's range matters to you, a weekday lunch service is the most practical approach , shorter service window, potentially lighter menu structure, and a less formal atmosphere than weekend dinner. Solo diners who want to maximise dish variety should consider communicating that preference at the time of booking.
No phone number or website is available in the current record to confirm the restaurant's specific dietary accommodation policy. Restaurants of this calibre in France typically accommodate dietary requirements with advance notice , classical French kitchens with an Alsatian focus will find vegetarian requests more direct than strict vegan or allergen-complex requirements. Contact the restaurant directly well before your booking date to confirm.
The seat count is not published, which makes it difficult to assess group capacity. At a Michelin-starred address of this format , plush, service-intensive, in a village setting , large groups (eight or more) will likely require early direct contact to establish whether a private or semi-private arrangement is possible. Smaller groups of four to six are more likely to be accommodated in regular service. Contact the restaurant as far in advance as possible; the combination of hard booking difficulty and unknown capacity makes last-minute group requests high-risk.
Yes, clearly. A Michelin-starred room with a 4.8 Google rating, formally dressed setting, technically precise cooking, and a location on the Alsace wine road adds up to a strong special occasion package. The surrounding village and vineyard context adds to the occasion for food and wine travellers. At €€€€ pricing, the investment signals intent. Book a weekend dinner for maximum occasion register; if the date is fixed, book as early as possible given hard booking difficulty.
Dinner on Friday or Saturday is the premium experience , the kitchen is in full service mode, the room carries more energy, and the seasonal menu is likely presented at its broadest. Lunch (Thursday through Sunday, 12 PM to 2 PM) is the practical choice for those who want the starred cooking at a potentially more accessible price point and with a less pressured booking window. Both services cover the same kitchen; the difference is in pacing and atmosphere rather than quality. If this is your first visit and the occasion warrants it, dinner wins. If you are returning for a second or third visit, a weekday lunch adds a different angle on the same kitchen.
At €€€€ with a Michelin star, the value case depends on what you are comparing it to. Against other Alsatian starred restaurants, Binz's kitchen delivers Auberge de l'Ill-trained technique in a smaller, more personal village setting , that combination is harder to find in the region than the star count alone suggests. Against €€€€ Paris restaurants such as Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, you trade urban theatre for genuine regional depth. The 4.8 Google rating across 719 reviews is a strong signal that the kitchen delivers consistently. Worth it for the food and wine traveller who wants Alsatian cooking at a serious technical level; less obvious value for someone without a specific interest in the region.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Julien Binz | €€€€ | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | €€€€ | — |
| Kei | €€€€ | — |
| L'Ambroisie | €€€€ | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | €€€€ | — |
| Mirazur | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Solo diners are not excluded, but this is a formal, plush dining room built around occasion eating — not a counter-friendly setup designed with single covers in mind. At €€€€ pricing and with a Michelin star (2024), it works well for a solo diner who treats fine dining as the activity itself. Book early; the limited cover count means solo seats may be harder to secure than a table for two.
The kitchen is technique-led with a strong seasonal and regional identity — dishes like foie gras, trout, Munster tortellini, and choucroute are core to the Alsatian register. That makes strict vegetarian or vegan menus a stretch. check the venue's official channels at 7 Rue des Cigognes, Ammerschwihr before booking to confirm what adjustments are possible; at this price point, good kitchens will usually accommodate with advance notice.
The restaurant's cover count is not published, but a Michelin-starred room in a small Alsatian village typically runs intimate — expect a compact dining room rather than a banqueting space. Groups of four to six are manageable with advance booking; larger parties should call ahead to confirm capacity. Booking is rated hard regardless of group size, so lock in dates as early as possible.
Yes — this is one of the cleaner cases for a special occasion meal in the Alsace region. A Michelin star (2024), a stylised formal room described by Michelin as 'plush', and a chef with Auberge de l'Ill credentials all support the occasion framing. The location in the Kaysersberg Valley wine road adds context if you are combining dinner with a regional stay. Budget €€€€ per head and book well in advance.
Lunch runs Thursday through Sunday (12–2 PM); dinner runs Thursday through Saturday (7–9 PM), with Sunday dinner also available. Lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Alsace often offers the same kitchen at a lower entry price — check whether a lunch formula is available, as this is common in the French starred circuit and would make the €€€€ tier more accessible. For atmosphere and occasion weight, dinner has the edge.
At €€€€ with a 2024 Michelin star and a chef trained at Auberge de l'Ill, the value case is solid by Alsatian standards. Michelin's own 'Remarkable' category designation and a 4.8 Google rating across a substantial review base reinforce that the kitchen delivers consistently. The comparison to make is with other single-starred Alsatian rooms: if you are driving the wine road south of Colmar, this is among the stronger stops. The drive to Ammerschwihr is the only real friction.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
