We had just arrived in Strasbourg, it was a Sunday night, and nothing was open except the touristy places around the cathedral. We chose the very touristy Maison Kammerzell because it is known for its choucroute garni, a local dish consisting of sauerkraut with smoked meats and sausage. We walked in without a reservation and were taken to the third floor of this historic building and seated in a cramped little room with a low ceiling. It was a very hot night and (of course) there was no air-conditioning. The one window provided little ventilation. We noticed that one floor below, where people with reservations were seated, the rooms were more spacious with ceiling fans and more windows.
They offered several fixed-price menus, which are usually a better deal than the a la cart selections. Here, however, we were able to put together a nice meal of our choosing for less money than the fixed-price menu, including the same main course offered on the fixed-price choice. We started with an ordinary salad, with a nondescript vinaigrette, but it was a good starter for a hot day. The chef is proud of having created a choucroute garni featuring fish, so we ordered that, as much out of curiousity as hunger. Mistake. Fish and sauerkraut just do not go together. We were presented with a mound of sauerkraut (just like the kind that comes in jars at home) topped with a hunk of very salty smoked whitefish, a piece of bland poached salmon and a piece of bland poached white fish, perhaps sole. All this was topped with a white sauce. The white fish and salmon weren't bad, but they weren't all that good either.
After glancing at the desserts at the tables around us, we decided to look for ice cream out on the street. We did order coffee. Where I have had no trouble getting excellent brewed-to-order decaf all through France, I strongly suspect that my decaf here was instant. And, in the home of espress-strength coffee, it was very watery. Ah, I guess that's a problem of a tourist-oriented restaurant. My recommendation is to admire the outside of this historic building but eat elsewhere.