Saverne is Gabriel Kreuther’s modern wood-fired French brasserie using traditional techniques of letting wood flames add layers of smokiness to seasonal ingredients. Saverne actually opened a while ago around March 2026, but it closed just after 8 days due to mechanical issue. It just reopened in July 2026. Having been to Gabriel Kreuther, the chef’s Michelin 2-star restaurant, we were quite excited to see what he had in mind for a more casual outing. One of the main allures of the restaurant was that it has a wood-fire oven and grill where they cook your meats and then prepare your food. We made a reservation for 2 easily for 6 PM on a Friday evening.
Ambiance & Service
The restaurant is very large, and is nestled in the Hudson Yards area adjacent to Papa San and close to Limusina and Locanda Verde. The exterior doesn’t have much character, but the interior has some uniqueness. The restaurant actually has 3 areas you can make reservations: the west area (aka the bar area), the east area (aka near the kitchen), or the kitchen counter. We chose the east area because I wanted to see the kitchen. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but when we walked out of the restaurant, our clothes did smell like the burnt wood. I can only imagine it being worse had we sat at the counter. Nonetheless, it was cool seeing them cook around the wood areas.
We were seated in a corner booth with plenty of table space. The service was very fast, and the server made excellent recommendations for wine and food.
Food
The Little Boat Chardonnay ($22) came from the Russian River Valley, CA 2023. This has bright citrus notes with some tree fruit flavors and has some oaky flavors to it. It was very nice to drink by itself or with the crudo.
The Rose Souffle ($17) came with blanco tequila, guava, dragon fruit, lychee, kalamansi-coconut foam, and pink peppercorn salt. This was beloved by my partner, who felt this was sweet and tasty.
The Gabriel Kreuther’s Exclusive Country Farm Sausage ($22) came with sauerkraut and purple mustard. I am not sure what makes this sausage special, but in the insides of it, there was some cheese. The sausage itself was very good, especially with the smoke from the wood that they cooked it in.
The Aged Blue Fin Tuna Crudo ($35) came with black garlic anchoïade, radishes, and scallion. Anchoîade is made up of anchovies, garlic, and olive oil. The tuna was good, though it had some parts of tendon in it. Despite the cut, I felt the overall crudo was very good.
The Vincent Ravaut ($26) came from Côte de Nuits-Villages, Burgundy, France 2022. This pinot noir from Burgundy was pretty luscious and juicy for its year. It’s savory and definitely heavier than other pinots, but it was a great complement to the bison and rabbit.
The Saffron Cavatelli ($29) came with Riesling-braised rabbit and mushrooms on the side. The cavatelli was perfectly cooked al dente, and the saffron sauce was also light. The rabbit meat was very tender, but I couldn’t really taste the Riesling, perhaps due to the mix of all the other meat courses. My partner really enjoyed the mushrooms, but I didn’t care much for them.
The Butterflied Whole Loup de Mer ($39) came with clams oreganata, squash, and fermented green papaya. Beneath the loup de mer are chunks of squash and the clams oreganata. Oreganata seemed to be a savory mix of garlic, herbs, and olive oil. The fermented green pepper sauce was very good, as we were scooping it with each bite of the fish. In a way, I thought of it as an Italian salsa verde. The overall skin of the loup de mer was very crispy, and the fish meat was very flavorful. They mentioned this was deboned, but you still needed to be careful around certain parts of the fish as we found a few bones here and there. Nonetheless, this fish course was simply delectable.
The Juniper-Gin Cured Bison Strip-loin ($48) came with Minnesota wild rice, berry compote, and corn. The bison was very tender and cooked perfectly. It was complemented by the berry compote, which matched the earthiness with a bit of sweetness.
The Little Island ($10) came with vanilla crème Anglaise, and caramel sauce. I was told that this was the smaller sibling of Ile Flottante. Instead of a few islands, you just get one island complemented by the vanilla creme. The island was essentially a fluffier version of a marshmallow, and it was sublime. The vanilla creme was not well balanced and was just one of the best I’ve had. We wished we had gotten the Ile Flottante legitimately because it was that good.
The Cerise Pistache ($20) came with cherry sorbet, pistachio ice cream, and caramelized pistachios. My partner didn’t enjoy it this much because the cherry sorbet was tart for them, but I loved it. The nutty pistachio flavors along with the sweet, tart cherry flavors were very delicious.
Overall Impression
Saverne was a very delightful restaurant that I was pleasantly surprised by. We had discussed that this could be a restaurant we would return with friends and family because it brought exploratory flavors that worked well. The price was not too expensive compared to others, and the food quality was superb. Save room for dessert if you can. If you’re in the Hudson Yards area, this is an excellent restaurant to try out.
Yelp & Google Jabs
The food menu is quite extensive and everything from the traditional Alsace brasserie selections to the mains all hit above average. The wine list is decent and you’ll be able to find something to drink. Over time I hope they trim the menu to more manageable and signature styles.
I do not hope they trim the menu as it gives a reason to come back and try something else.
Poor service, food was ok nothing special, not going back … a lot of better choices in NYC
This review was one of the ones that brought the restaurant rating down on Google. I wish that people would describe what they were expecting, so that we can understand if the reviewer has a legitimate reason. Alsatian food definitely isn’t for everyone, so it’s possible this reviewer doesn’t have a gourmand palette.
Revisions
- Sep 11, 2026 - Initial revision.