Well, some would say it's Les Crayères http://www.lescrayeres.com/ which is undoubtedly the swankiest restaurant in Champagne and worthy of a seperate blog some other day.
Some prefer Le Royal Champagne http://www.royalchampagne.com/which boasts what is certainly one of the best views in Champagne. Yet others swear that La Briqueterie http://www.labriqueterie.fr/en/index.html tops the lot.
To be fair we're splitting hairs trying to seperate them and of course there are hundreds of other restaurants large and small, expensive and cheap, and most of them with a unique atmosphere of their own. (All this talk about restaurants has got me thinking that a series of blogs about restaurants in Champagne would be a good idea. Let me know if you think so too).
But there is an alternative if you fancy something entirely different.....
Something you may not have thought of doing is to have dinner in the cellars (or caves as they're known in French), of one of the champagne houses. This isn't something you can just decide to do on the spur of the moment mind you - you need to book in advance - and it's not for an intimate dîner à deux, but if you are travelling with, or organising, a group visit to Champagne then, for an experience that you can't get anywhere else, it takes some beating.
Not all champagne houses are geared up to offer catering in their cellars, but many are and it's not just the big houses either. Take Champagne Vilmart at Rilly-la-Montagne http://www.champagnevilmart.com/ one of those 'great little' champagne houses that you really should try. Apart from their superb champagnes, Vilmart offers lunches and dinners in a warm, rather rustic setting ideally suited to their location in the heart of the vineyards.
If it's something a little grander that you're after, then go for one of the famous names. In Epernay the two most obvious venues are Moët & Chandon http://www.moet.com/site.php?lg=en for groups as small as 18 people, and Mercier
http://www.champagnemercier.fr/anglais/home.htm
The picture shows Le Caveau Bacchus at Mercier which takes up to about 140 people, although they also take groups of 40, or even less.
In Reims, you can contact Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin ( to give the brand its full name), Mumm, Pommery and Ruinart, but hurry. The cellars at Ruinart are undergoing a major refurbishment next year and it's unlikely that they will be accepting any dinner bookings the entire year.
http://www.ruinart.com/#//index2.php
Ruinart is an excellent champagne with the added caché of being the oldest champagne house of them all, but their web site's not the easiest to navigate, I find.
I'm organising a conference and gala dinner in Reims for one of my clients and 150 of their guests this September. If you'd like to consider a similar event for your company or club, whether you're coming from the U.K. the U.S.A or Japan, just leave me a comment here or e-mail me at jiles@madaboutbubbly.com
You'l be surprised by the prices too. Probably far less than a similar event in a central city location and a lot more memorable too.
Comments