My wife Jun and I have been red wine drinkers forever, so our trip to Champagne last month was quite an eye-opener. We visited a number of large Champagne houses, the so-called Grande Marque, including Billecart-Salmon, Bollinger and Taittinger and from those brief tours, I gained appreciation for the deep tradition and dedication that goes into Champagne making. I also wanted to use our trip to visit at least one restaurant in the area and ended up with L’Assiette Champanoise in Reims. The restaurant, located inside the hotel of the same name, has been considered a standout destination in the region’s dining scene, with three Michelin stars next to its name. Overall, Jun and I enjoyed our dinner at the restaurant with a good number of memorable dishes, although not every aspect of the experience was perfect.

Since we had only one night for dinner in Champagne, we decided to go all out for the signature Emotion tasting menu (at €395 per person) as well as wine pairings (at €245 per person). The restaurant, whose kitchen is led by chef Arnaud Lallement, explores the sophisticated French fine dining with fundamentally sound execution. Having been to many fine dining restaurants, including those with French cuisine, I probably would say there wasn’t any particular dish that led me or Jun to exclaim “Oh my god, how did the kitchen come up with this dish?!” On the other hand, there was no single bad dish, and some of them were quite excellent. I liked how the kitchen put together a medley of tomato-based dishes at the beginning of the meal, and was especially fond of the tomato confit and mackerel dish; contrary to my worry that the flavor of each ingredient would overpower the other, they complemented each other very well.

One of the signature dishes at the restaurant is the beautifully plated caviar with mashed potatoes and I could see why; of course, it didn’t hurt that for the wine pairing, we were served a glass of Krug that perfectly balanced the rich caviar and potato flavor. Another signature dish that I really liked (not surprisingly) was the blue lobster from Brittany, with lobster jus and paprika greatly enhancing the flavor. My favorite dish of the night, though, was probably the red mullet; the fish itself was already a winner but the addition of eggplant millefeuille was quite a game changer. Not every dish landed the same impact. Compared to all of the exceptional dishes that I highlighted, the last savory dish of chicken, gamberini prawns and sweetbread felt a little too safe. The desserts, many of them based on strawberry during its growing season, also didn’t leave a lasting impression, either (to be fair, we were already getting a fair amount of exposure to strawberry during our earlier restaurant trips in Paris).

I booked a reservation at the restaurant as soon as we started planning for the Paris/Champagne trip in March so I can’t be sure how difficult it is to get a reservation at L’Assiette Champenoise, but I would still highly recommend booking in advance. The wine pairing, considering its hefty price, was somewhat mixed. Aside from the aforementioned Krug, we also got two Champagnes from relatively unknown producers (one of which I liked very much). The star of the pairing was undoubtedly a super rare Coteaux Champenois still white wine that Jun and I couldn’t stop raving about. On the other hand, we were both disappointed that we got a mediocre cocktail instead of a dessert wine like Sauternes for the dessert portions, and for perhaps I would’ve liked to have at least a premier cru level Burgundy red (instead of the village level that we got to pair with the chicken dish) given the price tag of the pairing. The service was very attentive and professional, and chef Arnaud briefly stopped by to say hello as well. After the dinner, you can also visit the bar lounge or the outdoor garden of the hotel for some digestif. L’Assiette Champenoise offers the kind of refined fine dining experience you would want to enjoy while visiting Champagne. I probably, though, would’ve loved the restaurant even more with some more game-changing dishes and wine pairings.  

KenScale: 8.5/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.5/10)

Address: 40 Av. Paul Vaillant-Couturier, 51430, Tinqueux, France

Website: https://www.assiettechampenoise.com/en/restaurant-en/

Reservation via Website