Les Berceaux

With our lackluster meal the night before, my partner decided he wanted to return to the place we had our meal on the first night we arrived. That bistro is affiliated with this fine dining restaurant, and since the bistro was closed on a Wednesday night, he booked us in here instead.
There are some similarities between the two restaurants. The wine list is quite similar as we had the same Champagne we had on the other night (although it was a few Euros more). However, the service here was a bit better and a bit more on the fine dining side of things. The atmosphere is really gorgeous as well, and the rooms are spacious, leading to a relaxing and enjoyable dining experience.
For dinner, they offer a five course menu. You can opt to get just the three courses (minus cheese and dessert) for a few Euros less, but we decided to do the whole thing. There’s a choice for the first three courses and dessert, but given my partner and I have very similar tastes, we opted to get the same things.
We had prawns for the first course, and they were really delicious. I did see the foie gras come out, and it was quite similar to the foie gras at Le 7, so I was glad we opted for something different. They also had an artichoke and summer truffle salad that looked amazing, so perhaps that would have been a better options. We had lobster risotto for our second course. The risotto was really nice, but I think the lobster I make at home is better. So that was a slight let down, but it was still a nice course. Third course was pigeon, and it was amazing. Also a massive bit of seared foie gras on the plate, so that’s always a bonus.
The cheeses were really good, and they brought over a tray for you to make a selection. As usual in France, most of them were softer, Brie like cheese, but we just went for the stinky ones we love and it was very nice. Dessert we opted for the selection of strawberries, and it came out with three different strawberry desserts, all quite tasty.
At the end, I had coffee, and they brought out a plate of small dessert nibbles to share. (Which reminds me that it’s time to make Caneles again…) The whole meal was very enjoyable, and there were really no complaints about the restaurant at all.

We had lunch here. It’s located in that fun little hotel (quirky, kind of old school) that I had stayed at a few years ago.
Good wine list with some half bottle selections. Nice fixed price lunch — duck!

This was by far the worst food we had in France! We were at this restaurant during lunch time, so we were looking for a small meal. The options were a 5 course meal for € 85 a 4 course for € 75 or a smaller menu for € 43 which had 3 smaller courses. We chose the € 43 tasting meal.
The first course was linguini with clams and lobster. It was good, but not Michelin star good. It was very generic and could easily be purchased at a chain Italian restaurant in the states. The second course I chose was the goose. When it arrived I cut into it and it was so dry I could hardly pull it off the bone. My mother ordered the cod and when she cut into it was so undercooked it was pink on the inside. The waitstaff was also very unpleasant. Seeing that we ate none of the meal, they never asked if everything was okay, or if we enjoyed our meal. The whole time we were in the restaurant the chef was wandering about hobnobbing at all of the other tables. He should have been in the kitchen making sure he was producing a quality product under his name.
Along with the meal we had 3 glasses of champagne, € 12 each, which is pretty standard. The thing that got me was that the cappuccino was also € 12! Really? Espresso and milk in a tea cup. I just can’t…
Im a foodie, I enjoy spending money on food; therefore, I would never complain about the price of a meal UNLESS it sucks. This place fell very short on cuisine and service. Don’t get caught up on the stars, this place is horrible. I’m sure there is a small brasserie in the area with better good.

Formal, elegant, and delicious. The chef, Patrick Michelon, is renown for his classic preparation of champagne region dishes. It’s a well-​deserved reputation.
We had a wonderful dinner here, accompanied of course by a bottle of a local champagne. I had sweetbreads, escargot, then a seafood dish of «Cabillaud Sauvage au Beurre de Truffes,» then a grilled veal chop. Every course was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. Dessert was a poached peach with a champagne glaze and more, named «Pêche Jaune Pochée au Champagne Demi-​Sec, Glacé Pistache, Croquant de Nougatine et Sabayon Froid.» If you can figure out what all those ingredients are, you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din. It tasted great!
Service was excellent and the setting was both formal and romantic. We were told this is the best restaurant in Epernay. I didn’t sample many, but this one was outstanding.

Après Paris, Versailles et Sens, voici la dernière étape de notre escapade gourmande :
Epernay, au coeur du vignoble champenois.
(Voir photo ci-​dessous) Ici, la terre vaut de l’or. Non pas en barres mais en bulles.
Si vous visitez cette belle région surtout arrêtez-​vous au restaurant «Les Berceaux «!
Vous y retomberez en enfance (oui je sais… elle est facile ;-)) car vous retrouverez dans cet élégant et confortable établissement, l’odeur de la cuisine de maman ou de mamie et des plats classiques, savoureux et parfaitement exécutés par le chef étoilé Patrick Michelon.
(Voir photo ci-​dessous) (Voir photo ci-​dessous)
Je n’y ai fait que des repas d’affaires au grand plaisir de mes clients qui en général signaient le bon de commande à la fin du déjeuner.
Les spécialités de la maison (en gras celles que j’ai goûtées):
Entrées:
— Asperges vertes aux truffes,
— escargots frais sur une fondue de courge muscade,
— bouquet de homard, saint-​Jacques et poissons de roche, (plat délicieux)
(Voir photo ci-​dessous)
Les poissons :
— noix de Saint-​Jacques Grillées sur une choucroute nouvelle au champagne,
— filet de turbot sauvage cuit à la plancha
— bar de ligne au beurre de truffes,
Les viandes :
— lapin à la Royale, sauce gibelotte champignons, accompagnés de quelques spätzles au Fromage Blanc.
— suprême de pigeon rôti en cocotte au foie gras poêlé
— côte de boeuf «Parthenaise» à la moëlle
— l’agneau de lait des Pyrénées rôti à la broche
Les desserts :
— Pastilla d’ananas Victoria, parfait glacé noix de coco.
— L’assiette tout chocolat.
— Les profiteroles «revisitées (par Dom Perignon? Mystère !)
— La tarte aux pommes (un régal comme chez mémé)
— Les glaces…
Aucune fausse note dans cette symphonie des saveurs !
Du bon, rien que du bon, du très bon même ! La cinquième étoile sera attribuée pour saluer une prise de risqué.
Vous arroserez votre repas d’un des nombreux champagnes proposés et vous vous direz que le bonheur n’est pas seulement dans les prés, il est aussi dans les bulles.
(Voir photo ci-​dessous)
A la carte le repas vous reviendra à environ 70 EUR sans les boissons.
Menus: 26, 33, 60 et 69 EUR

Bien
Apres avoir découvert de bons restaurants dans la région de Reims et d’Epernay, nous nous sommes arrêtés aux Berceaux en plein coeur d’Epernay. La carte est très alléchante. Pour 38 € (un peu cher quand même), le plat était un régal: du foie et des queues d’écrevisses magnifiques. Les vins, un peu chers aussi, sont bien choisis, mais les champagnes restent encore trop onéreux.