Racine — Restaurant in Reims

After my 3 Stars challenge and Paris all stars one (follow me for all the reviews and updates), I decided to discover all the most important 2 stars that i haven’t already done (actually all the newly awarded, the big names and the ones that were most recommended by others 2 and 3 Stars). Racine was in this last list.

Playing with the rules with the precision of a Japanese knife. What’s extraordinary here? For a change, I’ll focus on just one main point. The chef is a Japanese trained in France including in multiple 3 stars. He’s perfectly mastering the French haute gastronomy cuisine. And now he wants to play with the rules, having his own establishment, he wants to have a little bit of fun. So while he’s perfectly respecting the code of the French haute cuisine, he’s using his Japanese (and even Asian) side to twist it, to play with it, to reveal it under another light. The usage of the Japanese vocabulary is more to “cut” differently the tastes, than to add a Japanese note. The usage of exotic ingredients are like a set of knives that slices differently and stresses another angles. To put it another way, he learned the French cuisine but he kept the Japanese knives. So you may have the Japanese garden, the exotic ingredients, even some Asian street food hommage, at the end, it’s to better show us what can and should be haute gastronomy.

Interestingly, it’s an inn (auberge) with his wife, a French lady, running the dining room. The results of a love story between two cultures always fascinate me. One last side note: Champagne. The wine card is not just impressive on this region, but full of bargains for a two stars. In doubt amongst the numerous references, know that you can have a champagne pairing… I know I should have started by this, but you wouldn’t have read this far.

The crowd was relaxed for a two stars. Not need to dress to impress but dress to enjoy a special occasion. The zen spirit should give you the tone.

It’s a very solid two stars, understandingly sought after. So be sure to...

We came with the highest expectations (not really a surprise given it is a two star restaurant), but left rather disappointed. The seven cause menu turned out to be about 20 individual dishes, all very intricate and complicated. And that was really the biggest challenge: dishes that were barely more than bite size consisting of 10 and more ingredients, sometimes with competing flavors. Of all the dishes we tasted, there was literally only one where we thought " wow, this is great, I want more of this". The rest just kind of floated along, it was clearly not bad but nothing was a culinary highlight. We ordered the individual wine with each course for 95 Euros, only to find out that we were charged for the champagne during the amuse bouche courses (3 of them) extra. One feels slightly cheated, not that the additional 40 euros per person really matter at a total price of $750 for two people for dinner, but it didn't feel right. Service was okay, but not more than that. It had none of the perfect orchestration one would find at a Bocuse or Robuchon where the service and the incredible attention to detail matches the perfection on the plate. Most disappointing however, was the arrogance of the chef. Racine is it tiny restaurant with six seats and less than 10 employees. The Chef came to the table twice to pour some sauce, never once bothered to say hello or to utter a word and did not have the gratitude to come to the table at the end.

The team at Racine appears to have fallen in love with the fact that they have two Michelin stars and they are playing with food rather than celebrating flavors. Most importantly, they have forgotten that they are in the hospitality business and none of the dinner felt this very special touch, the spirit of warmth and generosity of arriving at someoned house and feeling just wonderful about the...

We visited this restaurant during a culinary trip to Reims. Since we were looking for something a bit off the beaten track (in terms of kitchen) we ended up making reservations at Racine. Boy did they deliver.

This is one of those restaurants where the line between 2 & 3 stars is pretty thin. All the dishes are excellently prepared, presented in a refreshing way and are cooked with ingredients that create true harmony. The menu was an almost endless line up of top dishes, which we paired with two bottles of top notch saké - suggested by the sommelier. Price/quality this is one of the best restaurants I've ever been and an example for a lot of restaurants in Belgium, in terms of how things should be when promoting yourself as a "fine dining" experience.

The staff is experienced, professional, but perhaps a bit to distant for our liking. However, this is a personal opinion and does not say anything about their professionalism.

In terms of interior it's all very sober, which contributes to the oriental feel of the restaurant, but it's really sober. :) The playlist in the background was top, we did however have to listen to it several times.. (no big deal, just a small hint).

Thanks a lot for the experience, we loved it!...