Le Thiers sur Reims

17/05/2026: Came to Reims for the cathedral. Stayed an extra night for this place. Brasserie Le Jardin is the Bib Gourmand sibling of two-Michelin-starred Le Parc, both inside the seven-hectare park of Domaine Les Crayères. Christophe Moret runs both kitchens. He cooks like a man who has read books. The amuse-bouche is a thin fennel-seed cracker with black olive tapenade. The tapenade tastes the way a potato chip wishes it tasted. The asparagus from Piolenc arrives under a Maltaise sabayon (hollandaise with blood orange juice folded in) and the bitterness in the citrus is doing real work. The seared foie gras lies on a celeriac mousseline that has finally given up pretending to be a potato. The duck is the moment. A peppered magret, sliced and pink, with a dark crust on the fat side that looks exactly like sliced Texas brisket. Same color, same matte texture, same crackled topography. A French chef has produced the chemistry of American barbecue bark on a 12-minute timeline. The beetroot sauce is sour and dark and correct. Cheese trolley: pick five. The regulars go for Bleu d’Auvergne, Morbier, and Comté. Take their advice. The rum baba arrives drenched in Santiago de Cuba Añejo with Madagascar vanilla cream. A Polish dessert invented for a toothless exiled king (allegedly), served in a Champagne brasserie, with Aretha Franklin on the speakers. The bill is the only thing on the table actually from Reims, and it is reasonable. Service warm. Room elegant without being stiff. Worth a detour from the cathedral. ✍️Substack “Pretty Girls Eat Guts” for the full story! Title: “Smuggler’s Menu in the City of Kings”

16/05/2026: A wonderful lunch and a very pleasant atmosphere. Everything was truly delicious, but I especially want to mention the meat – it was simply superbly prepared. Excellent cuisine, a beautiful setting, and excellent service. An ideal option for a relaxing lunch in Reims.