And there’s more CHAMPAGNE to come
What would Reims or any other city be if we didn’t write about some restaurants or pastry-shops we have been to taste their cuisine and pastry. Nearby champagne-house Taittinger (an excellent and world-wide well known and spected family champagne-house) is ‘Bar Restaurant Le Square’. 
Owner of the place is Jean-Marc Jussaume. He worked in Paris in some of the finest restaurants till he decided to buy this restaurant in Reims. It is a small and cozy place. Everything is prepared with fresh products and each season the dishes are different. For € 19,90 you can take the ‘menu du jour’ (starter, main course and dessert). You can order here the wine per glass or you can take a bottle. With each course you can choose from a variety of several dishes. If you like almost everything it’s difficult to decide. Some of the recipes are even secret. So you have to 
try them to know if they are any good and what ingredients are in it. I have eaten there only once but it has been a very pleasant and enjoyable experience. The food my wife and I had was quite good and the atmosphere was excellent. The restaurant is open for lunch from Monday till Friday and it is fully booked every day. You are lucky if there’s still a table available. This restaurant is highly recom- mendable; Jean Marc Jussaume is a very good host. The address: is 122, Rue Ponsardin à Reims +33 (0)326862777.
If you look for a restaurant in the evening ‘Joseph Bar à manger’ near the famous Cathedral is one of the places to be in Reims. You also come here to be seen. They are serving tapas from all over the world. At lunch time you can take one of the two lunch formulas (€ 18,- or € 22,-). Here you can order the wine also by the glass. They have a good choice of wines. Inside it’s very nice and warm and if you can look outside, the view is magical because you see the cathedral by night or with the sun-light. The food they serve is also good.
Another restaurant you can go to is ‘Café du Palais’. The food is OK but not so special. It’s more a brasserie-like restaurant. On the other-hand the desserts are homemade and heavenly. At this restaurant you come to enjoy the scenery. Every-time there’s something new to see inside the café.
There are pastry-shops I can recommend. ‘Boulangerie les Halles’ de Sylvain Guglielmi. They do not only make heavenly pastry but also real crusty bread. A big surprise was their coffee; it was good and they charged us only € 1,20 a cup. This shop is in 32, Rue de Mars, +33 (0)326479740. Furthermore I can recommend ‘Maison Caffet’. Pascal Caffet is a MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France). This is a distinguished title. You have to pass a very severe exam to obtain this tittle. One of my favorite pastry-shops is L’Opéra.
During my stay in Reims I didn’t only eat. As I described in my previous article I visited the champagne-house G.H.Mumm. I also had the change to go to champagne-house Taittinger. 
It was founded in 1734 and it is one of the best champagne-houses. The family Taittinger has 288 hectare of vineyards. On the place where the building and the cellars are, was long before the French revolution started an abbey. During the French revolution it was destroyed. The cellars are still there and they are very beautiful. I can suffice it to say that their champagnes are very good. The ‘Comtes de Champagne’ are 
their best ones. They exist in Blanc de Blancs brut (only made from white grapes) and in rosé. After my tour in the cellars I was lucky to taste the ‘Comtes de Champagne’ blanc de blancs. It is a superb wine and it is very refined. And I still haven’t seen everything in Reims…
CLICK ON THE NAME OF THE RESTAURANT OR PASTRY-SHOP TO SEE THEIR WEBSITE.