Racine

Did the 6 course tasting and the experience lived up to the bill of a 2 Michelin star restaurant. The food was exceptionally creative, with lots of unique flavors but the most impressive thing to me was the plating. Each dish was pure art. Read some recent reviews re: the staff and chef being unfriendly but I did not have that experience. The staff was highly professional and did not engage in a lot of banter, but were friendly and did their job exceptionally well. Spoke to the chef after dinner who asked in detail how our meal was. The whole experience lived up to the elegance that you’d expect from its stature.

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 book way ahead.

Upon our recent visit to Racine, my wife and I, along with a group of discerning friends, found ourselves immersed in an overall enjoyable dining experience. Nevertheless, it is with a certain reluctance that I must note a discrepancy we found between our expectations and the delivered culinary performance. Given Racine's esteemed recognition as a two-star Michelin establishment, we anticipated a gastronomic adventure that would stand out in our collective experience, which encompasses countless visits to Michelin-awarded restaurants around the world. Unfortunately, the quality of the cuisine we encountered did not quite meet the elevated standards we've come to associate with such accolades. Despite the warm and engaging ambiance of the restaurant, the culinary execution fell short of the precision and innovation that usually characterize Michelin two-star establishments. This resulted in a culinary experience that, while far from unsatisfactory, did not live up to the high bar set by our past experiences at comparable restaurants.

What a great restaurant! Surprising dishes and I love the champagne pairings. We chose to go for the Suki menu with champagne pairing. We started with a lot of mise en bouche (small one biters) followed by not 1 but 2 amuses bouche! Every dish was great, bold flavors and very beautifully plated. I really loved the capers and anjovis in the dessert with raspberry and lychee (yes, in the dessert and it was great!). I would love to come back! A must try restaurant in Reims!!

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 whole thing.

Thank you for this sensational delightful experience. For us it was the first time in a restaurant in this grade and we were overwhelmed. But we are sure it is still special if you are more used to this level of service and food, based on speaking with other people. The price we paid was much for us, but we think it is really worth it and if you calculate it it is not much for what is given. Dine and service is presented from the deepest heart with a clear concept and it is not only following high level techniques. They want to serve you a good feeling and experience. The restaurant is designed to be focused and experienced the food but also you sit together. In every dish you could discovered different worlds and you decided how to mix the ingredients. I would kill for havening the twig spoon 😂 Thanks =)

Dishes are themed (in our naive opinion) more of a contrasting nature. Each individual component molding character to balance creativity. The Chef (in our naive opinion) is not seeking harmony but more of a beauty of complexity. We loved it but had to study the dishes. The sommelier was exquisite and the selection as well.

A must book ahead for 3 hour lunch. Top service and quality Japanese French cuisine. Equally top wine list to match.

We had an absolutely incredible experience at Racine for my birthday dinner. The reservations open up several months in advance and fill up quickly, but if you keep checking the website, there are often cancellations within a week or two of the date. I ended up snagging one of these cancellation for my birthday, which was amazing! Racine does a single seating per evening, with only about 15-20 guests spread around tables at the restaurant. You are seated promptly, given a couple of options for a tasting menu, and offered both a by-the-glass and bottle wine list. Since we were in Reims, the by-the-glass champagne options were interesting and thoughtful, and we went with those rather than doing a wine pairing. The dinner itself is actually a series of individual bites of food, with each of the courses consisting of several different items. It was all absolutely beautifully designed, and the taste was phenomenal. The staff were exceptionally attentive, which is to be expected when there are only a few guests, and Chef Tanaka serves several of the courses himself, which was a nice treat. The ambiance of the restaurant is quite serene. It's a quiet place, it looks over a garden, and the tables are spread far enough apart to give a lot of privacy. It was a very relaxing meal overall. Despite the cost, I would definitely go back to Racine if I visited Reims and could get a reservation.

I've eaten here a couple times and it is a culinary experience that is so incredibly unique. There are three dining options. We chose the 165€ option. It was a 3-hr meal that was as beautiful visually as it was delicious. There are many Michelin starred meals I don't remember. I will not forget Racine. Truly special. Highly recommended.

We had one of our worst experiences ever at a restaurant today. Our reservation was cancelled an hour before our scheduled time. Our day was ruined, experience in Reims blemished and we left the region with a bad taste. We never received a confirmation email from the restaurant to confirm the reservation. On the day of reservation, the restaurant called us but we were in the wine caves and the phone call dropped seconds after it connected. We attempted to call back immediately after we came above ground but no one answered the phone. An hour later at reservation time, we arrived at the restaurant. We were told our reservation was cancelled and given to someone else. I have screen shots of my phone showing the call logs. The matradee insisted we failed to follow their rules. Even though we were the only party damaged in this experience, we received no apologies, no sympathy and only a lecture on the restaurant confirmation procedure. The service and experience are as important as the food for any restaurant. This review rating reflects our experience today.