The sun is always shining in Reims with the opening of Veuve Clicquot’s new project! Café Clicquot is the collaboration between the famed Champagne house and critically acclaimed Carbón restaurant from Paris. A few weeks ago, its delightful terrace opened on the grounds of the Veuve Clicquot visitor centre. This is my review of Veuve Clicquot’s Café Clicquot Reims.
PS: You can book your visit here.
Menu
Decor
Menu
Overall Thoughts
* 2024 Update
Decor
The popup terrace is invitingly cheerful. Constructed out of wood, it is decorated with sunny on-brand tables, chairs, and parasols. It is very roomy and can accommodate 120 guests. Anyone can visit, even without doing a Veuve Clicquot tour. It is open for all until the end of summer 2023.
Menu
Open from 9:30am until early evening, the Café offers a small but colourful menu that pairs perfectly with a glass or two of any Veuve Clicquot cuvée. There is a breakfast option (with coffee in Pantone mugs), a choice of two lunches (farmer’s market salad or burger), as well as charcuterie and cheese boards for the end of day. Funnily, the salad description suggests indulging in the burger instead! Don’t worry though — the salad is quite generous and the ones I saw came with smoked salmon too. There are no entrées or desserts. There are non-alcoholic options available. The menu is bilingual in French and English.
Champagne
The champagne list is very nice. Besides the flagship Yellow Label, rosé, vintage, and La Grande Dame options are available. Every option is available by the glass or bottle, including the prestige cuvées. I have never seen the latter sold by the glass, so this is a rare opportunity to try some of Veuve Clicquot’s most exclusive products if you are on a budget.
Having just completed a Veuve Clicquot visit in time for lunch, I was pretty hungry. Service was fast and friendly. I ordered the Sunny Burger and a glass of Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2015 Brut. It was my first time trying this cuvée and I loved it. Its aromas of brioche, smokiness, and tart fruits complimented the meal perfectly and would highly recommend ordering it with the burger.
Meal
The Sunny Burger. Ok wow. I am not saying this lightly… it is one of the best burgers I have had in France! The recipe is exclusive for the popup. A homemade pumpkin brioche bun, double local beef patties, smoked raclette cheese, purple Reims mustard, sweet-and-sour pickles, seasonal vegetables from the Veuve Clicquot vegetable garden, lemon-basil mayonnaise, red onion, lettuce. The bun has the Veuve Clicquot 250th Anniversary logo stamped on top and comes with a little Veuve flag.
I had a choice between fries and salad. Mixing is not possible, but you can ask for one of the two and order the other on the side, if you want both. I chose the salad alone. It is fresh with a lovely vinaigrette and croutons.
Overall Thoughts
I was very hungry walking into Veuve Clicquot’s Café Clicquot Reims and left full and happy at the end. The meal was delicious and perfectly portioned. The service was friendly. The champagne was excellent, of course. The prices are average for Reims. I really enjoyed my experience and I actually plan on going back several times to get another burger and to try the full salad (it is different than the side). The decor is bright and cheerful and it did not feel like I was in the middle of the city. Overall, my experience was lovely and I would recommend stopping by, especially if you are planning a visit to Veuve Clicquot.
* 2024 Update
The doors are now open at Café Clicquot here in Reims for the summer season. Of course, I had to stop by again after such a great experience last year. A few things have changed, mainly the menu offerings. In addition to a burger and salad, there are two vegetarian options, Agnolotti and a “Croq-Soleil”. There are also two desserts available: a fruit tart or brookie (cross between a cookie and a brownie). Because I loved last year’s burger, I ordered that. With the same champagne as last year.
My first impressions are honestly not very good, especially with the service. To start, my waitress kept replying to me in English even though I was speaking French. I asked for water but never received it. Like last year, the burger is supposed to come with a choice between fries or salad. I wanted a salad, but my waitress left without asking me which I would prefer. I was served fries, which arrived without the aioli that is listed on the menu. The waitress never came back after serving me, so I could not discuss any of this with her.
The burger itself has changed from last year. The new one has a single relatively thick beef patty (unlike two thin ones like last year), which I think is an improvement. A good amount of deliciously melty comté and morbier cheeses ooze on top — another plus. Pickles come on the side, which I put inside the burger. The menu lists red onion, lettuce, and charred lemon aioli. Mine was missing the sauce and there was less onion than a McDonald’s burger (the tiniest sprinkle). Instead of crunchy lettuce, I got soft mâche. The bun is very dense and not toasted. Overall, it is very bland and lacking texture/crunch. I had to dip the burger in ketchup to give it some taste. The fries are ok, but I was only served ketchup and not the aioli that is also listed in the menu.
I am very disappointed in this year’s burger and would not recommend it. I am unsure if I will return again this year to try the other menu options because I did not enjoy the service either. Hopefully there will be improvement next year!
One thing that I do like (besides the champagne!), are the new Veuve Clicquot dishes. They are adorable.
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