Best Meal Ever - Le Parc at Les Crayères

KaraBrooks

Senior Insider
I know I randomly popped by to share our unfortunate experience with David Toutain in Paris so I figured I would at least try to redeem myself by sharing what I consider to be the finest dining experience we ever had anywhere. We recently did a day trip from Paris to Champagne and did a tour and tasting at Ruinart and then had lunch at Le Parc. It was, for us, a perfect experience. Highly recommend!! Photos and writeup - http://www.pearlsandoysters.com/2015/11/13/champagne-part-two-le-parc-at-les-crayeres/
 
I am reading this while eating a Sofrito taco. Not even close. What a wonderful meal you described. You have a lot of favorite wines. :)
 
I couldn't believe the timing on the post-we just dined at Le Parc yesterday! I have to agree with you Kara, it was by far our best dining experience ever all though we don't have near as many experiences to compare too ;) We opted for the 69 Euro menu with wine pairings and found each course as well as the service to be outstanding. We thought the lunch was a total steal at only 90 Euro per person. Our day was similar to yours-we visited the cathedral, toured Veuve Clicquot and then had lunch at Le Parc. We were supposed to tour Pommery after lunch but when we arrived for our 3:30 reserved tour we were told all of the guides were on strike so no tour/tasting for us!
 
I've added this to my (ever-growing) notebook of must do's when I finally get to the City of Lights! Thank you SO much for sharing your blog, Kara. I'm stalking you, now!
 
Andy - I do have a lot of favorite wines :) but my main "crushes" are white and reds from Burgundy (we had an amazing red Chassagne-Montrachet at Tamarin last winter btw the likes of which I have not been able to find in Boston), Alsatian whites (love the reserve Trimbachs) and all things Rhone (Gigondas being a regular on my Rhone ranger rotation). This pairing knocked it out of the "Parc" (corny I know!).

Amy - it was truly WONDERFUL! You and Phil would have loved it. I know you are headed to Bordeaux but if you can sneak in a day trip to Reims . . . Just saying!

Valerie - that is the craziest thing EVER. We toured Ruinart prior to lunch - http://www.pearlsandoysters.com/2015/11/12/champagne-part-one-ruinart/ - (also part of the LVMH group) and our guide seemed shocked that the Americans in the group had not been to Veuve. How did you like the Veuve tour? Bummer on the Pommery tour. It is supposed to be an excellent tour as well. Isn't Le Parc wonderful? Are you spending any time in Paris? We had some amazing experiences there as well that I am happy to share!

GC - you crack me up!!
 
We arrived in Paris last Saturday and unfortunately we leave tomorrow :( We will be back though! We simply did not have enough time in one week to do everything we wanted to do. I'm planning to get a trip report up on the forum once we return.

We loved the tour of VC! We did the 'In the Steps of Madame Clicquot' tour which included two tastings-yellow label and the Grande Dame. It was our fist time to try the Grand Dame and it was hard to go back to the yellow label after that! We knew going into the tour that the US is their biggest market but we found out the whole reason they went to a yellow label was because the Americans wanted a prettier label than the white one! Their caves were fascinating and we really felt the tour was extremely informative. Now I want to read the book about Madame Clicquot :)

Everything about Le Parc was perfect! The dining room was gorgeous and the plating was truly beautiful. It appears from your photos we were sitting at the table just to your left. It was our first two star experience and now will be what we compare everything too!
 
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