Boyer (Les Crayeres) is magnificent country house with huge lawns at the back. Drinks were served on the terrace, and a fine selection of Champagnes were on offer at very fair prices, including Taittinger rosé champagne and Grand Siecle at just FF 400 (£40) for a bottle, FF 70 for a glass. There are two dining rooms, both very grandly decorated with high ceilings, antiques and heavy curtains. The menu did not vary between the two nights that we stayed.
Nibbles were smoked sardine with red and green peppers and onions (15/20) and a thin slice of toasted French bread. Bread rolls were warm, white, and rather dull (13/20). One starter tried was foie gras done in five styles, served on a gelee with a little lettuce salad (17/20). Another was haricot soup with truffles (16/20). Another (the next night) was mussel soup, packed with mussels in a lemon-flavoured broth (18/20). Main courses sampled were carefully timed sea bass with vegetables and an alleged coriander sauce, which appeared to be minus the coriander (18/20). John Dory was grilled with diced potatoes in a little olive oil and mashed potatoes (18/20). I tried veal with artichokes and bread sticks, with herbs but without any sauce (18/20).
Cheeses tried were: Munster (18/20), chevre (13/20), a local cheese (16/20), Beaufort (18/20), Camembert (15/20), Epoisses (15/20), Reblochon (14/20), all served with a dark rye bread with walnuts (16/20). Chocolate soufflé with griottes (poached with toasted almonds) and vanilla ice cream was 18/20. Another good dessert was banana and coconut caramelised tart with pineapple sorbet and a superfluous half a passion fruit (18/20). Coffee was 19/20. Petit-fours sampled were: chocolate sponge (16/20), fruit tart with raspberry and pineapple (18/20), a tuile (19/20), chocolate mousse (16/20), Madeleine with a crispy exterior (16/20), nut fudge (16/20), a milk chocolate with nuts (16/20) and a dark chocolate truffle (18/20).
Wines tried were Trimbach Tokay Pinot Gris Reserve 1990 at FF 304, two glasses of 1987 Chateau d’Yquem at 130 FF per glass. Service was very courteous and efficient, though rather cold and remote (19/20). Both menus offered featured prices, so there was none of the archaic practice of the female diner seeing no prices. The total bill was FF 7,801 for two nights, with room at FF 1,820 per night, and food and wine FF 1,989 tonight for two people.
On the second evening we tried a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal at just FF 606 (and some more Yquem). The same nibbles arrived. This time I tried a fricassee of girolles, a generous mound of girolles in a mushroom broth with chives. For main course I had lobster roasted with spinach and chopped vegetables with a thin lobster sauce (17/20). My wife had John Dory on a bed of finely chopped Mediterranean vegetables with olive oil, with finely sliced artichokes in a superfluous fennel butter in breadcrumbs (a la Chicken Kiev) which was too greasy (15/20).
We skipped cheese this evening (such restraint) and tried apples croustillant, which were apples in filo pastry, brushed with orange marmalade and served with lemon sorbet in a thin pastry shell (17/20). The chocolate soufflé with griottes, toasted pine nuts and vanilla ice cream was well made (17/20). For petit-fours we tried a Madeleine (16/20), almond biscuit with pistachio (15/20), choux bun with chocolate filling (16/20), chocolate cup with cream, raspberry, strawberry and pineapple (16/20), a tuile (18/20) and chocolates as on the previous night. There was a coffee menu. Food and wine tonight cost FF 2,172.
Overall Boyer was a bit of a let down, despite the wonderful setting. It was costly (other than the very fairly priced wine list) and despite the three stars it had at the time of writing the food never exceeded 18/20, and was really around 16/20 for most of the time. The room was very grand and had a nice balcony, but then so should it at this price. This is a lot of money for this level of cooking. Three Michelin stars are just nonsense for a restaurant coasting along like this, (and indeed Michelin finally realised this in 2003 and demoted it).
Further reviews: 01st May 2014
Ian Westcott
Les Crayeres under Philippe Mille ( Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2011) is really on the rise again. After it slipped to one star under previous chef the restaurant won back a star in 2011 or 2012 if General Manager Herve Fort continues to iron out a couple of little service issues then I think this establishment could well regain its 3 star status. The two meals I have had here over the last two years have been among the top 5 meals ( more than 12 three stars and a number of two stars). Strongly recommend a visit.
Michael Morrice
I stayed at Les Crayers on 2nd March, 2010, by which time it no longer had any rosettes due to the appointment of a new chef. (Charles Boyer left some five years ago.) However, the main restaurant was closed (Mondays and Tuesdays) so I had to eat in the relatively new Brasserie set about 200 yards away from the main building. Excellent service. A perfectly cooked steak. A whole Camembert that was perfection (Jean-Yves Bordier of Saint Malo) and tasted as they always used to taste! I will return.
J. & N. Davis
We have just spent three nights at Les Crayeres. This was our third visit, over the past ten years. Hotel and all of the staff are wonderful. They made an extra effort to make sure that our hearing impaired guest could understand their French. The restaurant, on the other hand, does nor deserve its two stars. (Le Strasbourg, in Bitche, France is better and has no stars.) The menu is very static. The previous two visits (including a three night visit) gave us better menu choices. The hors d'oeuvres were the same all three nights, as was the first course served in the dining room. This shows a lack of imagination in the kitchen. Even though we were there for three nights, the chef did not deign to speak to us. In this time of economic down turn, We would have spoken to any guests who could stay for three nights. Neither the hotel nor the restaurant were full. Should we return next summer, we would stay at Les Crayeres, and dine else where.
Alan Weil
This is one reason I keep returning to Reims. The setting the service and the food are outstanding. The cost is reflective of the quality and one should always wonder if any dining experience is worth the price. I still remember each experience and if a price tag is the concern I suggest creating your memories at a different level of service, perhaps the golden arc. The smoked grilled salmon I can still taste and the wines which were suggested were perfect.I have not had any fish or meat dish not perpared perfectly. Gerade Boyer and his wife could not have been more hospitable and have trained the staff to be friendly and make all feel like they belong.Deserts was as beatiful as they were delightful. The cheese tray selected by the staff was among the best in Europe. It's not easy to find fault in this great expensive jewel. Why they have lost their 3rd star is a mystery.