Hello, we are taking the best of eastern France tour in later September. I was looking ahead at restaurants for the nights we are on our own. Do y’all think that making reservations is still required or a good idea? Part of me likes the idea of being impulsive and choosing some place we may have seen during our daytime experiences, but the other part of me likes the security of knowing you’ve got a place to go. Any good suggestions for Reims, our first stop? The book doesn’t list very many. Thanks, Cathy
Posted by
113 posts
Hi! We're on the Sept 11th tour. Arriving in Reims 2 nights ahead and planning an all-day tour of the prestige champagne houses. We typically like a mix of reserved spots and open times. Also like good restaurants since we are in France. Found out that Colmar, Beaune, and Vaison la Romaine have an abundance of high-quality restaurants; many "BIB" rated Michelin and those with stars.
Suggest you check out trip advisor "top ten" as a starting place in the many stops.
Happy Trails!
Posted by
Panguitch, Utah
2703 posts
I always reserve for restaurants, reservations for cafés are not generally required. Making reservations is a courtesy and a potential time saver. Being impulsive and choosing somewhere on the fly is a recipe for a mediocre dining experience. If you are traveling and not sure where to dine, consider using the Michelin Red Guide for recommendations at all price points. Guidance is also available at le fooding, David Lebovitz, Paris by Mouth and Gault & Millau.
I am not clear on the difference between making dinner reservations and making advance dinner reservations.
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2296 posts
When we did this tour we made dinner reservations in Beaune the day before. The guide gave some recommendations and we picked one of them and made the reservation as we walked by when they were open. I hesitate to give specific recommendations since it’s been 5 years since we took the tour. Ironically, we’d had a picnic that day in the vineyard and were still pretty full by dinner time. More than a few of the tourmates opted just to sit around outside and eat the leftovers. We really like the group dinner in Colmar and wanted to eat there again, but didn’t make reservations. We got in but the table wasn’t great - food was still delicious. If we haven’t made reservations, we eat early so we’re out before the main dinner hour.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7886 posts
I don't think you mean Michelin star restaurants, but we have been to a few, and reservations are absolutely necessary.