Bistrot Lepic: A 20-Year Old Restaurant in Washington, DC

1736 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007; tel: +1 (202) 333-0111;
www.bistrotlepic.com

By J.P.    

Since opening in April 1995, Bistrot Lepic has had a successful trajectory. The Wine Bar, on the second floor of the same building, has also been successful since its opening in December 2002.
Bistrot Lepic is a creation of Chef Bruno Fortin, who in 1995 left another Georgetown landmark, Bistro Français, to open his own restaurant.  Success came very quickly. For instance, in 1996, the Washingtonian recognized Bistrot Lepic as the “Best New Restaurant in Washington”.

Chef Fortin, who was born in Brittany, France, worked for a short period of time at the restaurant owned by his parents, attended cooking school in Brittany, and then went on to explore the world (London, Geneva, Paris, Bermuda, and Washington).  He now lives in Bali and Bistrot Lepic is under the responsibility of his managing partner Cyrille Brenac.

In 2014, we visited La Piquette, the new restaurant owned by Bruno Fortin and Cyrille Brenac, with Francis Layrle leading the kitchen. That visit brought up the idea of going back to Bistrot Lepic. Relying on my old restaurant notes, I was surprised to find out that our last visit to Lepic had happened in March 2007. I had then: bisque de homard; medaillon du boeuf with polenta; and flowerless chocolate cake. My notes from that time indicate that we enjoyed the experience.

Given the good past experience, I tried to explain to myself why it had taken us that long to consider going back to Bistrot Lepic. The challenge of finding parking in Georgetown was the only possible explanation that I could find.  However, going to the restaurant webpage, I found out that, after 6:30 PM, parking is available in the lot of the "Sherman & Williams" store across the street.
We made reservations for 7:15 PM on a late March 2015 Saturday, and parking worked out as planned. Entering the restaurant, the dining room looked like we still remembered it. It was full and very lively.

However, we cannot say that things have not changed at Bistrot Lepic.  For instance, since 2014 the restaurant has a new chef, George Vetsch.  He has been previously with Oval Room and was with CF Folks when this restaurant won the  2013 James Beard Award for Classic American Restaurant.  Chef Vetsch is a native from Switzerland, where he received his training in French cuisine.
Our waiter made a curious comment about the background of the new chef, finding in his Swiss roots an explanation for the number of items in the current menu that include Gruyère cheese.  Actually, this talkative waiter provided very good service.

Because of Bistrot Lepic’s 20th anniversary, a $39 three-course menu including most items available à la carte (appetizer; entrée; dessert) was being offered.  The set menu also included a glass of champagne. A.M. preferred to order à la carte because her lamb choice of entrée was not in the $39 menu, while I was able to fit within the three-course menu and enjoy the glass of champagne as a bonus.

For appetizer, our choices were:

• Mousse de foie gras (chicken and foie gras mousse, apple compote) (J.P.)
• Velouté de chou-fleur (cream of cauliflower with prosciutto, white balsamic beet vinegar) (A.M.)

Mousse de foie gras

The foie gras was very good. I also enjoyed the apple compote and toasts.

Cauliflower cream

As main course we had:

• Medaillons de boeuf poellés (beef medaillons with Gruyère polenta and wild mushroom rosemary jus) (J.P.)
• Cotelettes d'agneau grillées  (grilled Colorado lamb, eggplant & goat cheese flan) (A.M.)

Beef medaillons

The medaillons were also good and the Gruyère polenta had a very delicate taste. I notice that my main course was about the same that I had in 2007. As Chef Vetsch was not at Bistrot Lepic yet, maybe the cheese in the polenta was not Gruyère then. A.M. loved the lamb chops and thought they were certainly worth the extra bucks.

Lamb chops

Finally, as dessert we both had:

- Ile flottante  (Baked egg whites floating on a crème Anglaise)

A.M., a big fan of  Ile Flottante, thought it was very good, but not the best she had ever had.

Île flottante

The wine list at Bistrot Lepic contains almost exclusively French wines and prices are on the high side. We had a Rully, Premier Cru, Clos du Chapitre, 2011 ($72), a 100% Pinot Noir, produced by Domaine Jaeger-Defaix. This is a small Domaine that belongs to Hélène Jaeger, wife of Bernard Defaix, a winemaker in the Chablis region. The word Clos means a monopoly entirely closed with a stone wall.  Clos du Chapitre is entirely contained on the appellation Chapitre, one of the climates classified as Premier Cru, within the appellation Rully, which is located in the Côte Chalonnaise, technically within Burgundy.

In summary, going back to Bistrot Lepic was a rewarding experience.  We certainly do not plan to wait for another eight years until our next visit.

Dinner for two, including tax, tips, and $72 of wine, added up to $207.