La Chaumiere — Restaurant in Washington

It was Thursday evening, we were just arrive to DC and after some shopping me, my sister in law and my two year old son get in and ask for a table. A man in suit who looks like a manager (not very kind) sit us in a table in a little space by the entrance to the left….in the same area were a table with 3 adults finish there dinner and talking very loud. We sit down in our table, and start to look at the menu, my son was drinking water when a woman about 75 year old said: could you please stop him to do that? referring to my son.

I just ignore the comment and start to order our food, we were hungry and very tired after 14 hour of flight. When we star to order our food my son start to talk normally like every other boy at this age, when this woman got up from the table and ask to the manager if they could it take they dessert in other place because my son was to noisy and she had a problem with his ears. At this point I just couldn’t ignore there comments and we decided just leave the place, at that very moment the manager just smile and said please leave in a very bad way, so aggressive.

Well, the woman was an old problematic lady, but what was UNACCEPTABLE was the attitude of the manager who never give a solution to this woman and encourage her to arrive to this uncomfortable situation for us.

When I confront him after being silence hearing all those bad thing than this old woman said about my son, I just told him, if this restaurant is adult only or you are not welcoming children you have to put a sing on your door so I don’t waisted my time. He answered me: you have to control your son and make him silence… I just said to him : your are being rude and I can’t make my son stop breathing or being because I crazy lady want it to. At this point I was so mad than my son starts to cry. I leave the place and some waiter said I’m so sorry.

Massimo, my son is a normal boy, used to go out for dinner, enjoying food and he really behave. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, and let me tell you there I’m the very first in correct him if is not behave like he suppose to do. I have a restaurant on my own and I never will put my costumer through this situation. I felt overwhelmed because I never lived a situation like these. The manager was disrespectful, rude and to me was shocking that some one who I have never seen in my life told me how I suppose to raise muy own son… if you are reading these, you wish to have a awesome and amazing boy like Massimo.

Anyway I didn’t get the chance to try there food, but if there is something that I know is this…. You have to treat people with respect, let them have for the beginning a good experience, food is not everything, costumer service is really important, and above all do your job with love and passion, there being very obvious that this manager doesn’t have those thing cause he treat people like trash. This French restaurant clearly don’t represent what it is France, with is awesome food, and is welcoming and friendly people.

So to any one, don’t go there specifically if you...

Restaurant Week is one of the best seasonal deals for foodies like me. There were some places I had in mind. Unfortunately, every place I wanted to attend was booked. I frantically searched for other places and finally stumbled upon La Chaumiere in Georgetown. It's a restaurant I've never heard of before and decided to explore.

The Atmosphere: I honestly did not know what to expect. We arrived there and noticed that it was quite intimate, yet lively and very full. I really loved the rustic, French ambiance/atmosphere that added more to the intimate feel. The use of phones is not allowed (as in talking on your phone), which is an understandable rule considering the way the restaurant is set up and aim to accomplish for customers' ultimate dining experience. There is a fireplace in the middle of the restaurant. I am unsure if it's ever utilized.

The Food: We immediately reviewed the Restaurant Week menu.

We both ordered the mussels, Moules Provencąle, for the appetizer. The garlic butter used to season the mussels was very tasty. We dipped our bread in the butter. Two of my mussels had some shells stuck in it but were manageable.

For my entrée, I ordered Steak au Pouivre, medium. I must say I can give the dish the chef's kiss 💋🤌🏾👨🏾‍🍳. It was yummy and very flavorful. The black peppercorn sauce sent it to another realm. The steak was cooked perfectly, and I was upset that it was gone. I ordered a glass of Restaurant Week wine to compliment my steak dish. The wine was really good, too. My friend ordered the Truite Armandine. Her dish was phenomenal, but she did say it was a couple of bones in her trout.

For desserts, I ordered the Gâteau au Chocolat. I must say it was the least favorite of the meal entirety. It was merely okay & not worth raving about. The waiter refused to allow me to change my desserts out. My friend ordered the Tarte Aux Pomme & it was so good that she practically finished it in under 5 minutes. I wish I ordered it instead of the dessert I ordered.

Things that could improve: Though the wait staff was nice, our waiter seemed too rigid & honestly rude. I would prefer a more friendlier and patient waiter if I come back. It felt like we were being rushed with our dish transitions (the reason why I gave Service 3 out of 5 stars). We were seated late, which made no sense as to why the waiter was seemingly acting impatient.

For the seafood dishes, it would be nice to double-check for bones and shell fragments. We shouldn't have to crunch on shell/bones nor pick through our food.

Overall, we loved the atmosphere & rustic French ambiance. It certainly felt like we were somewhere in France dining & having a great time. Also, apparently, Julia Child used to frequent the restaurant, which is so cool to me. I see why it's Michelin starred 😭🔥. I do recommend this restaurant, especially for an intimate, lowkey date night out...

After watching a movie with Annette Benning & Vanessa Redgrave called Georgetown (the script mentions having dinner at La Chaumiere), I decided to pay a visit. Reading the reviews, I was slightly skeptical about making a reservation (seemed hit or miss), not for myself, but my teenage daughter, who had not experienced this type of setting (old world rustic) and generally sought out highly spiced Asian, African or Caribbean fare. But I said what the hey, I'm sure she'll be fine.

Arriving a few minutes late for the last reservation of the evening (couldn't miss George Mason spanking GW!), we were greeted warmly and introduced to our waiter Rene. And so it began. Starting with Les Escargots and the Boudin Blanc, my daughter loved the Escargots, comparing the dish to garlicy mussels. She was a bit on the fence regarding the texture of the Boudin, which was more like paté than the Cajun Boudin she was used to. But I found it tasty nonetheless. The three entrees arrived shortly, the Roasted Lamb Chops, Coquilles St. Jacques, and Wagyu (a special). The lamb was very tasty, but the other dishes were even better. My daughter said the Scallops were the best she'd ever had! I took this personally as I am a private chef! Lol. The wines (a Cotes du Rhone & a Pinot) were great with the 2 meat dishes. The only dessert of the evening, the Tarte Aux Pommes, served as the pièce de résistance. But Rene really put the evening over the top. Seeing that my daughter was underage, he surprised her with a refreshing mocktail. And after overhearing our discussion of where my soon to be birthday dinner would be, the Apple Tart was presented with a candle and singing by himself and an accompanying server. Seeing as how we were the last table of the evening, we ended up having a nice conversation with him regarding the history of the restaurant, wine and local Virginia vineyards. Such a lovely experience, La Chaumiere is well deserving of Michelin's...