La Piquette — Restaurant in Washington

In our 40+ years together, my husband and I have dined at many top notch restaurants in various cities in the U.S. as well as throughout Europe.

It’s a pleasure to have found La Piquette, a little DC gem! It has the feel, the vibe, the elegance, the great service, and gourmand quality of food of a real French (Michelin rated 2 star) restaurant. Brian, the manager and the wait staff are so attentive, friendly, and accommodating, going out of their way to please.

We celebrated our 43rd Wedding Anniversary there, and it exceeded our expectations. We were treated to champagne, a wonderful appetizer, and delicious desserts. The Trout Almondine with capers was wonderfully light and delicious. I had an outstanding Chocolate Mousse ( the best ever!), and my husband enjoyed a French Apple Tart he gobbled up.

It reminds us of our many years of weekly enjoyment at NYC’s Chez Josephine! La Piquette surpasses Le Diplomat (dc), Lutece (NYC 20 years ago) Le Bernardin (nyc), and many others.

A real treat to be enjoyed and savor in...

I was absolutely astounded at the poor quality we experienced here. It all started when we ordered the Kir Royal cocktails for my husband and myself, and what we were brought was something short of what it was supposed to be. Our waiter even asked us how we would like it made. Which I understand if we were deviating from a standard Kir Royal, but we were expecting them to know how to actually make the drink, not ask us how to. My husband said “I hope this isn’t an omen for what the rest of our experience will be like”. And he was right. We replaced our Kir Royals for Aeperol Spritz, after also requesting some balsamic vinegar as well as pepper, only to wait a while with nobody paying attention to us and taking care of other tables. One of the Aeperol’s also had a fly in it. We were told “it’s summer and to be expected”. The service was subpar as were the cocktails. We didn’t even wait to try our food as we were already fed up with one mishap...

I hate giving this place a review... but I have to! I go here all the time, at least once every couple of weeks. It is easily my favorite place in DC, my home for the last forty years. (The restaurant hasn't been here that long, but if feels like it could have been!) The service is outstanding, along with the food and wine, as everyone acknowledges, but there is something else; it has an essence, a spirit, a simple elegance that every decent neighborhood "French Bistro" simply must possess. It's casual, and outside seating is available if the weather cooperates. I love the fish and seasonal dishes, but also the greens and vegetables, which are all of the highest quality. HINT: if OpenTable doesn't show any availability, please call or stop by to see if you can grab a seat. Their Sazerac-de-Maison is as authentic as can be for folks who like...