Le Clou — Restaurant in Washington

I had the duck confit hash for breakfast and all I can say is: underwhelming. It seems they've taken too much inspiration from the French brasserie. If you've never been to France: it is just expensive diner food (TBH most American diners have better food or at least an item or two on the menu that are a standout) with cute looking open air seating and inattentive service. You need to go to fine dining to understand all the hype around French cousine, because the food for ordinary people is nothing to write home about.

As for Le Clou, it was pretty much the same. The service wasn't rude or nearly as inattentive as it is in France, but in French style it was very minimalist responses with no added pleasantries, and a bit of an aloof waiter. At least the waiter offered the check without me having to yell Garcon to get his attention.

But the food is where I took the biggest issue. It was thoroughly underwhelming. I've had better hashes at chain restaurants. The potatoes were "al dente", it was covered in parsley, and the sauce was like a puddle at the bottom. The first bite I got with a piece of parsley ruined that bite and I spend the next few minutes picking it all out. Poor choice even though it improved the look - maybe just put a full sprig on top so no one accidentally eats it. The potatoes should be a highlight of any hash IMO but here they took away from it. The one thing I will give them credit for is being generous with the duck. There was plenty. On to the coffee? I guess charging for coffee is now the norm, but I wish I skipped it. Six dollars and I get French style "American coffee". In my experience the US has the best coffee in the world (mind you I haven't been to Italy or Turkey and I imagine those are huge omissions), and this cup was a bit disappointing. Very small cup, too acidic (personal preference here), and did I mention six dollars? I should have stuck with the coffee from the room. I should have brought a cup down, I'd have rather paid six dollars for them to let me bring that into the restaurant.

Honestly I think part of the reason I'm so disappointed is because I expected to be raving about how good my breakfast was. Last night I looked up the menu and was excited about breakfast in the morning. I love a good hash and to have one prepared by a Michelin rated chef's kitchen should have been a real treat. Instead I had a $40 dollar meal that I would have been happier going to a chain and stopping at Dunkin...

We live a couple blocks away and have been waiting for Le Clou to open. We’ve been following social media and watching all the construction and renovations over the past several months. We went on a Tuesday night at 5:30 and dined for a couple hours. We didn’t make a reservation as none were available on tock, but they were able to accommodate us immediately. At the busiest point, about half of the restaurant was full, which was nice as it didn’t get that loud and we didn’t have to sit super close to anyone. The ambiance was fancy and elegant, but the inside was smaller than I thought.

Food – We ordered a lot and had plenty of leftovers. To start, we had French onion soup, 6 oysters, a leek dish and complementary bread. The oysters were super yummy, and the French onion soup was super delicious too! The leek dish was interesting as I think of leeks as a minor ingredient in a dish, but leeks were the featured ingredient. I enjoyed it though!

For the mains, I got cod over lentils and my husband got the duck. Our sides were mushrooms, and French fries. The duck dish was a little different than described on the menu we saw online but was very good according to my husband (I didn’t try this dish). The cod was super good too. The mushrooms and fries were amazing! The fries tasted like they were cooked in duck fat or something, but they weren’t – apparently, they were just cooked in really good oil. The hollandaise sauce with the fries was yum! The mushrooms were very juicy and marinated in this very delicious wine sauce. So good!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have room for dessert. We’ll be back though. We might even come back just for a drink and dessert.

*Also, apparently there’s a kid’s menu, since this is technically a hotel restaurant. There are few restaurants on the hill with a kid’s menu, and even less that are fine dining. We’ll bring our son next time. There is good free wifi for his ipad too.

*We also heard that there’s going to be a couple other dining/bar options in the hotel opening soon. We’re excited to...

My guest and I arrived separately and even though the dining room was completely empty at the time, the host refused to seat me, explaining their policy is to seat only complete parties. This is a very expensive restaurant that requires you to pay a non-refundable $25/pp ahead of time for a reservation that may not be cancelled (we were originally 3 people and though I let the restaurant know earlier in the week we'd be only 2, they did not credit back the other $25). Instead, of being seated you are required to cool your heels in the hotel lobby, which, on a chilly night was not well-heated so was a little uncomfortable. Once seated, in the very attractive dining room, we ordered a bottle of wine. It then took a very long time for the sommelier to return and let us know they did not have that bottle. Before he returned though, apparently hoping to turn the table quickly, the lack of drinks didn't stop the server from suggesting we order food while we were waiting. We declined. When the sommelier finally returned and told us he didn't have the wine and we chose to re-review our drink options, a server was not to be found. When she finally returned we said we'd like sauvignon blanc by the glass, but oddly, there are none offered by the glass. The server tried to persuade us to pick a chardonnay instead. Only after we were unpersuaded did she tell us they do have a sauvignon blanc available, it is just "unlisted." No explanation as to why the availability of a sauvignon blanc is a closely guarded secret. Two appetizers came out separately. The poached egg in the salad lyonnaise was overcooked, but the onion soup was excellent. The sea bass was also very good. The short ribs are good, but rather than the more typical preparation, here they are served sliced and medium rare with sauce poured over them at the table. The chocolate pot de creme was also very good. Overall, while we found the food solid, particularly for a restaurant in this price range, I expect a more...