Bistrot Lepic and Wine Bar

This place is spectacular! We were in DC for the weekend and came here for dinner on a Saturday. Had no trouble making reservations and were seated as soon as we arrived. The restaurant offers sitting in separate dining rooms; we loved the cozy ambiance upstairs so that’s where we ended up. The service was phenomenal; our waiter knew his french wines and made suggestions that were on point based on our tastes. We had the escargot to start and beef medallions and scallop dishes as entrees. My husband and I are not big eaters, but we left absolutely nothing on our plates. The food was perfect. Period. My only disappointment is that we don’t live in DC, it’s not very often you find a gem like this.

A friend suggested I give this place a try, and I am so glad I did!
Went with a girlfriend, on a week night, and it was packed (upstairs).
We sat at the bar (should’ve made a reservation, although in reflection, we had a wonderful experience eating at the bar).
There was live jazz music.
The bartender was one of the best, ever. His knowledge of wine was impressive, and his attitude was approachable.
The food was A++…seriously…so good.
We ended up chatting with some regulars at the bar, for hours.
It was one of the best low key, unplanned, week night experiences I’ve ever had!
Strongly recommend, and I will return many more times!

Once this was probably our favorite wine bar. My understanding of a wine bar is that the proprietor offers a variety of good wines by the glass as well as by the bottle. We’ve been to Bistro Lepic several times in the past beginning in December of 2006.
We’ve never been bowled over by the food, but it has always been okay.
Christmas Eve. We wanted a place with good atmosphere, good wine and decent food. If the venue had music, so much the better. So we decided it would be fun to return to B. Lepic. Boy, were we surprised!
We asked to be seated upstairs in the wine bar area where we ordered from the dinner menu. We began by ordering two of the reds from the wines of the week and were glad we opted for the half glass pours. Barely drinkable! So we took a chance and ordered two other reds that fared only slightly better. At that point we decided to stop exploring the wines. Probably good we did as the table service was abysmal.
Our dinners were totally forgettable. My wife ordered the quail which was passable. I ordered the steak en croute. When I pulled back the pastry crust the steak looked and tasted so unappetizing that I took two or three bites and pushed aside the plate. The only word to describe this dish is «Yuk.»
A 3-​piece jazz ensemble provided entertainment until 9:00 pm. Because it was Christmas Eve, I’ll give them a pass.
Observation: Inattentive wait staff, very average to just plain mediocre food and wine one might expect from a food court, certainly not at a wine bar that calls itself French.
B. Lepic, what in the world is going on over there?

Came here with two friends. The place was empty when we first arrived on a Sunday at about 5pm.
The décor is nothing special, but the food was authentic and excellent. I felt like I took a mini vacation.
In particular, the braised veal cheeks were incredible. The meat melted off the bone and the sauce was enticing. Our party also had the calf liver and the flounder. The flounder wasn’t special in my book. The calf liver was pretty good, I’m just not a fan of the texture and after taste.
The beet salad and onion tart was a very nice way to start things off.
Overall — the waiter was nice and attentive, atmosphere is lacking a bit, but the food especially the veal was very good.

I’m baffled by the rave reviews on Unilocal,and even more so by Tom Sietsema’s accolades in the Washington Post fall dining guide. Don’t get me wrong; you can have a pleasant meal here. We were charmed by our table in the wine room, and by our solicitous waiter. But overall, the food didn’t live up to our expectations. Risotto was runny; venison was tough; plates needed a vegetable to seem complete. One dessert — floating island — was outstanding, the other — apple beignets — was a flop. If this is the best French cooking Washington has to offer…

Very Cozy and a Great place for a date! Be sure to make reservations for Monday or Wednesday night upstairs so you can watch/​listen to jazz ensemble.

This is absolutely my favorite restaurant in DC.
It’s not trendy or gimmicky– there’s no theme– it’s just excellent food and service. My boyfriend and I have celebrated several of the happiest of occasions here and on a variety of budgets depending on who we’re with. The staff has always been incredibly helpful in finding a wine or sparkling wine that fits what we’re looking for.
It’s cheerful but quiet in there– you can have a nice conversation without shouting over music or other people, and Cyrille, at the front of the house, has always been wonderful. My favorite table is the round one right in front by the window– it’s sunny and bright at lunchtime.
I really appreciate that the basics are done really well here– the house salad has the most perfect mustardy bright vinaigrette. At lunchtime, I like the salmon and potatos, and for dinner, everything really! I like the trout or the beef medallions, and this summer I had the salade aux fruits de mer– I’m still thinking about it, two months later, it was that good. I’ve tasted the foie de veau, foie gras, and mousse terrine– all delicious, and the beet and apple salad is a favorite too. To finish, we’ve tried several of their desserts, but I keep coming back to the mint ice cream with chocolate sauce– it’s herbal, refreshing, and so good.
I cant say enough about how lovely an experience we’ve had at Bistro Lepic– I hope we’ll be back many many more times.

Bistro Lepic has been one of my favorite French places for a while now. It’s classic, cozy, and sort of old school without being stodgy. The food has been consistently excellent, though my restaurant week experience the other day motivated me to finally write this review. Many places take advantage of restaurant week to roll out a limited, un-​creative menu with smaller than average portions. Not at Bistro Lepic, which had a long menu consisting of many of their classics (I had the calf liver, which was outstanding) served in what seemed to be their normal portions. If you like French food, this place is a must visit during restaurant week.

lovely, adorable french bistro. we sat upstairs and i felt like was in a european café. it’s perfect for a date night or girls night out. service was pretty good.
the food was very good. we shared the seared foie gras with mango, the braised veal cheeks with truffle orecchiete, and the beef medallions with gruyère polenta. all the dishes were delicious. seared foie was amazing and decadent — seriously, it’s nearly impossible to screw seared foie gras up (i’ve only had bad seared foie gras once in my life and it was because it was burned… and i still ate the whole damn thing). the veal cheeks were melt-​in-​your-​mouth tender, and i thought that it was a better dish than the beef medallions.
we also ordered the chocolate mousse dessert, which was a bit hit or miss, because the description said it was served with fresh fruit of the day but instead was some syrupy peach concoction that tasted suspiciously like dole canned fruit.
overall a solid neighborhood bistro with great ambiance.

Came here during Restaurant Week with some colleagues and had an amazing lunch! I started with the escargot baked in garlic and butter and loved it. Two others with me had the onion tart and raved about it. For my entrée, I had the beef medallions with mushrooms and polenta. Perfection! Couldn’t have asked for better! The rest of my table had the potato-​crusted salmon with spinach. Again, rave reviews. Dessert included a chocolate mousse for some and a baked egg whites dish whose name I’d butcher, but all I can say is I shoveled that in my mouth it was SO GOOD! Basically, we were all blown away by everything that touched the table! Bread and wine included!

Le dîner, c’était incroyable!
From even the reservation phone call, I knew that Bistrot Lepic was going to be a special experience. And I am very pleased to have celebrated there.
Everything I had heard about Lepic was positive word of mouth, but I don’t know what I expected upon making the reservation. The restaurant downstairs was smaller and more intimate than I had imagined. In the place of the bucolic archways littered with dusty chalkboards that I had imagined were murals of French art, such as Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day accenting warm marigold walls. A variety of stemware hung above the service bar, which held exceptional French wines. The tables were spaced tightly to accommodate twenty years of happy patrons.
We were seated in the back corner of the restaurant, with champagne flutes waiting to celebrate with us. We split a bottle of Crémant du Jura Blanc Brut – a blend of Chardonnay and Savagnin [a varietal more similar to Gewürztraminer than Sauvignon Blanc] – which was from a French region largely unfamiliar to us. It was the first day of Restaurant Week [August 2015], and Lepic was bustling. We shared the cheese plate while looking through the menu. The cheese plate offered a Camembert and two other cheeses. One, either an Abodance or Comté, was our favorite, both nutty and semi-​firm. Fresh apples and dark grapes served as companions to our cheeses, and a whipped blend of crème fraîche, confectioner’s sugar, and cinnamon was a fantastic accompaniment.
The restaurant week menu offers a large proportion of the regular dining menu. We ordered the escargots and beet and apple salad to start, with the salmon and trout entrées. The apple and yellow beet salad was delicious and the herbed goat cheese played well with the tartness. The escargots, served in garlic butter and basil, were exquisite. We ordered a bottle of the 2011 Châteauneuf-​du-​Pape, Château Banneret with our entrées at the recommendation of the restaurant’s manager, whose hands-​on oversight the dining room made us feel taken care of. The salmon was served with a wafer-​thin crust of julienne scalloped potatoes and the paired tomatoes offered a bit of acid to refresh the palate. The trout was served with brown butter over a purée of celery root. Couched in simplicity, these traditional offerings were fine representations of the best of French cuisine.
For dessert we shared the crème brûlée and the toasted meringue over vanilla anglaise before finishing our wine upstairs at the jazz bar. We had just missed the live music, but the ambiance upstairs was completely different – while just as welcoming – as the bistro downstairs. The two spaces share the love of late-​1800s Impressionism, with Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night on the wall along the staircase. The warm yellows downstairs followed us upstairs and became accented with lush reds on curtains and seat cushions. The crowd was beginning to trickle out the door with the jazz set complete, and we toasted our remaining libations at a coffee table in the center of the room. Finally, with our stomachs full and faces ruddy, we took our leave on a blissful anniversary.

Very special moment for us, we loved Osso Bucco, and Soft Shell Crab and it was just perfect.
After the main course we had Apple beignet so delicious we ordered a second plate.
We love the atmosphere, the professionalism and friendliness of staff definitely will be back.
Chapeau au Bistrot Lepic !!!

Bistrot Lepic is a neighborhood gem, a gathering place for a merry band of regulars, and often feels like an extension of my nearby apartment.
My favorite spot is the wine bar upstairs, a cozy space with a bar at the back and low tables for dining stretching to the front of the space. A couple of nights a week you’re treated to various jazz acts for free, playing in a space with great acoustics that heighten the dining experience.
You can’t go wrong with the classics on offer. The onion tart is an old favorite, as are the chilled soups that often grace the gradually-​evolving menu. The cheese and charcuterie platters are often perfect for a light meal. My favorite entrees are the tender, hearty beef medallions and the innovative curried-​chicken and rice. Both are delicious accompaniments to the real star here: the wine.
As a red drinker, I’ll often seek recourse to the house bordeaux/​languedoc. If they’ve got the Château Paul Mas in, definitely try a glass. My other favorites are the Château de Malleret, the Baron de Malleret, and the newly-​featured Haut Bana, a subtle, structured blend of just enough tartness rounded off to delicately piqué – but not overwhelm – the palate. The Dumont et Fils champagne is also nicely balanced between sweet and dry; great for the hot DC summers.
The desserts are heavenly, but my choice is often a last glass of wine. Bring that special someone or a small group of friends; you’ll be glad you discovered this little oasis.

The food is outstanding; the organization and service could use a little work.
I had the three course jazz night prix fixe. At $ 35, it’s a great deal!
APPETIZERS:
The tarte a l’oignon was delicious, with long tangled strands of onion and just the right amount of bacon to balance out the sweetness. I think there may have been an egg in there to stabilize everything, making it almost like a less custardy quiche lorraine. As much as I enjoyed it, the onion tart was a little heavy and greasy for the beginning of a 3 course meal, but it would be great for sharing as a snack with drinks. For once in my life, I almost would have preferred a smaller portion size!
The chicken and foie gras mousse terrine was great, although I would swap out the hard crostini it came with for plain old warm baguette.
ENTREES:
The paillasson au saumon (salmon in a potato crust) was amazing. Although the salmon could have been a little more translucent, the potato crust was perfectly crispy. The best part was that every element on the plate was perfectly seasoned; even the bed of tomatoes and spinach wasn’t an afterthought.
The beef medallions are absolutely worthy of all the praise they’ve been getting. The beef was tender, and the Gruyère polenta was delicious. I hate when vegetables are ignored at a restaurant, and again that was not the case here: the sautée of beets, carrots, zucchini, and other seasonal vegetables was tasty.
I also tasted the veal kidneys in mustard sauce, which were a little tough and not to my taste, but certainly an interesting offering.
DESSERT:
The chocolate mousse was not as rich as I was expecting, and had an odd sort of powdered sugar flavor to it? The stewed peaches at the bottom of the dish didn’t really go with the mousse. If you’re craving chocolate, I’d recommend the warm chocolate tart instead. It comes with a little pitcher of crème anglaise on the side! The crème brûlée was also delicious – very rich and solid with a slight lemony flavor to it.
SERVICE:
Although our waiter was friendly and unpretentious, the service was a bit confused. First of all, even though the prix fixe menu stated that it was served both upstairs and downstairs in the main dining room on Mondays, when we requested the prix fixe, they at first refused to give it to us. The pacing of the meal was a bit off, too. (The 3 courses took 2 hours.)
Since the food showed so much promise, I think with a few little tweaks Bistrot Lepic could be an outstanding French restaurant! I wouldn’t hesitate to come here again for the excellent prix fixe!

Bistro lepic is one of my favourite places to go.
I have frequented their wine tastings and had many a good meal here.
I recently took my girlfriend here for valentines day and was not disappointed.
The prefix menu was delicious and portioned perfectly.
I wish they would have had wines to pair with the prefix menu though.
The only other problem was the dessert, while normally fantastic, left much to be desired for valentines day.
The Heart shaped pseudo brownie with yoghurt on top was below par for what i have come to expect from this restaurant.

This is a review of Restaurant Week, Winter, 2015. I partook of the special lunch menu.
It was one of the tastiest meals in DC for me in a long time.
–The tarte a l’oignon – «ooli caou».
–The beef medaillons with wild ‘shrooms and some other incredible vegetables in a rosemary jus, alongside creamy polenta with gruyère – «eett waz krese goud».
–The pear pastry – «yor mo-​seur».
This place has got just enough of the «haute» in its haute cuisine to be dazzling. Meaning, Bistrot Lepic goes right up to the line, but doesn’t cross it, both in its Gallic atmosphere and in its cooking mad chops.
Crisp, professional service.
Many patrons dine here. Make reservations; this establishment will honor them and turn folks away to protect yours, so, s’il vous plait, do not NOT show up. It has a rather smallish, but intimate space on the main floor as the dining room, so they need the reservation system to work. The wine bar on the second floor is larger.
Je vous salue, Georges Vetsch, (chef de cuisine).
Vive la France.
Cinq etoiles.

4.5 if I could give halfsies. Delicious food, attentive service. Got a bottle of Pinot noir, escargot-​delicious, foie gras– good but very tiny portion, the braised veal cheeks– yummy and so tender, and the lamb chops– cooked and seasoned perfectly!
Make a reservation– however it is annoying they ask for your cc to reserve a table and will charge you if you cancel last minute or don’t show up. Great ambiance.
Will definitely be back for the food and wine!

YUM! Came here for restaurant week and I am so happy I did! After experiencing three sub-​par to ok restaurants in Baltimore, I was worried that my standards were a bit too high, but Bistrot Lepic reaffirmed my love for restaurant week!
We did the lunch menu for 5 and everyone was happy with what they got. The bf and I split the following:
1. Escargot: so tender and delicious, and the garlic butter sauce was AMAZING. Perfect with the crusty French bread!
2. Pâté: awesome flavor and everything I love about pâté. Came with cornichons and olives, and only one little crostini. Luckily there was that French bread!
3. Beef medallions: perfectly medium-​rare. Wonderful savory sauce with yummy vegetables! I didn’t taste much gruyère in the polenta, but it was yummy nonetheless.
4. Calf liver: my favorite!!! I love liver and this was an absolutely fantastic dish. The liver was seared well but tender and soft inside. The sauce had yummy baby vegetables, capers, olives, and grapes. I particularly loved the saltiness of the capers/​olives contrasted with the sweetness of the grapes.
5. Ile flottante: we were very intrigued by how the egg whites would taste. It was somewhat like a meringue, very light and fluffy, floating in a delicious cream sauce. The egg whites were also toasted (we speculated with a blow torch), giving it a nice color.
6. Crème glacee au chocolat blanc: a delicious mousse like cream which was surprisingly with a very distinct white chocolate flavor!
All in all the food was awesome and I would totally come back!
A few other notes:
1. Loved the décor, it’s tight (my friend accidentally got hit in the head as a waiter squeezed by…) but home-​y. Upstairs is the wine bar which is also very cute and would be fun to hang out in.
2. Service was ok: our waiter was a little douchey, but warmed up a bit towards the end. He also accidentally charged us for dessert separately and we had to point out that it was supposed to be included in the Restaurant Week pricing. Perhaps it was just a bad day or because of the hectic nature of restaurant week.
3. Sparkling water is $ 7 a bottle and we got charged for two bottles even though our first bottle was only ¹⁄₃ full… I forgave them for this because the food was so damn good.

After ordering a bottle of Sancerre, which was cold, crisp, and refreshing, we decided on 3 apps that we could share: lemon line risotto with shrimp, beet apple salad, and the escargot.
A waiter came by with warm french bread and individually wrapped salted bitter pats on the table. It was hard to resist so I didn’t!
The risotto was incredible. It was creamy, tart, and delicious. The grilled shrimp on top were smoky and cooked to perfection. Great combo! The escargot was classic perfection (with lots of opportunity for dipping the bread). The salad was light and a refreshing summer choice.
For my main I ordered the special of the night which was a seared snapper with vegetables. The fish was obviously fresh and the portion a good size.
Dessert was brought out– 3 options on a tray. But they also verbally dangled a homemade mint ice cream. But after we ordered it, they came back and we were told it was gone already.
We sat downstairs and it was noisy on this particular Saturday night. I’ve been downstairs before for lunch and upstairs for dinner and think it is was this night. Our waitress reminded us that upstairs, Jazz night is Mondays and Wednesday.
Service was good but there was some waiting for wine refills (bottle was not near the table). The manager stopped at our table during dinner to answer a question and took the time to say goodbye when we left which was nice.

Came here for Restaurant Week on a double date. The restaurant is in a great location and we were even able to park right next door. What I really liked is how there is a casual upstairs and more of a formal dining space downstairs. We chose the comfy seating upstairs. Our waiter was awesome — had a perfect French accent (but appeared to be American!), conveyed the deals of the day to us (wine tastings are complimentary on Tuesday, and the wine we tasted was 50% off).
The variety of food that we ordered was interesting and delicately balanced. I ordered mussels for my appetizer, the house salad for my main meal, and the chocolate mousse for dessert. I was surprised that the mussels were dry when they arrived. Not exactly what I was expecting, but they still tasted good and were accompanied by unique spices, which is always a plus for me. The salad was not as special as the waiter made it out to be, so I stole a bite of my bf’s duck confit, which was very tasty. I finished the meal with the chocolate mousse, which was amazing! I didn’t think I would be able to squeeze dessert in, but this was so good I had to. The wine we had went very well with the meal. The ambiance of this place is really cool and different — there are pigs on the walls!