Frommer's Review
I consider this Washington's best restaurant -- and so does Washingtonian magazine, which named it #1 in its 2008 listing of top D.C. restaurants. You can chalk its success up to ebullient chef/owner Michel Richard. Look for him in the kitchen (and you know when he is, since the dining room views the open kitchen), and then decline the menu and ask simply for whatever it is he wants to make. Whether you go that route, or choose from the fixed-price or tasting menus, you're in for a (very expensive) treat. Emerging from the bustling kitchen are appetizers like the fricassee of escargots, an eggshell filled with caviar, sweetbreads, porcinis, and crunchy pistachios, as well as entrees like the crispy lentil-coated salmon or squab leg confit with macaroni gratin and black truffles. Each presentation is a work of art, with swirls of colorful sauce surrounding the main event. If you're passionate about food, you may want to consider dining at the chef's table in the kitchen, so you can watch Richard at work. This will cost you: $295 per person, with a minimum of six people and maximum of eight, is the stated price, but that's to give you a ballpark idea; call for more exact information. One less expensive option is available at Citronelle: You can dine in the restaurant's bar and lounge.
Citronelle's decor is also breathtaking and includes a wall that changes colors, a state-of-the-art wine cellar (a glass-enclosed room that encircles the dining room, displaying its 8,000 bottles and a collection of 18th- and 19th-c. corkscrews), and a Provençal color scheme of mellow yellow and raspberry red.
Michel Richard's richly layered chocolate "bar" with sauce noisette (hazelnut sauce) is recommended for dessert, if available. Citronelle's extensive wine list offers about 20 premium by-the-glass selections, but with all those bottles staring out at you from the wine cellar, you may want to spring for one. Also consider dining at Richard's French/American bistro, Central, 2008 winner of the James Beard Award for "Best New Restaurant." Central offers a less expensive, less elaborate, but every bit as delicious meal.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
