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Gerards Place Restaurant - CLOSED
Rating Details »
915 15th St NW
(between N I St & N K St)
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 737-4445
(between N I St & N K St)
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 737-4445
- Nearest Transit:
-
McPherson Sq (Blue, Orange)
Farragut North (Red)
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
Sponsored Result
Special Offer Nearby
Cafe Dupont
- Category:
- Bars
- Neighborhood:
- Dupont Circle
Print this coupon to receive a 20% discount off your order: http://tinyurl.com/ygo5s5a
5 reviews for Gerards Place Restaurant
***1/2
Gerard's Place (now "Gerard Pangaud Bistro") had been on my restaurant "to do" list for years. Probably because I'd always read rave reviews and the place was featured in the upper echelons of the Washingtonian's Top 100 Restaurants list. So my wife and I went for a recent special occasion.
Overall, we thought it was ok. It's a small dining room with about 15 tables or so. The decor is sort of early 90's contemporary, not unappealing but certainly not cutting edge. The service is a family affair, really. The hostess is Gerard's ex-wife (they're still friends), our server is his daughter. I didn't confirm, but the man himself must have been back in the kitchen too.
The menu is simple with a dozen or so entree selections and some very simple appetizers. They were out of the rabbit and duck confit, to my wife's disappointment. I started with a simple mixed green salad, which was fine, but nothing special. My wife had the asparagus for an appetizer and it was quite good. My salmon and her lobster were fine, but not extraordinary. The wine list was very limited and for the most part very expensive.
Overall, Gerard's was fine, but by no means excellent and certainly not inventive. Service was a little lacking (water and wine glasses went unfilled), surprising given that most of the staff were family. And it was expensive. In conclusion, I might go back if it were for a business meal - meaning that the choice of place isn't mine and the tab wouldn't be on me.
If you like to be watched 24/7 like a celeb, then go here. The waiters seriously stalk you like the paparazzi. I went here for dinner, and I felt like they were watching me put every last bite into my mouth. If i sipped my water, they immediately came to refill my glass up to the sip that I took from it. If I fumbled with my fork, they were there to peer over me to make sure I was holding it correctly.
The food was good, but overpriced. The restaurant is tiny, and probably good only for those who like to have their entire conversation overheard by everyeone else around them. You can be guaranteed that the waiters are listening to everything you say too. I'm normally pretty whatever about what ppl hear me say or see me do, but here it was a little too nice and gourmet. It was like I needed Ms. Manners by my side to help me get through the meal. Not my kinda place. Too stuffy, too affluent, too much.
The "new" Gerard's is supposed to be a bistro concept. If by bistro they mean heavy, overpriced food, OK, I guess I see their point.
I met up with a former mentor from a previous job for a catching up lunch here. I am vegetarian so generally avoid French food, but she was keen to try it. On the website there was a heart of palm salad that looked intriguing, but when I got the menu it was off and the ONLY vegetarian item on the menu was a tomato salad ($11). It appears they have already switched to a fall menu though it was 80 degrees outside. The waitress offered to bring me a vegetable ragout as a main. Had I known I was going to be charged $26 for an insufficient portion of overcooked eggplant and zucchini I would have passed! For heaven's sake!
The tomato salad was quite good, crescent slices of heirloom tomato topped with a modest vinaigrette and coarse salt. The entree was OK, but nothing special--stewed eggplant, zucchini, a few spears of asparagus, spinach, and some pearl onions in olive oil.
The waiters were all over your case, as someone else observed. This is my least favorite aspect of "fine dining." Good service means knowing when to leave people alone to have a conversation!
And did I already mention the prices? I think it bears repeating. Way too high. I ended up dropping forty bucks on a lunch worth maybe half that, and had to get a cookie from Teaism after because I was still hungry.
It's funny - when a place consistently earns top billing and rave reviews you expect a good, no great, experience. I had lunch here about a month ago (a la carte menu) and neither me nor my dining partner enjoyed it...at all - and we are both SERIOUS foodies. It's not like we tried one or two things either - we ordered a serious amount of food for two people and the ONLY thing I enjoyed was the soup (and his soup was horrible). It's a quaint, charming place with excellent service and a menu that reads very well. Our experience was a complete and total shock to me - maybe Gerard was out sick and the dishwasher sub'd in. Had the price not be EXORBITANT, perhaps I could be more forgiving and even return again for a second try. Not for that amount of cha-ching though.
What a great little French restaurant! I have been here for both lunch and dinner and had perfect dining experiences both times -- from food to service. Gerard's Place is quite pricey for dinner (be ready to drop over $100 per person for a full meal, but has an "affordable" $30 prix fixe lunch during the week. The waitstaff is very knowledgeable and attentive. I cannot say enough good things about the food they serve and cannot wait until I have the opportunity to dine there again! If you go, I highly recommend the lobster. A generous portion that is prepared to perfection!!!
