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Marcel's, Robert Wiedmaier's Fine-Dining Flagship in West End with Chef Jenn Castaneda-Jones and GM Jonathan Crayne


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Does Adnane staff up the bar only, or.....? A family member recently married, and we'd like to treat the two of them to a dinner to celebrate here and they love places that have superb service.

No, Adnane is the Máitre D' (perhaps the finest one in town), and roams the entire restaurant.

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we had a wonderful dinner at Marcel's last night.  Somehow we had never been compelled to dine here before, but decided to try it for an anniversary dinner.  now my husband and I feel like we've been missing out on a real gem. We will most definitely return.

We did have a few hiccups in service and no sign of Adnane- if he was there we didn't notice and he didn't stop by our table.  Will write more details soon.

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Ate there for the first time last Saturday with my wife. We have not been to many of the top places in DC as most of our time, money and attention for the past fifteen years has been focused on our kids. Marcel's easily lived up to my expectations and we will definitely go back as time and money allow. We each had the five course tasting menu. Six or seven courses would have been too much food for me. My wife would probably take four courses instead of five. I went there to eat and relax, not take notes so I will not recount every last detail. I had halibut, turbot, duck, tortellini and chocolate flan. We also enjoyed a nice red Burgundy from Marsannay. We really enjoyed having a drink at the bar while waiting for our table - we were early and the table was ready right on time. Our waiter was excellent. In addition to the terrific food, service and wine. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. This might sound snobby but one thing I noticed is that the other patrons were so well behaved. It was a very adult atmosphere. The place was busy. People of all ages were there, they knew how to dress, they knew how to act. Nobody was on their cellphone, nobody was taking pictures of their food, nobody was talking loudly. It was a really nice refuge from my very chaotic life. I could pick a few nits but I can not find anything terribly negative. I would suggest having a few Belgian beers or Belgian style American craft beers. I also would like to see more wines by the glass. I would have liked a cremant by the glass. The only sparkling options are Cava and Champagne, which aren't bad options of course. 

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I had brunch at Marcel's today. Service was superb as always. I only ate two dishes. The first was a butternut squash soup with a nut oil (I think walnut, possibly pecan) and crispy shallots. The soup was tasty, though there was one burnt shallot, but I found the one clump of parsley in the center a bit odd. My entree was a red snapper over lobster risotto with peas. The risotto was very good. I found the fish pretty overcooked (I had difficulty cutting it with a knife) which was a disappointment and some of the lobster was on the edge. The plates were hot. I can't imagine food sat in the window, and assumed they warmed their places, but I don't know. For a place like Marcel's, I expect the fish to be perfect so that was a disappointment. I enjoyed the rest of the dish though, especially a sprinkling of what I think was basil throughout. I didn't order dessert, but both of my friends seemed to really enjoy the chocolate mousse desert. Not surprisingly they heard we were celebrating two birthdays so my friend's mousse came with a candle and they brought me a dish with 2 macarons and 2 candies (both quite good). Happy birthday was written on both.

Overall I enjoyed it, but I don't feel the cooking, at least based on the 2 dishes I had was at the caliber it usually is. Bonus, bottles of wine are half price for brunch so we enjoyed a bottle of champagne we wouldn't have been able to otherwise. 

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I had the pre-theater dinner at Marcel's before going to Madame Butterfly at the Kennedy Center.  At $70/pp for 3 courses (I had tortellini, duck confit, and opera cake) and a ride to and from the opera, it seems like a bargain.  The opera was apparently not a bargain - lots of empty seats for Saturday night.  The stage itself was a bit too sparse for my liking.  And when are they going to put in stadium seating like at movie theaters?  I felt like I was in an airline economy seat for 2 hrs.  Apparently 8 years of not going to an opera has made me cranky.

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One of my VERY generous friends was in town last weekend. We had a marvelous time at Marcel's Saturday night. Like always, we sat at the bar. Fernando, who has been there many years, took great care of us.  My friend couldn't resist the Osetra caviar presentation. It comes with classic accompaniments, plus freshly made blini and buttered toasts. We followed with the sumptuous lobster bisque en croute. Boy, was that good! then, the ever changing presentation of the mussels gratin. Main course was the boudin blanc, good as ever. We finished with some Epoisses. The wines were fun. A good time was had by all. 

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7 hours ago, Mark Slater said:

My friend couldn't resist the Osetra caviar presentation. It comes with classic accompaniments, plus freshly made blini and buttered toasts. 

I almost never spring for caviar in restaurants, but this past June I was feeling profligate, and sprang.

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Seeing Ashleigh Pearson's name in the thread title reminds me to post that she has moved on and now has a small shop in Georgetown called Petit Soeur (1332 Wisconsin), where she is producing gorgeous (and delicious) handpainted bon bons. She also has some cookies (sables) in different flavors and rolled fudge.

The shop's still in soft opening and will have its grand opening next month. I spent wayyyy too much money buying Christmas (and birthday) gifts there this month🥰.

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What's up at Marcels?  The menu is significantly shorter (get that) and the prices are higher (get that too).  However, at $140 for four courses, that means each course is $35. I'm happy to see there's finally a salad on the menu but is an arugula salad worth $35?  Or one scallop thinly sliced ?  A small piece of cheese and accompaniments?  A small piece of Black Forest?  What about the foie gras or the lobster flan- because of the additional fee, it's $53 and $50 respectively.  One half slice of bread and some cultured butter- I miss the wonderful breads and the different butters (again get it but...). All of that aside (I didn't do the math until after dinner), there are different people.  Where have the Marcel's stalwart staff gone?

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So on their four course tasting menu, (their words on the website) you get a salad, a tiny entree, cheese and a dessert? Or is there another course where you bought the upcharged version?
That does sound pretty weak for $140. 
 

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