La Bise

[Lorenzo Figliuoli]

La Bise is the successor to the long-running Oval Room near the White House. It is part of the Knightsbridge restaurant group owned and managed by Ashok Bajaj. The kitchen is headed by chef Tyler Stout, who has had stints in Boston’s Troquet, as well as in DC’s Macon Larder. The restaurant dubs itself as offering modern French cuisine.

We sat in the right back room and the decoration with giant Paris photos made us feel as if we were almost in the French capital. The service was impeccable like in the late Oval Room.

We had a good sample of appetizers and two main courses (recommended by our competent and friendly waitress).

Appetizers. A cold fresh pea soup felt in the mouth like a velvety green purée, not too sweet not too savory, just right. The foie gras with verjus (“vinegar” from un-ripened grapes), hazelnut, brioche and more was delicious. The butter-poached Maine lobster was accompanied by glazed potato, celery, preserved lemon and sauce Americaine, providing a counterpoint of starchy, tangy and peppery-sweet flavors to the shellfish.

Main courses.

·        The duck plate was a combination of duck breast and duck leg confit, the latter presented in a “cannellone” with some foie gras added (a riff on the cannelloni a la Rossini, we guess). We thoroughly enjoyed this multifaceted dish, a kind of pasta plus “secondo” course all in one.

 

·        The sea bass paired a fantastic crunchy skin outside with a moist white flesh which transported our palate to foodie heaven. The side of zucchini and mini yellow pumpkins was also very tasty and grilled to perfection.

To crown it all, we chose to share the Valrhona chocolate dessert with powdery olive oil on the side and vanilla ice cream. So sinfully delicious--we can still taste it in our mouths.

It is surprising that the Knightsbridge restaurant group, which includes such great establishments as the two Rasikas and Mirabelle has not been awarded any Michelin stars so far. Perhaps la Bise is Ashok Bajaj’s latest attempt to obtain the coveted Michelin star.

[Mark Slater]

Ashok owns Annabelle, not Mirabelle. 

[Lorenzo Figliuoli]

you are right, of course. I got the Belles mixed up...

By the way, Mirabelle is deceased, I believe

[DPop]

Mirabelle is indeed gone, fully boarded up and looking like it will be branded as something different. 

We went to La Bise and we were pleased if not bowled over by the fare.  It was step up from Brasserie Liberte, but what we had is not going to earn them a Michelin star.  75 mph, straight down the middle French food delivered with excellent service, which seems to be a hallmark of Ashok's restaurants.

[Keithstg]

Headed to La Bise last night with a lobbyist friend who was passing through town. The layout of the restaurant is largely the same as the Oval Room was, though the darker paint color makes the room feel smaller. Another side note - the restaurant was PACKED, as were the Round Robin and Off the Record, which we passed through on the way to La Bise. Good sign that the DC restaurant scene is coming back.

My assessment is the same as DPop's. Solid food, excellent service. We split gougeres, tuna crudo, and poached lobster to start. All were good + - the crudo was extremely fresh, though I didn't get much of the coconut or mango in the dish, which was advertised as BigEye Tuna Crudo, coconut, honey ataulfo mango, Rendezvous Farm radish, sesame. The butter poached lobster was then precisely the opposite, with the parsnip, orange, and radicchio providing notable contrast to the dish, which I would gladly order again.

Mains were the branzino and steak frites. I didn't have any of the branzino, but my friend complimented it. The steak frites came out with the steak a perfect medium rare and the frites consisting of three very thick steak fries - kind of reminiscent of the potato "puffs" that were on the Palena fry plate way back in the day. The béarnaise was fine, and frankly I don't remember what vegetable was served alongside. Solidly executed all around.

Service was excellent, but the wine list was...not. The current list isn't available online, and I understand why. Perfunctory, recent vintage wines are available, and I noticed RdV on the list called out as simply "Middleburg Cabernet". Perhaps true if the bottling was Lost Mountain, and yes, part of the Middleburg AVA, but seriously? For a restaurant that employs a sommelier? There was a second wine on the list called out as "Middleburg Merlot", but the producer was unfamiliar to me. While I can't ding any new restaurant for a recent vintage list given the market and challenges with opening, the lack of attention to detail strikes me as odd given the rest of the KRG portfolio. Not sure if a Michelin star is a goal here but if so, the list needs a lot of work.

[Keithstg]

Following up on La Bise, Tyler Stout has made the jump from DC to Middleburg (as has 1/2 of DC, seemingly) and is now the Executive Chef at the Goodstone Inn.