Barbouzard
Restaurant · Downtown ·
French-Mediterranean dining with seafood, live music, and DJ
French-Mediterranean dining with seafood, live music, and DJ
"I was beyond excited to try Barbouzard, the newest restaurant helmed by legendary chef Cedric Maupillier , combining French flavors with a Mediterranean twist and plenty of other cultural influences from across the world. This dish, grilled scallops swimming in a curry, lemongrass, and ginger emulsion, is actually inspired by France’s history of colonization. Maupillier’s lemongrass-heavy curry sauce and briny kombu (dried kelp) topping pays homage to cuisines from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The dish is still grounded in old-school French cooking, with coastal grilled scallops and delectable corn royale (tiny savory custards) floating in the spiced broth. Balancing all of that history and flavor in one dish is an impressive feat, with the sweet corn custards and buttery scallops elevated by the biting lemongrass and ginger. The rest of Barbouzard’s menu showcases that incredible melding of cultures and distinct flavors that Maupillier is known for. Combined with exceptionally attentive service and memorable cocktails (the Normandy Sour is a must-try), this new downtown restaurant is sure to become a hot spot." - Eater Staff
"Just a few blocks from the White House, Barbouzard is the kind of place where you can eat crab and caviar tartelettes under soft lighting while a violinist plays something vaguely romantic. The restaurant, which channels the French Riviera, also serves steak frites, heirloom tomato gazpacho, and a DJ booth, in case the mood shifts from Saint-Tropez to 18th Street. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists. RESERVE A TABLE" - Omnia Saed
"Opening Tuesday, July 29, this 6,493-square-foot French-American restaurant—whose name means "secret agent" in French—brings chef-partner Cedric Maupillier’s longstanding South-of-France–informed recipes to the busy corner of 17th and K Street NW. The menu highlights the elegance of the Riviera and Mediterranean coast with grilled fish and seafood, plenty of vegetable dishes, seafood towers, and caviar (martinis), alongside a short list of meats, steak frites, and pasta. The large space houses a central DJ booth and a stage for live piano, sax, guitar, and violin performances, and weekend hours extend until 1 a.m." - Tierney Plumb
"Opening its swanky doors on Tuesday, July 29 at the prominent downtown corner of 17th and K Street NW (1700 K Street NW), this new French-grounded destination—its name means “secret agent” in French—unites a lauded chef’s longstanding recipes, bespoke music, and late-night aspirations. Co-owner Nasr El Hage says the restaurant is “rooted in the elegance of the Riviera” and, speaking to the venue’s social ambitions, adds, “I wanted a place that closes late on weekends, so that the good time continues after dinner, to dress up and go out, but not quite nightlife,” says El Hage. “You can have a great time at 8 p.m. or 12 a.m.” Chef partner Cedric Maupillier, who “shuttered his award-winning Shaw staple Convivial last December,” brings his South of France education and upbringing to the plates: the menu “draws from the Riviera but also every nice place in the Mediterranean that has sun, olive trees, thyme, rosemary, and lavender,” he added, even “where you can hear the cicadas chirp.” Maupillier also recounts the meeting that led to the project: “Nasr came to see me at Convivial while I was looking for new opportunities,” Maupillier recalls. “I was about to go on vacation back home to France when he started talking about the Riviera, where I was born.” The food program emphasizes grilled fish and seafood, plenty of vegetable dishes, regional specialties, and a short list of meats, steak-frites, and pasta; highlights include the heady broth-based Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, a dover sole served Riviera style, a vegan Bolognese, and Maupillier’s own must-have favorite: escargot. “I tried frogs; that didn’t work well – but Americans love escargot,” he says. Drawing from other Mediterranean landscapes, the moules gratinee gets heat from ‘nduja spice and Calabrian sausage from Italy; a roasted cauliflower receives a shower of Middle Eastern za’atar on a tahini sauce bath. For touches of luxe, the menu offers foie gras “opera,” a caviar service, and two shellfish towers—Le Petit at $110 and Le Grand at $240—with oysters, littleneck clams, mussels, lobster, shrimp, Tahitian tuna, and hamachi crudo. The bar highlights French spirits, aperitifs, and house infusions with cocktails like the Caviar Martini and a Provence Negroni; the bottled list includes a lengthy count of Champagnes and 400-plus wines focused on French coastal regions that “tell the story of the sea and French country,” says El Hage. The 6,493-square-foot space—formerly home to Kellari Taverna—was completely reimagined to capture France’s posh seaside spirit with light oak, marble, hand-blown glass chandeliers, and gilded accents, and offers booths, alcoves, bar spaces, and leafy veranda seats for lively postprandial conversation. Music and nightlife are integral: the restaurant is equipped with a Funktion-One sound system, a DJ booth and stage sit at the center, and the program includes live piano, sax, guitar, and violin performances for “sexy, elevated” sounds (DJs come in on Thursdays to Saturdays). Investors and partners include co-owner Nasr El Hage (a local real estate exec with Lebanese roots), Nellie Elana Gebrail, and Dany Abi-Najm (whose family is of Lebanese Taverna fame). “We want guests to feel things,” says El Hage; the goal of the restaurant, adds Maupillier, is “l’art de vivre [the art of living], served daily.”" - Evan Caplan
"After closing his longtime French‑American restaurant, Cedric Maupillier is now a business partner and head chef at a glamorous Farragut Square French‑Mediterranean project alongside co‑owners that include Lebanese Taverna Group president Dany Abi‑Najm. The ambitious menu will showcase premium meat and seafood dishes, with offerings like grilled cuttlefish and fennel salad called out in festival tastings." - Emily Venezky