La Bise

Excellent food served by a caring and charming staff. Will definitely go again! The bluefin tuna appetizer was amazing as was the duck and salmon. One of our friends had the ramen noodles with fresh summer veggies and the restaurant's spin on carbonara, creative and delish. Our server as well as the supporting staff were so kind and executed the meal beautifully.

Your new chef's menu was not to our liking. We were disappointed. We have always had fabulous dinners there and the staff is terrific.

Overall a nice experience and pretty low key Monday night dinner. The menu had changed since my last visit and I was expecting a little more “wow” factor in flavor and item pairing. We had the octopus which frankly was rather chewy and mostly lost some of it's flavor and texture due to it being battered which I think wasn't necessary as well as the edamame thrown in but just didn't fit with the dish. The white asparagus was the best part of the meal. I got the loup de mer and the tomato “Marmalade” was seemingly some watery diced tomatoes and not at all a marmalade texture and the fennel part of the dish that was supposed to be a main feature along with the fish was so hard I could barely cut it and lacked flavor, and the dish was just kind of lacking anything substantial. While it was delicate it also did not really bring anything amazing to the palette. My partners duck was good, the desserts were average. Honestly it did not really meet our expectations for a Michelin star establishment meal.

Great experience on a slow Monday at La Bise. The service was excellent. The food was amazing. Between the three of us, we had 4 or 5 apps and for entrees, individually and respectively, the steak frites au poivre, duck, and salmon. My salmon was incredible. Cocktails were great. Dessert was the only improvement area. The cake was a little stale, not really defrosted yet. The complementary chocolates were very good. All in all, I would return for sure.

We first visited La Bise two years ago and made a point to return this June. It remains an excellent choice for dining in the White House neighborhood. The food and service are exceptional.

Service was conscious, discrete and attentive. Food reasonable but aggressively priced for the quality. Setting very comfortable; soft furnishings, ample space. On balance of value, would not recommend with any particular vigor. Quiet.

I'm glad my wife and I discovered this D.C. jewel! The setting, staff and meal were on point. We enjoyed the complimentary seeded bread with honey rosemary butter. For appetizers, we ordered the Gougères (layman = cheese puff!) And white asparagus. Dinner was Duck l'orange (sp?) & Alaska black cod. Cocktails were expertly crafted (Bees Knees & Old Fashion). We strongly recommend this fine restaurant and feel you will definitely appreciate the service and food as much as we did. Looking forward to returning here!

The restaurant was cozy. We were seated at 5:30 on a Saturday and it was quite empty at that time with only three other occupied tables. Our server, while very informative on the menu and our meals, wasn't particularly warm nor was he rude or unkind. He was just an unexpressive, stoic man. We were uninspired. Let's move on to the food. The house bread was great. The octopus and tuna appetizer recommended to us. Let's talk about the tuna first. Whenever a restaurant has tuna in its raw form, I always order. It is one of my favorite things to eat. There was nothing inherently wrong with this dish. It was a perfectly fine dish but nothing spectacular. This may have also been because we've experienced so many other amazing tuna dishes and crudo dishes from around here as well as other countries that this one just felt short to us. The presentation gave more than the taste. It felt like it needed more acid, more punch. The octopus appetizer was tasty. The octopus was slightly coated and perhaps fried which we didn't mind. We enjoyed the texture of the octopus but did not care for the thick cheese sauce that came with it. The cod was delicious and delicate. The layers and depth of the sauce were good. It is dish that I would order again. The duck is where the issue lies. Upon searching for new fine dining restaurants to try, duck breast was what we really came to eat. We absolutely love a well cooked duck breast entree but not many places offer it and not many restaurants know how to cook it. The duck we were served was overcooked and had a strong meaty taste to it. It was not the pink medium I've seen other diners receive from photos of previous reviews so I mentioned it to the server and he said that is how it is always cooked. I asked medium well? He said no, medium which it was definitely not. It tastes like duck that has sat out for too long. We will not be returning to this restaurant.

I went to La Bise two years ago. It was a great dining experience that made me bring my family there again this weekend. However, I have to say the experience this time is disappointing. The food was good overall, but not great. The monkfish was way overcooked and tasted like rubber. The duck was cooked perfectly, but the presentation was sloppier than it was 2 years ago. The worst part of the experience is the service. The server just drops the plates on the table without much further interaction/checking how everything goes. In fact, our dessert simply dropped on the table without a single word from the server.

The dishes were excellent. The presentation was artful. The service was great. Highly recommend the Spanish octopus and Rhohan duck.

We went to La Bise based on reviews. We were disappointed. The food was decent. The appetizers were tiny and not what we expected given our experience with French cuisine. One main course was very salty, the other, fish, was overcooked. Overall not very tasty. The dessert was the best part of the dinner.

Amazing service and ambiance. Food was honestly average except for the black cod and apple tarte.
Black cod was amazing. The duck was very tough and had a strong duck meat smell. Sweet potato that came with it was undercooked. They had just replaced the onion soup with vichyssoise and it was all right, not worth the price. Honestly, I finished my meal because I was so hungry after the rock n roll half marathon but even with that appetite, food was average.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Black Cod

Solid service and wonderful cuisine. The menu notes that a 20% service charge is added, which I think is wonderful. What I found irritating was the additional comment that this allows the restaurant to pay above minimum wage. This grates because it appears outrageously greedy from the owner. This is not a budget restaurant, the prices should afford management to pay well above minimum wage, and patrons like myself expect that staff are well taken care of, and that a tip would be added above that minimum. To claim you can only meet some government mandated minimum wage when charging $24 for a starter Leek dish is unconvincing. La Bise should pay its staff a livable wage based on the menu's prices.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Excellent service, fabulous atmosphere, average/unbalanced food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Nothing to write home about!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Rohan Duck Breast, Spanish Octopus