I visited Josephine's for the first time this past week and was blown away. The building interior and exterior are so beautiful, with exposed brick and towering windows, French design inside. There are two different levels of bars (one on the street entry level and one on the top floor which was amazing) and then two different levels for dining. I dined in the large atrium with incredible tall ceilings and windows, with beautiful stained glass. The service was excellent! I wasn't sure about choosing a wine and they brought me three glasses to taste before choosing one. I ordered mussels with frites (fries) and both were very good. I also got the most delicious dessert, cream puffs. Everything about my experience was stellar and I highly recommend for a date night or a cute lunch. read more

See all

Came here for a date night and asked to be seated in the atrium. The establishment was very busy, which to me indicated it was popular. Seating was a little too close. Considering how busy it was the service was on point. My only complaint is with the bar service. I ordered an old fashion and got ice chips. You must ask for a ice mold or a "large cube" if that's your preference. I highly recommend. read more

Josephine - Menu - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I had a similar experience to Jeff and Rachel's reviews yesterday. It took 2 hours 09 min. start-to-exit for a simple restaurant week meal. More than half of that time was spent waiting--and wanting. Driving from D.C. specifically to try this restaurant, I arrived just after 5PM opening. The bar was about half full but the rest of the house visible to me wasn't that busy. Thought they must have had a lot of reservations because as a walk-in, I was seated on the courtyard. Not ideal given the weather, but the hostess said "You'll be treated like royalty because there's no one else out there." I didn't know she meant EVER! The courtyard is a charming space with brick patio and arched iron gate, cafe tables covered with white cloths, bistro string lighting, and a rose mural painted on the brick wall. The pretty arched-top glass wall to the service bar makes a nice backdrop. Ordered a glass of chilled white wine to combat the heat|humidity from the man who came to the table to greet me. He seemed to be a manager/captain/Maître d'. The server later showed, saying the wine ordered from manager guy was 'coming.' (Still 'coming'??) I order food. A solid 20 min. passes from seating to parched me finally getting the glass of wine, and bread with lavender butter. I would have rationed both more carefully had I known that was the last I'd see of anyone for quite some time--except for the couple exiting the restaurant through the courtyard. In passing, the woman comments; "Seated on the courtyard? Good choice." Ridicule? Or were things worse inside? I'll never know. Further delay before the beets, burrata & balsamic starter delivery by a runner. The dish was good, but also marked the point where any hope of a pleasant meal absolutely ended, because that's where service fell apart in a serious way. At 1 hr 05 min. in, it's miserably humid outside on the courtyard, flies are circling like buzzards. No food, wine is long gone. Can't get anyone's attention, even by waving & gesturing toward the glass wall between Forgotten Courtyard and the bar, where staff seemed to be kibbitzing. More than once, I consider tucking a couple of 20's under the sweaty water glass for the appetizer & wine, and walking out. I should have. Stupidly, I stayed. Eventually, manager guy stops by to ask if I'm waiting for dessert (hysterical laughing emoji). I explain that I haven't even gotten an entree yet and have unsuccessfully been trying to order another beverage. His response is that Josephine is 'on top of it' (soooo not) and the kitchen is 'trying to prepare the salmon perfectly for me' (sorry, bs--it takes approx. 9 min. to sear salmon) and another glass of wine is 'on it's way' (it really wasn't). The delays went on and on... and on. Salmon finally came w/no fork Was the meal worth the torturous wait? Unfortunately, no. The food was not great. I could tell it might have been good, had the salmon and baked dessert not been overcooked and/or left too long on the pass by the absent server/runners. I wasn't asked how I wanted my salmon prepared, but "hardened crust on top and too done inside" would not have been my choice if given one. The Cherry Clafoutis should not have sported a dark, hard top-crust, either. Berries typically show through a golden top and the center should be just slightly jiggly. Inside, what's supposed to be a moist filling the consistency of a flan-cake combo was instead a thin cakey layer that was a bit rubbery--clearly over-baked. The Grand Marnier ice cream is indestructible, therefore lovely, but it didn't save the dish. Overall the flavors are nice & the menu offers interesting options, but the operation of the place and poor execution of the food killed all the joy. The $55. restaurant week dinner ended up being over $100. (one guest) due to a second glass of chablis ($17. per) ordered to battle the uncomfortable patio conditions and interminable wait for food. It should have been offered, not begged for (several times), and comped. Most upscale D.C. and Alexandria restaurants would have automatically brought a wine refill as an apology for the 2 hour debacle, but Josephine made no such gesture and never acknowledged that the delays and lack of service were an issue. As another reviewer noted, a small back of house charge was added but not disclosed on the RW menu. That's no big deal, but considering my experience, kind of laughable. I paid the check and will not return. Josephine suffers greatly by comparison to competition like Vermillion on King Street (also owned by Michael Babin's Neighborhood Restaurant Group), or Le Diplomate (Josephine chef Matt Cockrell was once Exec. Sous Chef @ Le Dip), consistently serving great food accompanied by excellent service, at similar or lower prices. Vermillion is, in my opinion, the best restaurant in Alexandria and compares favorably with D.C.'s most acclaimed restaurants. IMO, Josephine is long on physical charm & aspiration, but severely short on performance. read more

Josephine - Josephone in Alexandria Va - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

See all

Came as a large group on a weeknight for dinner... the place is cozy, dark and comfy (we were in the lower dining room), but watch yourself walking down the steps, it's very dark on the steps and the little battery-powered candles they have do little to light the steps up. Their menu is very nicely put together! We opted for a few appetizers including their Onion Soup Gratinee, Wagyu beef tartar, and Foie Gras. All were decent, the soup was a little too thick with onions (and I love onions) and the herbs slightly lacking too. Next course was their Au Poivre and it was really nicely done! The green peppercorns were flavorful and easy to eat - EXCELLENT! The spinach that came with the steak was OUTSTANDING!!! Best garlic spinach I've had! And their side of pomme puree was excellent as well. Since there were a few of us interested in absinthe, we opted for one each of their absinthe variety and they were nice. The service was decent, could have been better, as the water tap didn't "bounce" properly, but it still came out nice. Save room for dessert, the cardamom crème Brulé was very tasty. Service was acceptable. Refills for those not drinking alcohol were tough to get, even after asking. Pricing is very reasonable. Definitely would return. read more

See all

We enjoyed a fantastic pre-holiday group brunch. From the very start, the hostesses were very welcoming and invited us to sit at the bear before seating our group. The wait staff was phenomenal and made excellent recommendations, from cocktails to entrees to dessert. Every menu item was delicious and the holiday cocktails were perfect. We all left talking about how much we want to come back for the ambiance and decor, to savor the rest of the menu and to try other holiday cocktails. By far our new favorite brunch spot! read more

I've been to Josephine twice, once for dinner and once for brunch, and both times were really great. I went on a date here last night and we ordered a great bottle of wine, three apps, and an entree each. We split the steak tartare, he got the escargot, and I got the onion soup. All were delicious, the tartare wasn't a huge portion but we probably would have been just fine splitting that and not needing the other items. For dinner he got the red drum and I got the mussels. The fish portion was a little bit small but tasted great, and the mussel portion was huge. No complaints about the food's taste at all! The server was very attentive, though service was a little slow between the apps and entrees, but we weren't starving so it wasn't a huge problem. The restaurant is a little bit dark when you go for dinner, so that was my only critique. read more

See all

Terrible service. Mediocre food. We went for Mother's Day brunch there were hardly any French entrées just french appetizers and regular brunch options. Escargot & mussels (both my fav) were bland. Eggs Norwegian was over cooked the opera cake was still frozen. We were a party of four and we were seated in the bar at a two top regardless that we had reservations six weeks in advance. Our table was so small, there was not enough room for our plates. There was not enough room for us to sit in front of our plates. We were all kind of sitting off to the side of our plates- it was very awkward and the chairs were very uncomfortable. read more

We visited for cocktails. Had the holiday egg nog drink, an old fashioned, and an espresso martini. The egg nog drink was really good and not too rum forward. Our server Madison was great. read more

Highly recommend visiting The Josephine. The food is delicious and the service is extraordinary. The AGM David was wonderful and very attentive to our table. Our server Teo was excellent as well! read more

What a find! Great social atmosphere with ample drinks and good food. I had the burger and could not have been happier. Great service.

Great bar in old town. Cocktails are the best in the area. Bar tenders should be proud of their skills.

The food was good and the service was even better. The atmosphere was also quite lovely, open air, a lot of light coming in.

Great ambiance, Josephine is a beautiful spot for dinner or date night. The staff really made our dinner feel like an experience! We ordered the "Martini Service" and it was awesome--presentation is 10/10. read more

I'd been looking forward to checking out Josephine when my girlfriend let me know a place with "just my vibe" had opened near her. We made an 8:30pm reservation for dinner and showed up on time and excited. While the banter with our waiter started off great, as soon as our drinks came, we were being rushed out. I'd ordered the escargot and had already told my waiter how I loved the oily sauce it's usually drenched in and always sop it up with my bread. My friend had also ordered us a cheese plate. When our bread basket arrived, we leisurely nibbled and dipped it and spread cheeses on it. Not 4 minutes later, a busser came and asked to take the basket. Uhm no. Still mid-bite here, hun. Just a couple seconds later, our waiter came by and asked if we were ready to order our mains. We weren't. We were two gals catching up and enjoying our drinks and apps. Plus, we'd only been sitting for 15 minutes. About every two minutes from that point on, we were asked by various bussers if they could clear our table. But no plates were empty! It was the strangest thing. I had 3 whole snails left. We had over half our cheese plate left. I had more than 1/4 glass of wine left at one point and the busser put his hand out on the table to take it away. Our waiter walked by and remarked how it was so nice to see me "just demolishing that sauce" with my bread. It was so odd! When he came around again, we asked to order more drinks and he seemed so perplexed. It was like he'd never experienced two friends having leisurely appetizers and cocktails. The bussers around us looked increasingly annoyed, and as one swarmed our table to clear empty glasses, we said we'd order our meals as it seemed like they were in a hurry. He rolls his eyes, reaches into his pocket for his phone and remarked to our waiter who had just appeared that Chef might not be taking anymore orders. (???) Our waiter did save that comment and kind of shooed him away while he nervously laughed and asked what we'd like to eat. When my girlfriend asked for the steak tartare as her main, he audibly scoffed and said "really? That's all you want?" Mind you, at this point, we'd spent over $100 on drinks and appetizers. We weren't being cheap and we weren't being difficult yet we were being treated as if we'd only had water and bread so far. It was so bizarre. I felt like we were on Punk'd. After finishing our meals, our waiter disappeared for a while and we tried to flag down a staff member to get our waiter's attention for the bill. Mr. Eye Roll and Phone stopped by and I asked him if he could grab him for us. In the most condescending tone (without making eye contact with me), he said in a sing-song voice "and do you even remember your waiter's name?" I was gobsmacked. What had we done to him? And he knew exactly who our waiter was. Again. The weirdest behavior! I was super disappointed in my dining experience here. The decor and ambience were on 10, the food was on 8 yet the service was on a 2 at best. We were made to feel rushed, uncomfy and unwelcome. It sucked even more as I realized on my way out the restaurant in a flash of déjà vu that I'd dined there when it was a restaurant by another name maybe 10 years ago. An afternoon of shopping in Alexandria had quickly turned into a rainy night, and I'd curled into the bar area up front for a cozy glass of wine over warm mussels. It was a memorable meal + experience that stuck with me. This meal, however, was nothing like that. I hope management sees this and takes this review to heart. You have a beautiful place, but the service is so so lacking. The manager on duty last night might remember me as she remarked on the muggy heat outside and how cool my dress looked. It was a blue and white gingham print and I had my hair half up with a bright blue ribbon in it. read more

Josephine - Gorgeous ambience - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

See all

Amazing ambiance! Delicious food! Excellent service. I am so glad that I went to Josephine's. This restaurant is absolutely a five star restaurant and now one of my favorites in Alexandria. read more

See all

We were excited to try Josephine for a couple of months! The restaurant itself is beautiful. I love the long, skylit room. We were there for restaurant week which had a robust menu, but they nickel and dime you with upgrades rather than truly sticking to the restaurant week pre-fixe price. There were winners (Josephine Salad and Mac and cheese) but most of the food was just okay (steak, fois gras, French onion, trout). The biggest let down was the service. Our drinks took forever to come out and one was forgotten completely. They didn't have a wine that was listed on the menu, and they got confused which soup was the gluten free version when they came to the table. The bill ended up being over $500 with tax and tip for four people. read more

Josephine - Caviar Martini - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

If you are looking to blow $100 on a mediocre brunch, this is the perfect place. Summary: would not come back This place is adorned with beautiful decor and interesting details. A lovely place. We sat close to the kitchen door and every fish based food that came out smelled ultra fishy. So we avoided the lobster. We had the eggs Benedict. It came on a store bought English muffed. Sliced ham that had been pulled into shreds for fanciness and a perfectly poached egg. Aside from the egg it was a wonderfully worthless plate. We also had the French Toast. A better option but nothing to write yelp about. Finally the drinks. The corpse reviver was pretty good. The French 75 was barely limping along behind it. read more

Josephine - Inside clock and chandelier - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The mussels we ordered were the best item - definitely delicious. The restaurant is in a beautiful building, but the noise level was ridiculous. We had to literally lean across the table and shout at one another. It ruined our date. If you have sensory sensitivity, I do not recommend this restaurant. There were tons of staff around, but we ended up waiting about 20 minutes to get our bill and another 10 before someone came to get our card. It was fine, but for a cheese board (5 cheeses) and one order of mussels (and the outrageous noise level), it wasn't $86 (pre-tip) fine. One weird thing - the iced tea was $3 for about 6 oz, and they charged for every refill. We were surprised to be charged $9 for ice tea, haha. We were also charged for extra crackers we never received. read more

Did someone say build your own dirty martini ?!?! Yes please ! What a unique offering with a wonderful presentation ! The oysters were great- they split the salad for us and it was scrumptious. We enjoyed the escargots and our entree's were decadent and flavorful. I'm a huge desert person and I don't remember it being super memorable but we'll be back ! read more

Josephine - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

See all

My wife and I visited the Josephine a couple weeks ago for a Saturday morning breakfast. Staff was great. Restaurant was absolutely freezing. Before I write another word, a big part of the draw is the beautiful building. Breakfast was okay-ish and not good value for money in my opinion. I'd wager it's a great place for friends to convene with the ample space and beautiful surroundings. The speak-easy upstairs is delightful. The ambience is really something. For my $30/plate breakfast I need more. read more

Josephine is my favorite French restaurant outside the city. Every human who works here does an outstanding job at making you feel safe, seen, and comfortable. The food is incredible here and I love love love the oysters. I usually opt for a burger but decided to go with a NYS steak and glass of Cabernet. The French onion soup is just what you need. Regina behind the bar does a beautiful job at making time for you, and your needs even when she's busy. Tatiana was the best server I've ever had here, and did a wonderful job of letting me enjoy myself without being rushed. Absolutely recommend making this a regular spot for yourself! read more

Josephine - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Took my daughter here for her birthday. Plate dish was not what we expected but they accommodated our request to change. Trout was amazing, duck and seafood dish as also wonderful. Would visit again. read more

First time ever to Josephine, attened with three other dear friend couples. Our experience was A+ across the board from arriving an hour early and having cocktails at the beautiful bar with excellent service and properly prepared drinks. The ambience at Josephine is uber classy throughout. Our table service was excellent, our server was completely on the ball, with a great attitude and knowledgeable service. The appetizers, meals, desserts, were spaced just right and everything was prepared just right --- I had the strip steak au poive and it was the best steak I've had in years. Our seating area was perfect for us and while crowded, the restaurant was not loud. I highly recommend Jospehine. You will spend some dollars, but the total experience, of ambience, service and food is totally worth it. A+ Will definitely return. read more

This place was great! Our server went out of his way to make our elopement night special and the food was delicious! Super cool atmosphere, very relaxed, and we want to come back for cocktails some times. Thank you! read more

Josephine - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

See all

Food - Decadent! Try the mushroom pasta Service - Professional and kind Ambiance - Gorgeous read more

Will transport you straight to the cute brasserie you miss from your visit to France (without the ridiculously priced airfare). We have been to both brunch and dinner service and would go back to both a million times over. The food is great quality at a great price compared to the other French spots in the DC area. The ambiance is just as amazing, but more intimate. Haven't had an experience we didn't love. Our server, Teo was an absolute gem and we adored him! read more

I went here with a group of friends for restaurant week winter 2025. I would give this a solid 3 1/2 the ambience amazing the decor is so good and the service was outstanding. We were never left wanting for anything. Everybody was very nice. It was the food that was lacking. It was all very classical French cuisine and technique was very well, but it was very uninspired . Unfortunately, I felt did not match the ambience. You were expecting something special. Everything we ate was good. It was just not exciting unfortunately. read more

See all

TDLR this restaurant is currently all frills and atmosphere with no substance. Sure it's pretty inside but the food and service was awful. Management needs work here to train staff, improve communication, and incorporate uniformity to the service experience. We came for restaurant week and got here at 5pm. We ordered our 3 course dinner set right away. However right from the start there was a mishap with getting the wrong orders for our drinks. The waitstaff came back 3 times to try and get the correct orders. When we did get our actual drinks, my husband and I noticed we got significantly different amounts of wine despite having ordering the same 3oz pour. My wine was also served in a dirty glass and I had to ask for a new one. Next we had to wait over one HOUR to get our entrees. The table next to us was seated 20 minutes after us, and not only received but finished their entrees before we were even served ours. Regarding food, we ordered the onion soup and escargot for starters. The escargot was forgettable and the soup was so salty as to be inedible. For mains we had the duck confit and the Wagyu steak frites. The duck was dry, and the sauce tasted like it had the same overly salty base as was in the onion soup. The wagyu was certainly not actually wagyu and was more like a flank steak. It was under seasoned and overcooked. The final bill came out to almost $200 for this experience. The Manager came to apologize and offered us a discount on our meal but even so, I would not recommend this place to anyone. read more

We have been here many times and unfortunately the service and quality has really gone downhill. Our server was rude and always in a rush for a $500 dinner. The dirty martini's that used to be delicious and served on a silver platter and worth the $30 are now premade and terrible. read more

We came here on a Friday night with no reservation, the place was absolutely packed and so much bigger inside than expected. The hostess let us know it's open seating on the top floor with their bar. What a beautiful space, very sexy. The area with the bar itself is literally so dark and the chairs are uncomfortably close together and we wanted to eat a full meal so we opted for the weird table in the corner when you first walk up the stairs. You also get a view of the dining room below but it's definitely sexier inside the bar area. We got some recommendations from a manager (I think) and they all hit. I originally wasn't going to order the macaroni gratin but it's a must. The flavor is so so good. Same with the onion soup. I will say those items together (not even eating half of the Mac) split between two made us full but we kept it pushing and got entrees. The steak frites was fine, the fries could have been crispier, and I prefer shoestring fries with steak frites and these were not that. The duck confit slaaaaps. If I came back I'd get it again. We also got drinks, the Hemingway kir royale and the alpine airmail. The kir Royal has absinthe in it which I think gives it a bit of a star anise flavor. The Airmail was the perfect drink for the person who wants a fun drink but doesn't want an explosion of alcohol taste. If we didn't eat so much I would have tried a dessert, but next time! Docked a star bc its a bit expensive and we got some disgusting eye contact from a pair of patrons as if we weren't supposed to be there. Although that's not Josephine's fault. Maybe they'll get another star from me on subsequent visits when we get drinks and dessert! read more

See all

This rating is based on the food I ordered. PROS A very pleasant place with three or four different (style) areas (some of them upstairs). Pleasant service. CONS An annoying little fruit fly around food harassing my wife during dinner. Duck (I don't recall the exact name, but I included the picture of it with my review) looked and felt like (lightly) warmed out dish straight from a tray/can. (Not only my wife and I stopped eating the dish after a few bites but also as we were leaving the restaurant, we saw another almost full duck dish left by another customer. It tasted like leftover duck pieces mixed with lasagna.) The servers did not appear to be very experienced. NOT SURE We did order different appetizers. My wife who ordered Wague stake tartar. This was not first time she had raw meat but this time, after several hours, she had some stomach issues. read more

Josephine - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Josephine's is absolutely charming with such a wonderful ambiance (beautiful interior - I'd go for this alone), and a friendly staff. During my visit, I had their Escargot, Ratatouille, and Beef Bourguignon. The Escargot was a new experience for me, but unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan. However, if you're a fan of Escargot, I'd encourage you to give it a try, as it could just be a case of me not loving Escargot. As for the Ratatouille, I found it lacking in flavor, so I wouldn't get again, but nothing was "bad". Now to the real star of the show was the Beef Bourguignon - absolutely fantastic! The beef was incredibly juicy and packed with flavor. I will be going back just for this dish! One thing worth mentioning is that I noticed VERY loud music outside Josephine's on several occasions when passing by on night strolls (I live right nearby), and had that been the case during my visit, it would have ruined my dining experience. I mean, it was so loud, I can imagine other diners have written about the noise. I don't mind music, in fact, I love it, but not so loud you can hear it across the street, and especially while dining. (Josephine's, keep this in mind if you are hearing this from others) read more

See all

I'm still thinking about the poulet main course from last Wednesday!! As locals we are so excited to have this new French brasserie join our neighborhood!! My favorite part, aside from the incredible food and drink, was the service was not pretentious at all - keep up the friendly service!! See y'all very soon :) read more

See all

Great opening. Some kinks to work out but this will be a nice neighborhood spot. We got a tour of the place, complimentary glasses of Prosecco, and were seated outdoors. It's really cute. The table lights kept going out and the staff had to replace the batteries- I could see this being more problematic in the long run. I noticed the servers having difficulty clearing tables and bringing plates back into the restaurant- the outside patio door would benefit from a foot pull level to open the door. Food - Table service comes with warm bread and two butters, regular and herbs de province. We saved seem to dip in the escargot, which was good. The mac was on the soupy side, which my husband loved, and had a cheesy gratin crust, which he also loved. The shaved truffles didn't really add much and for the $12 surcharge I'll leave out next time. The steak frites was ordered med rare and delicious. The frites had a nice crisp at the ends and came with a side of mayo and ketchup. The trout amandine was a huge portion. I would've liked the green beans to be crisper, more of an almond crust, and some lemon to balance the dish. The cream puff tart was very light. The cardamom crème brûlée was a bit on the runny side. The cocktails are reasonably priced, unless you're looking at the Ramos Gin Fizz ($25) or the caviar martini ($35) but I'm willing to try those next time. read more

See all

What a comeback!!! I was so happy to hear the old firehouse was opening again as I never got the chance to go when I moved here (it closed prior to me moving). I loved that they gave a special tour of the space during opening week as well as complimentary bubbles. We sat upstairs in the dining area adjacent to the upstairs bar (very speakeasy vibes!" Service was great, our servers were attentive, friendly and funny (bonus!). I got the duck confit and my friends and I split the pate. Food was fantastic! I will have to try the cheeses next time. read more

See all

Visited for dinner service during Alexandria Restaurant Week. The restaurant week menu must be ordered by the entire table and costs $45. I would say normal pricing is $$$ My meal consisted of three course fromage board which was really good - you can choose from a menu of cheeses - appetizer of ratatouille which was a great portion with flavorful sauce - my entree was the burger with season salt fries - and stone fruit tart for dessert. I opted for a mocktail which was sweet and refreshing. While the servers were courteous the service was really slow we waited extensively between courses and getting the bill at the end took a long time. I would like to visit for their brunch service or just visit the bar for drinks and appetizers. read more

Josephine - Mocktail with menu and fromage board - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

We went to Josephine a few weeks back and had an ok time. To start, bar and dining rooms are nice and the food was quite good when we got it, and it was newly opened at the time, so you could tell they were still working out some kinks. Most of the issues came to service and how slow it was. We started by waiting at the bar for a drink, we weren't at the bar itself but the area next to it where you can stand and sit at hightops - which was still considered the bar. We asked about getting a drink and were told someone would come by to take the order. When they finally got there after over 10 or more minutes our table was ready mid-drink order and we never got the drinks we ordered. The table we were brought to was very small for 4 people and with food there was no space and caused some issues as more food or drinks would come - you can see the picture to understand how small a table it was. Once at the table it took a while to get to actually order, took way too long for the drinks and the food service was over 30 minutes, I tried to find someone to ask about it but couldn't find anyone. Once we got the food it was a little colder than I'd expect but was still very tasty. I might go back to see if they have improved after the first couple of months, and let's hope they did! read more

Josephine - Appetizers - French Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The martini service alone earns this place 5 stars!! Our table tried the dirty martini service, caviar martini service, gin fizz, and some varieties of wine. The dirty martini was a clear winner for me. The table was split in regards to the caviar martini, I personally found it a tad too fishy but others really enjoyed the flavor. We started with a tasting of three cheeses recommended by our waiter- all fantastic! For entrees, we had the mussels which had some of the best butter sauce I've ever tried. The trout was cooked to perfection and topped with some crispy nuts for texture-another star dish. The shrimp fricasee fell a bit short- the shrimp in the dish was perfect but the scallop was overcooked. For dessert, the table shared creme brûlée and a lychee blueberry sorbet. A nice duality between the sweetness of the creme brulee and the tartness of the sorbet to finish out a fantastic meal. We had a reservation and sat on the second floor but I have to also mention, this restaurant has several really beautiful, dim, romantic bar areas if you want to enjoy a meal or a drink there. Highly recommend! read more

See all

Note: Everything is rated out of five. I rarely rarely RARELY give 5. Because I feel there is always room for improvement. Food: Excellent! The flavors are on point! The French onion soup is delicious. It is hearty, flavorful, scrumptious, just the right amount ooey gooey cheesiness. The roasted chicken is succulent, paired perfectly with mashed potatoes. Drinks: So so. The cocktails are way too sweet. It's funny because the waitress told us that none of their drinks are too sweet. But even their least sweet cocktail on the menu was still overly sweet for us. Ambiance: Very chic! I love the tall glass ceiling. The decor is a highlight of the restaurant. Service: Hmmmmm.... Lots of room for improvement... Maybe they are trying to create the whole parisien experience for their customers (including the service ). Good for: - Date night - Girls night out - Friends catching up on the latest gossip - French food gourmands read more

See all

In a word, exquisite! Walking in you're greeted by the authentic, antique décore of a Parisian restaurant with rich wood paneling, abundant stained glass fixtures, and a warm & inviting ambiance. The wait staff are prompt, courteous, knowledgeable, and professional. Our party had the Trout Amandine and Scallops Provençal, both of which were incredible. The trout was cooked to perfection, with just the slightest crisp. It was served with haricot verds that transport you straight to the streets of Paris. The Scallops were melt-in-your-mouth--this best this reviewer has ever had--served on a bed of pomme pure with a gentle sprinkling of capers. It was nothing short of a symphony of flavors that makes one wonder if they're dreaming. For dessert, we had the Lemon Tart and Crémé Brûlée, which were light, and the perfect delicate way to end the meal. We most certainly will be back! read more