Lautrec

Best meal I have had, period. Much better than Jose Andres Minibar in DC. Everything was great from host, excellent waiter, ambiance & food. They dotted i’s & crossed t’s. They even gave us chocolate to go when we left. Phenomenal. We had the Chefs 7 course tasting menu which changes weekly. Enjoy

Lautrec is partly about the anticipation, build up and overall Nemecolin experience. I too recommend you speak to the sommelier as he is wonderful and can navigate Bordeaux like the back of his hand. He found us a 1986 that was delicious. The menu is impressive and service is impeccable. My wife and I both navigated the smaller menu as he anticipated overeating and attempted unsuccessfully to avoid that. Both were very good but the 4 instead of 5 stars comes on my entrée. The lamb was frankly just bland. It came with lamb raviolis as well and the choice of a chimmichurri sauce resulted in a dry and grainy texture and lacked moisture. Bad choice. The décor also needs a significant face lift. It goes with the reds of an old Parisian café but is dated. Overall a great special occasion or date spot and will make for a special night but be prepared for the bill.

So Lautrec is one of the restaurants in the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. As such, you may think that it’s just for people staying there — that it’s overpriced and overblown because of the captive audience. Don’t let that fool you. I’d make a trip just to eat at Lautrec again.
It’s truly a five star experience, from the décor, to the attentive wait staff, to the incredibly knowledgeable sommeliers, and yes, the food. We opted for the five course chef’s tasting menu with wine pairings. Small portions, but you will be full by the end. Selections change constantly, so prepare to be surprised.
I highly recommend engaging the sommelier in conversation about the wine (s). You’ll learn a lot, and if you have some knowledge and opinions on wines you’ll find someone who can tailor selections to your taste.
They also have excellent cocktails, including a superior Sazerac, so don’t forget to allocate a little blood alcohol budget for that!
Reservations pretty much required.

It’s simple: You cannot miss brunch at Lautrec. Not only is the scope and variety of offerings tremendous (prime rib, crab claws, peel and eat shrimp, churros, mushroom ravioli with Boursin sauce, martini smores, waffle station, freshest blueberries you’ve ever had etc etc…) but everything tastes fantastic and the service is irreproachable. I’m a croissant snob and found myself getting seconds of their mini croissants. The little «extras» make the brunch a cut above: Hazelnut dragees, blackberry pâté de fruits these are the hidden gems you can’t miss. Just make sure to budget enough time for digestion if you’re heading back out on the slopes.

This restaurant goes above and beyond in service, menu, wine pairings, and special dietary needs. As I said in my review before, this is a five star/​five diamond restaurant with exceptional everything. We dined here for my husband’s birthday and they prepared a special menu for our occasion. You choose 4 courses and have the option to pair wines or champagnes with your dinner. The chef prepared special bread, pasta, and raviolo for me because of my food allergies. Simply tell them your allergies when you make your reservation and they will accommodate you, no matter what allergy you have. As always, I was thoroughly impressed with everything this restaurant has to offer. It is definitely a culinary experience and I will be back!

We travel and eat around the world. Tonight we had a dinner that was as good as if not better than any meal we’ve had any where we have been before. Kristen Butterworth is the best! A great, great Chef. She should win a Beard award. Not only is she great but the staff is amazing. Thierry is s perfect sommelier!!!

This restaurant will not disappoint! Have been a few times now and it’s always been amazing. We always get the tasting menu with wine pairings. Service is outstanding. The food is seriously epic. I highly recommend eating here.

All was good except for the fact that I found a piece of plastic in my sorbet.
They apologized to us, but left a bitter feeling in my mouth. I did pay over a thousand dollars for the dinner.

Our food was amazing! We got the smaller menus and each ordered something different so that we’d get a taste of everything. I think I like the pheasant and bison the best, but they had some really tasty plates.
Also, a weird thing to comment on, but the bread was amazing. They bring you three kinds throughout the meal, and one had truffle in it. It wasn’t very strong, but I still loved it.
To give full disclosure, we used a Nemacolin deal, which gave us $ 200 in credit, and we splurged it all on this dinner.

This was our second visit to Lautrec (our first being 2 years ago). We once again had the wonderful Robert as our server (he’s great).
The «ultimate experience» at $ 225/​head gets you small plates of all of the dishes on the tasting menu.
We weren’t quite as wowed on our second visit as we were on the first. The plate presentation is very appealing. I think I counted fried basil leaves on 2 or 3 dishes plus on a tomato jam served with the bread, so as delicious as they were, it got a little old. The eggs served on the dishes we had were cooked perfectly. I thought that the amount of food we were served with the small plates was ideal, and I left neither hungry or overstuffed.
The décor and ambiance is lovely and rich, and they had a fantastic singer who sang a great selection of classic songs while we ate. There are 2 (I think) private rooms here also.
My husband had the wine pairing and the sommelier was very knowledgeable.
The candy cart at the end of the meal is always a fun ending.
The service here is simply outstanding. Great for a special occasion or a romantic evening.

I ate here with my girlfriend this past weekend for dinner. We decided to come here in order to celebrate our two year anniversary and Lautrec certainly did not disappoint. We arrived a little earlier than our 6 PM and were told that the restaurant was still being set up. Due to that we walked around a bit before settling into a couch. At a few minutes after the hour we returned and we greeted by name by the maitre d’. He then led us through the center of the restaurant and around to our table. I was sort of sad that we were not able to see more of Toulouse-Lautrec’s works but I suppose that I could have gotten up to look at them.
We first met our server whenever he pushed around the champagne cart and asked it we would like to start off our evening with champagne or caviar. After we declined he did end us giving us a cocktail list and we started off our evening with some cocktails. My girlfriend had a blueberry martini which she absolutely loved while I had a drink with rye whiskey, dry vermouth and some lemon which I also enjoyed. After we received our cocktails, we were given our personalized menus for the evening which had our last names, said happy anniversary and had the date. Going into the evening we had been planning on getting the Pre-​Fixe menu which allowed you to choose 4 courses for $ 110 but then we noticed that the chef’s 8 course tasting was only a little more at $ 145. After a very little coercing, my girlfriend agreed to get the chef’s tasting with me. Before our meal started we were given a choice of breads along with dipping sauces of apricot salt, olive oil and some butter that one of our servers said was the best in the world. The bread that was offered were house made truffle scones which were their specialties as well as an olive bread and then some cracker like bread. I went with the scone and the cracker bread three separate times and the scones were simply amazing each time. The 8 course tasting consisted of a Chestnut Mushroom Soup, Petite Adian Lettuces, North Atlantic Monkfish Filet, Pennsylvania Raised Capon, Oregon Grass Finished Beef Strip Lon, Roquefort Papillion, Raspberry Soda to cleanse the palate and finally a peanut butter semifreddo for dessert which had some white chocolate with Happy Anniversary written on it. All of these dishes came with many different accompaniments and all tasted really good. Some of the food I thought was a bit bland by itself but when combined with everything else on the menu tasted wonderfully. The best example of this for me was the beef strip loin which I thought was lacking until I dipped it into the carrot purée and topped it off with some veal consommé. That ended up being my girlfriends favorite dish of the evening along with the chestnut soup. My personal favorites for the evening were also the Chestnut Mushroom Soup which was decadent and rich yet earthy at the same time and also the monkfish filet which had a delightful chowder spread around it. As a bit of a surprise, after we had finished our 8 course we were told that the candy cart would be around and that we could choose anything we liked from it. The candy cart was about 6 feet long with a glass front that rolled up and inside were about 5 different kinds of French macaroons as well as some chocolate truffle and mini cakes. On the top was true candy with different items such as smarties, nerds and Swedish fish. My girlfriend went with the pistachio macaroon and a hazelnut truffle while I ended up selecting a raspberry macaroon and some Swedish fish. These were served to us on a small silver platter and I found it sort of funny that I was eating Swedish fish at such a fine dining establishment off of a silver platter but I loved it.
I would have to say that food is only part of the experience at Lautrec as the service itself is the other half. Overall it was phenomenal and I imagine that it is the closest I may ever come to feeling like royalty. Besides the amazing décor and luxurious setting, the wait staff does everything that it can to make your evening amazing. This includes serving the food with white gloves, bringing fresh silverware for each meal and always keeping everything refilled. As previously mentioned I myself got bread service three separate times and at one point I almost had my water down to the end before one of our servers swooped in with some more water for me. They even went so far as to bring out a box of reading glasses that they had around just in case there was an instance where a person was not able to read the menu which happened at the table next to us. Basically they did whatever they could in order to make it a great experience.
The bottom line for me is that I would love to come back here again in the future. Everything about this place was awesome from the décor, to the food and the service with the only thing to stop me being the actual cost for it all. Of course, you get what you pay for but sometimes it can be hard to justify.

I’m not going to try to be glib or clever here. Lautrec serves an eight-​course chef’s tasting menu that is five star from beginning to end. Rabbit, baby beets, pheasant, bison, cod, and on and on. We chose the option where the Sommelier pairs wines with each course. That was really smart. We learned how much Holly Smith knows about wines and pairing them with food. Every pairing was perfect, and included wines from such disparate places as Slovenia and Canada (who knew Canada has wineries). She took the time to tell us about each wine, the history of the vinyard, and why she picked that particular wine to accompany that particular dish. What a treat it was! I learned how little I really know about wine.
Admittedly the portions are on the small side, but you’re having eight courses! You might not be stuffed at the end, but you will be sated. Be warned: the meal, including a pre-​dinner glass of champagne, tips for the servers AND the sommelier (unconventional, but appropriate in Holly’s case) came in right at $ 800. But this was our 41^st wedding anniversary, and we can afford it (my wife works hard!). Absolutely no regrets, and I believe we’ll return just as soon as I can save enough allowance money to do so.

BLOWN AWAY! This is the best culinary experience /​dining experience that I’ve had to date, and well the most expensive! DH took me here for our one year anniversary, and what a dinner it was! We ordered the customized pre-​fixe menu. There’s really only two choices, the regular pre-​fixe menu, and a customized one based on your preferences. They even print your name, and a wish to you if you are celebrating something special. The service and the food was extraordinary, but to be honest for the price it better be! This is worth the experience, and I highly recommend you give them a try if you are ever in the area. We recently went back for their Sunday brunch, which is just as fabulous.

What a fabulous culinary experience. The most expensive meal I EVER had — more than Lacroix, La Folie, etc. The BEST chef’s tasting menu and wine pairing I have ever lived through.
Don’t go here because you want a hearty/​filling meal AND creative/​artistic cuisine. You will not be full. You will be SATISFIED but not full. I wanted more and more of each of the menu items, we had 8 with wine pairings and it was $ 270 per person.
You will only have a maximum of 4 bites of each item because the portions are small. You get a taste. And with each taste I wanted more!
Our menus were personalized with our name, we received a favor at the end of the meal, there were complimentary bon bons to choose from at the end of the meal. Our Maitre’D, Bob was so nice, he gave us a tour of the restaurant, showed us the artwork and we loved every minute of it. Overall, the service was stellar. Funny, they said Robert was going to take care of us, but we saw him at the beginning and very little throughout the 3 hour adventure — I think he was doing the behind the scenes coordination because we had tons of people taking care of us. We enjoyed the person who brought our bon bons, she was wonderful and really «present» throughout the experience. I wish our sommelier didn’t rush off after she read us her memorized lines — we actually LOVED every pairing she provided and wanted to know more but she didn’t leave time for questions or even wanted any response from us. I wanted more red selections but was impressed by her selection of white wines, they were some of my favorites.
Next time: now that I know what Chef Butterworth is all about, I am going to order from the menu next time. I am so excited to go back with my husband. Thank you for an amazing experience.

We love this restaurant! We have eaten here every year for many years when staying at Nemacolin. The service is always stupendous and the food is out of this world! Foods you never thought you would eat are served in such a way that you can’t wait for the next course to see what it will be. It is definitely pricey but worth every penny.

I had high expectations, and admittedly they were almost met. The atmosphere, the décor, and the service were spot on. The food however was not to the level I expect from a 5 diamond restaurant. My wife and I had the 8-​course tasting meal, but to be honest the amuse bouche was the best part. It was a venison pot pie, very savory and rich. After I ate it I was extremely excited to taste the menu items. Sadly, course after course was bland. Their truffle scones were superb, and I definitely see the potential for a great meal but it just didn’t happen this time. I’m sure I’ll try it again at some point and hopefully the menu will be more pleasing, but until then they get 4 stars from me.

Lautrec is known as the one of the very few places in the world to hold the AAA Five Diamond Award and the Forbes Five Star award. This wasn’t just another fancy dinner, it was one of the most memorable dining experiences I have ever had. We came with a large group and informed the host that two of us were vegetarian which was not a problem. The host for the evening escorted us to our table in the back and once we were all seated, presented the four featured champagnes. Any drink imaginable was an option but I stuck to having Riesling. Through out the night, the host offered us some suggestions on wine he thought we may like and he did make some excellent recommendations.
I was surprised when our vegetarian menus came out and they were personalized to match the rest of our party’s, which was nice because neither of us felt different for being the only vegetarians. We had i think 8 courses of straight up heaven and what was even better was that none of the plates made one feel full or weighted.
Which such a large party, each person had their own server and when each course was served, perfectly on time and synchronized, it made the dining experience all the more fun. The delicate Sambonet flatware was a beautiful attention to detail and truly complimented the atmosphere of Lautrec. I could describe each course but rather than doing that, I urge you to make a reservation. If there is any place to celebrate a special occasion then it is most definitely here. It has been a month so we were at Lautrec and we are STILL talking about it.

Given that Michael’s review gave a very thoughtful review of the food beyond my skills, let me complement it by focusing on a couple additional things.
First, you do NOT go to an establishment like L’autrec for a meal, you go for an experience, and if your sole concern is to get $ 200 worth of food you will be disappointed. Go to a Chinese buffet. L’autrec is one of the country’s best tables. You are paying for the experience, just like you would going to a Broadway show or expensive sporting event tickets. We spent 4 or so hours there.
Second, tasting menus (we had the 9-​services tasting menu, & were given complimentary wild salmon & tartar by the chef) are not meant for big portions. If it’s your first time, do not expect that and there is a reason for it. Research on enjoyment/​satiation shows that the more you eat something, the less you enjoy every subsequent bite. Keeping things small lets you sample, and maximize your enjoyment over the full meal. Portions will be small, but you’ll see yourself ready for your next service quicker than you think.
Third, you will not like all that you will be served. I have visited several other high tables and have had other tasting menus. I did not particularly care for their fish, and my girlfriend did not care for the salmon at all. It’s the game of discovery; you’ll like some things and not others. That being said, some dishes will completely knock your socks off. For us, it was the French fries served with a side of foie gras. The fries were cooked in bacon (that’s right) and served with a homemade truffle-​based ketchup. The combination was astounding, and perhaps one of the best combination of flavors I’ve ever tasted. I wanted more.
Fourth, you are also paying for the service. We were treated like royalty at L’autrec. We received fantastic service from 5 different waiters throughout the evening (and a charming sommelier who «upgraded» our bottle of wine for free). Led by Terry, every one of the services was timed perfectly, and brought with a style that was thoroughly enjoyable. We were never rushed, always smiled at, and we left feeling «special». They even gave us a personalize menu parchemin, at the end of dinner, for us to remember our evening.
So, after a bottle of win, two 9-​course tasting menus and a cognac, after the meal we left with a $ 400 bill (taxes & tip included) which is actually cheap for a restaurant of this stature. Was it the best meal I’ve ever had? No. I’ve actually had just as a fantastic meal in Quebec City a while back, and one similar in the Netherlands. But we left awfully satisfied, with a meal stuck in our heads for a very long time. I was certainly one of the most memorable culinary experiences of my life.
Tip: at the end of diner, the waiters will come with a complimentary bonbon cart. Stomach as many as you can… they are absolutely delicious.

A dining destination — full review in the blog.
Approximately one month prior to our visit to Falling Water I’d heard about Lautrec-​it was recommended by the Maitre D’ at The Inn At Little Washington. Seemingly unrelated to the outsider it turns out that the suggestion was prompted because Chef Kristin Butterworth had recently graduated from her job at The Inn to the position of Chef de Cuisine at Lautrec, a AAA and Forbes 5-​Star dining destination.
After a brief introduction from my waiter the first thing to arrive at my table was the champagne carte-​Cristal, Krug, Dom, and others all well represented. Declining the champagne (and 10 types of Caviar offered on the same menu) but taking the cocktail list I opted for the Passenger 54 Martini-​Grey Goose, Kahlua, Bailey’s, Espresso, and Chocolate Shavings. It was excellent and quite potent.
Following the amuse my server arrived with the house-​baked bread selections and two butters, a goat butter from England paired with Maldon Sea Salt and a cow’s butter from Vermont paired with Atlantic Tangerine Salt. Selecting amongst the five breads-​Sourdough, Olive Sourdough, Sweet Pumpernickel, Nine Grain, and Baguette… well, I selected one of each and had quite a few refills during the meal. Particularly impressive I truly enjoyed the Olive Sourdough and the Pumpernickel. In terms of the butter-​the cow’s milk was mild and tasty, but the goat’s milk… I went through two plates of the grassy and nearly cheese-​like spread.
Peeky Toe with local Compressed Melon, Crème Fraiche, Chive, Mint Jus was delightful. Featuring sweet crab wrapped in cantaloupe and cryo-​vac compressed honeydew the dish was finished with a combination of chive, dehydrated crème fraiche, vanilla oil, and mint. While not entirely molecular gastronomy there were clearly modern elements at play in this dish, but all of them were quite functional and all worked quite nicely to form an attractive and light opening plate
Butter Poached Halibut Cheeks, Black Quinoa, Pioppini, Grilled Ramp Vinaigrette the dish was fantastic and I’d later find out that it actually wasn’t Chef Butterworth who was responsible, but rather another young female chef working the fish station. Pairing the flawless and mild fish with toothsome and nutty quinoa the dish was finished with a dusting of pepper, crispy mushrooms, and a pungent yet tamed ramp purée-​the presentation was clean, simple, and elegant.
Foie Gras Trio — Hazelnut Pain Perdu, Local Blueberries, Lemon, Aged Balsamic. Arriving in three forms — seared hot, bruleed warm, and chilled purée, each was better than the next when progressing from left to right. Leftmost on the plate, a seared section simply seasoned and perched atop hazelnut bread with ample notes of rum, honey, and paired with a blueberry balsamic reduction. Central a baked custard of foie gras, egg, cream, and maple syrup — nicely caramelized and matched with a lemon infused greek yogurt. Finally, and most impressive of all, a lolli-​pop of foie gras, port, and gelatin paired elegantly with a white peach purée, honey comb and honey granules.
Quail — Bacon, Asparagus, Morels, Fried Egg the dish featured Quail in four forms. Beginning first by brining the legs in myriad spices including cherry wood, rosemary, and bay leaf and subsequently rendering a confit utilizing duck fat. Drained, the confit was then packed into the breast of the bird and subsequently wrapped in quail bacon prior to pan searing-​on its own this elaborate presentation would have been heavenly. Adding another layer of depth, however, were aromatic butter roasted Morels and snappy asparagus which added a vegetal component to the heavy proteins. Completing the dish-​a deep fried quail egg, runny and creamy.
Dessert proper would follow coffee-​along with a second and third press later. Dubbed «Chocolate-​Virginia Peanuts in Many Forms, Bruleed Banana» this dish, like the Foie Gras, actually featured three separate dishes united by a common ingredient. Starting left, a Banana Macaron with traditional almond cookies filled with banana custard and sitting atop Peanut butter powder with bruleed bananas along side. Central, a simple peanut butter ice cream, melting and smooth atop crumbled candied peanuts. To the right, the highlight of the dish, a flexible dark chocolate ganache-​light and airy-​topped with crispy chocolate mousse and crumbled raw Hubb’s Northern Virginia Peanuts. Chocolate, peanut butter, bananas-​really, this dish had no chance at failing and the varying flavors and textures spread linearly kept it from being monotonous.
Driving away from Nemacolin all I could think about was the meal that had just happened-​pure magic from start to finish, not a single dish ranking below very good and service that was so effusive it bordered on perfection. Located in the middle of the woods Lautrec is not the place you just happen upon, it is like Yountville or Washington VA-​a destination worth the effort.