Chez Billy Sud

Delightful bistro with excellent service, TOP QUALITY food and exquisite desserts. Lovely wine list. Can’t wait to return! Highly recommend. The onion soup was wonderful. Bread exceeded expectations. Duck was prepared to perfection!

Beautiful evening and great food this evening. Waiting for an outside table was the right choice

For the most part, I do not feel any need to say how great a place is or how bad they might be, however I feel this has to be my first review. The food was awesome and they have a beautiful wine list however the manager has no customer service at all and should not be allowed to stay employed at this restaurant. Lesson learned — it doesn’t pay to be honest. After charging my credit card, I notice that they failed to charge me the an expensive bottle of wine — they re ran my card for the original amount plus the wine without canceling the first transaction. I question the practice whereas this a**hole manager felt the need to name drop of previous clients verse the correct action that they will handle my complaint — either tonight or the next business day nor did he have the sense to thank me for being honest. I feel a restaurant needs to be complete — the whole experience and because of the one person, I cannot recommend Chez Billy Sud

While I have heard great things about the food, my initial experiences with Chez Billy Sud have been frustrating and less than positive. I contacted the restaurant two days ago about hosting a client dinner per the request of a very senior person in my company. When I called to make a reservation for 7 people, I was told that any party over 6 people must email their private dining coordinator. I can understand that, so I sent an email that afternoon expressing that a very senior person of my company specifically requested the restaurant, and I was hoping they could accommodate this client dinner. No response. I follow up with a phone call the next afternoon on Day 2, and again I am told to email, which I state that I did the day before, but had yet to receive a response. The host says the manager is not there, but takes down my name and number and says someone will call me back. Just to be safe, I follow-​up on my original email in case it got missed. Meanwhile, I have people at my job asking if the reservation is taken care of yet. I try to give the manager time to respond via email or phone because I realize the restaurant industry can be crazy and very busy, but by the end of the work day, I try to give it one more shot, because I am running short on time. Normally, I would give up by now, but I am really trying to make this work since this restaurant was specifically requested. I call again on Day 2 around 430pm, and the host asks if I have been email corresponding with Clementine (so now I at least know to whom I should be speaking). I told him that I have sent a couple emails to the email address I was given, and have been trying to reach someone since the day prior, but have yet to receive any response. He puts me on hold to see if anyone is available, and then tells me she is in a meeting. He takes down my name and number for the second time, and assures me that I will get a call once she is out of the meeting. It is now Day 3. No call. No email. I would understand if the restaurant is unavailable as the date I requested was somewhat short notice, but I would appreciate someone telling me that even if it is only in a dismissive and short email response or phone call. Some sort of acknowledgement would be appreciated rather than being completely ignored. If more time is needed to see if the accommodation can be made, then just let the customer know with a quick «I’ll get back to you» or something similar, so they know it is being addressed and they don’t feel they are being blown off or ignored. It is a shame too, because our client dinners tend to bring in pretty hefty checks and we have some big wine connoisseurs and foodies, and we usually repeat restaurants we enjoy and have pleasant experiences. I wish I had something more positive to say.

Delightful Georgetown restaurant with attentive service, a lovely dining room and a quaint patio. Authentic French cuisine.

A rather unfortunate evening tonight. After an embarrassingly long series of waits from the kitchen for the delivery of food that kept us longer than expected, just as the restaurant closed for the evening one disappointing member of staff said in passing «don’t worry, we love for you to come and stay until you’re drunk, believe me.» Though we did not have much in fact to drink, the lack of sophistication in hospitality was more notable than the mediocre preparation of fairly banal Parisienne classics. Our waitress was lovely and the carrot soup was brilliant. But I can’t speak well for the balance of the fare. Not to be repeated.

Really top notch brunch!
The coffee was fresh and smooth and the waitress was quick to offer refills.
We tried the omelette aux fine herbes and the brioche French toast. Amazing. Super flavorful and interesting spices.
I’d like to come back and try the cocktails because they all looks great, just wasn’t in the mood to drink at 11 am!
The only thing I found a little strange was the lighting. It was extremely bright inside. There are pretty skylights but then the additional indoor lighting seemed kind of harsh on top of that. I know that’s a weird reason to knock a restaurant down a star but it really did detract from the ambience.
Overall, I’ll definitely be back and would love to try their dinner menu. I’m sure the service and food will be just as excellent in the evening!

Food was fantastic. Service was good, but my waitress did seem a little scattered and perhaps preoccupied with other tables. I wouldn’t say that she treated us badly, but a little forgetful. She was very nice, though.
I had the steak frites, and it is completely worth the money… Not to mention the béarnaise sauce was one of the best I have ever had. I want to dunk chunks of lobster in it.

A pretty magical experience. I went here with my girlfriend last night and from the first moment we were both wowed. WE got there a little early and so had to enjoy a glass of wine in the adjacent wine bar. The wine bar is amazing. I want to be there every night. When we were asked into the dining room, one of the hosts took our coats. I love the layout of the restaurant.
For the food: I had the chicken liver mousse which was fork-​dropping delicious. The Trout Grenobloise was divine too. My girlfriend had the Salade Verte and the Gnocchi Gratinee. Both were incredible.
The service was impeccable. Attentive but not overbearing. Italo is a master of his craft. I truly appreciate his candor vis-​a-​vis menu suggestions.
We will be back, and in greater numbers.

One of the few spots in the city where the bread basket is worth all of the extra carbs and calories. Chez Billy has the most delectable baguettes I have found outside of France and they come out warm with whipped butter. You can’t go wrong.
Also a highlight:
+ Unpasteurized cheeses galore! Bad for pregnant women but delicious for everyone else.
+ French Onion Soup — Made with homemade stock and what is basically a piece of cheesy Texas Toast on top this is a true treat. Not too salty and chock full of carmelized onions, it’s basically a meal in itself. I could barely eat my entrée.
+ Frites, extra crispy and browned throughout.
+ Profiteroles with seasonal ice cream. We had salted caramel and it melted in my mouth.
+ Private sunny courtyard in the heart of Georgetown
+ Personable and attentive service all around
My only complaint is the mussels were basically brothless so my french fries were desperately seeking a spot to take a dunk in.

Went for a special occasion hoping to have a outstanding meal in a nice setting and we got exactly what we were hoping for at Chez Billy Sud. The ambiance and general décor of the restaurant is outstanding. They have nailed the warm french country house aesthetic perfectly and the sky light in the center of the room and the big widows flood the room with light. It really puts you in the mood for some high end french cuisine and the kitchen really delivered. We had the french onion soup (exceptional) the rillettes (very good) the mussels (excellent) and the lamb (excellent) for dessert we had the crème brûlée (excellent). My only even minor objection to our experience was the wine list. First let me say It is obviously put together by a very knowledgeable sommelier and various french wine regions (e.g. Bourdeaux) and sub regions (e.g. St Estephe) are well represented. So my objection is not so much with the content of the wine list as the distribution of price points represented on the menu. It’s not that I object to spending $ 80+ dollars on a bottle of wine at a nice dinner, but I appreciate a wine list that provides offerings at a variety of price points in a variety of categories. If you are looking for a bottle under 70 $ on this list (are you really going to spend 70 $ for a beajoulais?), your choices are few. Given the amount and variety of quality European and domestic wine, this dearth simply reflects a decision by the sommelier about the desired stature of the wine list. Fair enough. But it would hardly take away from the quality of the wine on the list to add a few more options in the $ 40 to 60 range. Just one man’s view. In general, the wine list was a minor point in an exceptional evening. When I’m looking for a nice french meal in Georgetown, I will definitely find my way back to Chez Billy Sud.

My wife and I ate here Sunday night. This is a good time to find street parking. The restaurant is warm and cozy. Fine art decorates the walls. The staff are informed and helpful. Our waitress attended to all our needs. We both got the sea bass with fennel and parsley. The fish was light and fresh, and the fennel complimented the mild flavor of the fish without competing. For an appetizer, I had the rillette of smoked blue fish covered in crème fraîche and adorned with trout roe and dill. You smear this combination on a crisp slice of country bread and enjoy the swirl of flavors that ensue. My wife had the bibb lettuce salad, that was nicely dressed. We finished with crêpe suzette. A sweet orange treat that lingers on the palate as you make your way back to the car.

Staff and service: Extremely friendly and accommodating. Helpful and thoughtful (we felt this way from several members of the staff, throughout the night).
Ambiance: They just opened a wine bar next door a few weeks ago, outstanding look and feel. Both locations are cozy/​warm, a cool place to have a French meal.
Food: Delicious French dishes. We all had that night’s special Boeuf Bourguignon (which was excellent) and I had the French onion soup as my appetizer (outstanding).
Wines: Great selection, sommelier Andrew knows his wines.
Water: They use house filtered water, definitely makes a difference in taste/​quality over standard DC tap.

Came here when my parents were in town. They decided less than a week out that they wanted to try this place out of a list I sent them, so despite all our efforts, we couldn’t get a reservation for Saturday night (shocking, I know.) We showed up anyway, because they said they might end up being able to squeeze us in. They weren’t, but they offered us the bar. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it ended up working just fine and we were grateful we were still able to eat there!
My dad and husband both got the duck confit and both loved it, My mom ordered the beef bourginon and was in heaven — I tried a bite and it was definitely amazing. I ordered the trout and definitely liked it, but since the rest of the dishes are so amazing, I’m not sure I’d get it again.
Having liked the mocktail so much this time, I inquired when I didn’t see anything on the menu. The bartender said he’s make something, which I appreciated, but didn’t love it as much as the first one.

Chez Billy Sud is a pretty, little French place with wonderful food. The smallish menu of rich food covers a range of tastes. The flavors were excellent across the board for what I tried: the appetizer was the first pâté I’ve found remotely palatable, my entrée was an outstanding German sausage that went perfectly with the red cabbage and mashed potatoes, and the dessert was a wonderful chocolate mousse and a very good crème brulee. The kitchen puts obvious care into the presentation as well.
The restaurant is a pretty place, with beautiful pale green walls, accented with flecked gold and old-​style paintings. The ceiling is a warren of milk-​chocolate brown rectangles bordered by wide white ‘walls’, with at least one skylight among the rectangles. Comfortable, padded chairs and benches flank the tables. A small bar is located in the back, and it looked like there would be patio seating to the side of the restaurant. The staff is warm, attentive, and efficient.
It’s very pricey — I thought the wines by the glass were particularly expensive — but I would look forward to returning again. I definitely agree with others that this is an excellent place for a fancy date, but it’s equally comfortable for a nice, non-​romantic meal with friends.

Overall our birthday dinner at this cozy bar was very enjoyable. Sea bass was good. Friend’s canard was great she said. I’d come back just for their bread and their yummy cocktails prepared by their mixologist Nom — he was superb in every way. Made our dinner extra special.

So impressed. The décor, service, and location are great — food is fantastically done. Big fan of a proper Soupe à l’oignon and they have one of the best in DC.
You’ll definitely want a reservation.

Pretty impressed with our dinner here, and the restaurant itself is totally adorable in an Alice in Wonderland way, although the food was not the best French food I have had in the city. I started off with the St. Germain champagne cocktail, which is always a good time.
For food, we started with the cheese plate, which was really good but extremely small. The butternut squash soup was to die for, with crunchy seeds and the totally unexpected but nicely contrasting sliced apple. The beet salad was pretty good with a nice tang, also due to some sliced apple, but not overwhelmingly the best beet salad I’ve ever had, although the cheese we opted out of probably would have made it pretty awesome. My dinner of cheese dumplings in tomato sauce were to die for and definitely the best item of the evening. We finished with crème brule and Paris-​Brest, a puff pastry, which were both pretty good but also not the best I’ve ever had.

3.5 stars. Once we were inside this cute, little, mint-​green spot, I remembered a visit years ago, to Chez Billy’s predecessor in the location – another French restaurant, but much less subtle. All I remember about that restaurant was how much cheese they managed to put on everything. Chez Billy is a definite improvement for the location.
Our appetizers – the blue fish rillete and chilled carrot soup were fabulous. So exceptional that I wish we had just ordered a few more appetizers and skipped the entrees – although in fairness, I feel this way at a lot of restaurants. Unfortunately, my lamb sausage was a little dry, and the flavors just weren’t doing it for me. The local duck a la orange, however, was perfectly cooked, moist, and decadent without being heavy.
I don’t find myself in Georgetown often, so I can’t really say that I’ll be back, but the meal was good enough to make me want to try the other Chez Billy in Petworth.

First I’ll preface with mentioning that I’m from the Philly area so I may be a bit brunch biased:
I went here with 4 friends for a birthday brunch celebration on Saturday. We were the only ones there (at least inside, it looked like some people had sat outside). It was a hot DC day but inside they only had tiny water glasses so unfortunately the waiter had to refill mine probably 10 times throughout the meal. I liked the decour and the service was prompt and friendly. I thought the menu was very limited and they didn’t offer any brunch specials or much standard breakfast fair.
The portions ended up being pretty small for the price ($ 14-​$ 20 a plate). I got the french toast which was literally 2 pieces of french toast (cut in half) and syrup. The other dishes didn’t look much larger. My friend did get the crab cakes Benedict and I was able to try a bite and that tasted great (but again $ 20 for brunch?).
With coffee and entrees, Brunch came to $ 30 a person, which for the flavor (meh) and the portion size (2 pieces of toast) was too high for me. Come to Philly and you’ll have a delicious meal and bottomless drinks for that price.

I think this place has the makings of a great experience. Came here for a friend’s birthday dinner. We had called up the place to make sure they could accommodate vegetarian requests which they told us they would be happy to take care of. I think the fact that they told us they could but then really did not is what made me a little mad
We were a party of 7 with reservations for 830. We did not end up getting our table till around 9:15. While the host was very apologetic, due to the really tiny bar area, we went across the street to Capella to wait.
When finally seated, our server was prompt and funny, yet came across as a little rushed and was gone for longer than I would like.
I had the Frenchman as my drink — came highly recommended by the server. I think it was good, but I have had better (in NOLA to be fair). I think it was too lemony for me :(My friend had the kir royal and I think it was a great drink. Other favorites were the le Bön Mot and the Death in the afternoon. They were out of mint and were unable to make a virgin mojito for my mum, which was okay because they said they could do another virgin drink for her.
For the food now — The bread was fresh, though it came forever coming — the first time as well and the requested refill. I will start with the good. My mom loved the fennel salad and the Salade Composee was well received. I do think that the avocado dressing is an acquired taste — it was too strong for me. The chicken liver torchon was also a hit at our table.
For me personally, I think the trout was the best dish of the night. Full butterflied trout, fingerling potatoes cooked perfectly, fennel purée and some delicious lemon caper sauce. The dish can easily be split between 2 people if you are getting appetizers too. I was sad not to be able to finish it, but the portion size was huge. I also think their take on the ratatouille was delicious. It was the prettiest plate of the day, the veggies were cooked well and the grilled red pepper was so yum. Dont think the olive tepanade added much to the plate to be honest. Oh also, I could do with another ladle full of the sauce that was smeared on the plate, lol! Oh and the fatty that I am, I LOVED the onion soup — all the cheese and grilled onions, I wanted another plateful, sigh. Pretty sure the onion soup is to blame for me not being able to get through my trout, lol!
What I definitely did not think was great —
The olives! I mean, they were not excellent, maybe okay
The spiced lamb sausage that was totally under done and not very tasty
The chef’s refusal to do a side of the garlic toast and mushrooms for my mom, having known beforehand that she was a vegetarian.
The chef’s inability to do a vegetarian version of ANY dish on the menu unless it was already a veggie dish
What ended up happening was that I dont think my mommy was fed well at all, which is very sad.
I do think the place has a very cute, mid century french ambiance, that I loved. the drinks were fairly okay, and I think the service could be improved. What would be really nice is better menu planning on the chef’s part (OR letting the employees know that customization of dishes is NOT an option before hand so veggie customers can prepare to go back hungry). I think some of their menu dishes are great, but don’t think I will be coming back anytime soon.
At the end of the day, I think any restaurant should be able to customize their dishes for vegetarian foodies. Not only does it show the ability to think quickly on your feet, it gives me faith that anyone coming to you will not go out disappointed/​hungry due to lack of drive on your end!

As I wandered down the streets of Georgetown on a Saturday morning, I felt hungry and came upon Chez Billy. The place looks very unpretentious from the outside, but is really nice inside. I was on my own, didn’t have a reservation, but they were nice enough to propose I eat at the bar.
The ambiance inside feels a bit posh, in a nice way. They don’t take themselves too seriously either. I asked the bartender about the Croque Madame listed on the brunch menu. She assured me it was authentic. I did not really believe it until the said Croque Madame arrived. It was promptly transferred to my mouth, which confirmed that this was the real deal. An authentic, French Croque Madame (I’m French by the way). Really good.
I’d definitely come back!