Les Halles De Paris

I can’t believe they closed! We visited this D.C. outpost of the Brasserie Les Halles empire (made famous by Anthony Bourdain at the NYC location) for a late supper. The atmosphere was terrific… I was transported to the Champs Elysees with a French accordion playing in my head… unfortunately, the service was also straight out of Paris for tourists. It was about 10pm and there were only two other couples in the large, spacious restaurant. But our waiter was nowhere to be found after taking our order… did he already go home for the night? In any case, we received credible versions of frisee salad, onion soup, mussels mariniere, and steak frites. They were good (and really hit the spot) …but we’ve had better. We would have been willing to return… unfortunately, now we won’t have the chance!

Oh Bourdain, you didn’t fail me.
I got something I don’t normally have– steak tartare. I’ve had it before, but not this big! It was basically eating a raw hamburger patty. Granted, it’s the best hamburger patty I’ve ever had, but I was a little apprehensive to eat so much raw meat in one sitting.
Our server wheeled out this antique-​looking cart with the ingredients on it and prepared my tartare tableside, which was hella cool. A few minutes later, she presented me with a plate of a pile of raw meat with parsley and onions. I gulped and dove right in.
WOW. This was just a small bite, not even with the toast they delivered a few minutes later. With the toast or frites, it was even better.
Minus one star for the humongous portion, because I couldn’t finish it all and I felt bad. =(

Located right near the Reagan Center, down the street from the White House and around the corner from the JW Marriott, we dropped into a mostly empty restaurant at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon in time for brunch.
I’m kind of staring at the cursor, the food was good (solid, very well prepared), but I wasn’t fascinated or went «wow.» It was more like «mmm.» I probably had heightened expectations from reading Bourdain, but that’s entirely my fault. Plus, out of personal preference, I’m not a big fan of bistro food.
Anyway, I had a different version of the eggs benedict with a wine-​shallot sauce, bacon, and fries. I couldn’t get over the wine-​shallot sauce looking like strawberry jam (especially with the toast soaking it up). I also had a taste of the tartare that was prepared table-​side, and that was quite tasty.
So I walked out of there satisfied, and the price was right. What more can I say?

Great food, good beer selection, horrible service. Six of us went in last Saturday for dinner and the waiter tells us «We’re not that busy tonight, we’re actually overstaffed» and then proceeds to deliver the worst service I’ve had in a long time. My friend said it was the worst he’s had ever. The guy was never around our water and beers sat empty until we had to ask the bus boys (who should have gotten 100% of our tip). The guy took our orders then disappeared and helped pass our food out then disappeared again. I wish this wasn’t the case because the food was pretty good.
I was in the mood for a french dip w/​frites, which was tasty. Others had the escargot and said it was excellent. I tasted my friend’s French Onion Soup, which was less of a broth soup and more of a gravy, albeit tasty as well. The steaks at our table were a little overcooked but still good.
There was so much on the menu that looked good, I’d love to come back but if I get that same server again I’ll request another seat.

After a photoshoot down on the mall last week, we came here to grab a late lunch before going on the photowalk. It was a bit too chilly to dine outside so we sat inside in the mostly empty dining room.
My dining companions had some french onion soup to start and then we all ordered the Croque Madame. It was alright… not the best I’ve ever had.
Company was enjoyable! Service was spotty. Food was average.
I could return… but it wouldn’t be my first choice.

A friend and I decided to meet here for lunch on Veteran’s Day. It turned out to be the perfect place for a quick bite to eat and good conversation. The location is prime, being centrally located to all the metro lines as well as Gallery Place/​Metro Center shopping or Verizon Center events. We made online reservations via Open Table, but didn’t need them (on the holiday, it was only maybe half full during the lunch hour, if that).
The restaurant ambiance reminded me strongly of the Parisian cafes it is modeled after, with the small, tightly packed tables, dark wood-​paneled walls, and most of the light spilling in from the big windows opening onto Pennsylvania Ave.
After deliberating at length over the menu (plenty of yummy options, at mid-​level prices), I ended up going with the traditional steak-​frites and salad combo. The steak arrived on the rare side of medium-​rare, but was nicely prepared. I was happy with this because it is a thin, slightly tough cut of steak, but I’m guessing that if you like your meat well-​cooked, be sure and stress this to the staff! Fries were crunchy and delicious. The salad that came with the combo was no more than four bites worth, but with the large portion of meat and fries, I doubt I would have had room for much more.
My friend tried the French onion soup and salade d’Auvergne, and she seemed to enjoy both. We also had good fresh white bread to munch on, sans bread plates. Nice and French! The wait staff was very polite and attentive, and food service was extremely fast — no complaints there. Lunch servers were all dressed in blue jeans, maybe the only significant departure from the French theme… although many of the customers were in business attire, the place has an easygoing, casual vibe.
I will definitely be eating here again. It is the perfect place for a lunch meeting, and I’d also be interested in going back for brunch sometime… the crepes sound tasty. In warm weather, the large sidewalk patio would be a great spot for people-​watching as well!

Okay, this is the game plan; for every lunch/​dinner outing I’m gonna try something new. So, I’ve never eaten french food before, so thanks to Anthony Bourdain (Mr. No Reservations) I decided that Les Halles would be the best place to start! Nice sunny weekend in August I drag one of my «yuk I’m never eating that!» BFF’s to Les Halles. We opted for the outdoor patio especially since there was a big she-​she function at the Nat’l theatre. I love people watching and seeing the ladies in the pretty gowns…
I ordered the escargot, because I want the total french experience! Those little snails taste just like the dirt they live in!!! Yeah, this is definitely an acquired taste.
After that, we both played it safe with the steak, frites, and salad. I ordered my steak med. rare, she ordered hers well done. The cooks and wait staff must not be on speaking terms because I ended up with the hokey puck! So we switch, the steak was pretty good, fries were crispy little bites of fried heaven. I was a bit disappointed when I asked for ketchup, the server stated that they didn’t carry ketchup! But then I spotted that big olé red bottle of Heinz at the next table (minus a star). So, being the social butterfly I am, I finagled a few squirts from those nice people! All and all, I should have stuck to the game plan and ordered something a bit more adventurous.

Le Halles is my go to for when I’m in that French-​bistro-​steak-​frites kind of mood. I don’t know what’s taken me so long to review it, as in my opinion it’s the best bang for your buck restaurant in DC.
I can’t think of anywhere else you can go and get a great steak, French bistro fries cooked the right way, and wine for the price you’ll pay here. They are also great with accommodating larger parties with short notice.
My go to is always the mussels appetizer with the steak frites. I always go in with the mentality of straying from it and when I sit down and get comfortable, I just can’t think of any reason to order anything else but the bistro steak frites that I came for. In the colder months I have the hot chocolate for dessert. If you have a big appetite and your stomach is a black hole, go for the Coute De Boeuf. Short of bringing the cow to your table, this thing is HUGE and 2 or 3 people can split it.
This restaurant stays at the top of my list and continues to be a go-​to for me and my friends. A+ and five starts for overall quality of food, good price, and most importantly, consistency!

Had brunch on a Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t packed at all inside, but you might have had to wait a few minutes to get a seat outside.
The brunch menu is prix fixe, coming with a croissant, a glass of orange juice (with ice?) and a main dish for $ 17.89.
I had the Oeufs Meurette which is two poached eggs with red-​wine shallot sauce, on toast with diced bacon on top. Everything was alright, except the red-​wine shallot sauce tasted more like a bbq sauce, which was not what I was expecting on it.
My friend got the Oeufs Pochés à l’Ecossaise, which was two eggs benedict with smoked salmon. Much better than what I got.
Can’t really complain about the fries on the side.
Good service since there weren’t many people in the place itself. But one deduction because there were a few fruit flies running around.
Not cool.

Dear Anthony Bourdain,
We had No Reservations about how amazing our experience would be upon arriving at the DC branch of Les Halles. Unfortunately, we were sadly mistaken, kind of like that time you ate boar’s head in Namibia-​you remember, the one that was baked in the sand, hair and all.
The service was terrible-​it took us 30 minutes for the server to take our drink orders. It took over an hour for our appetizers to arrive. Two hours later, our main courses arrived… nearly all undercooked or not what had been ordered. Sure, my croque monsieur was pretty good-​but truly, I could have had my friend’s French girlfriend make the same thing. We almost didn’t tip, but then we realized that the karmic repercussions of blaming the ENTIRE debacle on the server may have been too negative. Please contact your appropriate former bosses to change the management. And let the staff know that it is not appropriate to lack attentiveness to a 15-​person college graduation party of severely jet-​lagged doctors, lawyers, and moody teenage siblings.
I want to give you another chance. Perhaps between fishing in the Amazon and walking around markets in China, you can help fix the aforementioned problems.
Love,
Caitlyn
PS: Please keep the fabulous bartender who, after listening intently to our unfortunate dining experience, gave my fellow graduate and I free shots of amaretto. One extra star for her!

Shame on you Anthony Bourdain — is this really your «home base’ restaurant?!
In your book «Kitchen Confidential» you write that in order to know how clean a restaurant’s kitchen is – just check out the restrooms. Well I did and i was totally grossed out! Dirty floors, stinky porta-​potty smell and NO TOILET PAPER in any of the three stalls. (I was shocked to find out there actually was soap in the dispensers.)
I should have been tipped off by the shoddy nowhere-​to-​be-​found waiter and dirty wine glass on the table we were sitting at.
The (basically) grilled chicken salad I got had three weird pieces of chicken breast on it that had obviously been cut way-​long-​time ago and reheated (? — maybe??) to top my salad. Blurgh!
I then unfortunately had to meet other people there the next night. not sure about the food since i met them after they had finished with dinner. However, same disappearing act with the waitress — she vaporized after she left the check on the table. man i HATE THAT!
Two stars because it has a good location and outdoor seating. Also spotted former Mayor Williams there.
Chef Bourdain needs to either disassociate himself with this chain of restaurants or stop filming TV shows and fix this disaster.

We got free tix to see the Hairspray at Warner (thanks Miriam). I found out Les Halles has a pre-​theater menu and it’s right around the corner from the theater.
We sat outside (still a bit chilly), and I ordered the thin salmon slices w/​the soup. The salmon slices was grilled and it was WAY overcooked. Soup was made from carrot and ginger… it was blah.
Highly unlikey I will come back again.

Wow this place has gone downhill. I knew from my previous dinners here that there was far better French food in the city but after Tuesday night, I’m convinced it’s just plain bad. I was drawn there this time by the Pre-​Theater Menu and its proximity to Warner Theater (where we were seeing Hairspray on opening night for free — thanks to miriam and Unilocal!). The pre-​theater menu is $ 17.89 for two courses, 5:30−7pm Mon-​Sat.
I didn’t like the soup option and I definitely wasn’t going to get the salad as my first course so I decided to order off the regular menu. I had a taste of the soup of the day which was Carrot Ginger. It was vegan — no cream, no chicken stock — and it tasted foul.
I settled on the steak tartare for my entrée. I should have asked since I was expecting slices of thin steak and instead got the ground beef version. To make matters worse they mixed in the onions and capers. It was supposed to be mixed tableside like the menu said and that didn’t happen. I also ordered it spicy and tasted kind of mustardy. Ick ick ick. I took maybe 3 bites of it before starting on the frites. At least the frites are still good.
The service was terrible. It took quite a while for someone to come by and our waitress certainly wasn’t interested in servicing us at all. We had to ask another waitress for our check because it was taking so long. She asked me if everything was okay after I signed my credit card slip and didn’t bother to check in on us during our entire dinner. This is the last time I will dine here.

I just like this place a lot and I also like their sister restaurant in NYC. It is great French Bistro food, great drinks, great outdoor seating, great deserts, great coffee, and great service. Everything you would want in a French Bistro. It is very convenient to National Theater too. It is a very adult kind of place and you don’t have to dress up really but business attire or better is very suited to this place though not required.
Monday is half priced wine bottle night. Yum

Wanting to take my girl someplace special for a Valentine’s Day dinner, I chose Les Halles based upon our mutual, perhaps borderline obsessive infatuation with Anthony Bourdain.
Reservations were easily made at
, and two friendly hostesses were on hand as we arrived to take our jackets and direct us to our seats.
The place was dimly-​lit and romantic, yet still comfortably casual. There was even a family with a child in highchair, although I suspect they were tourists who accidentally wandered into the place.
The friendly waiter came for our orders — steak tartare for an appetizer, peppercorn steak with frites for the lady, and Choucroute garnie for myself — which was pretty much a pig platter and veal sausage on sauerkraut.
The steak tartare was prepared table-​side to our liking — spicy. Although both her and I were newbies to eating raw meat, we enjoyed it. **Note: If you like the whole tableside attention, then grab the Prime Rib for two for dinner, and the Bananas Foster for dessert.
When our dishes came out, I was initially disappointed at the presentation of my plate. With a white plate, sauerkraut, pork and veal, it was the whitest meal I’ve had since I ate a powdered donut in a snowstorm. A little color would have done it wonders. All the selections were good though, and the sauerkraut was great.
The little lady enjoyed her steak, with it being perfectly cooked and seasoned. I am so glad her meal came with frites, because they were ungodly good. I honestly spent the first 10 minutes of dinner eating nothing but them.
They were like boardwalk fries without all the potato skin and gallon of grease. Salty, thin, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. To put anything else on these frites would be a travesty.
Great food, wine, low lights, and candles… you’ll find yourself enjoying the meal, but getting the check quickly to go home and enjoy dessert.

Did you ever have that holiday present you really, really wanted when you were a kid? You wanted it so bad, the agony of waiting a month was just eating you up on the inside. Then you get it, and well, it just didn’t live up to the commercial hype.
That was my experience at Les Halles the other night. For years I had earmarked this restaurant, but for one reason or another never got around to going. I finally got a chance to go the other night, and unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. It was quite good, but was missing that «oomph factor…» that intangible X factor that separates a restaurant that you’d die to go back to vs. one that you’d probably go to again if someone else in your party was vocal about it.
Les Halles is a lot smaller than you might expect, and has more of a bistro atmosphere as opposed to a traditional French restaurant. Accordingly, you’re going to get a lot of «bistro noise» that you’re not going to get at a more formal restaurant. Particularly if you and your date are seated next to a loud, drunk, obnoxious party (hey asshole: the joke doesn’t get funnier the louder and more frequently you repeat it. You’re about as funny as the Black Death with a case of impotence on the side!). I don’t think you’d want to go here if you’re craving an intimate dinner with an SO, friends or family. But if a group of friends wants to hang out and cut loose a little, Les Halles may just be the place for you.
Service was really on the ball. Though it’s an American creation, there’s no «wham, bam, here’s your check ma’am» action. Very friendly, efficient staff. It’s honestly what made this a four-​star instead of a three-​star review.
The food: My dish (blood sausage and mashed potatoes) was quite good, though I wasn’t impressed all that much with my date’s steak. Personally I think Bistrot du Coin makes a better steak, but it was certainly edible.
The verdict: honestly, if I had to choose between Les Halles and another well-​known «American by way of France» restaurant, I’d probably tell you to go to Mon Ami Gabi. They’re a tad cheaper, and the portions and quality are honestly a step up. My experience wasn’t bad by any means, but as stated above, it didn’t have that «something else» that would make me want to come back anytime soon. I’d say three stars for the food and atmosphere, with customer service earning a fourth star in its own right.

At first, I thought «Bourdain, how can you be such a snobby jerk? The atmosphere was nice, but not remarkable. The service was weird. BUT, the fries, mussels (in a creamy saffron wine sauce), and desserts were all tres magnifique. So, he has credibility again. I will be back.

I usually pride myself on trying someting new when I return to a restaurant, but Les Halles is where I consistently make an exception to that practice. I ALWAYS get the steak tartare and eat on the outdoor patio. The steak tartare is amazing: the meat is in lumps, not ground like hamburger meat and is not over-​capered or over-​pickled. The fries are so good I eat them as is (no ketchup or vinegar, merci!).
Dining after dark on the patio is quite romantic, with low lighting, french-​accented waiters, and views of shiny marble buildings surrounding you. Makes for a perfect anniversary or date spot with a DC flair. I’ll sometimes wander to the Willard for drinks after.

I truly enjoyed my time eating here. The atmosphere of the restaurant is inherent in their walls, décor and their bartenders.
I got to the restaurant early (around 530 or so) so I decided to have a few drinks at the bar before the rest of the party arrived. They don’t have any drink specials on Mondays except for half-​priced bottles of wine. The bartenders were nice and pretty laid back. They didn’t create a lot of conversation, but I was grateful for that because I wasn’t in a talkative mood. I ordered two house vodka and orange juices and the bill was $ 17.00. Talk about eye-​opener. I was in for a night that’s for sure.
Our party sat outside on the patio and even though it was a beautiful day, I was glad they had fans going (It looked like they had «misters» on the outside of the fans. How cool is that?). Our waitress was pretty good, but towards the end of the night, she vanished into thin air. I kid, I kid.
The food was fantastic! I had the wonderful French hamburger and it was incredibly delicious. The fries though were to die for. I can’t really explain the wonder that is Les Halles de Paris’ fries, but let me tell you they were just sooooo freakin’ good. Go try them. That’s an order.
Besides our waitress disappearing, I have no complaints about this restaurant. It’s definitely worth the trip (and money).

I’ve eaten here a number of times over the last few weeks.
It’s really pretty darned good. Outside is great, sort-​of French outdoor café style. Inside is not as interesting.
The food is pretty good french brasserie/​country fare with a steak frites attitude.
The wine and fries, steak and burgers (yup) are really tasty. Make sure to get the mustard. My friend had the tuna and it was very good (he says).
The apple/​walnut salad was pretty good and a nice light choice. I have a feeling the onion soup is pretty tasty, but its been too hot to order. The mussels were good, and you can get them with fries.
The cassoulet was the only big disappointment so far; salty and thick and just not right. But it was huge, which sadly wasn’t a blessing this time around.
I had the profiteroles for dessert which were a bit stale and the ice cream a bit crystalized.
The service can be a little slow. Though the food usually comes quick you have to be careful to order (and receive) your wine or you might not get it until too late. If you want to take it slow don’t order all your food at once or it may be more rushed than you prefer.
Pretty good bread and cold butter is nice too.