Indulgences from the French Riviera at Barbouzard!

Join us in opening the new year in French-Mediterranean Style at Barbouzard!

The Washington Post review (by Tom Sietsema Sept. 18, 2025)

The crackle of energy whenever a new restaurant debuts reminds me of opening night at the theater. In many cases, the dining room is (over) staffed with a cast of well-rehearsed people, dressed to impress in whatever uniform the owners think represents the theme, everyone eager to introduce you to a concept they hope you enjoy. A new-car smell typically mingles with kitchen aromas.

“Welcome to Barbouzard,” a server says to my posse, launching into a spiel that announces veteran chef Cedric Maupillier, of the late Convivial in Shaw, as the headliner and a theme designed to bring a taste of the French Riviera to downtown Washington. The name, suggested by a friend of principal managing partner Nasr El Hage and rooted in French slang, alludes to the city’s sense of power, intrigue, the clandestine. “Barbouzard means ‘secret agent,’” says our server, whose gaze then pivots to me. “You never know,” he says playfully. “One of you could be a secret agent!”

Maupillier and El Hage met at a Bastille Day party at the French Embassy last year and launched Barbouzard on K Street NW with a cocktail party for friends and supporters July 14 — a year to the day later.

Maupillier seems born for this job. A son of Toulon, the chef has relatives in Cannes and Marseille. (His résumé includes the late Mintwood Place, Central Michel Richard and the long-shuttered Citronelle.) “I want to cook for everybody,” he says, acknowledging that not everyone has “a budget for caviar,” a feature along with shellfish platters at Barbouzard. One of his more gently priced dishes, a rabbit pasta, is $31 and harks back to his youth, when he spent time in Provence, hunting with his grandfather. Maupillier uses ruffled, bell-shaped campanelle, the better to catch juicy bites of braised rabbit, lightly sweet with carrots, woodsy with mushrooms and whisked to the table beneath filings of pecorino.

If you pay any attention to menu categories, an increasing number of restaurants are offering what amount to two sets of appetizers. One is usually described as “snacks” or “bites,” sometimes for sharing; the other is a typical first course. A sly way of getting diners to spend more money? A chance for chefs to put more of their creativity on display? Whatever the reasoning, focus on what the menu at Barbouzard calls “easy to share finger food.”

The showiest of the bunch look like petits fours: bases of brioche layered with foie gras mousse, preserved cherry and port jelly. Each of the five bites of “Foie Gras Opéra” glints with edible gold. “I feel bad about eating this,” says a companion as he pops the rich art into his mouth. Even the more common combinations call to me. Crimson slices of bell pepper slowly cooked in olive oil and paired with Nicoise olives and plump, intense Calabrian anchovies feels like eating red peppers for the first time, and salt cod whipped with potato, olive oil, garlic and thyme and sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs makes a standout brandade de morue.

Kudos to the restaurant for welcoming more people to the party by flagging dishes that contain nuts and pork and are gluten-free or vegetarian. Cracker-like chickpea pancakes served with a pistachio-colored foam of whipped scallions and cream cheese present like some of the fanciest chips and dip in town.

Your next stops on the menu ought to be crudo and scallops. Maupillier creates what resembles a rose from ribbons of raw tuna, which blossom in a frothy pool of coconut milk and minced bell peppers dotted with cilantro oil. Influencers (aren’t we all these days?) are also likely to snap and post seared scallops interspersed with miniature corn flans in a foamy orange pool coaxed from red curry paste, fish stock, milk and sharpeners including ginger and lemongrass. The dish tastes of sea, summer, the tropics. Chef might consider bottling and selling just the sauce. (Hint, hint.)

This being downtown, the owners thought Maupillier should put steak on the script, which the chef reluctantly did. D.C. is stocked with places that excel at grilled beef, after all. Still, hanger steak served with a bold green peppercorn sauce and housemade fries could compete with the city's best. More novel is a fan of smoked duck, each slice rimmed in a band of flavor-carrying fat, splayed over braised leeks and endive and a dark red beet puree. Orange in different guises lends vibrancy to the main course.

Some lesser moments sneak in, among them the rich-on-rich lobster Américaine, the seafood a little muted, the pasta cooked nearly to mush. I love the sauce, though, a creamy, cognac-laced bisque fueled with lots of flavor from lobster shells. Maupillier is proud of his elegant bouillabaisse, in which the different fish and shellfish are cooked separately and the broth is added at the table. Fans of the traditional, more robust and saucier version of the classic might be disappointed. (In fairness, the dish is listed with quote marks.)

The restaurant doesn’t pause between lunch and dinner. Instead, it offers “golden hour,” during which lighter fare — a wagyu cheeseburger, gazpacho, truffle prosciutto croquettes — is offered. Basically, the amenity is a happy hour that does double duty, playing up the room’s gold accents and its location in the Golden Triangle, downtown’s business district. I can see the room animated with diners who prefer way-late lunches, super-early dinners or anyone who needs a little festivity at odd hours.

Convivial enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for sweet endings, renown that continues at Barbouzard, where the warm date pudding is enhanced with halvah ice cream and a cardamom-infused toffee sauce. Fittingly, one dessert is designed to look like a tin of caviar. In reality, it’s tiramisu paved with chocolate pearls set with chilled oil (hence a shimmer like pricey roe) set in a tin atop faux crushed ice. Very Vegas, the confection goes by “Caviamisu.” The charm award goes to what looks like a pear robed in chocolate, named for the chef’s mother, who adored the dish. Slicing into the dessert, Poire Belle Michèle, reveals a delightful surprise: the form is shaped from hazelnut financier, diced pear, white chocolate and more, then centered in a wavy bowl of marzipan-sweetened custard sauce.

El Hage says he wants to make Barbouzard a dining destination, and he’s off to a strong start. More than $4 million went into the interior whipped up by designer Olvia Demetriou of HapstackDemetriou+. The light fixtures suggest champagne bubbles, the floors are paved with stone or tiles that look like white oak, the ceiling is coffered, and the seating — plush red chairs, cinnamon-colored booths with their own sound systems — is all about your comfort. El Hage says he plans to dim the lights and use blackout shades for future brunch service. Already, a DJ emerges on Friday and Saturday nights, when the owner hopes “After Dark” catches nightcappers.

Is now a proper moment to talk about luxury dining? The times are some of the most sobering I can remember in the past 25 years, what with wage hikes, the federal takeover of DC police and ICE crackdowns on immigrants. I point this out to say the word “restaurant” comes from a French verb that means “to restore” and that eating establishments are, good times and bad, the backdrop to many of our lives — indeed, some of them make life more worth living. Barbouzard aspires to help light the way.

Looking forward to sharing this experience with you!

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If you are unable to join us in January we hope you'll stay interested and join us for a meal in the future. Looking forward to catching up with you for a fantastic dinner at Barbouzard!