In his latest review, Post critic Tom Sietsema waxed on about the Willard InterContinental’s new French boîte, Café du Parc, giving the venue two and a half stars and gushing that he “wasn’t expecting [it] to perform with such authenticity.” Citing the waiter’s French accent, the on-target mille-feuille, and the view from the alfresco sidewalk tables (the Treasury building is across the street) as reasons for the Parisian déjà vu, Sietsema went on to credit the venue’s consultant, French chef Antoine Westermann, for the venue’s legitimacy. Westermann’s contract calls for the chef to visit Café du Parc four times a year, and he also spared a restaurant manager, pastry chef, and chef de cuisine from his Paris restaurant Drouant.
In terms of allocation, “you have to eat alfresco, under a big blue umbrella and inside a wrought iron fence; or climb the stairs to a tidy open kitchen,” where the dining room features cream-colored walls, blue banquettes, and lofty windows. “As at so many bistros in Paris, the tables are bare and closely packed, and the noise level ratchets up at rush hour (in this case, high noon).”Stating that the “kitchen doesn’t shout to make itself heard,” Sietsema lists dishes such as the gazpacho, the steamed mussels, the steak tartare, and the roasted and braised veal breast as engaging. Service, too, was well-received, with the critic saying “servers are quick with suggestions and explanations, while suits patrol the dining room looking for opportunities to make small talk or clear a table.” When it came time for dessert, rice pudding, chocolate mousse, and fruit desserts were among the critic’s favorites.
In terms of allocation, “you have to eat alfresco, under a big blue umbrella and inside a wrought iron fence; or climb the stairs to a tidy open kitchen,” where the dining room features cream-colored walls, blue banquettes, and lofty windows. “As at so many bistros in Paris, the tables are bare and closely packed, and the noise level ratchets up at rush hour (in this case, high noon).”Stating that the “kitchen doesn’t shout to make itself heard,” Sietsema lists dishes such as the gazpacho, the steamed mussels, the steak tartare, and the roasted and braised veal breast as engaging. Service, too, was well-received, with the critic saying “servers are quick with suggestions and explanations, while suits patrol the dining room looking for opportunities to make small talk or clear a table.” When it came time for dessert, rice pudding, chocolate mousse, and fruit desserts were among the critic’s favorites.
