Café du Parc $$$

1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
202/942-7000
www.cafeduparc.com [1]

HOURS: Breakfast Mon.-Fri. 6:30-10:30 a.m., Sat.-Sun. 7-11 a.m.,
lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Sat.-Sun. noon-2:30 p.m.,
dinner Mon.-Fri. 5:30-10:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 6-10 p.m.

COST: Most entrées more than $20

The charm of blue umbrellas on the sidewalk in front of one of the city’s most architecturally beautiful hotels draws diners to Café du Parc, a French bistro at the Willard Hotel [2] that boasts views of Pershing Park, the Ellipse, and the White House’s gatehouses.

The feel of Paris extends indoors to a bright café with wooden tables, creamy walls, and blue banquettes, and upstairs to the main restaurant with an open kitchen.

An unsung eatery among DC bistros, this café begins its day with breakfast—croque-monsieur and crepes, fresh brioche, and croissants—and skips through the day with a menu of traditional French cuisine—steaming pots of simmering mussels, onion soup dripping with cheese, a slow-cooked lamb stew, and satisfying cassoulet.

Pastry chef Morgan Bomboy has created a litany of tarts, cakes, chocolate croissants, madeleines, and mille-feuille that can be taken to go. For dining in, the chocolate mousse is as good as you’d find in the City of Lights.