The Room
Jeff Buben opened Bistro Bis on E Street in 1998 — the senior Capitol Hill French bistro, located inside the Hotel George near Union Station. The James Beard Foundation named Buben Best Chef Mid-Atlantic. The dining room is intentionally formal-French: white-tablecloth, leather banquettes, hand-painted murals, and a long bar at the front that reads as classical-Parisian.
The Washington Post has held Bistro Bis on its top-French-restaurant rankings every year of operation. The Capitol Hill political-class crowd has made the room a regular working-dinner address.
The Food
The menu runs French-bistro classic. Escargots, country-style pâté, steak frites, Dover sole meunière, duck confit — every dish in the canon executed at fine-dining technique. The three-course prix-fixe at $58 is the order for a first visit.
Wine programme runs heavily French. Cocktails are classic-French. Service is brigade-French in rhythm — formal but warm.
Best Occasion Fit
Close a Deal: Bistro Bis is the Capitol Hill working-political deal-dinner address. The booth tables are quiet, the French wine programme is the closer.
First Date: The bar at Bistro Bis is one of Capitol Hill's most-enduring first-date seats.
Birthday: Birthdays at Bistro Bis are warm, French-classic affairs the room has hosted for over two decades.