The Room
Michael Mina opened Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons Georgetown in 2008 — a James Beard winner running a serious steakhouse programme at the Forbes-Four-Star hotel-restaurant register. The dining room is intentionally formal: dark-wood paneling, leather banquettes, a long bar at the front with bourbon programme as the centrepiece.
The Washington Post review has held Bourbon Steak on its top-DC-steakhouse rankings every year of operation. The Four Seasons hospitality book runs the floor.
The Food
The USDA Prime steaks are slow-poached in butter before grilling — Mina's signature technique. The duck-fat fries, served with three rotating dipping sauces, are the menu's calling card and one of the most-photographed steakhouse-side dishes in America. The seasonal-rotating Mid-Atlantic seafood programme handles the menu's wider draws.
Bourbon programme is one of America's deepest. Cocktails are classic-American. Service is the Four Seasons standard.
Best Occasion Fit
Close a Deal: Bourbon Steak is the Georgetown deal-dinner address for the meeting that requires the Four Seasons standard.
Impress Clients: International visitors recognise the Four Seasons standard and the Mina pedigree immediately.
Birthday: Birthdays at Bourbon Steak are warm, steakhouse-classic, candle-on-the-cake affairs the room has hosted for over a decade.