Pastis restaurant review: New D.C. outpost is a delicious scene

Every hot spot seems to lead with a hot dish.

By now you know that the “it” appetizer at the new Pascual gets you great guacamole and a fleet of condiments to enjoy with the creamy green goodness, all of which is showcased on a Lazy Susan. Scoop, and spin, to your heart’s content.

If you don’t order the breakfast sandwich bundled in a housemade scallion pancake at Any Day Now, you’re missing a main reason to visit Navy Yard (and, uh, you’re not reading me). Everyone who goes to L’Ardente knows to fact-check their way through the 40-layer lasagna, and one of the prizes at Chay in Falls Church is a lime-splashed, peanut-topped vegetarian version of Vietnamese chopped baby clams.

Name a place with a line or a long wait for reservations, and you’re apt to find a plate that helps explain the allure.

The go-to dish at Pastis, the latest from prolific restaurateur Stephen Starr, king of the Union Market district, is a culinary relic that’s been dusted off and reimagined by opening chef Mike Abt.

Advertisement

When’s the last time you saw chicken Kiev? In an episode of “Mad Men”? In a continental cookbook someone left in a Little Free Library? Never?

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the chicken Kiev at Pastis. It’s the ideal of the dish, starting with organic chicken that’s air-dried overnight and ending with some frying, resting, baking and more resting for the breast. In between, a quenelle of butter, garlic and parsley is tucked into a pocket of the chicken, whose seams are sealed with an ingredient called Activa that bonds when heated. (No leaks here!)

The finished product sports a fine golden crust of powdered panko. Only when you cut the succulent chicken do you get the startling rush of emerald butter. The chef says the top seller is a three-day process involving six cooks.

When Starr, who also has St. Anselm and El Presidente in the neighborhood, gets behind something, buzz follows and often endures. (Exhibit A: Le Diplomate, introduced in 2013 on 14th Street NW and still a hot ticket.) Pastis had plenty going for it from Day 1. While it shares a few French accents with Le Diplomate, Pastis is a chip off the established brand in New York. It took me forever to get into the District venue, the first time thanks to a connected friend who invited me to join his posse.

Two things struck me: Even the cozy red leather booths provide small comfort in the din (subway tiles and high ceilings make for loud concerts), and the menu is full of dishes you won’t find everywhere else.

Advertisement

Like pierogies. If the current Polish ambassador steps down, I nominate the dumplings at Pastis. They are curiously light, despite a finish of butter, crème fraîche and pureed onion tops. Abt, the culinary director of new openings for his boss, shares a secret: The filling of Yukon potatoes and sour cream includes cottage cheese, and the mixture is both fluffy and smooth after a couple of passes through a fine-mesh strainer.

Like poached veal tongue, served in thin, wavy slices and supported on its plate with thick potato coins and little nuggets of crisp, deep-fried calf’s feet in the role of croutons. Sublime.

Don’t stop reading because you might prefer fish and chips, roast chicken or spaghetti simply flavored with lemon, cheese and bottarga, a lovely concert coaxed from four ingredients. Pastis offers those dishes and so much more, plus a midday menu bridging lunch and dinner with oysters, onion soup and a Gruyère omelet. Expect the unexpected, though. You’ve probably never had leeks like the appetizer at Pastis. They’re poached slowly, to such a softness they don’t need a knife, and sprinkled with crushed Marcona almonds for contrast. The dressing is a marriage of mustard, vinegar and leek oil to heighten the drama.

The daily specials include an admirably puffy but salt-saddled Wiener schnitzel the night I tried it, and the staff tends to over-ask “How do you like it?” I’m willing to forgive a few misses in light of all the good Pastis does, however, including what might be the best sticky toffee pudding in the city.

When I let a host know a companion was running late, she confided that the restaurant practices a grace period of 30 minutes (a detail I later confirmed with the general manager). And after I initially declined bread with dinner, slices of rye wheat boule showed up later anyway. The server saw remaining sauce on my plate of duck confit (so crisp, so succulent) and vegetables (so soft, so comforting) and thought I might need a mop. She was right.

Advertisement

I know what you might be thinking. A known critic is bound to get a warmer reception, a prime perch, a prettier dish. I’ll admit I felt that might be the case at Pastis. So I asked some pals whose taste I trust and who aren’t regulars: If I pay for dinner, would they investigate?

Will and Rachel took me up on the offer on a recent Saturday and filed the kind of report that should make civilians happy. Pastis doles out hugs — some in the form of service, some in the form of food — to one and all. Or so I heard. And saw. (I asked my friends to take pictures.)

On service: “The place is VERY well staffed. Front-of-house crew buzzing,” Will and Rachel texted. “Managers walking & orchestrating floor constantly. Server was outstanding (tattoos & warm smiles & kind touches). Food runners abnormally personable. It all felt genuine: nothing forced or routine.”

On food: My hired stomachs were wowed by some of the same dishes I tried. “Nothing unexpected, but leeks vinaigrette with the crunchy almonds. Yes, please!” the couple shared. If the beef tartare was just “solid,” the duck confit was “excellent & the just-cooked carrots a great balance.” Their New York strip steak au poivre was cooked as requested — “PERFECTLY medium rare. Didn’t know strip could be that tender” — and my spies let me know “just the aioli & frites would be worth the trip.”

Regarding wine: “Cocktails are great; bartenders know their stuff. The wine list is extensive, maybe slightly intimidating at first. But Benjamin, the wunderkind-looking sommelier, was delightful. Found a delicious gamay/pinot blend for $80 (they could have up-sold us to the $155 version, but they didn’t). Saw Benjamin help younger table of four find a ‘value bottle’ with tons of enthusiasm & care.” The gregarious sommelier is Benjamin McMeley, 24, a Washington native who went to the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Take a bow, sir.

Advertisement

Their table: “We were very lucky to get the cutest corner booth looking out onto the bar, dining room, entryway. Perfect perch for people-watching (and seeing the staff dance its ballet). Wouldn’t be so thrilled to get a table in the midst of all the bustle.” Their 5:30 arrival time might have played in their favor. Early birds get the worms and all. And I concur, the tables around the perimeter are best. Also, based on my visits, two people can hear better than four in an otherwise attractive room, whose pressed tin ceilings are painted a yellow to suggest decades of nicotine stain and whose ball lights glow like little moons.

I had no idea what to expect of the experiment, only that I would personally handle their tab afterward. If Will and Rachel’s experience didn’t mirror mine, I wanted to feel the sting common to anyone who shells out a lot of cash for an underwhelming night away from home.

The couple like cocktails and good wine, and they tip generously. My little test set me back $480.

But I got what I hoped for: proof that Pastis extends a warm welcome to everyone.

Pastis

1323 Fourth St. NE. 202-471-1200. pastisdc.com. Open for inside and outside dining, delivery and takeout for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; for dinner 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; for brunch 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. A midday menu is offered from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Prices: Dinner appetizers $13 to $26, main courses $19 to $72 (for lobster frites). Sound check: 80 decibels/Extremely loud. Accessibility: No barriers to entrance; restrooms are ADA-compliant.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLOwu8NoaWlqZGR9dnuPbGapmaOptrR5w5xkq52jqa62vsCnq2aqlau2psOO