Bistro CacaoA Top-Flight Restaurant in D.C.Bistro Cacao ranks right up there among the very best restaurants in D.C., whether French-oriented cooking or not, and deserves to be better known. My wife and I went there for our anniversary dinner, a first visit, and it tops the list for the next time we go out for a fine meal in D.C.6/15/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent preparation. VariedExcellent preparation. Varied wine list that is fairly priced. Excellent choice in Capital Hill area.6/14/2013 12:00:00 AMWonderful dinner!Great good, great service. Accomodated last minute requests for a large group dinner.6/11/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat Prix-Fixe Brunch in Cap Hill$16.95 for a basket of hot French pastries and spreads, one entree from a really nice list of choices, and a couple of side dishes. Not bad at all! Good coffee and nice covered outdoor seating.6/2/2013 12:00:00 AMAnniversary DinnerMy wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary over dinner at Bistro Cacao, and ordered the tasting menu with wine pairings.
Everything about it was perfect. We were seated at an intimate table, partially removed by two pulled-back curtains from the small and quiet dining room. The staff was delightful and explained each dish as well as each wine with just the right amount of detail.
The food was outstanding. We enjoyed a grilled calamari and pineapple salad, a roasted quail salad, duck in a blueberry port sauce, some exquisite lamb chops, and finally a poached pear, creme brulee, marscapone dessert.
We'll be talking about this meal for years. One of the best I've ever had.5/31/2013 12:00:00 AMEvery bite a winner!I will gladly return! I was making plans for a business dinner for 3, and I was just a little concerned that it would be too romantic and/or crowded a setting, but we went early (6:00) on the Tuesday after Memorial Day, so we were very comfortable. The food was excellent on every choice we made -- mussels, beet salad, and house salad; then on to mahi mahi, grilled seafood, and frog legs as entrees. We skipped dessert only because it had been a long day of eating. It was hard to resist because we just knew whatever we chose would have been excellent. It's a beautiful and unique dining space. As a series of rooms in converted row houses, you get lots of small rooms with cozy seating in nooks and crannies. Service was friendly and impeccable.5/28/2013 12:00:00 AMAt last a quiet restaurant!The food is great, the service impeccable, but what makes Bistro Cacao stand out is that there are enough sound-absorbing surfaces so you can have a pleasant conversation with your dinner companions.5/25/2013 12:00:00 AMbistro cacaotasty food but a bit on the pricey side. wait staff were great!5/21/2013 12:00:00 AMI appreciate the very attentiveI appreciate the very attentive and considerate staff. The food is always excellent.5/21/2013 12:00:00 AMWonderful place!We ate here with our daughter and her husband. We were celebrating two birthdays: my husband's and my son-in-law's. The restaurant made us feel very special. The food was delicious! We cannot wait to go back again!5/19/2013 12:00:00 AMvery good to excellentHad an excellent meal with friends. Standouts included; onion soup and snails. Good salads. Chilean Sea Bass was fantastic. Duck and rack of lamb were very good. Apple Tart was a standout desert. Service was excellent. Nice ambiance and good sound level.5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMWow! French at it's Finest!Character and ambiance in the shadow of the Capital. Beautifully decorated nooks and cranny's gives you a feel that you've stepped into a small bistro in Paris. Then there's the food! We decided to be a bit adventurous and asked if the Chef's Tasting was available (you should too!!!). Five courses, selected by the Chef that may or may not be on the menu. You and the waiter are surprised at each turn. Combine it with a wine pairing, and it makes an unbelievably enjoyable experience. Every course was exceptionally delicious. If you like french, you'll love Bistro Cacao!5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat choice after National GalleryWe wanted an early dinner, not heavy, following three or four hours in Nat Gallery of Art. This was a perfect spot. The menu features the "usual" items associated with French Provincial dining, but the twist is that they are exquisitely prepared and presented. Soups, beet salad, Coquille St Jacques and Sea Bass were elegant, tasty, not heavily sauced. The desserts of whic the three of us shared two, mousse and trio of crime brulees, were indeed the pieces de resistance.
Wait staff invariably pleasant and attentive, table feels personable, decor suggests pleasant touches everywhere.5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMRomantic & QuaintWe dined here to celebrate our 34th Wedding Anniversary. The dining rooms are small & I loved the curtains that make some of the tables a bit more private. We had scallops & Sea Bass, delicious, prepared just as described, & even though the menu said no substitutions, the waiter let me sub potatoes for polenta. Our food was piping hot. We started with a beet salad, which was generous enough for 2 & My S.O. had the Escargot, which was delicious(he shared).We shared the 3 sorbets for dessert, again delicious. My Martini was perfectly prepared & the wine list had good choices for by the taste, glass or half bottle(carafe) & the prices were good.
Overall, a wonderful dining experience, & we will definitely return next time we are in D.C.!5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMBusiness LunchA great spot for a business lunch. Fast service and the food was excellent and cooked to perfection.5/16/2013 12:00:00 AMJB472Love the way this restaurant is set up with private areas. Good, varied French menu with a very nice wine list. Very attentive service.5/13/2013 12:00:00 AMTasty BrunchTasty Mother's Day Brunch! The pastries are divine.5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMLovely Mother's Day BrunchI took a close family friend here for Mother's Day and we had a lovely brunch. The food was delicious: she raved about the Cacao Salad with shrimp, I had the quiche (super smooth and creamy), and my father had the vegetable omelet. We had turkey sausage or bacon, both of which were delicious. My dad was used to a bigger omelet, but said it was filling nonetheless. The ambiance of Bistro Cacao is wonderful, very Moulin Rouge-esse with Turkish accents. The pastries are fantastic and are a nice addition to a sumptuous menu. The service is excellent except at the door, which was a bit slow.5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMService was fabulous and theService was fabulous and the food spectacular! We are going back this weekend!5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat food. Not so great service.The restaurant was recommended by friends who recently visited D.C. And the food did not disappoint. My wife had the rack of lamb, my daughter had the sea bass and I had a swordfish special. Every meal was excellent as were the Dijon mussels we shared as an appetizer. Unfortunately, the service was no match for the food. Long periods of waiting, initially just for someone to say hello and take drink orders all the way to the end when we had to call over our waiter to ask for the check. But for the service I'd give it 4 1/2 to 5 stars. Because the food is so good I've rounded the overall stars to 4.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMPerfect for a special occasionIt turned out to be some of the best food and service either of us have ever experienced! We were visiting DC so went on the review of open table alone. The dinning experience was enhanced by an intimate setting, in fact had the best table, nestled into a bay window so we could view the street below. The wait staff were attentive but allowed us all the time we wanted with each course of the meal. Finally, the food was fabulous!5/10/2013 12:00:00 AMPerfect meeting place forPerfect meeting place for old college friends to catch up and still make the train and Metro to get to various destinations for the night. The food was good, service very unobtrusive and finally a quiet place for conversation, such a rarity in DC these days. It could be because we were early, but such a pleasure.5/9/2013 12:00:00 AMFabulous meal3 of us absolutely loved our dinner here. It was a Monday night, so it was quiet in the dining room, and perhaps the attentive service would suffer on a busier night,but we were well taken care of, and the food was delicious. Perfectly cooked fish, lovely lamb and scrumptious profiteroles, Would return if I lived here.5/6/2013 12:00:00 AMDelicious Food, Exquisite AmbienceINCREDIBLY pleased with my experience at Cacao. The fois gras was to die for and the service was so gracious.5/5/2013 12:00:00 AMVery Romantic place with FrenchVery Romantic place with French food that is good. I was pleasantly surprised with the good portion sizes. I was actually full, when I left.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMHad a lovely brunch here withHad a lovely brunch here with my sister right at opening time. Their brunch is prix-fixe, which is nice that they take the fretting about the $ amounts out of the equation (would be handing for splitting a joint check). My sister likes meat and I wanted produce. The prix fixe brunch starts with a basket of pastries that were on par with those I have had in Paris (croissant, bread, and those pastries with chocolate inside them). I ordered a salad with grilled shrimp and chose fresh fruit at my side. My sister had an egg dish with pork sausage as her side. We liked all of our items. I felt satisfied yet healthy. We sat outside and were one of only 3 parties there on a Saturday morning.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMPraise for Bistro CacaoFirst time at this restaurant. Four people, four great meals. Wives had sea bass, my friend had the veal chop and I had rack of lamb.
All of us were very pleased with our choices. My rack was superb. Three appetizers were salads and I had the baked onion soup which was yummy. Very flavorful broth and loved the cheese topping. Didn't have room for dessert.
Only one small downer --- the dinner rolls were nice and crisp outside and very fresh and soft inside, but could have been a little warmer. Definitely worth another visit, but only on a Saturday or Sunday. That ride down Mass. Ave. from Bethesda on Friday evening
took well over an hour. Glad we came.4/26/2013 12:00:00 AMI hosted a party here andI hosted a party here and the staff and food were amazing! We had such a wonderful time. Many people ended up being late and the staff was very flexible with us. The rooms and decor are beautiful and the food is exquisite. I wish we had found BC a long time ago. I rarely give five stars in reviews but BC truly earned it.4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMThis was my second experienceThis was my second experience and both were excellent. The restaurant has a layout that provides good space for a quiet dinner for two as well as excellent group settings. Food was delicious and well presented. Highly recommend it!4/21/2013 12:00:00 AMThe tasting menu at this placeThe tasting menu at this place is absolutely FANTASTIC. I've been a few times and it has never disappointed- by far my favorite place in the city to bring people for special occasions! The waitstaff is all very knowledgable about both the food and the wine list. This is definitely a must-eat for fans of French food!!!!4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMPerfect place to try French food!Food was amazing (duck, chicken and steak). They had a french beer which was also very good. Service was quick and no issues. Staff was incredibly friendly and enjoyable.
The rest of our party was late because of metro repairs so we told the hostess and went to the bar. They gave us no trouble in holding our table for a good half hour while we waiting. Bartender was awesome and had some great conversation. Made us laugh and feel like we were VIP. Took care of us too.4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMGood food and friendlyEnjoyable experience. Staff were friendly and accommodating (we asked them to call us a taxi at the end of the night)
Food was tastey and well prepared. Unusual decor - with the curtains between the tables around the wall... the lighting was "romantic" - but as I had forgotten my glasses - perhaps a little too low for easy menu reading : ) I did notice - despite the light level that the wall paper and paintwork was looking a bit worse for wear. Nice bar area with interesting presentation to the wine bottles. Would go again.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat foot and ambiance.Great foot and ambiance. A favorite for lunch as it is an easy walk from my office.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat find. Very authenticGreat find. Very authentic French, and quite tasty at that.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMHad a delightful brunch here.Had a delightful brunch here. Great baked goods basket in lieu of a bread basket and the food was plentiful and tasty.4/14/2013 12:00:00 AMI really enjoyed this restaurantI really enjoyed this restaurant and its French Charm. I will return.4/14/2013 12:00:00 AMWeek-nite mealAnother wonderful week-nite meal in our neighborhood! Gary, our server was very attentive and suggested excellent wine pairings. Unfortunately for us, we had wanted to sit outside, but all the tables full, so instead, we dined privately in one of the tables for two! It was romantic as well as delicious!4/8/2013 12:00:00 AMAfter queuing for meals theAfter queuing for meals the two previous nights in Washington, we consulted Tripadvisor and chose Bistro Cacao because it was close to our hotel on Capitol Hill and the food seemed interesting and reasonably priced. When we arrived we were seated promptly in a booth surrounded by red curtains and the French after explained the menu to us. My husband chose the hangar steak and he said it was cooked perfectly to his taste. I had the chicken stuffed with sundries tomatoes and goat's cheese and found it very tasty. The French wine we ordered was delightful and not overpriced at $40 we thought. Te service at this restaurant was attentive and friendly without being intrusive and we thoroughly enjoyed a quiet evening.4/7/2013 12:00:00 AMDinner for a birthdayThe food at Bistro Cacao is excellent and prepared with great care. We ordered the stuffed chicken breast and the seafood mix dish (it's lobster, scallop, shrimp, mussels, and fish in a creamy broth). The chicken breast was pretty good, but I personally did not enjoy it much as it had goat cheese in it and I do not like goat cheese. Though this is more of a personal preference. The seafood mix dish however was delicious. We also tried the escargot appetizer, which was quite delicious and did not taste very slippery as I imagined snails to taste. The three flavor creme brulee was also very yummy, especially the mango flavor creme brulee.
The ambiance is very romantic, with red and purple lights, and many pair seatings behind a curtain.4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMThis was a fantastic locationThis was a fantastic location for a date night with excellent food to go with. The portions are a good size and you will not leave hungry!4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMvery nice experience althoughvery nice experience although the decor could use an update....the wallpaper next to our table was in need of repair.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMGood reliable French food;Good reliable French food; they do seem to be upping their game a bit with the menu. Service is adequate but spotty. Nice ambiance in the evening and relatively quiet.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMWonderful French menu in aWonderful French menu in a beautifully decorated setting. Quiet neighborhood. Excellent wine list. Would definitely go there again.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMI was looking for a relaxingI was looking for a relaxing place to have a nice dinner while visiting DC. Bistro Cacao was exactly what I was looking for. I highly recommend this restaurant.4/4/2013 12:00:00 AMVisiting from Philadelphia,Visiting from Philadelphia, I decided to try this place based on reviews from Open Table and Trip Advisor. They were stellar, so it was easy. We arrived fairly early on Thursday night, so it was quiet. The food is wonderful, from Pheasant Pate to Rack of Lamb, Boulliabaisse and cream puffs with cholcolate sauce. The service is friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is cozy and private. I'd love to go back and try some more items on the menue. Wish they would open a place in Philly! Definitely try this one; it's a winner.4/4/2013 12:00:00 AMA quiet and romantic experienceA quiet and romantic experience with outstanding food, wine and service.4/2/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat romantic spot. EasterGreat romantic spot. Easter brunch was very good. I would definitely go back.3/31/2013 12:00:00 AMBistro Cacoa was the perfectBistro Cacoa was the perfect choice for our special occasion. The atmosphere was warm, cozy and romantic with rose petals strewn on the tables set up for two people. Our server was attentive and timely and the food was outstanding. I tried a bit of everyone's meal and each one was unique and perfectly prepared. I didn't think the food could be topped until we got dessert. We ordered the profiteroles, the creme brulee trio and the banana basket. Each one was outstanding and unique. I'm so glad we found this little gem of a restaurant.
Bistro Cacoa will definitely become our "go to" fine dining restaurant whenever we are in DC.3/31/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat for romantic delicious dinnerMy husband and I came here for dinner saturday night- and we loved it. His sea bass was amazing, and a bit better than my veal chop, but the veal chop was good too. The sea bass was crusted in pistachio with a mustard taste- it was actually a new and unique way to prepare sea bass that I'd never tried before, and it was delicious. The restaurant itself is like having dinner in a victorian house, it's very cute, cozy, and romantic. The atmosphere here is wonderful. Would go again in a heartbeat.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMspectacular!I must say that the food was the best that we had in a long time, and we do eat out often. You will not be disappointed.
My wife was surprised that I raved about the food all night long. She said that I'm generally too critical.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AM