Editor’s Pick: Le Diplomate’s 10th Anniversary
It's been a decade since nationally celebrated restaurateur Stephen Starr opened the destination French restaurant, Le Diplomate.
Over the past decade, Le Diplomate has served as something of an anchor of 14th Street’s Restaurant Row renaissance as well as a torchbearer for the broader city and its culinary bona fides.
The French-inspired brasserie at the corner of 14th and Q Streets NW has become such an integral fixture, in fact, it can be difficult to recall when the same venue served as your laundromat, or when the same block was largely desolate by day and caused one to be trepidatious by night.
This month marks 10 years since nationally celebrated restaurateur Stephen Starr entered the D.C. market by opening the immaculately designed Le Diplomate.
Nearly two years ago came word of plans for a third D.C. venture from the Starr Restaurant Group — the second, the steakhouse St. Anselm in the Union Market district, opened in 2018.
Renovation continues at the former Georgetown Market, whose last tenant was gourmet grocer Dean & DeLuca, with this fall still the target for the company to open a “mega Italian concept” in partnership with acclaimed L.A.-based chef Nancy Silverton, whose restaurant empire includes restaurant brands Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, and Chi Spacca, and extends to Mexico and London.
A market featuring fresh produce, Italian grocery staples, as well as bars dedicated just to prosciutto and mozzarella, built out to also include a gelateria, a bakery, and a café, will complement a large restaurant and dining room with an open kitchen, an expansive bar, a possible wine cellar and bar in the basement, a mezzanine with additional seating, plus additional seating on the existing patio.
But this weekend, the focus is on No. 1, with several different activities planned to celebrate the 10th anniversary. In addition to a French-inspired flower market, on Saturday, April 15, during the brunch hours of noon and 2 p.m., the Logan Circle hotspot will surprise some of their lucky dining patrons with complimentary floral bouquets in collaboration with local flower shop She Loves Me.
And on Sunday, April 16, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the restaurant will roll out to 14th Street its signature ice cream cart to dispense delicious homemade glaces, or French-style ice cream.
Throughout the weekend, in addition to pouring more Champagne than on a typical spring weekend, the restaurant will also give special recognition to its employees, chiefly the 18 staff members who have worked at the property since day one, a mix of line cooks, dishwashers, and servers.
Visit www.lediplomatedc.com or call 202-332-3333.
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