1200 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036; tel. (202) 448-2300;
By J.P.
Plume is the restaurant of the Jefferson Hotel in Washington DC. It has been there since 2009 and reviews of Plume in the last few years have been extremely favorable. In a 2014 article, the Washington Post restaurant critic had only good words for Plume. Impressed with the décor, he said that, in Washington, there was “no more sumptuous place to pick up a fork or raise a flute than Plume”. He also mentioned that “padded stools are brought out for the benefit of purses and briefcases alike”. A.M. did notice this feature and thought it was a definitive plus.
For the last three years, Plume has also been in the Washingtonian list of the 100 Very Best restaurants. More recognition came last year with Plume’s inclusion in The Michelin Guide, Washington DC, published in 2016, with an illustrious one-star. No Washington DC restaurant received the top three Michelin stars, while only three restaurants received two stars and nine received one star (see).
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| Jefferson Hotel |
The cuisine at Plume is led by Chef Ralf Schlegel. Chef Schlegel had formal training in Germany where he became a certified “kitchen master”. He worked in several restaurants and hotels in Europe before coming to the United States in 2009. In the United States,
Ralf Schlegel worked for two years with Chef Robert Wiedmaier at
Marcel’s and joined Plume in 2011, becoming Executive Chef in 2014.
We had reservations for 8:30 pm on a Saturday in mid-June 2017. The place was lively and remained so until we left a little bit after 10:30 pm. Service was very attentive and dinner lasted for more than two hours. Given the number of courses, I would say that pace was perfect.
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| Bread service |
Bread service was accompanied by regular butter, truffled butter, and a tomato cream, which was the best of the trio. Bread itself was also very good.
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| Butter |
We had an option of a prix-fixe menu ($102) with choices of appetizer, main course, and dessert or a tasting menu with four courses plus amuse-bouche, pre-dessert and dessert ($117), There were two wine pairing options for the tasting menu: the first would bring the price per person to $227 and for the second this price would be $292.  |
| Amuse-bouche |
We chose the tasting menu without the wine pairing and were started with an amuse bouche consisting of a salmon cream with chives, prosciutto on a brioche, and a brioche with tomato. For each of the four courses and for dessert there were two options. Our choices differed for the first course:
- Amberjack crudo, petite crepe, anise cucumber sambal – Sambal is a hot sauce or paste typically made from a mixture of a variety of chili peppers. (J.P.)
- Gold heirloom tomato, grape most, burrata, red bush basil (A.M.)
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| Amberjack |
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| Heirloom tomatoes |
We thought they were both very good.
For the next three courses our choices coincided:- Grilled Skull Island tiger prawn, sesame aioli, Spanish pimento – Tiger prawns from Skull Island, Australia, measure up to 26cm in length and 100g in weight.
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| Tiger prawn |
- Lamb shank osso buco, kohlrabi, sage gremolata (J.P.+A. M.) – Kohlrabi is a cultivar of cabbage.
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| Lamb osso buco |
- Martin's Farm New York strip, porcini mushroom, zweigelt vinegar jus – Zweigelt is an Austrian red wine grape.
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| New York strip |
Everything was again very good, but if we had to pick a winner that would be the New York strip, which was absolutely delicious.
We were then offered a pre-dessert, followed by dessert:- Kahlua and green tea powder. Kahlua is a Mexican coffee liqueur.
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| Kahlua and Green Tea Powder |
- Lemon verbena milk cream, cherry mascarpone mousse, hazelnut ice cream
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| Lemon Cream and Cherry Mousse |
Both were good, but nothing to write home about.
Plume’s wine list is quite impressive. Until December 2016, the sommelier for the last two and half years had been Jennifer Knowles, who has an illustrious career that includes a four-year stint at the Inn atLittle Washington. More recently, Jennifer Knowles moved to Mirabelle, Chef Frank Ruta’s new Washington DC restaurant, and David Metz is now the sommelier at Plume.
Given the extent and breadth of the wine list and to avoid making a choice on the spot, I decided to study the list at home as the full version is available in the restaurant website. Not surprisingly, my search focused on red Burgundy wines, one of my favorites. Prices ranged from $49 for a Beaujolais, Brouilly, to as much as $2,750 for a 1990 Musigny. Staying in the lower portion of this range, I thought that a Beaujolsais would be a bit below par for a dinner at Plume. On the other hand, a Henri Gouges, "Les Vaucrains," 1er Cru, 2011, which is a fantastic wine, would be too expensive at $210. My choice was then something in between: Volnay-Pitures, 1er Cru, Jean-Marc Boillot, 2011 ($125). Jean-Marc Boillot is a winemaker based in Pommard, France. The wine was superb.
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| Gourmandises |
Plume is certainly an excellent dinner option in Washington DC. Our high expectations were fulfilled and prices are commensurate with the high level of food, wine and atmosphere. |
| Entrance, Plume Restaurant |
Dinner for two, including tax, tips, and $125 of wine, added up to $470.
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