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Breakfast & Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner nightly, Brunch Sat.-Sun.

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Dining room at Blue Duck Tavern, Washington, DC

Blue Duck Tavern Restaurant Review

: Blue Duck Tavern takes on American farmland fare with a zeal that epicures will appreciate. The menu, under the direction of French chef Sebastien Archambault, even has Texan overtones: imagine fried chicken and waffles for brunch in this classy setting. Breakfast is also a highlight, taken to new heights with crispy-fried chicken livers and more familiar omelets and frittatas. Lunch stars duck leg confit with peas, cured tomato and ramps, and a Wagyu beef salad. Dinner may start with silken foie gras, oysters on the half shell or roasted bone marrow. Entrées add such temptations as roasted suckling pig, braised beef rib and Muscovy duck breast. For dessert, do not skip the famous apple pie, which is more tart than pie, and forms the backdrop to vanilla ice cream. Because the chef is farmer-friendly, the menu undergoes seasonal changes. One thing is certain: Archambault has elevated the cooking. Wine aficionados will enjoy the extensive wine list that offers 200-plus choices, created with an eye to pleasing a wide audience with labels from Italy, France, California and Virginia, with price tags to match; the sommelier makes a great effort to round out the selections to complement the restaurant's food. Also ask about the exotic teas in the adjacent tea cellar.

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RESTAURANT AWARDS 2013

Check out the 2013 edition of GAYOT's Annual Restaurant Issue, which features the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., Rising Chefs and more.