“La Bise will open in mid-June 2021 in the former Oval Room location”

rendering inside 800 Connecticut Avenue, NW

From a press release:

“Ashok Bajaj, founder, and CEO of award-winning Knightsbridge Restaurant Group is pleased to announce the opening of La Bise, a modern, bright, and colorful 21st century French restaurant. La Bise will open in mid-June 2021 in the former Oval Room location, at 800 Connecticut Avenue, NW, just steps from the White House. Patrons can anticipate an expanded outdoor patio, inviting bar, and an engaging, open-air kitchen with two distinctive dining room options.

Tyler Stout has been tapped to serve as the executive chef for La Bise. He was most recently the executive chef at Troquet on South in Boston. Stout grew up in Raleigh and Pembroke, North Carolina, helping at his family’s farm and their Cozy Corner restaurant. It was here he developed a love for honest, simple cuisine. At age 15, he moved to Germantown, Maryland and began cooking at the Comus Inn in Dickerson, Maryland. Stout expanded his culinary skills at L’Academie de Cuisine’s professional program and accepted positions at Newton’s Table in Bethesda, and then joined the opening team of Barrel and Crow. Macon Bistro & Larder was his next appointment. He was named this restaurant’s new chef de cuisine in 2016. He then headed to Boston, developing tasting menus for wine centric Troquet on South, as the new executive chef.

As soon as guests enter La Bise, they will feel the energy, experiencing the kitchen activity from the new, extended bar. Comfortable stools will invite lingering at this vibrant hub in the restaurant, which has the best vantage for watching the chefs at work. The bar area sports new liquor displays, new lighting, colorful tile, and French-inspired wallpaper. Overhead one will find octagonal display cases with greenery and bottles. The bar is open on the sides so the bartender can mix more freely with the crowd adding to the festivities. La Bise’s bar promises to be a lively spot.

The two dining rooms will showcase their own distinctive style. One dining room will have a new light-grabbing reflective mirrored wall. The banquettes in this dining room will feature a bold striped fabric design, complementing the salmon-colored wallpaper, which will accent the entire room. The second dining room will have deep tufted banquettes and custom murals of Paris which evoke memories of this romantic city. Both dining rooms will have deep moldings, new sconces, and vibrant color palettes. Clusters of framed art will bedeck La Bise’s walls. The carpet will be plush under foot, echoing the octagons above the bar. The colors and patterns on patterns will enhance the lively atmosphere.

“We are striving to make La Bise the sophisticated but approachable, new fun French Restaurant in the neighborhood,” states the interior designer of record, Martin Vahtra of Project Design Associates of New York. “The décor will mirror the memorable French cuisine of La Bise, as it is plated and served from the dynamic open kitchen.”

For more information, visit www.labisedc.com.”