Coming Soon: Bouche Bistro

Since it opened earlier this year, Grape Legs, a new wine shop on Ninth Street Northwest, has been winning over customers with generous sample tastings and an affordable selection. (Read more on Counter Intelligence, FreeRide and Daily Candy.)

And the owners have more in store for the neighborhood. Bouche Bistro is scheduled to open June 1 above the wine shop at 1905 Ninth St. NW. The 55-seat restaurant will feature a curved copper-topped bar, cowhide bar stools, church pew seating, chandeliers and candles.

As an extension of Grape Legs, the bistro will waive the corkage fee for wine purchased in the shop. (The fee will be $8 for outside wines.) Furthering what already sounds like great value — most of Grape Legs' wines are priced from $7 to $15 — the bistro will offer quarter-bottle pours of wine, guaranteeing you won't fork over more than the full price for a whole bottle.

The owners have planned an eclectic menu, featuring dishes such as quiche Lorraine with Westphalia ham, country bacon, shallots and Gruyere and Fontina cheeses, and green onion crepes with duck barbecue and hoisin vegetable slaw. Also on the menu: Smithfield ham biscuits, mussels, charcuterie, étouffée, cassoulet, baccala and chowder.

Behind both the wine shop and Bouche are owners Franco Clark (who selects the wine and is a former general manager at Local 16, U-topia and Tabaq), Bryan Deily (also an owner of DC9, The Red and the Black and The Rock and Roll Hotel) and Joey Belcher.

Plans also call for a small stage for nightly performances from local musicians and artists.

Comments

Shaw Rez said…
What an exciting addition to this stretch of 9th Street! Thanks for the report!
Anonymous said…
Bouche over Grape Legs? OMG, I almost feel out of my chair when I saw that.
monkeyrotica said…
So, is charcuterie the new tapas? Seems to me that, from a restaurant owner perspective, this stuff is ideal. Preserved meats, pates, and pickels have a much longer shelf life than fresh meats, fish, or vegetables. Since it's ready to serve, kitchen prep time is minimal. It's got that exotic, European cachet. And you can charge a big premium on smaller portions. I wouldn't be surprised if charcuterie starts showing up on more menus downtown.
Amanda said…
You're right on re: charcuterie. I don't know of many (American/European) restaurants that have opened recently without a cheese or charcuterie offering. Central, Bar Pilar, Sonoma, Al Crostino, EatBar, Bastille...Proof will have it, Hook will have country ham tastings, etc.
Franco said…
Amanda - This is Franco. Many thanks for the solid!

My partners, and I are railed about our plans for Bouche, and the excitment/support we are diggin' from the community.

Despite the typical hurdles, myths, and rumors, we are confirmed to open to open June 1.

Peace,
Franco Clark

The place looks crazy. The same cats (Joe and Mic) that designed Local 16, Science Club, Napolean and the new Andalue are doing Bouche.

We've begun booking our resident acts. Can't give names yet, but all the acts showcase the amazing, young talent that offer a fresh taste of talent residing in DC.

So far we've booked a hard-bop core group, that will include several sit-ins for Fridays. Latin/Brazilian for Wednesdays. World-reknown down-tempo acid-jazz DJs for Thursdays. A magician on Mondays. An obscure indie DJ for Sundays. Still working on finalizing Tyes and Sun.

If people are interested, we plan on conducting a 3-night soft opening.

The first for family and neighbors. But for each of the other two nights we plan on selecting thirty (30) random guests.

If your readers are interested in attending, they should send me an email. We will then put all of the recieved email addresses in a bucket and pluck out the invitees.
Amanda said…
Hear that, readers? Drop me an email if you'd like to be in the running for a soft opening invite, and I'll put you in touch with Franco.

And thanks Franco for stopping by and giving us some more info on Bouche!
City Girl DC said…
Just curious as to what happened with Bouche Bistro and Grape Legs. It appears to be closed. Anyone with info?

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