Another thing besides food that my wife Jun and I are passionate about is wine. We first got to know each other through shared love for a glass of wines (especially at a rooftop or outdoor wine bar on a gorgeous day in Manhattan), and we even had our wedding in Napa Valley. Ever since we moved to the DC metro area, we continued to enjoy trying new wines, but mostly in our home instead of outside, partly because Bethesda (where we live) doesn’t really have a killer wine bar. When the team behind Lutèce and Pascual opened a new wine bar in Adams Morgan last year, I wanted to see if Maison Bar À Vins would solve that problem of finding a casual wine bar where we can try a few wines along with delicious food. I’m happy to report that our recent visit last month to Maison Bar À Vins was quite satisfying.

For the Maison project, Matt Conroy (the executive chef of Lutèce and Pascual) put chef de cuisine Jason Chaveson (formerly at Reverie; still can’t get over the fact it closed so abruptly) in charge of the kitchen, which is located downstairs away from the dining room. The relatively concise menu at Maison features mostly French dishes that are smartly prepared and also great for sharing. We both quite enjoyed the dish called tarama (a traditional Greek dip made from salted fish roe) inside seaweed choux buns. Same for the crispy tête de Cochon with rich, creamy Mornay sauce that was not as heavy as I would’ve expected. Getting one or two vegetables at Maison is also a wise choice. We liked the carrots with ‘nduja and Bleu d’Ambert cheese, but it was the dramatically plated beet tart (I certainly didn’t expect an entire chunk of beet on top of the tart) that really stole the show with terrific texture and freshness. For larger dishes, the brioche stuffed chicken seems to have quickly become a signature dish at the restaurant. The texture of the chicken breast was on point and the choice of green-colored brioche worked quite well. If you still have room for dessert, my vote is to go with the delightful profiteroles with banana and rhum that would not be out of place at a top bistro in Paris. We also tried the Basque cheesecake and Vin Jaune and wildflower-honey; based on the way Jun savored the soft cheesecake, I immediately knew it was a success.

Getting a reservation at Maison Bar À Vins will definitely require advance planning, especially given the relatively small size of the dining room behind the bar area (which seems more amenable to walk-ins). I also was impressed with the breadth of the wine list covering different geographic regions in France and beyond, with many of the bottles at fairly reasonable price points and leaning on natural style. The darkly lit dining room where we dined was a little cramped but otherwise worked fine with as a nice dating spot or for gathering with friends and family. The service was overall friendly and seamless as well. We had a lot to like about Maison Bar À Vins with familiar yet well-executed food and an enticing wine list; I was told that the food and wine menu changes fairly constantly. I look forward to visiting again with Jun next time we see some significant changes to the menu. It is certainly a wine bar in DC worth visiting for serious food and wine experience.

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

Address: 1834 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009

Website: https://www.maisondc.com/

Reservation via Resy