Le Diplomate Taking Reservations for April 12

From Kathryn Ciano. Follow her on Twitter @katciano. Email her at  kathryn[AT]borderstan.com.

Le Diplomate’s beautiful neon sign. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Leather and wood inside Le Diplomate. (Kathryn Ciano)

Le Diplomate, a French restaurant coming to 14th and Q Streets NW, will be open soon and is taking reservations, starting April 12.

Opening day comes after two years of development work and many demolition dollars that were used to repurpose the old laundromat at 14th and Q Streets.

The long-anticipated restaurant went through a lengthy liquor license application and laundromat demolition.

Stephen Starr’s Le Diplomate will seat 260 diners and serve lunch, brunch and dinner. The menu will be a hybrid of traditional bistro dishes and contemporary selections, paired with cocktails and wines.

Le Diplomate will also have a patio, just in time for spring.

Inside, red leather booths and authentic French furniture — some of it actually imported from Paris — decorate the space. The efficient, light-wood interior all bring to mind a railroad dining car (or one smoldering cigarette shy of the perfect Parisian café).

To make reservations, call 202-332-3333 between 10 am and 6 pm.

Get an RSS Feed for all Borderstan stories or subscribe to Borderstan’s daily email newsletter.