On Friday, DCist got an advanced look at IndeBleu, the restaurant and lounge on G Street that is primed to set a new standard for service, design and taste in the District. Though IndeBleu is still under construction, you can tell from this DCist photo that the view from its second floor dining room will provide a great vantage point of the Seventh Street corridor, MCI Center and the National Portrait Gallery (whenever renovations are complete) across the street. IndeBleu should be open for business around Dec. 18.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art kitchen, IndeBleu chef Vikram Garg has been brought over specially from the Leela Palace in Bangalore, India, to fuse contemporary French cuisine with influences from the subcontinent. “Vikram is a master at controlling spices,” Jay Coldren, of the Bleu Group, tells DCist.

While IndeBleu’s approach to cuisine intrigues DCist, we’re also anxious to see how the design turns out. Architects Theodore Adamstein and Olvia Demetriou — who designed Bistro Bis, Zola, and Zaytinya, among others — were charged with creating IndeBleu’s interior spaces. Along with a Prague-style lounge, that will host a swinging mattress and a DJ pod, among other innovative features, there will two bars connected by a dramatic multi-story foyer and staircase. Instead of mirrors in the bathroom, the lounge area’s restrooms will have videoscreens.

IndeBleu will offer European bottle service and 400 wines. Additionally, nine management experts have been flown in from the U.K. to train the local waitstaff in the best service techniques, which will bring a new element to a city filled with restaurants that don’t generally place an emphasis on service.