An escargot’s throw from his Michelin-starred restaurant, Masseria, Chef Nick Stefanelli’s new Le Clou brings polished French fare to NoMa, an area with a growing number of restaurants, but few at this level. The French brasserie and its stylish, modern dining room opened mid-December inside the new Morrow Hotel at Third and M streets NE.
Stefanelli already has Italian (Officina and Masseria) and Greek (Philotimo, though it’s temporarily closed) under his belt. For the fare at Le Clou, he leans into his educational roots from L’Academie de Cuisine and on French tradition: escargot, gooey French onion soup, steak frites, and beef bourguignon all feature on the menu.
The menu begins as many buzzy French restaurants do, with various types of seafood (oysters, shrimp, ceviche, lobster), or presented together in seafood towers in two sizes ($75 or $120) .
Stefanelli scooped chef de cuisine, Nico Cezar, from Masseria. Together, Cezar and Stefanelli create more modern approaches to some of the classics: for example, fanciful dishes kick off the meal, including fois gras paired with huckleberry gastrique over pliable brioche, and a single garlic-butter-drenched escargot nestled in puff pastry ($21). Another French classic, frog legs ($22), sits in a saffron sauce alongside Parisian gnocchi, in which wheat flour subs in for potato.
The restaurant also offers three types of salads to start, including leeks under a shaving of seasonal black truffles in a crunchy mustard vinaigrette ($17).
Cezar notes that he and Stefanelli aim to create a “neo-bistro” style space:“classic fare that still expresses a touch of our whimsy. It’s modern and international but still eats like French,” he said in an interview. They also source locally when possible; shrimp comes from North Carolina and apples are sourced from Virginia right now, Cezar notes.
Main dishes are rib-sticking country fare. A whole trout sits under a shower of sliced almonds, ($32) 12-hour braised short rib is finished in red wine ($36), and duck is cooked in a cherry sauce ($40).
Vegetarians will find options on the menu as well, however. Stefanelli brings breakfast to dinner in the form of an omelet, as well as the classic artichoke barigoule, a springtime romp of artichokes and other vegetables braised in white wine and olive oil.
To add a more playful vibe, servers will soon use carts to ply diners with both Champagne and cheese. (The carts have yet to arrive from France). The bubbles cart has a rotating list of ten options by the glass. For now, diners looking for their sparkling wine fix can order the old fashioned way — or use the Champagne vending machine in the lobby. Once it arrives, the dairy wagon will offer options for both starts and dessert.
As for the drinks, Le Clou’s list brings tongue-in-cheek names to elegant ingredients. The Serendipity ($18) marries calvados, champagne, and mint; and The Fall of the Spritz ($18) brings together St Germain, muscat wine, sparkling water, and (again), champagne. A short list of non-alcoholic drinks accompanies the hard stuff.
Stefanelli notes that his wine list is ”a love letter to the wines of France,” featuring more than 600 labels, most of which are French. Stefanelli selected many of them himself on recent trips to Burgundy and Champagne. Head sommelier Jaime Smith will run the program, which also showcases reds in the dining room (whites chill behind closed doors).
The design of the handsome dining room is modern, but warm, utilizing a variety of brown tones, including on wood-wrapped columns and gold-tinted accent lighting. Floor-to-ceiling windows welcome plenty of daylight, which highlights hanging brass light fixtures, curved leather banquettes set off by baby-blue chairs, and an open kitchen. The adjoining lobby lounge offers coffee and light bites.
Le Clou is currently only serving dinner; it will start to offer brunch, breakfast, and lunch later in the winter.
That’s not all Stefanelli has planned at The Morrow. He’s also overseeing the forthcoming 11th-floor Vesper, an intimate lounge with live music, cocktails, classic hors d’oeurves, and a caviar service set to open next year. (It will also offer afternoon tea and champagne service on the weekends.) Higher up even will be Upstairs at the Morrow, a rooftop panoramic point with drinks, charcuterie boards, and other appetizers — also set to open in 2023.
Le Clou is located at 222 M St. NE and open Sunday – Thursday, 5:30 – 10 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 5:30 – 11 p.m., with breakfast and lunch hours to launching soon.
