Up On The Roof

The sky’s the limit for a new French restaurant in Fairfax.

FAIRFAX’S MOSAIC DISTRICT HAS plenty going for it. The sparkling development places nearly every conceivable dining option within walking distance of a town square-like lawn and a movie theater. But until recently, Mosaic was missing a French eatery worthy of date-night reservations, and its rooftops were used for shelter rather than socializing. Parc de Ville, a French bistro that opened in late 2019 and is adding a rooftop wine garden this year, is changing that.

Paris-Brest, steak tartare “au couteau,” and salade maison.

“There was a gap in the market,” explains Ian Hilton who, with his brother Eric, runs nearly a dozen restaurants in and around the District of Columbia, including the live-music bar Marvin and the taqueria El Rey. Eric is also part of Thievery Corporation, one of the biggest electronic music groups to emerge from D.C.

The 5,100-square-foot, 100-seat corner restaurant space was begging to be put to good use, Hilton says. The last restaurant that occupied the space, Requin Brasserie, was also French but closed in 2018, and the Southern-style restaurant before that barely lasted a year. The space isn’t cursed, Hilton insists. But, just in case, they gave its interior a thoughtful overhaul. 

For those used to dining in cramped D.C. quarters, Parc de Ville’s high ceilings and black-and-white color palette—including a toile-inspired mural of ceiling-high trees—lend the space an airy, Parisienne feel but avoid the white-gloved stuffiness of French fine dining. A dark turquoise velour booth that wraps around the walls adds to the modern appeal while offering cozy corner spots for intimate dinners. And floor-to-ceiling windows brighten brunch and lunch service.  

Croque madame.

French fare fits the space, and who better to bring proper French cuisine back to Mosaic than chef Brendan L’Etoile? He has helmed the Hilton brothers’ lauded bistro, Chez Billy Sud in Georgetown, for many years, and regulars of the sophisticated D.C. eatery will recognize most of the Parc de Ville menu’s offerings, from steak-frites and buttery seafood entrees to onion soup and escargot. (“Why not? It’s a winner of a menu,” says Hilton.) L’Etoile’s kitchen is something of a family affair, too, with his mother, Lilienne Conklin, working as pastry chef, and his uncle as a sous chef.

A few regional specialties, such as oeufs en meurrette, which places duck egg, bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms in a red wine sauce from the Burgundy region, accent the traditional dishes at Parc de Ville. On a recent visit, little pools of parsley-garlic butter and diced mushrooms—at first hidden beneath puff pastry and escargot—doubled as superb dipping sauce for hunks of the crusty baguette accompanying hors d’oeuvres. “Chef likes to use a little bit of butter from time to time,” Hilton says with a chuckle. Diners watching their waistlines should, indeed, beware, but the cheesy onion soup and the steak’s signature béarnaise sauce are worth the indulgence. 

On the lighter side is a nearly bottomless portion of steaming mussels that taste airy from mingling with fennel, tarragon, and pastis, an anise-based liqueur. The finger-licking, crisp French fries that accompany them ensure that neither surf nor turf lovers will leave hungry.

French wine enthusiasts have a full list to consider. Parc de Ville’s wine menu focuses on serving “wines of place” (essentially an American phrase for terroir) whose agricultural practices well represent the regions from which they come.

The interior of Parc de Ville is as appetizing as the food.

And if having a certain je ne sais quoi while drinking the wine matters, too, consider the restaurant’s 3,000-square-foot rooftop wine garden, expected to open this year (although delayed by coronavirus-related closures this spring). The roof will have room for about 100 seats in a green, garden-like atmosphere. The greenery, Hilton admits, will be as much to distract from the lackluster views of nearby parking lots and retail buildings as to create some under-the-stars ambiance. “It’s nice to drink wine in a park-like setting, and ‘wine garden’ just sounds nice … better than ‘roof deck,’” Hilton says. 

Whatever you want to call it, eating on the roof is still a unique experience in this part of Fairfax County. The building’s previous owners started to get the county’s permission to develop the rooftop but never finished the process, which can be onerous. Hilton thinks the experience will be worth the paperwork, though. The same menu will be featured both indoors and out, without the usual limitations of a bar setting. “The main goal is not a lot of rules. We want people to feel free to grab a table up there and have a bottle of wine or an appetizer—or dinner,” says Hilton. “We always try to have as few rules as possible for the people who walk through the door.”

Hilton, who lives in Arlington, says he’s glad to be opening more places beyond the nation’s capital and in Virginia. He and his brother are also planning to bring casual French to Arlington’s Lee Heights this year with the opening of Café Colline. “I have a good group of people who have a handle on our legacy of businesses that have been open for a while in D.C.,” Hilton says, “so it’s been fun to build out in some of these neighborhoods where I spend my days and nights.” ParcDeVille.com