Ritz Restaurants get New Looks, New Menus

Greater guest demand at the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown is causing the hotel to transform its current restaurant, bar and grill design.

The restaurant, located on South Street NW, will become a permanent banquet rental space titled Fahrenheit Ballroom, opening on Nov. 1. The current bar and lounge that is featured will be called Degrees Bistro.

General Manager Grant Dipman stated that within the past year there was a significant increase in demand for rental of Fahrenheit restaurant. These requests were for corporate and social events.

The new design and business strategy of the Ballroom and Degrees Bistro will allow the Ritz Carlton of Georgetown to increase group room nights and improve their food and beverage revenue.

The Degrees Bistro’s design was chosen to compliment the current industrial style that the hotel offers. It has classic bistro table and banquet seating for up to 46 guests. The bar features a design prototype modeled for an upscale, casual restaurant which seats up to 20 additional guests.

Executive Chef Quang Duang, who serves the hotel’s in-room and banquet meals, created a new menu that offers traditional French bistro exclusives with cocktail and wine lists to compliment. Some of the new dishes featured are Chesapeake Crab Cake Sandwiches, Grilled Chicken and New York Strip, and Pan-Seared Atlantic Salmon.

Some traditional French bistro classics like Roasted Chicken Grand Mere, French Onion Soup and Steak Frites with Béarnaise Sauce are also included on the new menus.

For business guests and early-risers, breakfast hours on weekdays will still be 6:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. For dinners, service will begin at 5:30 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. and lunch service will take place between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. They will also have a Friday through Saturday Light Fare Menu for very late guests starting at 2:30 p.m. and closing at 1 a.m.

The new design is meant to continue to provide a sense of community in the heart of the historic Georgetown neighborhood.