Georgetown’s most imaginative dinner reservation is hiding upstairs behind the right door on P Street.
A 20-Seat Dining Room Turns the Page on Ordinary Nights Out
La Bohème is an intimate 20-seat dining room in Georgetown where the seasonal prix fixe changes with a theme drawn from art, literature, and music. This summer, the theme is pure fantasy. “Enchanted Summer: The Return of Tolkien” debuted July 8, and Executive Chef Jennifer Castaneda-Jones has built a Modern-American menu inspired by the life and imagination of author J.R.R. Tolkien.
Each course arrives with a story and a reason, told tableside, so dinner unfolds like chapters in a book. Moreover, the experience is a genuine invitation to pick up reading again. Guests choose four courses for $99 or six courses for $135, with choices within every course. Consequently, no two tables share quite the same adventure!
Every Course Tells a Story Worth Savoring
The menu reads like a well-worn paperback. Cold and warm starters open the evening, from ahi tuna crudo with compressed watermelon to a layered potato mille feuille crowned with smoked trout roe, plus a rustic pork pie wrapped in golden hot water crust.
Supper follows with a braised rabbit leg pressé in spicy peanut sauce or roasted lamb loin with romesco and charred eggplant purée. Dessert delivers a fittingly fiery finale: a molten guanaja lava cake glazed in morello cherry. Storybook whimsy meets genuinely accomplished cooking, and the kitchen never lets the fun outpace the craft.
Seasonal add-ons, including caviar supplements, reward the adventurous. Above all, this is thoughtful, Elvin-inspired food that honors both the author and the diner.
Sommelier Pairings Keep the Evening Moving
Owner and advanced sommelier Elli Benchimol curates wine and cocktail pairings matched to each theme, and her talented team brings them to life. Sommelier Dave Kahler, alongside Anna Rojas-Quispe, keeps the pacing lively and the storytelling flowing from pour to pour.
Wine pairings run $55 for four courses and $85 for six, while cocktail pairings are $65 and $95. Meanwhile, the servers are friendly, warm, and genuinely relaxed, which makes the small room feel like a gathering of old friends.
Beat the heat with a tasting menu this transporting, then spend the weekend rereading your favorite Tolkien paperbacks with fresh eyes. Few DC restaurants send you home this inspired!
Reserve Your Seat Before the Table Fills for the Season
Reservations for parties of one to six are available now on Tock, and @labohemedc previews each seasonal chapter on Instagram. Private events can be arranged through the restaurant directly.
The Washington Lobbyist visits, tastes, and reports firsthand so readers always know where DC’s most memorable tables are waiting. Therefore, let this be your sign: gather your favorite reading companions, book the upstairs room, and let us know what you think when the story ends.
