Le Diplomate Celebrates 10 Years of French Cafe Culture in DC

What was once a dry cleaner on D.C.’s 14th Street NW became a mainstay of the District’s restaurant scene. 

As Le Diplomate hits 10 years of serving presidents, tourists and everyone in between, News4 checked out secrets to the French cafe’s staying power. 

Le Diplomate strives for consistency in its food, ambiance and hospitality, said Eva Torres, director of restaurants for Starr Restaurants, Le Diplomate’s parent company. 

“We do tastings of all of our dishes at the beginning of every shift — brunch, lunch, dinner — to make sure that the omelet you're having today is going to be the same that you have in the next year,” she said. 

Le Diplomate aims to provide consistently high service for dignitaries and everyday people alike. 

“Every guest that comes in should feel like they are the special guests here of the evening,” Torres said. “There's no preferential treatment. A table of 20 will be treated just as well as a table of one.” 

As for the ambiance, Torres said she thinks the restaurant’s high windows are key and give a unique “airiness” in the daytime. 

“This restaurant has a special feeling in it, day or night,” she said. 

Outside, Le Diplomate has been credited with adding sophistication to the 14th Street corridor and transforming the block.

In the kitchen, Executive Chef Will Trover shared some tricks to making Le Diplomate’s classic, rolled French omelet. 

“We’re taking the eggs and we’re scrambling them very aggressively and kind of making a custard out of it. And then we let the bottom set, and then we roll it in place so that when you cut it open, it's very custardy inside,” he said in the restaurant’s bustling kitchen. 

Control of the stove’s flame is important, he added.

Trover counted the omelet as one of his favorite dishes, as well as the escargot. 

“We do a very nice compound butter — a secret recipe, of course. With dipping in the baguette, it’s perfect,” he said.