Restaurant Week is designed to make dining out feel delightfully simple: choose a participating restaurant, select a prix-fixe menu, and enjoy several courses at a set price.
But what does Restaurant Week actually cost once tax, service fees, gratuity, wine, and tempting upgrades enter the picture?
Here is the transparent answer for Washington, DC’s Summer Restaurant Week 2026, and a closer look at what your evening may cost at Bistrot Lepic & Wine Bar, our neighborhood French bistrot in Georgetown.
The short answer: expect more than the advertised price
Metropolitan Washington Summer Restaurant Week runs from Monday, August 24 through Sunday, August 30, 2026. Participating restaurants offer three-course menus at established price points:
- Lunch and brunch: $25 or $35 per person
- Dinner: $40, $55, or $65 per person
Those prices are a useful starting point, but they generally do not include tax, gratuity, service fees, or beverages. The final check can be noticeably higher, especially if you add a bottle of wine or select menu supplements.
At Bistrot Lepic, our Restaurant Week dinner menu is offered Tuesday, August 25 through Sunday, August 30, from 5:00 to 9:30 p.m. The prix-fixe price is:
$40 per person, excluding tax and gratuities
That makes Bistrot Lepic one of the more accessible dinner options within the citywide Restaurant Week structure, while still offering a full French dining experience with three courses.
What is included in Bistrot Lepic’s $40 dinner?
Our Restaurant Week menu invites guests to compose a meal from a selection of French bistrot favorites. The structure includes an appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
Appetizers
The first course includes comforting and refreshing choices such as:
- Soupe du jour, a savory seasonal soup
- Pied de cochon, crisp boneless pig’s feet with onion mustard sauce
- Salade de crevettes et avocat, a shrimp and avocado salad
- Tartare de saumon, prepared with fresh dill, extra-virgin olive oil, and lemon
- Salade Bistrot Lepic, an organic baby green salad with fried cherry tomato
Several more indulgent selections are available for an additional charge. Terrine de mousse de foie de volaille with toasted brioche and escargots baked in garlic butter each carry a $5 supplement.
Entrées
For the main course, guests can choose from seafood, poultry, meat, and vegetarian preparations. Options include:
- Truite meunière amandine, pan-seared trout with roasted almonds, spinach, and pomme purée
- Salade de fruit de mer, spring greens with grilled salmon, trout, and shrimp
- Paillasson de saumon, salmon in a crisp potato crust with butternut squash sauce
- Rognons de veau, sauce Dijon, veal kidneys with Yukon Gold potato purée and Dijon mustard
- Foie de veau Provençale, calf liver with capers, garlic, black olives, and Jerez vinegar
- Risotto végétarien, mushroom risotto and vegetables finished with Parmesan
Guests craving something especially substantial can add $10 for confit de canard, served with French fries and mixed salad, or for pan-seared beef medallions with creamy polenta and wild mushroom jus.
Desserts
The meal concludes with a choice of classic French sweets:
- Île flottante, soft meringue with sliced almonds, caramel, and crème anglaise
- Gâteau au chocolat with crème anglaise
- Homemade fresh fruit tart
The result is a generous three-course menu that balances tradition, texture, and seasonal appeal, from crisp potato crust and tender fish to velvety purée, luscious sauces, and delicate pastry.
You can review the complete Bistrot Lepic Restaurant Week menu before booking.
A realistic cost breakdown for one diner
Let’s look beyond the headline price.
Assuming one guest orders the standard $40 menu without supplements or alcoholic beverages:
| Item | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| Restaurant Week menu | $40.00 |
| DC sales tax, 10% | $4.00 |
| Bistrot Lepic 3% service fee | $1.20 |
| Suggested 20% gratuity on food | $8.00 |
| Estimated total | $53.20 |
This is an illustration, not a promise of the exact amount on every check. Taxes, service fees, and gratuity calculations can vary depending on how a restaurant applies them. At Bistrot Lepic, a 3% service fee is added to guest checks to help cover increasing server wages; it is not a tip.
So, for planning purposes, a $40 Restaurant Week dinner is best understood as approximately $52–$55 per person before wine or cocktails, depending on the gratuity calculation and final check details.
The honest takeaway: Restaurant Week remains an excellent value, but the advertised price is not the same as the amount you will place on your credit card.
What will dinner cost for two?
For two guests ordering the standard $40 menu:
- Prix-fixe menus: $80
- Estimated DC tax: $8
- Estimated 3% service fee: $2.40
- Suggested 20% gratuity on food: $16
- Estimated total before drinks: $106.40
A couple who chooses one $5 appetizer supplement each would add $10 before tax and gratuity. Two $10 entrée upgrades would add another $20. With both, the estimated total would move closer to $145–$150 before wine, depending on the final calculations.
This is where Restaurant Week becomes a matter of preference. You can enjoy a complete, polished French dinner for around $106 for two, or personalize the experience with richer selections and a bottle from our cellar.
The wine question: where the bill can change most
For many guests, French cuisine and wine are inseparable. A crisp Sancerre alongside seafood, a mineral white with trout, or a structured red with duck can transform a good meal into a memorable one.
At Bistrot Lepic, our French wine program includes bottles from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Loire Valley, and other celebrated regions, along with selections from smaller producers. Our team is happy to guide you toward a pairing that suits both your meal and your budget.
If you order wine by the glass, the easiest way to control the total is to decide in advance whether you would like:
- One glass with the appetizer or entrée
- A glass for each diner
- A shared bottle
- Or a wine-free meal with the option of a digestif afterward
As a general planning example, two glasses at $14 each would add approximately $28 before tax and gratuity. A bottle may offer better value for two wine drinkers, but the price range is broader. Check our current wine list or ask your server for a recommendation.
If you are looking for a more casual pre-dinner visit, our happy hour offers half-price wines by the glass Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Wine Bar only. Please note that Restaurant Week dinner and happy hour availability should be confirmed when making your plans.
Three ways to make Restaurant Week work for your budget
1. Treat the $40 price as the beginning of your estimate
For a comfortable dinner budget, plan around $53 per person before drinks when accounting for tax, the service fee, and gratuity. This avoids an unpleasant surprise at the end of an otherwise lovely evening.
2. Choose one indulgence
The Restaurant Week menu includes optional $5 appetizer supplements and $10 entrée upgrades. You do not need to upgrade every course. Select one personal favorite, perhaps the escargots, duck confit, or beef medallions, and keep the rest of the meal at the standard price.
3. Reserve early and read the details
Restaurant Week tables are sought-after, particularly during prime dinner hours and on Friday and Saturday evenings. Reserve Bistrot Lepic through OpenTable, and review the menu before arriving so you know which dishes carry supplements.
Is Restaurant Week worth it at Bistrot Lepic?
Our honest answer is yes: provided you understand what the fixed price does and does not include.
For $40, guests can settle into an intimate Georgetown dining room, enjoy three courses of carefully prepared French cuisine, and experience the convivial hospitality that has made Bistrot Lepic a neighborhood institution since 1995. The menu offers savory, crisp, tender, creamy, and sweet notes in satisfying succession, with enough flexibility for seafood lovers, meat enthusiasts, and vegetarians alike.
Restaurant Week is not merely about finding the lowest possible price. It is an invitation to discover a dining room, a cuisine, or a personal secret you may return to long after the promotion ends.
Join us in Georgetown from August 25 through August 30 for a full French dinner at $40 per person before tax and gratuity. Come for the value, stay for the warm welcome, the polished service, the wine, and the unmistakable pleasure of a classic neighborhood bistrot.
View the Restaurant Week menu · Make a reservation · Explore Bistrot Lepic’s cuisine