This was our first visit but definitely not the last. We felt very comfortable in what Annette described as a revival of a bygone era.
Owner Saeed Abtali, who was born in Tehran, opened the restaurant with his wife Soraya 25 years ago, with a view of offering an intimate and charming dining experience true to the Parisian tradition. The restaurant is decorated with Renaissance and Renoir replicas and gilded sconces. There are fresh cut flower arrangements on each table. The tables are covered by white tablecloths with elegant china and cutlery. Waiters are not college students but seasoned professionals. Saeed greets you if you were a dear friend and most likely many of his customers are good friends.
The food is French (and some Italian) classics, like Filet Mignon Au Poivre, Le Châteaubriant Pour Deux and Confit de Canard. I enjoyed watching Saeed's tableside preparation of a classic flambé dessert.
Thee wine list is large and put togather with the help of Vienna Vintner (also in Vienna, VA), but you can bring a wine from your cellar. Corkage fee is US$25. We will be back with an aged Bordeaux from my cellar and Annette will order the Confit de Canard (US$38).
Cafe Renaissance hosts regular wine dinners and a monthly high tea event on the last Saturday of every month.
Cafe Renaissance (donrockwell.com)
I am surprised that this little jewel of a fine dining establishment doesn't receive more fanfare. It's tucked in a the back of a strip mall a few doors down from the Virginian on Glyndon St., just off 123.
Cafe Renaissance is not that big -- the main room might seat 50 on a Saturday night, and the little room off the front side might seat another dozen or so -- but it is probably the most comfortable and romantic dining room in northern Virginia. From the white tablecloths with fresh cut roses, the tuxedoed and attentive wait staff, the paintings and murals on the walls...this is where you take the significant other for a romantic dinner. Of course, that means it's not a guys-night-out kind of place, or one of those loud bistros where you have to shout to be heard by your dining companion.
Saeed and Soraya are the Persian couple who own the restaurant, and Ocean Joseph is the Turkish chef who runs the kitchen. Ocean's food is the best kept secret in northern Virginia. He generally nods in the direction of Italy with a few Turkish riffs tossed in. The mussels are spectacular, with a garlic-y broth as the base, which I sopped up with almost a whole basket of bread. My girlfriend then enjoyed a tower of salmon, monkfish and crab cake, sauced with a wine and butter reduction, with a wonderful carrot puree that was poached in Grand Marnier for 4 hours. I had a mixed grill of lamb and steak, each bit tender enough to be cut by my fork, and sauced with a raisin glace. On previous visits I was able to enjoy my inner European foodie with pate, sweetbreads and calves liver. But whenever I have a hankering for a big pile of mussels, this is where I come. For flair, Ocean is experimenting with different dinnerware shapes and sizes, and he is also exploring some new twists on recipe themes. I'm looking forward to tasting the evolving repertoire over the coming months.
A word about the extensive wine list -- Kirby Pope, who runs the Vienna Vintner in the same strip mall -- and worthy of a whole write-up on his own -- helped put together a very thoughtful and extensive wine list for Cafe Renaissance. You're not likely to find a better wine list this side of 2941. When you're in this part of Vienna, a visit with Kirby prior to a bucket of mussels from Ocean is about the best way I can imagine to enjoy a few hours of the good life.
Our Wine Selection
Tableside Preparation of a Classic Flambé Dessert
Menu
Personalized Hosting: Saeed Abtahi is highly praised by guests as the ultimate host, known for his warm old-world greetings, table interactions, and signature flaming specialty coffee drinks
Announcement: Small Group (12 people) Wine Tours to Europe (Italy and Germany) this Year (2026) by ombiasy WineTours with Annette Schiller Germany Classic 2026 (Franken, Rheingau, Mittelrhein, Ahr, Mosel, Nahe, Rheinhessen) by ombiasy WineTours (June 28 to July 8, Summary) Tuscany - Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Super Tuscans, Maremma, Bolgheri - 2026 by ombiasy Wine Tours, led by Annette Schiller (Summery, June 8-18) Overview: Rhône Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller - Facebook Day-by-day Postings Overview: Germany Rhein-Mosel-Nahe 2024 by Ombiasy Public Relations and Wine Tours led by Annette Schiller - Facebook Day-by-day Postings
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2024 Annual Meeting of the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim, a 45 Years Old Wine Brotherhood in the Famous Wine Village Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany, with Annette Schiller, Founding Member, and Christian Schiller
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2025
Rieslingfeier Gala Dinner in New York City, Sky Loft, 32nd Floor of 50
Hudson Yard, with 15 #worldclass Winemakers from Germany + Austria and Estimated 300 Wines, many 20, 30, 40 Years old, many Larger Format and almost all Ultra-premium
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(USA, Washington DC, December 12, 2025) of the Washington DC Chapter of
the German Wine Society USA (via Zoom), February 21, 2026
Summary: Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours
Summary: From Lyon to Paris - Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours (July 02 - 13, 2023)
Summary: Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours - 12 Days: May 28 - June 08, 2023
Christian Schiller`s SCHILLER-WINE Blog on Corking Wines` Top 101 Wine Writers of 2020 List
2022 Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Virginia, USA
Massive Tasting of Bordeaux 1982 - the Vintage that made Robert Parker a Star, USA/ France
Kékfrankos - Blaufränkisch - Lemberger: A Grape’s Immigration Story From Central Europe To The US West Coast - Seminar at the 2023 American Wine Society National Conference in St. Louis/ Missouri/ USA led by Annette Schiller
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Dinner at JAN in Munich, Germany, with Jan Hartwig, one of the ten German 3-star Michelin Chefs (September 2024)
