Nearby

Managed by Executive Chef Robert Wiedmaier (best known for his D.C. restaurants Marcel and Brasserie Beck), Brabo serves what Watson says is “French and American food with Belgian flare,” adding: “It’s a white tablecloth bistro with high-end service in a relaxed setting.” Certainly, the place has given Old Town a little uptown sizzle during an economic downturn. The décor is both modern and minimalist—a copper bar, bronze hues, high-back chairs and warm lighting in an open space—and the restaurant has gotten strong reviews. Next door to Brabo is the cozy Brabo Tasting Room, which with its Belgian beer menu, tarte flambeés, mussels and charcuterie has been a hit with Old Town locals. And next to it is The Butcher’s Block, a retail venue with classic black-and-white tile flooring that sells meats and poultry and fresh baguettes along with some 100 wines creatively displayed on the back wall.

Brabo, the Tasting Room and Butcher’s Block are all owned by a partnership between Kimpton Hotels and the DSF (investment) Group, and all form a sort of commercial vanguard for the Lorien Hotel and Spa, a six-story boutique hotel that sits back off King Street, behind a courtyard, and anchors the development. From the outside, it’s almost easy to miss the Lorien, but inside one notices the subtle eggshell blue, gray and white motif, and the mix of classical and modernist design elements by Vincente Wolfe—floors that are a mix of brick and slate, an oversize Queen Anne-style mahogany reception desk in the lobby, old-fashioned tubs in otherwise spare bathrooms. In the lobby lounge there are plenty of books, but all are cloaked anonymously in plain white covers. Surprisingly, the Lorien is the first hotel in Old Town with its own spa. Stephanie Landrum, a senior vice president with the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP), calls the Lorien development an “amazing infill project that we hope is mimicked here.”