Apéro

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Sommelier's Vision in the Heart of Georgetown

Apéro occupies the ground floor of a historic row home on a quiet, tree-lined stretch of P Street NW in Georgetown — the kind of block where colonial-era architecture sets the mood before you even walk through the door. The French restaurant was conceived by owner Elli Benchimol, who grew up in Northern California wine country and spent two decades in Washington's hospitality world mentoring sommeliers and building wine programs before opening Apéro in 2022.

Her guiding principle is disarmingly simple: "The best way to express how much you care is through acts of service. Making people feel welcome, familiar and at ease is what hospitality is about." That ethos shapes everything here, from the approachable à la carte format to a room that reads as elegant yet playful rather than stiff.

The Wine Program That Earned the Recognition

Wine is the backbone of Apéro, and the numbers reflect it: a rotating list of over 700 selections, with particular depth in Champagne. That program earned Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence for 2024 — a distinction that places Apéro among the most seriously curated wine destinations in the country. The restaurant has also appeared on the Comité Champagne USA's list of the top 10 best restaurants for Champagne in the US for two consecutive years, and has been Michelin-listed every year since opening.

French Fare and Caviar Hour

The French kitchen is now led by Executive Chef Jenn Castaneda-Jones, who spent nine years at Marcel's — one of DC's most respected fine dining institutions — working her way from line cook to Executive Chef before joining Apéro. A 2024 finalist for the RAMMYS Rising Culinary Star of the Year award, she brings serious technique to a menu built around champagne, wine, cocktails, and a rotating selection of sustainably farmed caviar. A dedicated Caviar Hour runs on weekday afternoons and again late in the evening, making it easy to drop in for something special without committing to a full dinner.

Two Concepts, One Row Home

Upstairs from Apéro lives La Bohème, a separate concept offering a modern American seasonal tasting menu of four or six courses with beverage pairings. The two restaurants share a building but each has its own distinct identity — French and convivial downstairs, tasting-menu focused above. The full house can also be reserved for private events and buyouts.

Apéro adds a suggested 20% gratuity and a 2.5% service fee for employee health benefits to each check — both removable on request — reflecting an ownership philosophy that extends its sense of care to the people behind the hospitality as much as to the guests in front of it.