The Pembroke

Who Should Book The Pembroke

The Pembroke is the right call for a date night or business dinner in Dupont Circle where you want a room that feels considered without feeling stiff. The French-leaning menu, the Parisian-inflected dining room, a wine list deep enough to reward attention make it a strong choice when the occasion calls for something polished. If you are already staying at the Dupont Circle Hotel, this is an easy yes. If you are traveling across town for it, the case is still solid, particularly if you want somewhere with real wine program depth at a $$$ price point.

The Room and the Feeling

The Pembroke reportedly took several million dollars to fit out, the investment is visible. Salmon-hued chairs, tufted banquettes, marble tables facing the patio, a generous use of greenery give the room a terrarium-like quality: enclosed, warm, decoratively ambitious. The overall effect is Parisian brasserie by way of a design-forward D.C. hotel. It is a good-looking room for a celebration, comfortable for a conversation, formal enough that care in dressing is rewarded, though a strict dress code is not publicly stated.

Hotel dining in this tier tends to attract a mixed crowd: hotel guests, local regulars, occasion diners. The Pembroke appears to satisfy all three. The general manager and wine director are the same person, Tom Murphy, which is unusual and worth noting: it means the wine program has direct operational authority at the top of the house.

The Food: French with Range

Chef Christian Welch runs a kitchen that does not commit to a single lane. The menu reads French in its bones, with Dover sole meunière, lobster bisque, handmade pastas as anchors, but it pulls in Mediterranean flavors where useful: octopus fricassee with black olives, lamb tagine with couscous. Prawn cocktail sits alongside veal Milanese. The range is wide enough that a table with different appetites can all find something, but the through-line is European comfort cooking done with enough care to justify the price tier.

For dessert, a lemon tart is the house recommendation, simple in this context means confident rather than minimal. The $$ cuisine pricing (two courses, excluding drinks, in the $40-$65 range) positions The Pembroke as accessible within the $$$ restaurant designation, meaning the room and the experience come at a lower food cost than the overall price signal might suggest. Wine and cocktails will move the final bill.

The Wine Program: Where The Pembroke Earns Its Reputation

This is the most substantive part of the case for booking The Pembroke. The wine list runs to 205 selections across an inventory of approximately 2,150 bottles, which is a serious cellar for a hotel restaurant at this tier. The list leans California with pricing at the $$ level: a range of price points, some bottles under $50, enough $100+ options to satisfy a table that wants to spend. The corkage fee is $50, which is standard to slightly high for D.C. but not a deterrent if you are bringing something specific.

Wine Director and Sommelier Philip Dunne (reporting to General Manager Tom Murphy) oversees a list that pairs logically with the French-Mediterranean menu. California Burgundian varieties and French imports sit well alongside Dover sole or octopus. For a pairing-forward dinner, this is a stronger program than most restaurants at comparable price points in Dupont Circle. If wine is a priority for your meal, The Pembroke earns a strong recommendation on this dimension alone.

For context, if you are comparing wine program depth across D.C. French and European restaurants, La Bise and Apéro are the two closest competitors to benchmark against. The Pembroke's 2,150-bottle inventory is a credible differentiator in this set.

Awards and Recognition

The Pembroke holds a Michelin Plate for 2024. In Michelin's framework, the Plate designates good cooking worth knowing about, one tier below a Bib Gourmand and two below a star. It is a credible signal of consistent kitchen quality without implying destination-level ambition. For practical purposes, it means the kitchen is reliable enough to recommend for a special occasion without the booking anxiety that comes with a starred room.

Booking and Timing

Book one to two weeks out for weekday dinners; weekends in Dupont Circle fill faster, particularly for tables of four or more. As a hotel restaurant, The Pembroke has a moderate booking difficulty: more accessible than D.C.'s hottest independents, less casual than a neighborhood bistro. If you are planning a group dinner or a celebration and want a specific table configuration, call ahead rather than relying on the online booking flow. The patio-adjacent marble tables are the most atmospheric in the room and worth requesting.

How It Compares

See the full comparison section below for how The Pembroke stacks up against Oyster Oyster, Albi, Causa, and others in Washington, D.C.

Further Reading

Browse our full Washington, D.C. restaurants guide for more options across every price tier. For where to stay, see our Washington, D.C. hotels guide. If cocktails or wine bars are on your agenda, our D.C. bars guide and wineries guide cover the full picture. For things to do around Dupont Circle, check our Washington, D.C. experiences guide.