Cuisine: Don’t put too much store in the name. The wine bar remains, but having disavowed its allegiance to California cuisine, this Georgetown haunt concocts an appealing Franco-American fusion (more Franco than American) that results in exceptional terrines and fish treated with a purity that borders on reverence.

Mood: The cozy dining room in back summons the feel of dinner in a vintner’s cellar; the crammed bar up front mixes the best of Georgetown’s pub scene—it’s loud and lively—with better food and drink.

Best for: A cozy dinner for two; a night of fine dining that conveys some of the luxuriousness of the most sumptuous tables in town at about half the cost.

Best dishes: Country rabbit pâté with house-made pickles and violet mustard, a virtuosic display of culinary craftsmanship; branzino with chanterelles, braised fennel, and a sauce pissaladière; beer-braised wild boar with black-pepper pappardelle; cod with house-made cotechino, a fatback-enriched Italian sausage—a novel riff on surf and turf; cheese flights with beer jelly, pear-and-fig preserves, and warm olives.

Insider tips: Of all the charcuterie-loving chefs in town, Barry Koslow might make the best pâtés and terrines. They’re rapturously rich.

Service: ••½

Open daily for dinner. Expensive.

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