Ever-busy Le Diplomate has been forced to take a pause after a small kitchen fire on Wednesday evening that’s temporarily closed Stephen Starr’s restaurant. The blaze, which was located in the walls and extinguished by DC Fire, occurred during dinner service and the buzzy French brasserie’s Bastille Day celebrations. Diners and staff evacuated, and no one is reported injured.
Le Diplomate is currently closed for its usual Thursday lunch service, but according to director of restaurants Eva Torres, there’s hope of reopening later today.
“We are in the process of repairing the kitchen and we plan to reopen this evening pending inspections,” says Torres. “We would like to thank the DC Fire Department for all that they do and containing the fire!”
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
