As if it wasn’t hard enough to get a reservation at L’Auberge Chez François, good luck now. The Great Falls restaurant was selected as one of the Top 100 Restaurants in the United States by OpenTable.
This marks the second year in a row the old-school French eatery made OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants list.
OpenTable compiled its list based on insights from over 14 million diner reviews, ratings, each restaurant’s reservation demand, and percentage of five-star reviews, among other factors. Food critic reviews were not considered when making selections.
Founder François Haeringer opened L’Auberge Chez François in 1976, fulfilling his dream of opening a family inn instead of retiring. Since then, the family-run restaurant has become a staple in the Northern Virginia community. Now led by his son, executive chef Jacques Haeringer, diners can still find the authentic French food that has been a favorite across the region for generations.
Earlier this month, L’Auberge Chez François was selected to our annual 50 Best Restaurants list, landing the No. 3 spot. Our readers also voted the Great Falls restaurant the Best French Restaurant in our 2024 Best of NoVA list. If you are able to snag a table, go with our critic’s recommendation and order the bouillabaisse, La Sole de la Manche, and plum tart.
While the French spot was the only Northern Virginia restaurant to make the list, there are a few others across the DMV that are worth the drive, including Caruso’s Grocery, dLeña, Filomena Ristorante, and Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, DC; and L’Opossum and Stella’s in Richmond.
Feature image by Rey Lopez
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