Urban Oasis Relaxing Sen5es in Georgetown Serves Exceptional French Cuisine by Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana On a quiet side street in Georgetown, just a block down on lower Wisconsin Avenue, is an oasis of a restaurant. You could be miles or states away as you leave the bustle and noise of this trendy nightspot and enter the serenity that pervades Sen5es, a small French bakery-cafÈ that has the feel of a real neighborhood establishment. You can drop in practically anytime because Sen5es is open almost continuously from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. except Monday evening. It offers a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, as well as an afternoon tea. As you pass through Sen5esí unassuming storefront entrance on Grace Street, you are greeted with a pastry case filled with delectable treats that are a hallmark of the establishment. The dining room is small and refined, with cool vanilla-colored walls, neutral carpet and banquet seating along the walls covered in a subtle geometric pattern. Table settings are simple, with butcher paper over white cloths, a small light and an elegant silver salt and pepper pair. The atmosphere is quiet and soothing, and a welcome change from the nonstop partying a few blocks away at the bars along M Street. The choice of appetizers at Sen5es was extensive, including options from the regular menu and a specials menu. The slow braised rabbit ($10.50) was a standout. Served over french fries, the well-cooked shredded rabbit was set off by a wonderful violet mustard emulsion that didnít taste anything like the name suggests (it actually tastes like a highly reduced burgundy sauce.). Another exceptional choice was the warm goat cheese and potato cake ($11). Unlike many potato cakes, this one was made from finely diced potato, which added an interesting texture to the dish. The menu offered a nice range of main dishes balanced with meat and fish options, although vegetarian choices were limited. Perhaps the most thoroughly satisfying dish we sampled was the risotto of exotic mushrooms ($16), which was unusually rich and strongly flavored with sun-dried tomatoes, reggiano parmesan, and a medley of mushrooms. Sen5es knows its meats very well. After the success with the rabbit, we were happy to see consistency within the entrees. The beef tenderloin "rossini" ($29) was nicely prepared. It was a particularly flavorful piece of the increasingly popular black angus tenderloin, done perfectly with a red wine and shallot sauce and served with a hearty herbed tomato and potato concoction. The Australian rack of lamb ($23)óstronger than domestic and less fatty but still very tenderówas roasted with a rosemary jus and served with a substantial potato gratin. The pan-seared diver scallops were large, though not plentiful, just barely cooked, and served with poached tomato, a saffron risotto cake, and a mushroom emulsion. The scallops were quite plain and were complemented well by the mushroom sauce; however, the risotto cake was rather disappointing, being somewhat dry and with little saffron taste. In addition to its regular menu, Sen5es offers a tasting menu that changes weekly. It offers two appetizers, two entrees and a dessert for a fixed price ($45) as well as a wine sampling for each of the five courses, which can be ordered with the meal for a slightly higher price ($69). The choices on the tasting menu double as specials and can be ordered as appetizers or as entrÈes. Desserts were exceptional in their variety, creativity and execution, which perhaps should not be surprising because Sen5es is a bakery. There were three choices facing us: whether to select one of the elegant tarts in the pastry case, which ranged from raspberry or blackberry tart to macadamia nut pie; to choose a prepared-to-order selection from the dessert menu; or to pick from the weekly specials from the tasting menu. We decided to go for all three. From the dessert menu we tried several of the offerings. The chocolate crËme brulee ($7.50) was a very dark, rich confection with a nicely crunchy caramelized top that was denser than its usual blond counterpart. The rhubarb and strawberry tart ($7.50) had a nice sharp bite to it and contrasted well with the lemon poppy-seed ice cream with which it was served. A mild but rich caramelized banana cream pie ($7.50) was paired with a sharp coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce, bringing to mind the chocolate-coated frozen bananas served on carnival midways, comfort food from way back. The ice creams at Sen5es were interesting because they were not the dense, rich variety we have come to expect, but lighter, icier and a bit grainy, bearing a closer affinity to sorbet, which was also available. Both frozen confections were notable for their powerful flavors, the raspberry sorbet in particular. It seemed you might be eating the frozen berry itself. Some of the menu choices come with "a few cookies," which are worth a mention in themselves. There was a selection of several varieties, some of which included hazelnuts, and one was very nice little linzer torte. Interestingly, none was very sweet. The tasting menu specialty for the week was a chocolate mousse served with a raspberry coulis. Rather than a single serving dish, it was served in scoopsótwo dark dense melt-in-your-mouth spheres. Our dinner was so relaxing and gratifying that we hated to break our reverie by passing through the heavy traffic of Georgetown on our way home. Sen5es is at 3206 Grace St. NW, Washington, D.C. The telephone number is (202) 342-9083. The kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is open every day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Monday evenings. Dress is casual. All major credit cards are accepted. Rachel Hunt and Stephen Qualiana are the restaurant reviewers for The Washington Diplomat.