Del Ray Cafe Celebrates 1-Year Anniversary

Del Ray Cafe is celebrating its one-year anniversary Wednesday by debuting a series of special prize drawings for customers throughout May.

Each day in May, the restaurant will have a drawing from that day’s entries for a to-go rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes and baguette. All entries for the month will be entered into a second drawing for a $50 Del Ray Cafe gift card.

Also at the end of the month, all entries will be entered into another drawing for a chance to win a Salon Bisoux gift certificate.

Del Ray Cafe customers can enter every time they make a purchase at the restaurant.

Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema reviewed the restaurant in October 2012, writing: 

The neat, two-story restaurant could have been whipped up by Martha Stewart. The many window boxes provide chef Sylvain Tonello with thyme, rosemary and sage for his bouquet garni. Home to a former studio, the interior is a dashing ode to repurposing. The table bases started life as engine blocks, the chairs are made from Vietnamese rubber wood and the carpet is spun from recycled fiber. “We did everything from scratch,” says [owner Laurent] Janowsky.

Tonello was the head chef at La Bergerie for seven years, which explains the depth of flavor in his French onion soup, a model made with caramelized onions and beef broth, and sputtering snails lavished with parsley, garlic and butter. Working from a semi-open kitchen near the entrance, the chef slips fresh herbs under the skin of his pleasing roast chicken, which he pairs with wrinkly roasted potatoes and string beans. Its equal among the main courses is a brined pork chop served with charred Brussels sprouts tossed with lardons.

Del Ray Cafe is located at 205 E. Howell Ave.

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