Faint sounds of blues, jazz and zydeco waft through the air to greet you as you enter Acadiana. The soulful notes richly complement the cool hues evoking the storied southern bayou country that inspires this contemporary restaurant, the only one of its kind in the nation’s capital.
Like Chef Jeff Tunks’ menu for Acadiana, which puts a sophisticated urban twist on the beloved favorites of bayou fish house fare, designer Walter Gagliano’s striking multi-level interior, with its numerous secluded rooms for private dining, is a modern and elegant take on the distinctive look of southern Louisiana. Traditional features like mahogany plantation shutters, crystal chandeliers, and rich touches of cut velvet upholstery suggest old New Orleans grandeur. The subtle palette of moss green, silvery blue, and muted coppers echo the watery environment of Louisiana’s bayou country. Aged mirrors and a pair of monumental antique iron urns speak of the decrepit old plantations that line the Mississippi River. Like a southern lady who captures attention with her pearls and her charm in a room-full of men, the interior of Acadiana is highlighted here and there with sparkling feminine touches in a predominantly masculine space.
Acadiana occupies the ground floor of a new glass-and-steel wedge-shaped building on a triangular plot of land across from Washington’s bustling new convention center and the Museum of the City of Washington. Enter through the park-like landscaped setting at the point of the building, and step between the soaring, rust-worn iron urns on either side of the central mahogany bar. A small lounge area is arranged here with a comfortable grouping of oversized seagrass lounge furniture, upholstered in a large tropical botanical print. Antiqued mirrors reflect from behind the bar, reminiscent of the fabled watering holes of the French Quarter. The bars themselves, hewn from creamy slabs of white onyx, are lit from beneath so that they glow warmly in their dark polished wood surroundings. The barstools are simple and modern, generously cushioned in shimmering blue. Overhead, gently undulating waves of oyster-colored fabric stretch above the bar, absorbing the din and creating a dramatic sculptural presence high over the center of the restaurant. This stretched fabric effect is repeated throughout the restaurant’s ceilings, sometimes as grand as a marquis, in smaller spaces with the charm of a fine lampshade, but always emphasizing the soaring ceiling height with modern elegance.
Along the New York Avenue side of the triangular shape that contains Acadiana, is an intimate raised dining area overlooking the bar and the main dining room. Each of the tables over the bar is lit by its own petite cubic chandelier, each face set with a single glittering crystal. Also on this elevated level is one of the three private dining rooms in Acadiana. Seating just ten people, the intimate space is wrapped in a custom mural by Aurelio Grisanty, an Impressionistic bayou scene that looks as if Monet himself had visited southern Louisiana and captured its live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, its watery reflections, and its cool colorful shadows on the walls of the room. Down a short flight of stairs leading to the main dining room is a delightful table for four in a shimmering copper nook, lit by a tailored crystal chandelier modeled on a classic Montgolfier hot-air balloon.
The length of the main dining room runs along K Street, with soaring windows draped in relaxed blinds of gauzy ecru fabric, a casually elegant style that designer Gagliano refers to as “Drunken Romans.” The room is carpeted in a pale moss green with a barely perceptible pattern of irregular circles, as if rain were beginning to fall on the surface of the swampy marshes. Along the back of the bar, facing K Street, is a long single banquette, dramatically striped in bold alternating vertical swaths of blue and copper. Down the center of the room is a string of prominent, graciously spaced tables lit by low glittering chandeliers inspired by antique designs; the circular tables at each end are backed by high sculpted banquettes upholstered in tapestry evocative of vintage plantation furniture. Along the windows, a row of banquette tables is separated by tall, arched facing mirrors that might also have come from a grand old riverside plantation; tall niches for glassware set with glittering iridescent aqua tiles punctuate the space between these tables.
Along the back of the dining room, a monumental copper awning gleams above the wide open kitchen where Chef Tunks and his team create the dishes inspired by Louisiana, but with a distinctly contemporary spin: the Oysters Rockefeller Soup with Spinach, Pernod, and Brie; the Pan Roasted Duck with Dirty Rice, Collard Greens, and Cane Syrup with a Pepper Jelly Glaze; and the Shrimp and Grits with a Tasso Cream Sauce, to name a few, are a few examples of this culinary creativity. The southern corner of the kitchen, in full view of the dining room, is devoted to oysters – a shucking station, a traditional char-broiler, and everything else necessary to produce the many oyster dishes featured on the menu.
Another small private dining room seating up to sixteen is tucked into a cozy space inside Acadiana’s K Street entrance. Graced by a grand antique crystal chandelier, its walls also feature the custom Impressionistic mural of the watery bayou scene. Through another entry foyer with doors of translucent pressed glass in the design of an old pressed tin ceiling, is the large private banquet room. The cavernous space is topped, again, with sleek stretched fabric marquis. The room can be divided in two by a folding wall, one area seating 60-70, the other accommodating 30-40; each area contains a retractable projection screen for presentations and is outfitted with DSL internet capability. Mahogany paneling, mural scenes, and pewter floor-to-ceiling drapes create a rich and handsome environment, while the silver Chiavari ballroom chairs provide sparkle.
Every view in Acadiana infuses a playful touch of contemporary chic into an atmosphere that suggests both the rural charm and old grandeur of southern Louisiana – or the other way around. The interior, like the menu, is at once familiar and comfortable, and bold and exciting – a fine way to dine on the best that Louisiana has to offer.