The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Va.

309 Middle St

Washington, VA 22747

(540) 675-3800 
 

Patrick O'Connell, self-taught as a chef, opened this restaurant in 1978 in what was originally a garage in a little town about an hour's drive from D.C. He formed alliances with local farmers and artisanal producers long before it was fashionable, and developed into a sophisticated modern American chef of the highest order. His partnership with Inn co-founder Reinhardt Lynch ended in 2007, but praise for The Inn at Little Washington has continued.

 

The Inn at Little Washington is a luxury country inn and restaurant located in Washington, Virginia. Patrick O'Connell and Reinhardt Lynch founded the Inn in a former garage in 1978. It has been a member of the Relais & Châteaux hotel group since 1987.

 

Awards and honors

The Inn has been featured in several national and international newspapers including The Washington Post and The New York Times. It was the first establishment to ever receive five stars for both its accommodations and its cuisine in the Mobil Travel Guide, a distinction that it still maintains. It repeated this feat by becoming the first restaurant/inn to receive five diamonds from the AAA for both its food and accommodations. It has also received five James Beard Foundation awards including those for Best Service, Best Wine List, Restaurant of the Year, Best Chef in the Mid–Atlantic and Chef of the Year. The International Herald Tribune rated it as one of the Top Ten Best Restaurants in the World. Additionally, the Zagat Survey for Washington, D.C., has rated it as number one in all categories for the past 14 years. Travel & Leisure Magazine has ranked the Inn as the number one hotel in the world for food, the number in the world for service, and the number eight in world and number 2 in North America overall. The Restaurant has been awarded Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award” for the last 12 years. Other distinctions include Cigar Aficionado’s “Grand Cru” award for the restaurant’s wine list, and the “Reader’s Top Table” award in Gourmet’s Restaurant Issue. The restaurant has also made Gayot's list of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. every year since 2004. In 2008 the Inn received a rating of 18/20, one of the highest scores to be awarded.

 

Specialty shop owned and operated by the Inn

Andrew Lloyd Webber once claimed, "For my money this little hotel provides the best overall dining experience I can remember in a long while, perhaps my best ever."

 

The customer service of the Inn was detailed in an article in Fast Company by Micah Solomon. The article stated that the Inn's staff "discreetly tries to detect and record the emotional state of each person in a dinner party on a scale of 1 to 10. Their goal is to get you up to at least a "9" before the long drive home. This simple rating system allows the staff at The Inn to make very subtle adjustments to service throughout the night—so that even someone who arrives for dinner in a serious funk will likely wind up walking on country air before the night is through."

 

Ownership

Though owned and operated by Patrick O’Connell and Reinhardt Lynch since 1978, the Inn is no longer owned jointly by the former business and romantic partners. Their personal relationship deteriorated in 2006 and precipitated the business split.

 

The Washington Post reported that O'Connell, the chef, took out a loan of $17.5 million in January 2007 in order to facilitate a buyout of Lynch and become sole owner of the famous establishment. The specific amount Lynch received was undisclosed.

 

Menu

Each night there is a choice of either a ten-course to seven-course tasting menu, with optional wine pairings. The Inn's menu changes daily and incorporates local and seasonal cuisine. In the past main courses have included pan-seared New England cod encased in pork belly on sweet corn succotash, and crispy sweetbreads with local grilled peaches, chanterelles and country ham.