Why upscale D.C. restaurants are serving prix-fixe deals

D.C. restaurants serve tasting menus that cost more than European flights, but there's a growing number of places offering more wallet-friendly prix-fixes this summer.

Why it matters: Set menus can be beneficial for diners and businesses alike, especially in slower summer months — they're more cost-effective, it's easier to control quality, and they feel fun and experiential.

🥂 Driving the news: Petite Cerise in Shaw just went prix-fixe for dinner. Chef Jeremiah Langhorne, who offers one of the city's best (and priciest) tasting menus at the Michelin-starred Dabney , is serving a $58-per-person, four-course menu at his newer French bistro.

• Guests are sent a bread basket and snacks, and then each pick an appetizer (e.g. foie gras, scallop crudo). Then there's a choice of family-style entrées for two like chanterelle-stuffed chicken, plus dessert.
• For roughly the price of four Sweetgreen salads, that feels like a steal.

What they're saying: Langhorne says curated menus help control and enhance the experience and results in less waste so the kitchen can source high-end ingredients and focus on old-school, time-intensive French techniques.

• "We want to give people incredible value, which is needed more than ever."

💸 Meanwhile, some Michelin-ranked restaurants are offering less expensive alternatives to their super-splurge menus to get diners in the door.

• Fine dining Valencian spot Xiquet in Glover Park now serves a $95 "executive menu" in addition to their $195-plus tastings.
• Bar Spero near Mt. Vernon Triangle, a sibling to spendy Reverie , just launched a $75 prix-fixe (down from $95) for summer.

Zoom in: Others are embracing the slow-summer theme. Vagabond in Dupont Circle just launched a $40 three-course " swell season " menu inspired by surfers in Indonesia.

Pro tip: If you're deal hunting, lunch is your best bet. Some restaurants live every week like it's Restaurant Week and serve affordable prix-fixe afternoon menus.

• Joe's , the high-roller steak and seafood restaurant by the White House, just debuted a three-course weekend lunch ($40) with options like oysters, crab cakes, and filet mignon.