Ready to sample authentic French cooking without the hassle of driving into D.C. or the stress of searching for a parking place in Bethesda? Then consider Laperaux- The Journeymanchef’s French Bistro, a gem of a restaurant located on the border of Gaithersburg and Germantown in Cloppers Mill Plaza.
As its full name implies, Laperaux is a bistro. In the words of Gregory Webb, Laperaux’s chef and owner, “a bistro is not fine dining but a real commitment to the classic executions of French cuisine.” Bistros offer French favorites such as steak frites, coq au vin, French onion soup, and steak aux poivre. Across France, bistros are traditionally family restaurants serving lunch and dinner with a break between so the chef can go to the markets before dinner services.
Laperaux differs from the traditional bistro model in several aspects: although it closes the main dining room at 3 p.m. and doesn’t resume seating again until 5 p.m., ‘Louie’s Bar’ opens at 3 p.m. to provide continuous dining options through the entire day. The bistro also features a jazz pianist Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights to add to the lively yet relaxed atmosphere.
Patrons of Laperaux can opt to sit outside in a patio space with 20 seats, indoors in the dining room (which has an open kitchen) with 60 seats, or at the quieter bar just three steps off the main room. It offers a progressive French wine list and guests who come with their own bottles of wine can have a server decant it for them for a small corkage fee. Sunday brunch is served once a month or so, usually celebrating a festive holiday.
Webb has decades of experience as a chef. He started at 18 apprenticing for a well-known French chef in Westport, Connecticut. He studied at George Washington University and stayed in Washington through most of the 1980’s. He subsequently worked in New Orleans, Boston, New York, and Mexico City, and even owned his own restaurant in Houston. He worked in New York City as a corporate chef before moving his family to Gaithersburg in 2009. Most recently, before starting Laperaux in February of 2023, he was chef of the Paladar Latin Restaurant in Gaithersburg, MD.
Over the course of his career, Webb has made a point of studying classic cookbooks teaching the French culinary repertoire, including legendary chef Auguste Escoffier’s classic Le Guide Culinaire. He has become so adept at cooking French cuisine that many diners have asked to meet “the Frenchman in the kitchen.”
Webb is a master chef who is proud that he and his team cook everything served at the bistro from scratch. This includes cutting their own fish, grinding their own burgers, and making everything from pâté maison to fresh whipped chocolate mousse – never using mixes of any kind. And, if a visitor asks for a special dish not on the menu, such as the Potomac couple originally from Lyon, France who requested their usual New Year’s Eve dish of quenelles of pike, he can usually recreate it on request.
The chef takes food very seriously. He goes to the market four times a week, allowing him the opportunity to provide new menu options while also supporting local independent suppliers. Each week Webb drives to farmer’s markets as far as Jessup, Maryland, and Chantilly, Virginia, to source the freshest produce, fish, and dairy products for his weekly menus.
Laperaux opened in February of 2023 and has gradually gained a faithful group of returning patrons, many frequently driving from Frederick, Olney, Bethesda, and Potomac. Jennifer Edwards, a regular, says “Laperaux has the best French onion soup I’ve ever had.” Her friend Cheryl Dembroski adds: “My favorite is the steak frites. Plus we love the atmosphere – you can tell the chef really cares.”
Laperaux is also a family affair, with Webb’s wife Heather helping out with marketing and their two sons, 13 and 15, working at the restaurant two days a week.
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