Georgetown has no shortage of bistros, but the welcome of Brasserie Liberté has been absolute. Opened just last fall after a multi-million dollar renovation of the former Morton’s The Steakhouse, it’s already a sceney hotspot for Georgetown professionals. But look beyond the beautiful people in the glowingly lit, well-stocked bar to the lovely dining room and the food doesn’t disappoint

The menu has all the requisite fare: steak and moules frites, French onion soup, tuna Nicoise, salad Lyonnaise. There are some welcome diversions, but not off theme: a trio of savory tarts, a dense boudin, duck confit. But it was the chef’s treatment of vegetables we particularly appreciated: Brussels sprouts roasted to a dark caramel, fennel braised to sweetness, garlic roasted mushrooms glazed in cognac.

The wine list, likewise, is not so dense as to be complicated but with plenty of breadth, with a section of French wines featuring regions not on every other list in town.

For a special occasion — or no reason at all — try and score the egg-shaped back booth, the focal point of the gracious, navy-paneled back dining room. Otherwise, the tables are close and the noise level gets buzzier as the night goes on, like any successful local favorite. Brasserie Liberté has already settled in.