The Early Word on Cedric Maupillier's Convivial in Shaw

Convivial, chef Cedric Maupillier’s follow-up restaurant to Mintwood Place, opened at the beginning of the month. Inside the City Market at O building in Shaw, it's less traditional than his beloved Adams Morgan restaurant. The French and American menu is designed for sharing. It's divided into sections like nibbles, cold dishes, hot dishes, cheese and desserts.

There are currently only 12 Yelp reviews with an overall rating of four and a half stars. But there's plenty of conversation about the buzzy restaurant on social media, blogs and local dining forums. Read on for the early word on Convivial:

The Great Value Wine List News: OpenTable poster Yummytummy calls the wine list "interesting," and another poster says it's "appealing with great value." Blogger Bitches Who Brunch notes that no wine is more than $120. She continues, "Each wine is high quality—a tough thing to do at that price point—and there are some odd ball, esoteric options on the menu for the adventurous oenophile." [OT, Bitches Who Brunch]

The Enticing Latkes News: Diners, including Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post, are liking the latkes. He writes in his First Bite column, "Enticing entry points include crisp potato pancakes dressed with julienned celery root and crimson folds of dry-cured lamb." Both Don Rockwell forum poster lekkerwijn and an OpenTable poster agree that they're "delicious." [WaPo, DR, OT]

The Transportive Veal Tartare News: Facebook poster Cyriel Kronenburg writes, "Amazing veal tartare, brings me right back to Europe…" An Open Table poster calls it "really tasty," and blogger Hungry Lobbyist says it’s "extremely refreshing." [FB, OT, Hungry Lobbyist]

The Utterly Delicious Leeks News: Blogger Bitches Who Brunch writes, "the leeks Dijonnaise, with leeks, bread crumbs, egg crumbles, and capers, is utterly delicious." Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post says the dish may look "basic" on the menu, but it's "beautiful in reality." Don Rockwell forum poster Pork Belly says the the leeks are "excellent." [Bitches Who Brunch, WaPo, DR]

The Out of This World Rockfish News: Facebook poster Ashley Pehrson Strom says "the pickled rockfish was out of this world!!!" Don Rockwell forum poster lekkerwijn writes, "Beautiful presentation and the flavors were all spot on." Yelper Erica L. calls it "the star of the evening." [FB, DR, Yelp]

The Insanely Delicious Cassoulet News: Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post writes, "Labeled "petit," cassoulet is big on flavor, packed as the casserole is with duck leg confit, pork sausage, ultra-creamy Tarbais beans and Virginia country ham..." Twitter user @thekitchentroll calls the dish "insanely delicious" and Instagrammer @cecileremington says, "it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g." [WaPo, Twitter, Instagram]

The New DC Classic News: Blogger Hungry Lobbyist calls the fried chicken coq au vin the "showstopper" of the menu. He continues, "Crispy exterior, tender and juicy in the middle in a reduction sauce that is rich and salty in the best way...this was the best thing we had all night." Instagrammer @beenthereeatenthat calls it "a real wow," and Don Rockwell poster lekkerwijn says the dish "is destined to become a DC classic." [Hungry Lobbyist, Instagram, DR]

The Wonderful Service News: Don Rockwell forum poster Pork Belly writes, "Service and pacing were remarkable given that they've been open for just a week," and Yelper Lauren E. writes "service was wonderful the entire evening."  But one Open Table poster complains, "Server never asked if we wanted another glass of wine, and left us waiting at our completely cleared table for over 5, closer to 10 minutes without checking in." [DR, Yelp, OT]