The Spy who Dined and Dashed…
A little French bistro in the heart of Georgetown was once the site of a terrible and infamous spy double-cross.
While James Bond may dine on caviar and 1955 Dom Perignon, a KGB agent met his CIA handler for a casual French dinner one evening in 1985.
The agent, Vitaly Yurchenko, had defected to the U.S. five years earlier and was providing Soviet secrets to the CIA. During the course of their meal, he either changed his mind about working for the Americans or suspected that the CIA knew that he may have been working both sides of the street.
At one point during dinner, it seems he decided to re-defect back to the Soviet side. He made a hasty getaway through a bathroom window and walked back to the Soviet Embassy on 16th Street causing on the more famous double-double crosses in U.S./Soviet counter-espionage history.
Like the cold war, the resturant at 1335 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest ceased operations.
Participate in the James Bond poll
Six actors have played James Bond, 007 in the franchise 21 film history. Vote for your favorite actor who played the spy with a license to kill. ——->
3 Comments
Excellent! Will be in the D.C. area soon to meet with Pres.Bush and will mention your site to him.
Nice site. Could this restaurant be the former Pied du Cochon on the corner of Wisc Ave,NW, or the Pigs Foot to us? It had really good French bistro food, nice atmosphere, great bar ,and perfect creme brulee. We used to take the table under the plaque with the spy story. There was a fire and it reopened, but it wasn’t the same.
Warm Regards
Yes, that’s the place.
Thanks for you nice comment.