D.C.’s 38 Best Restaurants
Open for: Lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch
Price range: $$
As a surge of Greek restaurants continue to open in D.C., Cava group’s contemporary ode to the idyllic Mediterranean country continues to impress Pike & Rose diners four years in. Aris Tsekouras helms its open kitchen after years cooking in upscale eateries in Greece, bringing a passion for homemade breads and tangy cheeses. A year-round bounty of fresh vegetables are celebrated on the table, as is slow-roasted lamb neck kleftiko, cheese pie, grilled octopus, beef tartare, stone crab bucatini, and portobello mushroom souvlaki. The team expanded in the complex this spring with the opening of dimly lit Mediterranean steakhouse Bouboulina.
Vibe check: A stucco interior framed with wooden beams feels like a Grecian getaway.
Melina
J. Hollinger's Waterman's Chophouse
Link
Open for: Dinner and AYCE Sunday brunch
Price range: $$
Restaurateur Jerry Hollinger (the Daily Dish and the Dish & Dram) delivered to downtown Silver Spring an Art Deco-styled American chophouse and raw bar celebrating local farmers, watermen, and purveyors. Shrimp and pork belly toast adorned with homemade kimchi are good ways to start; follow those with Rohan duck confit, homemade spinach ricotta ravioli, halibut filet atop summer succotash, or anything from the luxe lineup of steaks. Augment dishes with underwater add-ons like butter-poached crab, lobster, jumbo shrimp, and fried oysters. A whale of a deal is in store during happy hour (4 p.m. to close and all night on Tuesdays), when oysters are just $1, and a robust bar program stars New York Sours and fig-sage rye cocktails.
Vibe check: The throwback space near the Fillmore takes tips from Sinatra’s era.
J. Hollinger’s Waterman’s Chophouse
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Aventino Cucina
Link
Open for: Brunch, lunch, and dinner
Price range: $$
One of the newest spots from Italian hitmaker Mike Friedman, known for Red Hen and All-Purpose, landed in Bethesda in January 2024 with dishes that evoke the longstanding culinary traditions of Rome and Italy’s Lazio region. The sprawling emerald- and gold-covered dining room transports diners with airy pizza rossa, light salads like the citrus and fennel-filled agrumi, and fantastic pastas that steal the show. House-made dried pastas make up classic Roman dishes, like creamy cacio e pepe and all’amatriciana zipped up with Calabrian chiles. But there are more experimental bowls on the menu as well, like a springtime toothsome cavatelli with a crushed broccoli and ricotta sauce and toasted almond-chile crunch on top. Don’t miss out on dessert options like a chocolate torte balanced with blood orange and earl grey gelato or affogato served with an Italian butter cookie and Madagascar vanilla gelato.
Best for: A spritz-fueled happy hour, especially with spritz and pasta pairings for $22 from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the bar.
Scott Suchman
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Cielo Rojo
Link
Open for: Lunch, dinner
Price range: $
The Takoma Park favorite for vegan-friendly Mexican fare since 2018 moved into stylish new digs up the street last year. Husband-and-wife owners David Perez and Carolina McCandless turn to hand-pressed tortillas made with nixtamalized heirloom corn to produce an array of sophisticated tacos, ahi tuna tostadas, and savory enchiladas with tres moles. Crunchy pepitas add a pleasantly surprising crunch to quesadillas that can be ordered with vegan cashew cheese. Besides fabulous margaritas, the chic bar sends out inventive mezcal and rum-based cocktails. Brunch calls for brioche French toast with mezcal mascarpone, chilaquiles rojo, and a nopales (cactus) scramble Chef de cuisine Rachel Bindle formerly cooked at Michelin-starred Gravitas, and the growing team recently flipped Cielo’s old space into San Francisco-styled San Pancho Burritos.
If you drive: Feel free; Takoma Park is still blessed with parking.
Photo by Laura Chase de Formigny for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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2Fifty Texas BBQ (Multiple locations)
Link
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $
Riverdale Park, Maryland is long home to drive-worthy brisket, courtesy of Fernando González and Debby Portillo. The couple behind wildly successful 2Fifty pay homage to Central Texas by using oak smoke to develop a dark bark on fatty hunks of prime and American wagyu beef that jiggle on the chopping block. Beef ribs, pulled pork, sliced turkey, and St. Louis-style ribs are all available, while daily specials like brisket tacos, lamb ribs, pastrami sandwiches, and barbecue pupusas give the kitchen a creative outlet, and González and Portillo excitingly nod to their Salvadoran heritage in sides like red kidney beans braised with brisket and coleslaw interspersed with raisins. Mondays recently joined the fold (still closed Tuesdays), with preorder for pickup; devour meats there or take the loot to go. To D.C. diners’ delight, 2Fifty expanded with a sit-down smokehouse in Mt. Vernon Triangle last year.
Know before you go: Lines can get long, especially on weekends.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Thip Khao
Link
Open for: Dinner only
Price range: $$
Considered the standard-bearer for Lao cuisine in D.C., Thip Khao comes from mother-and-son chefs Seng Luangrath and Boby Pradachith. Their Columbia Heights standby continues to satisfy heat-seekers with a menu full of fermented fish sauce, a heavy dose of chiles, offal, and cured meats. Hit orders include crispy tamarind-glazed wings, grilled pork shoulder with lemongrass, and a fiery Lao papaya salad with eggplant. Over in Shaw, the space that formerly housed the team’s cocktail bar Hanumanh recently turned into a modern Southeast Asian eatery called Baan Mae. The more casual Laotian spot is known for hosting chef pop-ups and also serves $15 bowls of noodles for weekday lunch. If you find yourself out in the suburbs, the family’s Northern Virginia staple Padaek recently settled into a new Arlington home.
Best for: Family-style dining, bring a group of friends or family that are down to try an array of dishes
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Purple Patch
Link
Open for: Brunch, lunch, and dinner daily
Price range: $$
The Washington Post called Purple Patch the 2023 Restaurant of the Year eight years after the Mount Pleasant spot debuted as one of D.C.’s first upscale local Filipino restaurants, now the institution is celebrating 10 years of feeding D.C. diners. The sizzling, spicy pork belly and pork shoulder sisig remains a favorite dish, along with such staples as longanisa (sweet garlic sausage) and tocino (sweet grilled pork). There are also a surprising number of satisfying vegetarian dishes on the menu, with highlights like sweet and spicy calamansi tofu with pineapple fried rice and three different umami-packed vegetarian adobos (eggplant, cauliflower, or a seasonal mushroom and carrot). You also can’t leave without trying an ube-flavored dessert (which you can also snag from their shop upstairs) or the ube waffle with fried chicken marinated in soy sauce and vinegar at brunch. Chef and owner Patrice Cleary, who was born in the Philippines, also opened casual Joia Burger a block away last year, serving up wagyu beef smash burgers or housemade bean burgers with chopped toppings and ube soft serve. A second Joia recently debuted in Glover Park. Even celebrities like comedian Jo Koy have made a stop in Mount Pleasant to praise Cleary’s cooking.
Vibe check: The small indoor space was newly renovated during the pandemic but the covered patio remans the best spot at Purple Patch, with moody twinkle lights, purple curtains, and great people watching on Mount Pleasant Street.
Scott Suchman for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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Perry's Restaurant
Link
Open for: Dinner, drag brunch and select breakfasts
Price range: $$$
Perry’s has long been an under-the-radar reliable spot for sushi, and with (and 2024 James Beard Award winner for Emerging Chef of the Year) Masako Morishita at the helm, the revitalized Adams Morgan restaurant is generating lots of attention for her flavorful Japanese creations. Standout starters include a Japanese take on ceviche with shrimp, scallops, octopus, and fish eggs; crispy kaarage fried chicken; and garlic edamame dumplings hidden under a snowy blanket of parmesan. The sleek, wood-framed restaurant with a strong sake collection continues to host one of D.C.’s best drag brunches on Sundays, with plenty of playful cocktails like the Not an Espresso Martini made with cacao nib tea. Morishita introduced Japanese breakfast service on select Saturdays as well; both the drag brunch and breakfast service require reservations on Resy.
Must-try dish: The shrimp katsu burger ($19) is a truly unique dish, combining a deep fried shrimp patty with cheddar cheese and togarashi tartar. Catch happy hour at the bar (from 4 to 7 p.m. daily) to get the stellar sandwich for only $12.
Perry’s Restaurant/Facebook
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Ceibo
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$
Local hospitality vets Juan and Manuel Olivera granted Adams Morgan a candle-lit getaway that pays homage to the brothers’ native Uruguay and its surrounding countries. Two-level Ceibo — the name refers to the flowering tree blooming at the bottom of the South American continent — captures the communal culture of asado, or preparing meats like beef, pork, and chorizo over an open flame. On the seafood side, highlights include oysters adorned with caviar farmed in Uruguay and Patagonian shrimp caught off the icy Atlantic coast of Argentina. Sweet potatoes, one of Uruguay’s biggest exports, play a prevalent part in the menu as savory starters, dessert, and inside drinks. A dimly lit downstairs bar spotlights South American wines, spirits, and other earthy ingredients and stays open until late on weekends. A new Monday night sandwich pop-up full of Cubanos and Uruguay’s meaty chivitos (sliced steak) just debuted in July.
Best for: Intimate date night (with a toned-down noise level on Sunday evenings)
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
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St. James
Link
Open for: Dinner only on weekdays, with lunch on weekends
Price range: $$
Jeanine Prime’s culinary ode to her native Trinidad comes to life at St. James, her lively restaurant named after the bustling district in Port of Spain, the country’s capital. Prime’s small and large-format dishes pay homage to the melting pot port city, including Trini-style Chinese steamed buns stuffed with spicy pork and curry crab. A vast collection of imported rums lined along the soaring mirrored bar help build fragrant and floral cocktails like a hibiscus highball. Also worth checking out: Prime’s Bib Gourmand-designated sibling Cane, which focuses on Caribbean street foods.
Must-try dish: Callaloo, a West African stew full of leafy greens
Melena DeFlorimonte for St. James
BRESCA
Link
Open for: Dinner only
Price range: $$$
Chef Ryan Ratino’s buzzy bistro on lower 14th Street NW whips up dinners dreamed up by the ambitious chef, who’s among the youngest to have a restaurant earn a Michelin star. For spring, sample yellowtail crudo with shiso, cacio e pepe with taleggio and Pecorino, or its much-loved Amish chicken. The restaurant pushes boundaries everywhere: The menu incorporates a vintage French duck press gifted by gourmet supplier D’Artagnan into a theatrical tableside offering, while the bar program spearheaded by beverage director Will Patton is also not to miss. Chef’s tasting menus ($175) can be augmented with seasonal delicacies, and there’s now a la carte availability and an abbreviated prix fixe option ($95). This fast-growing team, which is also behind two-Michelin-starred tasting room Jônt upstairs, is a 2025 James Beard finalist for Best New Restaurant (Ômo by Jônt in Winter Park, Florida).
Must-try dish: Pull-apart brioche bread with cultured butter accented by fleur de sel
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Capital One Dining*
* Book primetime tables set aside exclusively for eligible Capital One customers. Capital One Dining is the presenting partner of the Eater app.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
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Anju
Link
Open for: Brunch, dinner
Price range: $$$
Situated between Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan, Anju, which is from the 2025 James Beard Award-nominated restaurant group behind casual hit Chiko, serves Korean bar food with a refined touch. James Beard Award-nominated chef Angel Barreto leads a kitchen that plates up standouts ranging from pork and kimchi mandu (dumplings) and smoky gochujang-glazed fried chicken with white barbecue sauce to a seafood fried rice (bokkeumbap) and seared rib-eye galbi boards. Weekend brunches brings on a smash galbi burger with caramelized onions and pickled gochu peppers (plus an impossible version), the gochujang chicken with corn cheese waffle, and a juk (rice porridge) topped with kimchi, lamb sausage, and a poached egg. Meanwhile, Chiko’s Capitol Hill flagship that started it all revived its experimental tasting menu a few nights a week ($75 or $105).
Best for: Happy hour down in the bar from 5 to 6 p.m. on weekdays, where you can sample the flavorful mandu ($6 for 3) or a honey barbecue chicken sandwich ($10) before committing to a full meal.
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Capital One Dining*
* Book primetime tables set aside exclusively for eligible Capital One customers. Capital One Dining is the presenting partner of the Eater app.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Joon
Link
Open for: Weekday lunch, brunch, and dinner
Price range: $$$$
Joon continues to rack up accolades for its upscale takes on Iranian cuisine since opening in June 2023, with James Beard semifinalist nods, joining the New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants in America, and more. It’s easy to see why, with the tucked-away Tysons Corner spot serving up inventive Persian dishes like the sour orange and ginger infused pistachio soup and braised lamb shoulder served with pickled garlic and tomato honey, all dreamed up by Persian cookbook author and executive chef Najmieh Batmanglij and chef-owner Christopher Morgan. If you’re looking for smaller bites, any iteration of the hummus and kashke bademjan (a roasted eggplant dip topped with crispy onions) pairs perfectly with drinks at May Bar, a beautiful lounge in front of the royal blue dining room where diners sip on classic cocktails with Persian flavors. Great choices include a rich fig Old Fashioned or the Tehrooni Negroni with saffron ice. During the warmer months, don’t miss Morgan’s lively outdoor grilling nights, Live Fire Fridays, that combine entrees grilled on the patio by Morgan himself and eclectic live DJs.
If you drive: There is complimentary valet parking at the entrance, along with free self-parking in the massive lot in front of nearby Patsy’s.
Jack Powell/Eater DC
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SURA Restaurant
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$
This family-run underground lounge landed in Dupont in spring 2022 with a star cast of Thai talent behind the wheel. Former sushi chef Billy Thammasathiti brings the heat with quail egg wontons, fiery papaya salads, boneless duck laap, and spicy beef or pork skewers, plus experimental orders like Parmesan-dusted egg noodles with tom yum herbs, bacon, and roasted chile jam or bite-sized calamari dressed with garlicky salt. Andy Thammasathiti of Baltimore’s Mayuree Thai Tavern whips up passionfruit daiquiris and Sichuan baijiu cocktails behind a racy, red-lit bar fit for Bangkok. Billy’s aunt Satang Ruangsangwatana, of Fat Nomads supper club fame, also contributes destination dishes like khao soi. The 50-seat lair swings open at 4 p.m.
Know before you go: The stairs are steep, so it’s best to read the Thai newspaper-wrapped walls while going up (not down).
Deb Lindsey/for The Washington Post
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Amparo Fondita
Link
Open for: Dinner, plus Friday lunch and weekend brunch
Price range: $$
After years of searching for the right space, acclaimed chef and Oyamel alum Christian Irabién finally found a Dupont home for his long-awaited ode to modern Mexican cuisine and his roots. The Chihuahua, Mexico native, who grew up working in his grandfather’s Mexican restaurant in El Paso, seamlessly melds coastal flavors, seafood, and local seasonal ingredients, as in an expertly engineered salsa with ramps and a soft shell crab sandwich topped with red onion-habanero escabeche and green tomatoes. The constantly changing lineup may include a tropical big eye tuna ceviche surrounded with bright passionfruit and fresno; briny, mezcal-friendly oysters; and nixtamalized corn masa cakes topped with grilled pineapple.
Must-try dish: Anything slathered with mole negro (all-Oaxacan chiles, chocolate, and sea salt), which takes Irabién three days to perfect.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
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Oyster Oyster
Link
Open for: Dinner only
Price range: $$$
Chef Rob Rubba puts vegetables on a pedestal, so Oyster Oyster’s presence in Shaw is ideal for diners who don’t eat meat but still want to enjoy an avant-garde tasting menu with a Michelin star. Crowned Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Awards in 2023, Rubba first attracted D.C. critics’ attention as the former chef at Hazel and partnered with Estadio owner Max Kuller on this venture — which prioritizes sourcing from hyperlocal farms and mills. Think: a bird’s nest of fried celery root wrapped around a morsel of smoked tofu and shiitake chip cookie for dessert. The 28-seat Shaw dining room offers a vegetarian or vegan tasting menu ($135) and wine pairings ($85). The sustainably-minded restaurant also won a Michelin green star in 2024 for its environmental and ethical practices, like re-using empty wine bottles as pressed plates.
Vibe check: Take notice of creative votive candles made of repurposed oyster shells and local beeswax.
Oyster Oyster
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Shia
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$$
This hidden Korean tasting menu spot is actually a nonprofit restaurant from celebrity chef Edward Lee (who created pint-sized Shia late last year) where the team experiments with sustainable alternatives for restaurants. That means not using any plastic in the kitchen, firing up all-electric cookware, and making physical menus and coasters from leftover paper. The research in the kitchen hasn’t stopped the team from making cutting-edge Korean food in a prix fixe format that invites diners into the open kitchen, where they snack on first bites while chatting with chef de cuisine Max Chuvalas at the counter before diving into black sesame guksu (saucy cold noodles) topped with caviar, delicate seared black grouper with house-made fish cake, and a Korean mustard-glazed duck with umami-rich black garlic sauce. There are seven- ($185) and five-course ($90) options, plus a la carte snacks at the bar and beverage pairings. Don’t skip out on the drinks, there are plenty of rare soju and sake options on the menu, along with Korean takes on classic cocktails like a toasted pine nut Old Fashioned.
Know before you go: The five-course menu is served in the front bar area, not in the open kitchen dining room, but you can ask for a peek into the cave-like kitchen during the shortened tasting.
Emily Venezky/Eater DC
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Tabard Inn
Link
Open for: Lunch, dinner, weekend brunch
Price range: $$
D.C.’s century-old boutique hotel hideaway got a big 2023 glow-up full of French-Southern flair under culinary partner Ian Boden, the James Beard-nominated chef behind The Shack in Staunton, Virginia. Overseeing the fine-tuned changes in the charming Dupont dining room is executive chef Matthew Zafrir, a fine dining vet who honors his Maryland roots with memorable meals marked by mid-Atlantic ingredients. Highlights include crab fritters, local oysters doused in homemade hot sauce, honeynut squash, duck confit atop Carolina gold rice, and bone-in Berkshire pork chop with kohlrabi slaw. Zafrir’s close ties to family-run farm Earth N Eats also pay off on the plate, where wonderfully unique veggies show up morning to night (as do herbs plucked from Tabard’s outdoor garden). Swing by the eclectic bar up front on whiskey Wednesdays, when beverage director and Fabio Trabocchi alum Dominik Lenikowski pulls a rare bottle from the cellar to sip until it’s gone.
Must-try dish: Homemade doughnuts during brunch
Tabard Inn
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Causa/Amazonia
Link
Open for: Dinner only (and Amazonia starts service at 3 p.m. on weekends)
Price range: $$$$ for Causa and $ for Amazonia
Causa, named for Peru’s iconic national dish, sailed into Blagden Alley in 2022 with an ambitious, prix fixe format that aims to capture the bounty of the South American country. The fine dining venture with a Michelin star joins Amazonia, its color-soaked, more casual counterpart up top with lots of skewers, scented walls, leafy patio, and a polished lineup of pisco sours that are just $9 at happy hour. At Causa, six-course menus ($175) send diners on a seafaring voyage along the Peruvian coastline and into the Andes Mountains. The intimate space with 26 seats lends itself to an immersive, personalized experience. Peruvian-born chef and co-owner Carlos Delgado just snagged the 2025 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.
Vibe check: Amazonia’s tropical bathrooms covered in monkey murals make for a great selfie.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
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Unconventional Diner
Link
Open for: Daily brunch, dinner
Price range: $$
Situated right next to the convention center since 2017, chef David Deshaies continues raise eyebrows by applying classic French technique to American-style diner food. Think a haute take on meatloaf, or mini-pot pie poppers that explode with flavor. Regardless of the day or time, there’s always something to on the menu from happy hour menu or daily brunch (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), including popular offerings like chicken and waffles, blueberry-lavender pancakes, Cajun shrimp and grits, Lebanese fried rice, apple pie French toasts with caramelized apples and vanilla ice cream, and an everything lox bagel. For something a little more refined, head to next-door downtown siblings L’Ardente (Italian) and Love, Makoto (Japanese).
Vibe check: This swanky diner with bright blue booths and an illuminated winding bar always gave playful vibes.
Unconventional Diner
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Kyojin Sushi
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$
The team behind outer Arlington’s raw fish hit Yume Sushi sauntered into Georgetown in 2023 with a flashy flagship that was named Eater DC’s best new restaurant that year. Tucked inside the mixed-use cluster of Cady’s Alley, the striking sushi cave from executive chef Saran “Peter” Kannasute and co-owner Jeff King breathes fresh life into the old home of L2 lounge. Kannasute’s calling cards like truffle wasabi, monkfish liver, uni with torched wagyu, and widespread use of edible flowers show up across a lengthy list of rolls, and a full kitchen with a hood gives the Bangkok-born chef room to build upon his boundary-pushing menus and introduce hot izakaya offerings for the first time. Kannasute taps into his Thai roots last fall with the opening of Rimtang, a fast-casual street food spot in the nearby space that formerly housed Kintaro.
Vibe check: Rotating DJs on weekends, with a scene-y bar slinging stellar espresso martinis until late
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Imperfecto
Link
Open for: Dinner and weekend brunch
Price range: $$$$
Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo’s follow-up to tropically appointed (and recently relocated) Seven Reasons gives the West End a fine dining venue for Mediterranean-Latin fusion full of surreal plating and modernist technique. Sturdy staples like fried Spanish octopus with Amazonian chimichurri anchor the rotating dinner menu. Go a la carte or choose the omakase tasting experience at the chef’s counter (currently 16 to 22 bites) that has a Michelin star. A soaring white bar lined with cranberry-colored stools sends out sharply conceived cocktails with Mediterranean ingredients like Greek olives, truffle honey, and limoncello. The team expanded its West End portfolio with the opening of Spanish-themed TheSaga in the Ritz-Carlton, followed up by its first foray into Virginia with avant-garde bistro Surreal near Amazon HQ2.
Must-try dish: Moussaka cigar (crispy phyllo dough, smoked eggplant, ground lamb, and goat-manchego cream)
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Capital One Dining*
* Book primetime tables set aside exclusively for eligible Capital One customers. Capital One Dining is the presenting partner of the Eater app.
Scott Suchman/For the Washington Post via Getty Images
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Casa Teresa
Link
Open for: Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday
Price range: $$$$
Spanish chef Rubén García’s flagship restaurant and tapas bar brought a lively new destination for live-fire cooking to the Square, downtown’s ambitious new food market spearheaded by García and fellow José Andrés Group veteran Richie Brandenburg. Casa Teresa, García’s first solo venture, revives ancestral recipes of the culinary matriarchs he grew up around in Terrassa, Spain, and celebrates the time-honored cooking traditions of Basque Country and Catalonia through family-style feasts — think whole fish, local veggies, and pass-the-plate meats — all theatrically grilled over open flames and oak charcoal from a kitchen within diners’ view. The terracotta-toned dining room carves out space for a bar centered around gins, vermouth, and Spanish wines, plus an intimate “Teresa’s Table” that encourages chatty chef-guest interactions over tastings. A Saturday brunch full of vermouth and family recipes entered the fold this spring.
Must-try dish: The How to Pa Amb Tomáquet is a fun dish that supplies diners with the crispy cristal bread, sliced tomatoes, and high-quality olive oil to build their own pan con tomate, plus a fun illustration card showing you how it’s done.
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Sevenrooms
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Cucina Morini
Link
Open for: Dinner, weekend brunch
Price range: $$
Mt. Vernon Triangle got the Italian eatery of its dreams last year, complete with fresh crudo, small plates, fish soup, homemade pastas (in half or whole portions), $7 martinis, and best-selling imports from its decade-old Osteria Morini sibling in Navy Yard. Matt Adler of Capitol Hill-born hit Caruso’s Grocery — who was Osteria Morini’s opening executive chef back in 2013 — is back on board to produce spot-on Sicilian meals at Osteria Morini. NYC-based parent company Altamarea Group combined its former Nicoletta Italian Kitchen and adjoining Brew’d cafe into one chic Southern Italian restaurant under DC Bar’s headquarters, complete with a reimagined aperitivo bar and stylish new dining room.
Must-try dish: Adler’s weekend cornettos stuffed with Nutella
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Sevenrooms
Altamarea
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Baan Siam
Link
Open for: Lunch, dinner
Price range: $$
At this roomy Thai restaurant in Mt. Vernon Triangle, chef Jeeraporn Poksupthon has a kitchen worthy of her skill and ambition. Poksupthon led large catering kitchens in Thailand before she helped usher a wave of chile-fueled Northern and Northeastern cooking into D.C. at now-closed Baan Thai in Logan Circle. At Baan Siam, she’s playing the hits — creamy, crunchy, and complex khao soi; tapioca skin dumplings with ground chicken, peanuts, and sweet fermented radish; and all sorts of spicy-sweet salads — while exploring sour-leaning dishes from her home country’s interior and ultra-hot curries from the South. Don’t forget to order mini griddled coconut milk pancakes and mango stick rice (when in season) for dessert.
Best for: A fun date with a dining companion that loves spicy food
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Centrolina
Link
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Nearly a decade in, seven-time James Beard nominee chef Amy Brandwein’s polished osteria continues to shine in CityCenter DC. The five-time James Beard Award finalist goes all in on seasonal ingredients to construct a frequently changing Italian menu; that could mean melon-flanked snapper sashimi; peachy gazpacho; pristine pastas pumped up with purple broccoli and eggplant ragu; wood-fired mains like halibut and chanterelle mushrooms, lamb rib-eye, and pancetta-wrapped rabbit. Memorable desserts like an almond cake with fresh citrus, yuzu, and white chocolate come from Tonari alum and talented pastry chef Mary Mendoza. For something a little more casual (and affordable), consider Brandwein’s all-day sibling cafe Piccolina across the street.
If you drive: Don’t — there are plenty of nearby Metro stops and little parking
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OpenTable
Scott Suchman
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Daru
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Dante Datta and Suresh Sundas, a respective drink expert and chef who met while working together at Rasika West End, reunited under one roof with an Indian restaurant and cocktail bar at a corner just south of H Street NE. At Daru, which landed on New York Times’s coveted top 50 restaurants list in 2022, Sundas likes to combine Northern and Southern Indian cooking styles with some unorthodox touches. That includes za’atar olive naan, chicken tikka tacos, chimichurri chutneys, or a malai paneer lasagna spiced with white pepper and cardamom. Datta, an alum of now-closed Columbia Room, creates inventive riffs on classic drinks, like a Pisco cocktail with blueberry and coconut or a nonalcoholic pear and cinnamon lassi. The successful duo recently opened an Indian and Nepali street food place, Tapori, further up in the H Street Corridor that’s serving more casual bites in a transformed terracotta space covered in original art.
Know before you go: This small neighborhood favorite fills up fast, look for reservations far in advance or prepare to settle in at the wood-carved bar Datta made himself.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Tonari
Link
Open for: Weekend brunch, dinner
Price range: $$
Katsuya Fukushima’s wafu restaurant in Chinatown brings a Japanese spin to Italian dishes like pizza and pasta. That means thick, square pies with a crust made from Hokkaido wheat flour and smothered with Wisconsin brick cheese, available in varieties like pollock roe-covered Mentaiko corn. The chef is always experimenting; he recently introduced a Monday night menu focused on Japanese-influenced cheesesteaks (don’t forget to add an order of fries dripping with S&B curry sauce) and the summer return of kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) on weekends. The buzzy two-floor restaurant has a spacious bar downstairs, but if crowds are an issue, fear not: Fukushima, Yama Jewayni, and Daisuke Utagawa also own neighboring ramen shop and izakaya Daikaya and chicken ramen haunt Bantam King around the corner. Takeout and delivery here.
Best for: An ambitious, reasonably affordable dinner before or after a Capital One Arena event
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Moon Rabbit by Kevin Tien
Link
Open for: Lunch, dinner
Price range: $$$
After closing at the Wharf, James Beard-nominated chef Kevin Tien’s fine dining Vietnamese gem made a triumphant comeback to D.C. in January 2024. With fresh Penn Quarter digs comes all-new dishes filled with his familiar contemporary touches. Highlights include koji-marinated cumin lamb, aromatic perilla leaves stuffed with beef wagyu, and impossibly soft dinner rolls from pastry chef and two-time James Beard Award finalist Susan Bae. Bar manager Thi Nguyen, a 2024 Punch bartender of the year, whips up a savory Out Of Dipping Sauce cocktail that makes creative use of Tien’s fermented fish sauce. Moon Rabbit 2.0 isn’t done yet, with plans to add a next-door cocktail room and Vietnamese bakery at a TBA location.
Best for: Post-work camaraderie and impressing out-of-town guests
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OpenTable
Photo by Rey Lopez for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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L’Avant-Garde
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Partner-chef and hospitality vet Sébastien Giannini taps into his French Riviera roots at L’Avant-Garde, Georgetown’s ultra-chic showpiece he took over in early 2024. Popular orders include saffron-infused bouillabaisse (which draws from his grandmother’s recipe), branzino garnished with candied lemon and capers, and filet mignon. The seafood-centric menu straight out of Saint-Tropez also spotlights a freshly cracked lobster-and-grapefruit salad, King crab tartare with cucumber gazpacho, and caviar from the French Arcachon Bay with all the accoutrements. Also not to miss: crispy clarified butter french fries dipped in a house-made bearnaise. The hands-on chef is constantly in the kitchen, where the same 17th-century recipe for creme brulee, reportedly served to the brother of King Louis XIV, comes to fruition. Decked out in sleek wooden panels, dimly lit booths, and Parisian-styled murals, the date-night hot spot currently offers a four-course lobster tasting menu (in addition to a la carte).
Pro tip: Next-door sibling cocktail bar L’Annexe is great for a night cap, complete with a petite patio up front.
L’Avant-Garde
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Pascual
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$$
Culinary couple Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy opened Pascual last year in Capitol Hill with the Popal Group and have been picking up accolades for the inventive Mexican spot ever since, including being named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America in 2024. The hearth-focused menu honors Coss’s native Mexico City and the chefs’ combined experience working at top-tier Mexican restaurants. Smoked chicken and whole grilled fish shine on the seasonal menu, but vegetables are also given special treatment whether they’re roasted whole or fill the rotating selection of tamales. Oaxacan flavors are also present throughout the menu, with tlayudas topped with in-season vegetables and classic mole sauces in many dishes. Coss flexes her pastry muscles with must-try desserts, like the colossal cinnamon-dusted buñuelos that never leave the menu. The Popal Group is also behind , French Georgetown gem Lutèce, Adams Morgan’s Afghan hit Lapis, the neighborhood’s forthcoming Maison Bar a Vin.
Must-try dish: Whichever seasonal tamal is currently on the menu
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Capital One Dining*
* Book primetime tables set aside exclusively for eligible Capital One customers. Capital One Dining is the presenting partner of the Eater app.
Deb Lindsey
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Rasika (Multiple locations)
Link
Open for: Lunch, dinner
Price range: $$$
James Beard Award-winning chef Vikram Sunderam liberally plays with spicy chiles and sour fruits to make Rasika one of the most celebrated Indian restaurants in the country. His palak chaat — a fried baby spinach dish decorated with sweet yogurt, tamarind, and date chutney — has inspired imitators around town, while dal makhani is slowly simmered in a decadent, buttery gravy. Rasika is big destination for vegetarians, too.
Know before you go: If the Penn Quarter flagship is all booked, consider a table at its much-bigger West End sibling.
Michael J. Colella
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SER Restaurant
Link
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
Ten years in, Spanish stalwart Ser continues to shine in its evolving Ballston neighborhood. It’s hard to go wrong with any of the 12-plus tapas on the list, but the tomato bread, croquetas, and deep-fried eggplant are not to miss. Seafood, meat, or vegetable paella for two is another excellent choice, and for a dash of drama at the table, go big with a whole roast suckling pig. Other standouts include crab-topped lobster from the raw bar, gorgeous seasonal salads, and gazpacho when summer calls. Its Spanish co-owner Javier Candon infuses his own spirits, as seen in Ser’s superior gin and tonic. Joselito, its sister spot in Capitol Hill, recently closed — which means the team is all in on Ser now.
Must-try dish: Gambas al ajillo
SER Restaurant
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Ama
Link
Open for: Morning-to-night service
Price range: $$
Open since June, Navy Yard’s elegant new Italian eatery comes courtesy of husband-and-wife industry vets Micah Wilder (Chaplin’s, Zeppelin) and Johanna Hellrigl (formerly of Doi Moi, Proof, Mercy Me). Drawing influence from chef Hellrigl’s northern Italian heritage, Ama transitions from an indoor-outdoor caffè and Genovese-style focacceria by day into an afternoon aperitivo bar and convivial restaurant by night. Kick off dinner with hard-to-get Tuscan salami and a peppery fennel salad, followed by mains like comforting rabbit stew served with homemade sourdough, spaghetti al pomodoro, and gloriously good gelato served in sliver cups. Negronis, spritzes, frozen Bellinis, and martinis take center stage at the bar come 4 p.m. A morning “cafè bancone” component showcases coffee and pastries starting at 8 a.m.
Must-try dish: Lasagna engineered with mushroom bechamel
Ama/Facebook
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Albi
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
The 2024 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Chef Michael Rafidi manipulates smoke with a master’s touch, sending out dishes from the wood-burning hearth at his recently renovated, high-end Palestinian restaurant that have a way of commanding a diner’s full attention. The Maryland native’s tweaks dishes to incorporate peak produce — see the crab hummus decorated with sunflower shoots — but the snack-sized lamb meat pies with toum and lemon should never go out of style. Cocktails, desserts, and a lengthy wine list full of hard-to-find Eastern Mediterranean labels all rise to the occasion. An a la carte menu joins a new five-course “Sofra” menu ($145) that’s a surprise on the plate every night, plus $65-$95 beverage pairings. For something more affordable, head to sibling cafe Yellow, which expanded to Georgetown with fiery pies at night, and added a Union Market locale with lively Levantine bar La’ Shukran up top.
Best for: Date night, larger groups, an arak cocktail, and everything in between
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.
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Shilling Canning Company
Link
Open for: Dinner and weekend brunch
Price range: $$
Chef Reid Shilling puts mid-Atlantic ingredients on a pedestal at his 5-year-old Navy Yard restaurant and raw bar, devoting an entire menu page to credit the dairy, oyster, cattle, and produce purveyors helping build his seasonal dishes at any given time. A seven-course tasting option gives diners a front-row seat of the wood-burning action, with a la carte available too. Highlights include Chesapeake rockfish with Karma Farm carrots, squash blossoms dressed with basil from Shilling’s own on-site garden, and Autumn Olive pork rib-eye sweetened up with honey-poached apricots from Ridgeview Farms. Shilling puts his preservation skills on full display in clear glass jars around the dining room, and bobbing blueberries or blackberries may make their way into a dreamy dessert on any given night.
Fun fact: The team just debuted Fancy Ranch in Union Market, a playful pop-up full of crispy Amish chicken.
Shilling Canning Company
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Dōgon
Link
Open for: Dinner
Price range: $$$
Celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi made a hotly anticipated return to D.C.’s dining scene in fall 2024 with an Afro-Caribbean restaurant situated at the foot of the 373-room Salamander Washington DC. Dōgon pays homage to D.C.’s late-1700s land surveyor Benjamin Banneker and his ties to the West African Dōgon tribe. Onwuachi’s menu explores his own Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Creole heritage, including barbecue greens with candied Cipollini onions, roasted garlic, and beef bacon; plantain hoe cakes; carrot tigua (pickled onion, peanut crustacean stew, burnt carrots); and “H Street” chicken and rice with Ethiopian berbere spices, jollof rice, and herbs. Drinks designed by vet D.C. mixologist Derek Brown are also not to miss.
Must-try dish: Coco bread with malted sorghum butter
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
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Mama Chang
Link
Open for: Lunch and dinner
Price range: $$
The “home-style” Chinese restaurant in Peter Chang’s portfolio pays tribute to the women that influenced the legendary former embassy chef, with fiery dishes that call back his childhood in the Hubei province of central China and his home life in Virginia. Chang, a master of numbing spice, has woven Sichuan and Hunan techniques into a menu of vegetable-heavy plates, dim sum, and family-style orders. And there’s more to like in Chang’s sprawling empire: There’s dine-in seating across its plant-filled, zen dining room in Fairfax. The famed Chinese chef planted roots in Dupont Circle with the opening of Chang Chang, his first-ever D.C. restaurant with a supersized menu. The latest namesake spot (his 19th restaurant to date) is coming to Alexandria, following up 2024 NoVa openings in Herndon and NiHao in National Landing.
Must-try dish: Scallion bubble pancakes
Rey Lopez/Mama Chang
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