The Top 100 Restaurants Near Emma's Torch


  1. Awards
    Address
    2212 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC · Washington
  2. Rank 2. Gravitas

    Contemporary

    Matt Baker's Ivy City tasting room transforms local ingredients into austere, technically assured dishes within a raw industrial shell. The yellowfin sashimi and tagliatelle with sweetbreads justify the Michelin star and the pilgrimage north.


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    Address
    1401 Okie St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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    Tock
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  3. Rank 3. Ivy City Smokehouse

    Smokehouse Seafood

    A warehouse converted into a seafood smokehouse, complete with ground-floor market and rooftop tavern, trades in impeccably sourced fish—salmon, trout, whitefish—smoked daily and served with bagels and the full Jewish delicatessen complement. The staff's warmth and occasional live music suggest a place built less for occasion than for becoming someone's regular haunt.


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    1356 Okie St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  4. Awards
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    2002 Fenwick St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  5. Rank 5. Masseria

    Puglian Italian

    A former warehouse with exposed brick and a gleaming steel kitchen opens onto gardens and a wine cellar—a place where staff and diners alike seem genuinely settled in for the evening. Nicholas Stefanelli's cooking threads Puglian tradition through dishes that balance restraint with richness, as in turbot with brown butter artichokes or a lemon soufflé that knows when to stop.


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    1340 4th St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  6. A single door opens onto José Andrés's culinary laboratory, where guests perch at a curved counter to watch small plates arrive as puzzles—chicharron masquerading as something else, cauliflower studded with caviar. Whimsy and surprise drive each course toward a finale of fried ice cream donuts, the kind of playful confidence that makes dinner feel like collaborative theater.


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    501 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  7. Rank 7. Fiola

    Modern Italian

    Stone walls and retro glamour frame Fiola's elegant dining room, where servers guide you through a menu that marries Roman tradition with Venetian flavors and playful modern invention. Duck-filled pasta squares arrive in their own jus; lamb plays against red pepper gel and eggplant caponata. Regional Italian cooking here feels both grounded and restless.


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    601 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  8. Rank 8. Amazonia

    Amazonian Peruvian


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    920 Blagden Alley, Washington, DC · Washington
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  9. Rank 9. Bresca

    Contemporary

    Bresca sits on 14th Street amid gold leaf and a living moss wall, trading bistro anonymity for a warmth that feels both neighborhood and occasion-worthy. Chef Ryan Ratino's cooking—a foie gras negroni, lamb pappardelle—arrives casual yet artful, with service that knows when to vanish.


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    1906 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  10. Rank 10. Moon Rabbit

    Modern Vietnamese

    Kevin Tien's Moon Rabbit, now in a sleek F Street space, merges Cajun and Vietnamese traditions through dishes like mochi beignets with eel and quail stuffed with duck sausage over tomato rice. The desserts—particularly a vegan pandan panna cotta with seaweed and chocolate—confirm his instinct for balancing opposing flavors with genuine skill.


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    Address
    927 F St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  11. Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos stages a theatrical love letter to Colombia in two intimate dining rooms near Union Market, where pristine plating and choreographed service frame dishes built on Colombian ingredients and culinary memory. A corn broth arrives as revelation; dessert ventures into chocolate territory with playful intent. This is cooking rooted in place and purpose, executed with warmth.


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    1280 4th St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  12. Rank 12. La' Shukran

    Levantine Middle Eastern

    A hidden Levantine bistro reached by climbing stairs behind a green door, where retro funk and inventive cocktails frame impeccably executed sharing plates. The soujek dumplings—lamb and beef in smoked corn broth with urfa chili—justify the reservation difficulty alone.


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    417 Morse St NE FL 2 Washington, DC · Washington
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  13. Awards
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    600 H St NE, Ste E, Washington, DC · Washington
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  14. A vegetable-focused tasting menu that somehow leaves you energized rather than depleted. Rob Rubba's compositions—eggplant agnolotti in corn broth, squash baton with seed ricotta—work from the premise that vegetables need not be a compromise. Even bread arrives reimagined, layered with garlic and accompanied by marigold-flecked sunflower spread, a signal that nothing here is incidental.


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    1440 8th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  15. Awards
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    1252 4th St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  16. Rank 16. The Dabney

    Mid-Atlantic American

    At The Dabney, a wood-fired hearth anchors a spare, brick-walled dining room where chef Jeremiah Langhorne pursues Mid-Atlantic flavors with quiet conviction. His tasting menu moves from delicate snacks through roasted vegetables and charred wagyu with three-way eggplant, each plate a controlled study in restraint.


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    122 Blagden Alley NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  17. The storefront reads like a boutique until you're inside, where chef Erik Bruner-Yang's menu dissolves borders across Southeast Asian cuisines: shrimp dumplings in Cambodian fish sauce and dill, pork laab spiked with Thai heat, five-spice caramel glazing fried chicken. Everything is built for the table, communal and restless in ambition.


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    1351 H St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  18. Awards
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    1325 5th St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  19. Awards
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    423 8th St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  20. Awards
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    222 M St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  21. Rank 21. The Red Hen

    Rustic Italian

    Exposed brick and reclaimed timber frame a narrow dining room where reservations vanish fast, though the three-sided bar welcomes walk-ins into an Italian kitchen that treats its pasta with the seriousness of doctrine. Mezzi rigatoni arrives draped in fennel sausage ragù and pecorino; sticky toffee pudding with eggnog gelato suggests the chef understands pleasure as a moral obligation.


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    Address
    1822 First St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  22. Rank 22. Causa

    Nikkei Peruvian

    Chef Carlos Delgado's intimate tasting menu traces a path from Lima's coast through the Andes and Amazon, folding Japanese technique into Peruvian seafood and spice. Causa, the namesake dish of mashed potato and ají amarillo crowned with tuna, and a wagyu finished in Peruvian pepper sauce, chart a precise geography of flavor.


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    920 Blagden Alley Washington, DC · Washington
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  23. Rank 23. YELLOW Union Market

    Levantine Middle Eastern


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    417 Morse St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  24. Rank 24. Dōgon

    African Caribbean

    Inside the Salamander Hotel, Kwame Onwuachi's Dōgon presents small and large plates that blur African and Caribbean traditions with Washington swagger—the hoe crab arrives in its shell with shito and plantain cakes, the rum cake darkened by charred gooseberries. Each dish arrives composed and purposeful, the wine list equally considered, the whole operation bent on flavor over convention.


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    1330 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  25. Rank 25. Daru

    Indian

    Dante Datta and Chef Suresh Sundas, both Rasika veterans, reimagine Indian classics with unexpected flourishes—blue cheese on tandoori chicken, saffron-coconut lamb shank. The corner dining room, ringed with Sanskrit lettering and a lively bar counter, channels neighborhood vitality without pretense.


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    1451 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  26. Awards
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    1280 4th St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  27. Rank 27. Cranes

    Spanish/Japanese


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    724 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  28. Awards
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    974 Palmer Alley NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  29. Rank 29. Pascual

    Contemporary Mexican

    Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy's casual Mexican spot imports Mexico City cooking to Northeast D.C., where blue corn tamales and lamb neck barbacoa arrive meant for sharing. Reservations vanish quickly at this energetic kitchen that needs no blessing beyond its own technical precision.


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    732 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  30. Rank 30. Rooster & Owl

    Contemporary

    A husband-and-wife team runs this Michelin-starred kitchen where ricotta gnudi and pistachio olive oil cake reveal restless global ambitions within spare, contemporary walls. The prix-fixe format lets diners mix courses while the bar customizes wine pairings to match.


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    2436 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  31. Rank 31. Anju

    Korean

    Brick and greenery frame a comfortable corner of Adams Morgan where Korean drinking food anchors a spirit-forward menu—banchan, mandu, and soju flow in easy rhythm. Chef Danny Lee's mother contributed recipes like dak jjim and dolsot bibimbap, dishes that taste like they've been made a thousand times before and will be again.


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    1805 18th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  32. A sandwich bar that carries itself with cocktail-bar sophistication, Your Only Friend pairs clever-titled handheld meals—the "Hot Nug" topped with Nashville sauce, mortadella and mozzarella on the "Mortz & Mootz"—with rotating specials like blue cheese-brined wings and a sharp cocktail program. The mood is neighborhood casual, the execution deliberate.


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    1114 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  33. Awards
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    1604 7th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  34. A neon-fronted Columbia Heights spot serves Hong Kong cooking with meticulous balance—lotus root with anchovy dust, Wagyu in mala broth. The spare dining room, lined in white and blue, feels intentionally intimate.


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    3410 11th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  35. Rank 35. Albi

    Mediterranean Middle Eastern

    The dining room pivots around a working hearth where Michael Rafidi coaxes smoke and char from eastern Mediterranean staples and local vegetables with equal precision. A seasonal tasting menu calibrates the surprises—wood-fired kefta, brown butter knafeh—better than any à la carte survey could.


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    1346 Fourth St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  36. Awards
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    4700 Riverdale Rd, Riverdale Park, MD · Riverdale
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  37. Rank 37. Cucina Morini

    Sicilian Italian

    A lively Sicilian outpost where the crowded bar hums with energy and Chef Matt Adler's kitchen turns out sfincione topped with stracciatella and hand-rolled pastas—thick gramigna noodles with sausage and egg yolk, finished with a whisper of heat—that prove comfort food need not sacrifice skill or care.


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    901 Fourth St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  38. Awards
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    414 K St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  39. Rank 39. ROYAL DC

    Latin American

    An airy corner spot where Latin American cooking stays unfussy and welcoming. The breakfast arepa—fried egg, tomato, cotija, and avocado sealed in seared masa—arrives wrapped like a gift; at dinner, the upstairs room fills with regulars chasing tender pork empanadas and masa gnocchi studded with braised beef and mushrooms. The prices match the unpretentious spirit.


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    501 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  40. Awards
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    1100 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  41. Rank 41. Stellina Pizzeria

    Neo-Neapolitan Pizza

    Matteo Venini turns out blistered, chewy Neapolitan pies from a wood-burning oven at a bright, casual counter in Northeast D.C. The coppa and Taleggio pizzas arrive whole, meant for slicing yourself, with crisp fritti and fresh tiramisu bookending the meal.


    Awards
    Address
    399 Morse St. NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  42. Rank 42. Rasika

    Modern Indian

    A few blocks from Metro Center, Rasika fills a high-ceilinged room with the sound of satisfied diners working through kebabs and curries built on careful spicing and restraint. The lamb rogan josh arrives in glossy, layered depth; the naan—order extra—arrives warm and charred. A place equally at home hosting a casual dinner or a business meal, executed without pretense.


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    633 D St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  43. Rank 43. Jônt

    Contemporary

    Ryan Ratino's counter-only dining room, positioned above Bresca, pivots on pristine Japanese seafood and wagyu, each plate composed with theatrical precision and backed by an almost balletic service. The meal crescendos through delicate tartares and uni preparations before depositing you at a separate dessert counter, where mignardises arrive like confections from a jeweler.


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    1904 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  44. Oversized Champagne bottles and velvet jackets set the tone at Aaron Silverman's glorified dinner party, where absinthe cocktails arrive tableside and gnocchi floats in parmesan cream. Each course arrives with theatrical flourish and narrative—a condensed, joyful evening where the sommelier's suggestions matter as much as the marinated tuna and compressed watermelon on your plate.


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    Address
    715 Eighth St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  45. Rank 45. Rose's Luxury

    Contemporary

    Strung bulbs cast a warm glow over the open kitchen at this convivial spot where a family-style prix fixe unfolds with playful charm. The cooking balances accessibility with invention—spiced pork meets coconut cream and lychee; Korean rice cakes swim in a gochujang-vodka sauce—while even dessert surprises, sticky toffee pudding darkened with mole negro and crowned with horchata ice cream.


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    717 8th St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  46. Awards
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    2029 P St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  47. Rank 47. Imperfecto

    Latin American

    A soaring glass box in Northwest Washington draws diners to a brass-and-marble counter where Chef Enrique Limardo oversees an intimate tasting menu rooted in Latin technique and premium ingredients. Dishes like aged grouper with charred lettuce or duck with Carolina rice demonstrate exacting skill, each component calibrated to sing.


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    1124 23rd St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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    OpenTable
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  48. A narrow counter in Mt. Pleasant serves breakfast tacos that arrive wrapped in foil, their superb flour tortillas still steaming. Soft scrambled eggs, creamy beans, queso, bacon, chorizo, brisket—each filling is simple, each bite a small, unhurried satisfaction. No reservations, no ceremony, just the kind of morning rescue that extends into night.


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    3211 Mt Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  49. Rank 49. Ellē

    Contemporary New American

    Inside a former bakery, Ellē pairs retro dining room charm with a kitchen that ferments its way through a playful menu: orange carrots with shio-koji and rye miso lead to Nashville hot duck on buttermilk biscuit, while desserts like Thai iced tea–tres leches border on architectural. By day it's a casual café; by night, something more inventive takes hold.


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    3221 Mt Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  50. In a wood-paneled Petworth room frozen somewhere between a 1970s supper club and a neighborhood tavern, Barry Dindyal fries chicken so crisp and juicy it reads as an argument for simplicity itself. The collard greens arrive vegan and succulent, the fries homemade; everything is made to order daily. Lemon cake with buttercream closes the meal with the ease of muscle memory.


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    200 Upshur St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  51. Rank 51. Maydān

    Middle Eastern

    A wood-fired hearth dominates the rustic dining room at this Middle Eastern restaurant, where the kitchen's command of flame and technique produces flatbreads, roasted vegetables, and meats of striking precision. The prix-fixe progression—from charred spreads through tahini-coconut rice pudding—unfolds with the confidence of a place entirely at ease with its craft.


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    1346 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  52. Seng Luangrath's Columbia Heights dining room has been serving as the city's steadiest interpreter of Laotian cooking since 2014, a place where crispy coconut rice salad and tamarind-salted pig ears share menu space with gentler curries and the essential sticky rice. The kitchen cooks for groups, for sharing, for the kind of dinner where the table fills with dishes and nobody orders alone.


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    3462 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  53. Rank 53. Elmina

    African

    Chef Eric Adjepong's West African cooking unfolds in a warm, contemporary room where the tasting menu pivots between refined technique and the spirited informality of Ghanaian chop bars. Scallop crudo arrives with cucumber granita and coconut broth; braised goat comes tableside with fufu and a pour of deep orange-red nkati nkwan sauce. The space invites lingering, and the cooking justifies it.


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    2208 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  54. At St. James Modern Caribbean, Jeanine Prime channels Trinidad through shared plates and rum cocktails in a spare, color-punctuated room where callaloo soup arrives deep green and crowned with crab. The jerk brisket, twelve hours in marinade then smoked, speaks to something unhurried and deliberate, a meal that refuses to abbreviate itself.


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    2017 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  55. Rank 55. Cane

    Trinidadian Caribbean

    A narrow storefront with pastel walls and bright shutters channels Trinidad's sugar-cane legacy through street food that arrives vivid and alive: doubles puffed and tender, snapper escoveitch crackling with pickled heat, pepperpot breathing cinnamon and smoke. The kitchen executes each dish with a clarity that makes the spice sing rather than merely burn.


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    403 H St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  56. Rank 56. Le Diplomate

    Parisian French


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    1601 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  57. Awards
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    3155 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  58. Rank 58. Cana

    Brazilian


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    2412 18th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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    425 I St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  60. Awards
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    1827 Adams Mill Rd NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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    2221 14th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  62. Rank 62. Caruso's Grocery

    Old-School Italian


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    914 14th St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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    300 Seventh St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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    2800 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  65. Behind a austere facade, a U-shaped bar and arched ceilings frame a dining room where natural wines anchor small plates of grilled oysters and house-made pasta with spicy pork ragu. The semifreddo with olive oil and grilled citrus arrives as a small, perfect punctuation mark.


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    1775 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  66. Rank 66. Shōtō

    Modern Japanese

    A volcanic stone cascade and ivy-clad walls frame Shōtō's bar and dining counter in the converted Washington Post building, where the lighting flatters everyone equally. Robata-grilled skewers and pristine sushi arrive alongside Japanese whiskeys and cocktails that taste like they were calibrated in a lab.


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    1100 15th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington

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    517 8th St SE Washington, DC · Washington
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  68. Awards
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    1314 U St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  69. Rank 69. Ama

    Northern Italian


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    885 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  70. Awards
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    1475 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  71. Rank 71. Rania

    Indian

    Rania treats Indian cuisine as a living thing, evolving through unexpected dishes like chana masala panisse and hay-aged pork vindaloo that honor tradition while refusing its constraints. Each plate arrives with the precision of fine dining and the soul of a kitchen that knows exactly what it's doing.


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    427 11th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  72. Rank 72. Little Pearl

    Contemporary

    A glass-walled carriage house serving seasonal tasting menus that balance luxury with restraint—think oysters with seaweed remoulade, poached pears with bay leaf ice cream. The cooking shows boldness and care at a price lower than comparable menus in the city.


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    921 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  73. Rank 73. Casa Teresa

    Open-Fire Spanish


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    919 19th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  74. The soaring dining room at Capitol Crossing frames Chef David Deshaies' Italian cooking with the same care he lavishes on his layered lasagna—tender short rib and truffled pasta sheets that justify their reputation. Wood smoke from the grill and pizza oven seasons everything here, from bucatini cacio e pepe to lamb ragu, each plate worth the attention it receives.


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    200 Massachusetts Ave NW, Ste 100, Washington, DC · Washington
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    Tock
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  75. José Andrés' sleek Mediterranean dining room excels at mezze—mushroom kapnista with dates and labneh, spreads with warm pita, braised lamb—executed with unfussy confidence. The wine list honors Greek and Lebanese producers; the room suits power lunches and quiet dinners equally.


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    701 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  76. Dark wood and gold frame marble counters where Nakazawa's team moves with surgical precision, each of twenty courses—from Japanese squid to torched belly—arriving like a small revelation. A luxurious two-hour omakase that justifies every minute of attention.


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    1100 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  77. Awards
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    1811 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  78. Rank 78. Unconventional Diner

    Modern New American

    White walls and seafoam booths frame a kitchen that treats diner conventions as a starting point rather than gospel: kale nachos, meatloaf spiked with sriracha and morel gravy, roasted cauliflower with tahini and fried chickpeas. The chicken pot pie bites are nearly impossible to refuse. Expect a wait.


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    1207 Ninth St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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    Tock
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  79. Rank 79. Bar Chinois

    Cocktail Bar

    The room hums with the particular electricity of a French wine bar transplanted into dim sum service, cocktails threaded through with kombu and bonito flakes, dumplings arriving in half-moons and clouds. A pork meatball braised in its own jus achieves an almost impossible lightness, the kitchen's seriousness evident in every plate.


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    455 Eye St, Washington, DC · Washington
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  80. Awards
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    1301 U St NW, Ste 111, Washington, DC · Washington
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  81. Rank 81. Amparo Fondita

    Contemporary Mexican

    Chef Christian Irabién's Mexican kitchen sources Oaxacan corn and nixtamalizes it in-house, elevating humble ingredients with precise technique. A fried plantain or papaya dessert reveals layers of flavor that belie their apparent simplicity.


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    2002 P St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  82. Rank 82. Xiquet

    Spanish

    Chef Danny Lledó's wood-fired kitchen channels Valencian cooking with dill-cured bonito and rice dishes built over the hearth, their smoke and char cutting through delicate preparations. The sparse third-floor dining room feels like a private conversation, ending with coffee and sweets upstairs.


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    2404 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  83. Awards
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    1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  84. Awards
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    1190 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  85. Rank 85. Astoria DC

    Sichuan Chinese

    A Dupont Circle kitchen that catches the young and restless with funky, locally rooted cooking at prices that feel like a gift—the cumin lamb arrives tender and alive with spice. The bar welcomes walk-ins and solo diners alike, making room for anyone hungry enough to trust the mapo tofu.


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    1521 17th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  86. A decades-old Penn Quarter institution where senators occupy half-moon banquettes and Indian cuisine glides between regional traditions with restrained sophistication. The braised lamb curry carries subtle sweetness, the kulcha bridges goat cheese and spice, nothing shouts.


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    815 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  87. A Japanese steakhouse in Capitol Crossing where tableside grills and neon hallways set the stage for A5 Wagyu and prime cuts finished with citrus and heat. The kitchen coats each grain of fried rice in umami-rich yolk, turning each dish into theater.


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    200 Massachusetts Ave NW, Ste 150, Washington, DC · Washington
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    Tock
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  88. Climb the stairs past The Pug Bar into a cramped room of raw wood and dangling lights, where the ramen program moves through five freshly made broths with remarkable depth. Fried enoki mushrooms and pork dumplings set the pace; the yuzu custard closes it with grace. Reservations only, one hour to eat.


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    1234 H St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  89. At this no-frills counter in Bloomingdale, diners order via QR code for spring rolls and pho bowls built from a butcher's precision—brisket, bone-in rib, torched marrow. Chef Hai Le's background in meat work shows in the broth's richness and the care taken across each straightforward, deeply satisfying bowl.


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    103 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  90. Rank 90. Chloe

    International

    In the Navy Yard, Chef Haidar Karoum composes a globe-trotting shareable menu where hamachi crudo meets fish sauce and Thai chilies, spiced veal hummus arrives with buttered almonds and warm naan, and penne swims in a soffrito-tinged pork ragù. The cooking feels personal and restless, drawing from everywhere at once, yet each plate lands with unhurried confidence.


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    1331 Fourth St SE, Washington, DC · Washington
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  91. Awards
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    611 I St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
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  92. Rank 92. Annabelle

    Contemporary New American

    A marble bar anchors this Kalorama dining room, where artwork and a skylight-crowned garden conjure elegance without pretense. The seasonal American cooking—from summer beans to mushroom gnocchi to a gianduja ganache that justifies the trip alone—moves with quiet confidence.


    Awards
    Address
    2132 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC · Washington
    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    Website

  93. Awards
    Address
    360 Water Street SE Washington, DC · Washington
  94. In a Northeast DC storefront, Laotian flavors arrive with genuine heat and uncommon ingredients—green papaya salads sing with fermented fish sauce, tender dill curries fold in eggplant and bright vegetables. The kitchen honors both omnivores and vegans with equal care, backed by an ambitious cocktail program that refuses to coast.


    Awards
    Address
    250 K St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
    Online
    Website
  95. Rank 95. Ceibo

    Uruguayan


    Awards
    Address
    2106 18th St NW, Washington, DC · Washington
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  96. Awards
    Address
    4800 Rhode Island Ave, Hyattsville, MD · Hyattsville
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  97. Awards
    Address
    200 Massachusetts Ave NW, Unit 150, Washington, DC · Washington
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

  98. Awards
    Address
    1287 4th St NE, Washington, DC · Washington
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram
  99. Rank 99. Lapis

    Afghan Middle Eastern

    Whitewashed walls and Afghan rugs create an intimate setting where husband-and-wife owners Zubair and Shamim Popal cook their native cuisine with restraint and finesse. Split pea soup arrives layered with quiet complexity; chopawn—three grilled lamb chops with cardamom rice—demonstrates a kitchen unafraid of subtlety. Afghan food, here, tastes like discovery.


    Awards
    Address
    1847 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC · Washington
    Reserve
    Resy
    Online
    Website

  100. Awards
    Address
    1847 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC · Washington
    Online
    WebsiteInstagram

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