The Top 100 Restaurants Near The Jerk Pit
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Fernando Gonzalez
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Fernando Gonzalez
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Casual Restaurant of the Year
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Rank 3. Northwest Chinese Food
Northwestern Chinese
- Washingtonian 2026 · #50 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- Washingtonian 2025 · #58 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 4. Beteseb Restaurant
Ethiopian
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Darmyelesh Alemu
- Washingtonian 2026 · #46 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.
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Rank 7. Cielo Rojo
Contemporary Mexican
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Rank 9. San Pancho
Mission-Style Mexican
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Rank 11. Shalla Restaurant & Bar
Ethiopian
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Rank 13. Hitching Post
Southern
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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Rank 15. Lime & Cilantro
Latin
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- Washingtonian 2026 · #99 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- Washingtonian 2025 · Fried Tamal de Elote · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
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Rank 17. 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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Rank 18. 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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Rank 19. Queen's English
Chinese
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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Henji Cheung
- Time Out #9 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
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Rank 20. Menya Hosaki
Noodles
A narrow kitchen in Petworth where young chefs move with practiced precision, turning out house-made ramen bowls of genuine depth and restraint. The signature combines tonkotsu, chicken, and dashi into something smoky and intricate; the truffle shoyu, crowned with pork belly, demands the bowl.
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Rank 21. Hedzole
Ghanaian-American
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Rank 22. Elcielo Restaurant
Colombian
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.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Andra "AJ" Johnson
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
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Rank 23. 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.
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times 2025 · Falafel Jibneh · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 24. 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.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
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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.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
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- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Washingtonian 2026 · #90 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 27. Timber Pizza Co.
Neapolitan Pizza
A bustling neighborhood spot where the counter moves fast and to-go bags pile high, Timber Pizza Co. executes both its wood-fired Neapolitan pies and side salads with the same understated competence. The half-and-half lets you sample their range—from tomato-and-mozzarella orthodoxy to unorthodox turns like The Lot, a sauceless pie of braised pork and pineapple chups.
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Rank 28. Amazonia
Amazonian Peruvian
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · World’s Best Spirits Selection
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 29. 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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Rank 30. 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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Chef of the Year · Mike Friedman
- Washingtonian 2026 · #18 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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- Esquire 2025 · 50/50 · The Best Martinis in America
- Washingtonian 2026 · #37 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
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Rank 32. 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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater The Best Bakeries Around D.C.
- Time Out #11 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
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Rank 33. La Tejana
Mexican
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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Fast Casual Restaurant of the Year
- Time Out #16 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Meherwan Irani and Molly Irani - Chai Pani Restaurant Group
- Washingtonian 2026 · #29 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 35. minibar by José Andrés
Contemporary
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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Rank 36. YELLOW Union Market
Levantine Middle Eastern
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Fast Casual Restaurant of the Year
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Pastry Chef or Baker of the Year · Alicia Wang
- Eater The Best Bakeries Around D.C.
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Rank 38. Serenata
Latino
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Andra “AJ” Johnson
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
- Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.
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Rank 39. 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.
- 50 Top Italy 2025 · #6 · The Best Italian Restaurants In The World
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
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Rank 40. Maketto
Asian
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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
- Eater The 15 Best Coffee Shops Around D.C.
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Suresh Sundas
- Eater 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Washingtonian 2026 · #43 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 42. Purple Patch Food & Drink
Filipino
- Time Out #17 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
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Rank 43. 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.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Yuan Tang
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Anthony Jones
- Washingtonian 2026 · #32 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- Eater Rising Chef · The 2025 Eater DC Award Winners · Anthony Jones
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Rank 45. 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.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 15 Best Coffee Shops Around D.C.
- Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
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Rank 46. 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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
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Rank 47. Oyster Oyster
Vegetarian
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.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Outstanding Chef · Rob Rubba
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Food & Wine 2025 · The Top 15 US Restaurants
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Rank 48. Taqueria Habanero
Puebla Mexican
A Puebla-focused taqueria where the chef hand-forms corn tortillas visible from the dining room, each dish marked by meticulous care. The barbacoa tacos arrive lighter than standard, while the mole poblano showcases the region's characteristically sweet and spiced sauce.
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Rank 49. 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.
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Rank 50. 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.
- 50 Best 2025 · North American's Best Pastry Chef Award 2025 · Susan Bae
- 50 Best 2025 · #17 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Susan Bae
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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.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Washingtonian 2026 · #17 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
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Rank 52. 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.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
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Rank 53. Chicatana Fine Mexican Cuisine
Guerrero-Style Mexican
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Washingtonian 2025 · #39 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Washingtonian 2026 · #25 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- The Washington Post 9 of the best restaurants in Shaw
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Rank 55. 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.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
- Washingtonian 2026 · #6 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 56. 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.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 58. 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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Rank 60. St. James Modern Caribbean
Modern Caribbean
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.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #4 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
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Rank 61. 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.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - The Fried Rice Collective
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Angel Barreto
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Rank 62. Tail Up Goat
Caribbean
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year
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Rank 63. 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.
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- Eater 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Matt Conroy and Isabel Coss
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Rank 64. Cana
Brazilian
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Eater Best Night Out
- Washingtonian 2026 · #26 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 65. Reveler's Hour
Wine Bar
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.
- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
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Rank 66. PhoXotic
Noodles
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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Rank 67. 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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Rank 68. Your Only Friend
Gastropub
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.
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. East
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Washingtonian 2026 · #89 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Fernando Gonzalez
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Fernando Gonzalez
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Casual Restaurant of the Year
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Rank 70. 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.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Matthew Adler
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Matt Adler
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective
- Washingtonian 2025 · Buffalo Wings · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
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Rank 72. 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.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Washingtonian 2026 · #19 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- The New York Times 2021 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 73. Centrolina
Italian
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Amy Brandwein
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Amy Brandwein
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Rank 74. Cranes
Spanish/Japanese
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Rank 75. 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.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Condé Nast Traveler 2024 · The best new restaurants in the world
- 50 Best 2025 · #37 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - The Fried Rice Collective
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - The Fried Rice Collective
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective
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Rank 78. Le Diplomate
Parisian French
- Time Out #14 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Washingtonian 2026 · #47 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 79. 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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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Emerging Chef · Masako Morishita
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
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Rank 81. Eatopia Eatery
Ethiopian
- Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
- The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.
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Rank 84. Letena
Ethiopian
- Washingtonian 2026 · #70 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
- Washingtonian 2025 · #66 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 85. Baan Siam
Thai
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
- Washingtonian 2026 · #76 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 86. Toki Underground
Noodles
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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Rank 88. 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.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 89. Sfoglina
Italian
A cheerful Arlington trattoria built around a working pasta station where fresh sheets emerge throughout service. The menu tours Italy's regions through handmade shapes—tortelloni folded around braised pork, ravioli stuffed with herbed goat cheese—alongside Rome's carbonara, its bucatini properly dressed with guanciale and pecorino. The pasta itself is the point here.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Northern Virgina Magazine 2025 · The 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia
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Rank 90. The Bazaar by José Andrés
Avant-Garde Spanish
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Rank 91. Karravaan
Silk Road Middle Eastern
Chef Sanjay Mandhaiya charts a Silk Road route through bold, shareable dishes that announce themselves with confidence—smoky eggplant layered with labneh and pomegranate arrives on crackling house-made flatbread. Duck breast glazed in harissa honey over forbidden rice and vegetables nestled in a tagine prove he understands how flavor and presentation work in concert.
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Rank 93. 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.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Outstanding Chef · Michael Rafidi
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #34 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. East
- Bon Appétit 2018 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 95. 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.
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Rank 96. Lapis Afghan Bistro
Afghan
- Time Out #15 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now
- Washingtonian 2025 · #23 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 97. Pineapple & Pearls
Contemporary
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.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outsdanding Restaurant
- The Rammys 2025 · Finalist · Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
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Rank 98. 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.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
- Washingtonian 2026 · #23 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
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Rank 99. Sababa
Israeli Middle Eastern
A Mediterranean tile-lined room in Washington devoted to Israeli small plates and the kind of hummus that justifies its own menu line. Salatim spreads, charred vegetables, and tahini-dressed cauliflower arrive in careful succession, each one a minor argument for eating more slowly.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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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.