The Best Places to Eat and Drink in Navy Yard & around

Everything at this Palestinian live-fire restaurant in Navy Yard passes through a roaring open hearth before it reaches the table, and the renovated dining room leaves the kitchen's fire in full view. Michael Rafidi, a James Beard Outstanding Chef winner with a Michelin star, draws on his family's Ramallah roots while working with mid-Atlantic seasons. The tasting menu is the move, though the wood-fired lamb pies and hummus hold their own à la carte.

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Outstanding Chef · Michael Rafidi
2. The 50 #6 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
3. Michelin Guide 1 Star

Shareable plates at this Navy Yard restaurant pull from enough corners of the world that the menu reads like a well-stamped passport. The chef behind it has a diverse résumé, and that shows in combinations that feel considered rather than random. The room draws a neighborhood crowd that actually seems happy to be there, which in a trendy district is its own quiet achievement.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. The Rammys Finalist · Favorite Gathering Place of the Year
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Northern Italian restaurant in Navy Yard that shapeshifts across the day: coffee and focaccia in the morning, aperitivo hour by four, and a full convivial dinner by night. The chef draws on her own northern Italian heritage, so the menu has the kind of specificity that comes from memory rather than research. The James Beard Awards named the chef a 2026 semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.

1. The Rammys Finalist · New Restaurant of the Year
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Johanna Hellrigl

1. AAA Approved
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

1. US Coffee Championships #14 · U.S. Brewers Cup · Steve Kim

1. The Rammys Finalist · Fast Casual Restaurant of the Year

1. The Rammys Finalist · Beer Program of the Year

1. The Rammys Finalist · Best Bar of the Year

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now

Disco balls overhead and frozen tiki drinks on the menu: Navy Yard's 40-seat cocktail bar came out of a wine bar conversion and has been making noise ever since. The team behind it includes alumni of Silver Lyan, and the house Sazerac riffs on an everything bagel with sesame aquavit and chive gomme, which sounds like a dare and sells out anyway. A neighborhood crowd fills the small room fast on weeknights.

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.

1. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Peter Prime