The Best Restaurants in Washington

The tiramisu ice cream is apparently non-negotiable, and regulars seem to have made their peace with that. This New American neighborhood restaurant in quiet Chevy Chase keeps things unfussy: ricotta dumplings, beef tartare, trout cooked the way trout should be. The room fills fast, the bar fills faster, and nobody seems to mind eating standing up. A set menu exists for the decisionally exhausted.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

A honeycomb-patterned wall and a floor-to-ceiling Hagia Sophia mural set the scene at this Turkish restaurant in Mt. Vernon Triangle, where the room does a lot of the talking before the food arrives. The menu runs through hot and cold meze, kebabs, and the kind of baklava that makes you order Turkish coffee just to have an excuse to keep sitting there. Dressy enough for a date, relaxed enough for a long Tuesday dinner.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Exposed brick, painted-tile floors, and photos of a Tuscan hometown set the mood at this neighborhood Italian restaurant in Shaw. The chef ran the kitchen at DC's beloved Tosca for years before opening this more personal room. Pasta gets serious attention here, and truffles show up more than once on the menu. The kind of place where the cooking feels like it has something to prove, in a quiet, unhurried way.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Salmon-hued chairs, tufted banquettes, and marble tables beside a leafy patio give this French-leaning restaurant inside the Dupont Circle Hotel the feel of a very expensive terrarium. The menu drifts happily from lobster bisque to lamb tagine without apologizing for the range, which means the table next to yours is probably ordering something completely different and looking smug about it.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Enrique Limardo of Imperfecto keeps the room deliberately calm, all cream, beige, and light wood inside the Ritz-Carlton, so the Spanish-meets-Latin-American food has nowhere to hide. Tapas and small plates anchor the menu, with a whole section devoted to rice dishes, including a pink beet-stained arroz tucked with roasted vegetables and fava beans that earns its page. Mains run meat-forward and come sized for the table.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Twelve seats, a polycultural farm and vineyard outside the city, and ceramic dishes thrown from clay dug on the property: the scene is set before the food even arrives. Chef Tae Strain runs a tasting menu where the farm supplies much of what lands on the counter, with Korean-inflected technique quietly threading through each course. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List, and the Burnt Hill wines poured between courses are made right outside the window.

1. The New York Times 2026 · The Restaurant List

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective

A cave à manger on 17th Street where you order at a counter, find somewhere to stand, and immediately wish there were chairs. The menu is Mediterranean-Italian, the wine selection leans natural, and the kitchen behind it all has DNA from Komi, the couple's storied tasting room. Griddled pita and olives are constants; a Japanese sweet potato with koji butter somehow fits right in. The ice cream flavors, polenta-cassis among them, suggest nobody here makes easy choices.

1. Washingtonian #7 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
2. Washingtonian Cacio e Pepe Bomboloni · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area

The mahjong lounge in back tells you everything about the vibe at this Penn Quarter American Chinese sit-down. The menu runs from crab rangoon spiked with Old Bay to mapo tofu that takes the spice seriously, and the Chongqing chicken arrives buried in chilies as a statement of intent. Fresh noodles and leek fondue give the lo mein a comfort-food pull that's hard to argue with. Fun, loud, and not pretending to be anything else.

1. Washingtonian Crab Rangoon · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. Washingtonian #21 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

1. Washingtonian Neighborhood Guide: Where to Eat, Shop, and Play in Middleburg
2. Washingtonian Where to Eat, Shop, and Play in Middleburg

1. Washingtonian Neighborhood Guide: Where to Eat, Shop, and Play in Middleburg
2. Washingtonian Where to Eat, Shop, and Play in Middleburg

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. Time Out #10 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.

1. Time Out #10 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.

1. AAA Approved

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

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. Time Out #5 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.

1. AAA Approved

1. Esquire Classic Martini · The Best Martinis in America
2. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

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

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

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

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

1. AAA Approved

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

The gougères come with a side of Comté fondue, because why not gild the lily twice. Barbouzard is a glitzy Southern French dining room from Cédric Maupillier, and it reads more Riviera than Washington, which is the whole point. The deconstructed bouillabaisse and plancha scallops in curry sauce show a chef having fun with the format. At lunch, the K Street crowd fills in around a brisk prix fixe that moves fast enough to make a noon reservation feel civilized.

1. Washingtonian Scallops a la Plancha · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. Washingtonian #71 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

Lamb and chicken skewers come off the coals heavy with cumin at this Uyghur restaurant tucked into an Arlington strip mall. The skewers are the draw, but the menu around them pulls equal weight: flat noodles in tart red broth, cold noodles sparked with chili oil, and a beef-and-onion stuffed flatbread that regulars tend to order twice. The New York Times named it one of D.C.'s 25 best restaurants.

1. The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now

The onion soup follows Julia Child's recipe and nobody has touched it, which tells you something about the kitchen's instincts. This casually elegant French bistro in Sterling plays with the classics just enough, turning tuna tartare into something that reads like steak, serving Brie crispy, while leaving the soul of the thing intact. The Washingtonian named that tartare one of their favorite DC-area dishes of the year.

1. Washingtonian Tuna Tartare · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. Washingtonian #91 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

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

The "clam" dip is made from tofu, the fried fish contains no fish, and somehow none of that feels like a compromise. This vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant in Falls Church is where the chef makes her own faux meats and seafoods from scratch, turning lemongrass noodle soup and papaya salad into fully convincing arguments that the meat was never the point. Devout carnivores tend to figure this out about halfway through the meal.

1. Washingtonian #41 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

Hand-pressed tortillas made with nixtamalized heirloom corn anchor the menu at this contemporary Mexican restaurant in Takoma Park, where vegan-friendly cooking doesn't mean compromising on ambition. Tres moles fill the enchiladas, cashew cheese goes into the quesadillas, and the bar runs inventive mezcal and rum cocktails alongside margaritas. Brunch draws a crowd too. The team recently moved into sleeker new digs up Carroll Ave, and the upgrade shows.

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

1. Washingtonian Fried Tamal de Elote · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. Washingtonian #99 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. Washingtonian #28 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

The kitchen counter of this Japanese rowhouse izakaya seats you close enough to watch the grillwork happen in real time. The menu runs to sashimi, grilled collars, and hand-doodled specials that change on a whim, sake descriptions written for humans rather than sommeliers, and on Tuesday nights the upstairs flips into a natural-wine bar that hospitality workers seem to have claimed as their unofficial break room.

1. Washingtonian #40 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

Pork belly rolled tight with lemongrass and garlic, skin so crisp a fork won't crack it on the first try: that's the draw at this fast-casual Filipino counter in a Rockville strip mall. The lechon belly comes in sandwiches with atchara, over rice, or paired with other meats from the chef's rotation. Save room for desserts from the pastry shop run by his sister next door. The New York Times put it on its D.C. restaurant list, which tracks.

1. The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now

1. Time Out #18 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

Fewer than twenty seats, one chef, seven courses, and a kitchen so quiet you can hear the thinking. Nasime is an intimate Japanese tasting room in Old Town Alexandria where the Ginza-trained team runs a set menu that moves through seasons rather than trends. The pacing is unhurried, the combinations are precise, and the sashimi course arrives with a buzz-button flower that earns its spot on the plate.

1. Washingtonian #12 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

Knife-cut noodles made in-house anchor the menu at this casual College Park storefront serving the bold flavors of northwest China. Mouth-numbing red chilies and black vinegar show up everywhere, from chili-oil dumplings to griddled flatbread sandwiches. Kumquat lemon tea and sour-plum juice are on hand for anyone who underestimated the heat. The University of Maryland crowd has clearly done the math on the price-to-fire ratio.

1. Washingtonian #50 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

A Salvadoran pupuseria in a Rockville strip mall, run by a family whose roots in the craft go back a generation in El Salvador. The menu runs nearly 30 styles, from the classic cheese-and-chicharrón to shrimp with mint and kale, all served hot off the griddle and freshly blistered. The New York Times put it on their D.C. restaurant list. Come at breakfast and order the signature pupusa with eggs in a red sauce that has no business being that good.

1. The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now

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

Whole roast suckling pig, ordered tableside with enough ceremony to make your neighbors jealous, is the move at this Spanish tapas restaurant in Ballston. The co-owner, Spanish himself, infuses his own spirits, and the gin and tonic is the kind of thing that makes you question every gin and tonic you've had before. Paella, croquetas, and a raw bar round things out, and the patio catches a breeze when the weather cooperates.

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

1. Time Out #19 · Best restaurants in Washington, D.C.

The benne dosa here folds like a quesadilla rather than rolling into a cylinder, which tells you this is Bangalorean, not generic Indian. It's a casual dosa counter in a Herndon strip mall that somehow has the quiet confidence of a place that doesn't need to explain itself. The butter-lacquered exterior crisps up hard while the inside stays soft with masala potatoes and podi, a coarse spice mix that the Washingtonian named among its favorite dishes of the year.

1. Washingtonian Podi Masala Dosa · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. Washingtonian #78 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Baltimore Magazine Best Restaurants
2. Baltimore Magazine 2025 · Destination Dining · Best of Baltimore
3. Baltimore Magazine The Shrimp and Grits Cocktail · Best Baltimore Bites

1. Washingtonian #52 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Washingtonian #92 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

The mollette, a pulled-oxtail sandwich with pickled vegetables and a sherry glaze, sits next to lobster and oysters on a menu that refuses to pick a lane, which is very much the point. Arrels is a modern Spanish restaurant where the cooking runs from rustic to refined without apology. The fideua, made with vermicelli, Manchego, jamón, and truffle cream, gives you a reason to linger well past the bread course.

1. Washingtonian #83 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Washingtonian #84 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Washingtonian #92 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Washingtonian #74 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Washingtonian #80 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Washingtonian 8 Exciting and Delicious Vegan Restaurants Around DC

1. Washingtonian 8 Exciting and Delicious Vegan Restaurants Around DC

1. Washingtonian #72 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

Spicy tuna on crispy rice is the opening argument at this Japanese restaurant tucked into a strip mall in Potomac, the hot, crackly squares doing more work than most entire menus. The kitchen runs through rolls and nigiri alongside small plates, with an Old Bay roll that leans fully into its Maryland zip code. The room skews industrial-chic, which is a fun choice for a shopping center, but the fish keeps the conversation going.

1. Washingtonian #96 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

A tasting counter in Georgetown where the chef, a former flight attendant, runs eight to ten courses of Japanese home cooking that quietly refuses to stay in its lane. The room is spare and black-and-white, but the warmth comes from the chef herself, moving through dishes like fried Wagyu-pork meatballs and finishing the meal in a clay pot of salmon, ikura, and pickles. Dress neatly; the patio pours sake and rolls on a more casual register.

1. Washingtonian #61 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

Lentil samosas so popular they now ship frozen from this Columbia Heights Ethiopian cafe tell you something about how this place operates. The injera-lined platters arrive loaded with lamb wat that falls apart on contact, fiery red lentils, and earthy beets doing the cooling work. The vegetarian spread holds its own against anything on the menu with meat in it, which is saying something.

1. Washingtonian #70 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

Moroccan tile and cozy alcoves set the mood at this upscale-casual Mediterranean and Persian restaurant in Adams Morgan. The kitchen draws from Greek, North African, Turkish, and Persian traditions without treating any of them as fixed texts, so gigante beans might arrive tossed in tahini and sumac instead of the expected tomato. Braised lamb shoulder and walnut-marinated kebabs anchor the menu, and the baked rice pudding with saffron syrup lands as a genuine closer.

1. Washingtonian #98 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

A strip mall in Fairfax with walls of actual greenery sets the scene for this casual Southeast Asian restaurant covering Thai, Malaysian, and Singaporean ground with real range. Chili crab comes with soft-shells in a red sauce and sweet buns for mopping, and a fried rice pyramid topped with lump crab closes the loop nicely. The pandan castella cake keeps dessert from being an afterthought.

1. Washingtonian #88 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

Tucked deep inside the Eden Center mall, this Vietnamese restaurant operates on the assumption that you came ready to work for it. The staff speaks limited English and menu descriptions don't give much away, but the rice-cake and tapioca-dumpling appetizers, some banana-leaf-wrapped, some chicharrón-crusted with tiny shell-on shrimp, make the ordering process forgiving. The spicy lemongrass noodle soup with rustic meatballs in a rich beef broth is what regulars are usually after.

1. Washingtonian #94 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

1. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

1. Washingtonian 8 Exciting and Delicious Vegan Restaurants Around DC

1. Washingtonian The vegetarian version · 7 Delicious French Onion Soups to Keep You Cozy All Day Long

1. Washingtonian The suburban find · 7 Delicious French Onion Soups to Keep You Cozy All Day Long

1. Washingtonian The soup-and-fire combo · 7 Delicious French Onion Soups to Keep You Cozy All Day Long

1. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

1. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

1. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

1. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

1. Washingtonian 8 Exciting and Delicious Vegan Restaurants Around DC

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Keem Hughley

1. Eater Where to Eat and Drink on Capitol Hill

1. Eater Where to Eat and Drink on Capitol Hill

1. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

1. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

1. The Washington Post 9 of the best restaurants in Shaw

1. The Washington Post 9 of the best restaurants in Shaw

1. Eater Where to Eat and Drink on Capitol Hill