The Best Places to Eat and Drink in Washington

Nautical decor that stops short of kitsch anchors this seafood restaurant on the Southwest waterfront, where the patio looks straight out over the marina. The menu pulls from Chesapeake waters and a D.C. urban fish farm, so northern puffer fish arrives whole and crispy fried, and a Maryland crab crumpet nods to the place's Scottish sister spot. Save room for the Virginia peanut tiramisu, which sounds like a dare and tastes like a good idea.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Washingtonian #77 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. Eater Design of the Year · The 2025 Eater DC Award Winners

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
3. Washingtonian #95 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

José Andrés's colorful Mexican restaurant near the Mall earns a Michelin Bib Gourmand on the strength of regionally inflected cooking: black bean soup with avocado leaves and crema, chilaquiles with real crunch, quesadillas on housemade tortillas. The ceviche bar is the move if you want a seat with a show. Mezcal and tequila cocktails are taken seriously, and guacamole arrives unfinished, mixed tableside to your specification.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Omar Rodriguez
3. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

A 22-seat Korean fine dining room where the staff never once mentions that the kitchen runs as a nonprofit focused on zero waste, letting the tasting menu speak for itself instead. Edward Lee's cooking gives traditional Korean ingredients a modern setting, moving through courses that land somewhere between precise and quietly surprising. The Korean spirits list leans into the esoteric, including a crimson makgeolli made with red yeast rice.

1. Esquire 50/50 · The Best Martinis in America
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
3. Washingtonian #37 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. The Rammys Finalist · Rising Culinary Star of the Year · Sara Ravitz
2. The Rammys Finalist · Hottest Sandwich Spot of the Year
3. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

The wood-burning oven is the whole point here, and it runs hot enough that pies come out of it faster than the counter moves. Stellina is a casual neo-Neapolitan pizzeria in Union Market territory, with colorful tiles, red stools, and the kind of blistered, chewy crust that makes "simple counter service" feel like a charitable description. The fritti is a good opening move, and the tiramisu won't embarrass anyone. The Michelin Guide has given it a Bib Gourmand.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. The Rammys Finalist · Casual Restaurant of the Year

The dining room is dressed up like a British Raj club, which is exactly the kind of setting that makes sense a few blocks from the White House. This is traditional Indian fine dining where politicians have been settling into the half-moon banquettes for decades, and the polished cooking moves across the subcontinent, from northern grilled meats to southern coconut-laced seafood. The Washington Post named it among D.C.'s 40 best restaurants.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
3. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

Olive-green velvet booths, a room that hums with the particular energy of people who might be somebody, and martinis that make a two-hour lunch feel like a reasonable life choice. Stephen Starr revived this old Washington institution near the White House into a full-service American restaurant with a menu that leans classic without apology: French dip, lobster bisque, oysters in beurre blanc. The champagne layer cake arrives frosted in pink, which somehow feels correct.

1. Wine Enthusiast Top 50 New Restaurants
2. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
3. Washingtonian Oysters With Beurre Blanc · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area

A cool marble bar greets you before you've even found your table, and the room behind it, skylighted and hung with art, reads as elegant without being airless. This is a polished American dining room in Kalorama where the menu follows the seasons and the service stays warm instead of formal. The martinis are serious, and the pastry program gives you an actual reason to stay for dessert.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Washingtonian #97 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

Olive trees planted between the tables are doing a lot of heavy lifting, but this roomy Greek restaurant on N Street sells the Aegean fantasy well enough that you forget you're in Dupont Circle. The menu runs through the classics, spanakopita, souvlaki, avgolemono, fish grilled with capers flown in from Greece, and the fries have a devoted following. Baklava with iced Greek yogurt closes things out the only sensible way.

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

The wood-burning oven at the center of the open kitchen is roughly the size of a studio apartment, and it sets the agenda here. Blue Duck Tavern is an upscale American restaurant inside the Park Hyatt, with soaring windows, walnut seating, and glass-enclosed booths that regulars treat as personal property. The menu leans into farms and purveyors, and the dessert station and near-30-tea list reward anyone who lingers.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Fabio Trabocchi's fine dining room at the Wharf is all coastal blues and polished brass, with floor-to-ceiling windows over the Potomac that make the room feel like it floats. The Spanish menu runs from jamón croquetas and spreadable sobrasada to paella loaded with lobster and giant prawns, with impeccably simple fish in between. The crowd dresses up, as they should.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Washingtonian #49 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In The Wharf

A farm-to-table restaurant inside a historic home in Marshall, where the prix fixe menu extends to dogs, because of course it does. You can go deep into the multicourse tasting or just order the smash burger on a potato roll with bacon jam, and the kitchen won't judge you either way. The menu shifts with the seasons and what's local, so regulars come back to see what changed. Cabanas out back, thoughtful service throughout.

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
2. Northern Virgina Magazine The 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia

The pleather booths and wood paneling in this Petworth neighborhood spot haven't moved in decades, which is fine because neither has the fried chicken. It's a Southern comfort restaurant where the menu reads short and the kitchen makes everything to order, including that chicken, which arrives crisp, juicy, and worth whatever wait the buzzy bar requires. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, and the homemade fries have something to do with that.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. The Rammys Finalist · Casual Restaurant of the Year
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective

José Andrés launched his American empire here, and this Penn Quarter tapas bar has been loud and full of energy ever since. The dining room goes heavy on tile, glass, and art, which sets the mood before the vermouth list even arrives. Sangria and sherry are smart starts, and the bacalao fritters and olive-oil ice cream over grapefruit granita are reasons to stay long past the last small plate.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
3. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

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

The menu flags certain dishes "phet" for spicy, and it means it. This Northeast DC Southeast Asian restaurant earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for a menu that covers serious ground, including a dedicated vegan section and ingredients you won't find at the usual strip-mall Thai spot. The orm, a chicken-and-dill curry, is the kind of dish that makes you wonder why dill doesn't show up in curry more often. An extensive cocktail list keeps things lively.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. AAA Approved

Tucked into a cobblestone Georgetown alley, this Turkish and Mediterranean dining room draws from homestyle cooking, particularly the "From Mom's Kitchen" section of the menu. The sesame-and-nigella-seeded bread goes with everything, and the rice-stuffed artichoke, a recreation of an Aegean dish the chef grew up eating, earned a Washingtonian dish of the year. The chef was a 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.

1. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
2. Washingtonian #14 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. Washingtonian Rice-Stuffed Artichoke · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area

1. Wildsam The 50 Most Essential Bars in America

1. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.
2. Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Andra “AJ” Johnson
3. Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

A volcanic stone installation cascades from the ceiling of this sleek modern Japanese restaurant in Midtown Center, where the lighting is calibrated precisely enough to make everyone look good. The menu runs from robata-grilled skewers to sushi, and the Japanese whiskey list is long enough to require a strategy. The kind of room that reads more New York than D.C., which the crowd seems to know.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. Wine Enthusiast Forward 50 Restaurants

1. AAA Approved
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
3. Washingtonian #93 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. The Rammys Finalist · Best Bar of the Year
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.
3. The 50 The 50 Discovery

The seafoam-green booths say classic American diner; the kale nachos say something else is going on. This Shaw spot runs on familiar comfort food remixed just enough to keep things interesting, from meatloaf with sriracha and morel gravy to cauliflower with tahini and fried chickpeas. Brunch draws a crowd for egg dishes and sandwiches, and the lemon meringue pie is not optional. A Michelin Bib Gourmand, and you'll want a reservation.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

1. The Rammys Finalist · Beer Program of the Year
2. Washingtonian 9 Delicious Doughnut Shops Around DC

1. The Rammys Finalist · Beer Program of the Year
2. Washingtonian 9 Delicious Doughnut Shops Around DC

A vintage toy car holds down the check at this casual Italian restaurant in a former auto shop on Mount Pleasant Street. The menu shifts constantly, but lamb skewers with chili oil and bubble-crusted pizzas stay put, and the gelato arrives piled improbably high. The kitchen's commitment to good ingredients is quiet but obvious. Bon Appétit named it one of America's Best New Restaurants in 2024.

1. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
2. Washingtonian Arrosticini · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
3. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC
2. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - The Fried Rice Collective
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - The Fried Rice Collective
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

1. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC
2. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC

1. Eater The 15 Best Coffee Shops Around D.C.
2. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Eater The 15 Best Coffee Shops Around D.C.

An Art Deco chophouse and raw bar in downtown Silver Spring, J. Hollinger's splits its loyalties between land and sea: prime steaks anchor the menu, but the kitchen lets you pile on butter-poached crab or fried oysters if you're feeling ambitious. The duck confit and homemade ricotta ravioli give non-carnivores a reason to show up too. Happy hour runs most of the week, and the dollar oysters keep things from getting too serious.

1. The Rammys Finalist · Best Brunch of the Year
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

1. The Rammys Finalist · New Restaurant of the Year
2. Washingtonian #53 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

The chef behind this 16-seat omakase counter built his D.C. following at a food hall, which is a slightly unglamorous origin story for something this polished. Kiyomi is a proper sushi counter now, with a weekday lunch omakase that remains the kind of deal that makes regulars feel like insiders, and a Friday dinner omakase for anyone who wants the full, unhurried version.

1. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
2. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.

1. Eater The 15 Best Coffee Shops Around D.C.
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

1. The Rammys Finalist · Wine Program of the Year
2. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

The hummus gets its own line on the menu as a daily special, which tells you everything about the kitchen's sense of priorities. Sababa is an Israeli small-plates spot in Cleveland Park, all Mediterranean tiles and a globally minded wine list. The move is to start with the salatim, a rotating five-salad spread, then graze through the small plates. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Ashok Bajaj - Knightsbridge Restaurant Group

1. Huckberry The 50 Best Dive Bars in America

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC

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

The "FiLao-O-Fish" slider, a catfish riff on a certain drive-through classic, tells you everything about what Seng Luangrath is doing at this Shaw restaurant. Her Laotian cooking already had a following from Thip Khao, but this newer spot pushes wider, folding in Burmese and Thai flavors while staying loose and fun. Bon Appétit named it one of America's Best New Restaurants in 2025, and the room tends to fill fast.

1. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
2. Washingtonian #25 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. The Washington Post 9 of the best restaurants in Shaw

Gleaming brass, marble, and velvet Art Deco booths set the register at Café Riggs, a contemporary French brasserie inside the Riggs Washington DC hotel on F Street. The historic dining room pulls a sharp-suited lunch crowd and after-work drinkers in equal measure, and the waitstaff moves with the quiet efficiency that makes both feel attended to. Classic French technique drives the menu, and the chocolate soufflé with Grand Marnier caramel is the kind of ending that makes you linger.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The ceibo tree blooms at the bottom of South America, and this dimly lit Adams Morgan restaurant takes its name and its whole spirit from there. The kitchen centers on asado, meats cooked over open flame, with Uruguayan oysters topped with farmed caviar and Patagonian shrimp filling out the seafood side. Sweet potatoes turn up in starters, desserts, and cocktails. Downstairs, a late-night bar pours South American wines and spirits until the weekend crowd thins out.

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

CherCher is an Ethiopian spot that took over what was once a rowhouse living room, and the platters still arrive like someone's relatives are visiting. Expect injera for scooping, berbere-spiced meats, and a vegan combination so sprawling it could feed a small congregation. There are no reservations, so go on a weekday and bring friends who don't mind sharing from one big plate. It's casual, loud in the right way, and easy on the wallet.

1. The Infatuation #9 · Top 25: The Best Restaurants In Washington, DC
2. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

1. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
2. The Washington Post The 8 best Ethiopian restaurants in and around D.C.

The injera here has the kind of springy, tangy pull that makes you wonder why you'd use a fork anywhere else. Ethiopic is a full-service Ethiopian restaurant on a lively stretch of H Street, with a polished dining room that drew a New York Times nod for the D.C. area. Doro wat, tibs, and honey wine are the move, shared over injera with a group who all insisted on picking the spot.

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

A snug Georgetown lunch counter where the glass case does most of the talking: lentils with smoky eggplant, leek-and-walnut tarts, spinach-feta börek, and a dairy-free zucchini soup that has no business being that good. Order a sandwich on the crackly focaccia to eat on the spot, then quietly stock your fridge from the rest. The chef was a James Beard semifinalist in 2025, which explains why a takeout counter feels like such a considered place.

1. Washingtonian #59 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
2. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Cagla Onal Urel

1. The Rammys Finalist · Service Program of the Year
2. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
2. Eater The Best Bakeries Around D.C.

The tandoor oven visible through the display kitchen sets the tone: this is a full-scale Persian restaurant with a dining room grand enough that you wonder if you underdressed. High-backed banquettes, earthy colors, and an inviting bar soften the scale considerably. The menu runs classic, from lamb shank braised in tomato stew to baklava, with a rosewater-and-pistachio ice cream sandwich for anyone who wants to go slightly sideways at dessert.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Eater The Best Bakeries Around D.C.
2. Washingtonian 9 Delicious Doughnut Shops Around DC

Sheep hats hang from the ceiling alongside wood paneling in this Georgian restaurant, and the combination reads less eccentric once the khachapuri arrives, a boat of crusty bread pooling with molten cheese and runny egg. The wine list draws from one of the oldest winemaking regions on earth, which the staff will cheerfully explain at length. Reservations are not optional.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The tlayuda, a large tortilla charred and spread with herby black beans, is a good reason to learn where Ennalls Avenue is. This casual Silver Spring taco shop draws on Oaxacan tradition, so expect moles with real depth alongside the alambres, where grilled meat and melted cheese arrive ready to be scooped into tortillas. The Washington Post and Washingtonian both count it among the D.C. area's top tables, which the no-frills room does nothing to advertise.

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
2. Washingtonian #90 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Southeast · Mary Ellen Diaz

An emerald-green bar anchors this clubby Roman-inspired dining room in downtown Bethesda, the kind of place where an Aperol spritz arrives before you've settled into your seat. The chef behind D.C.'s Red Hen runs the kitchen, and pasta is the main event, though the snacky bar bites and a lunchtime cheeseburger that has no business being this good keep things interesting. Upscale Italian without the starch.

1. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.
2. Washingtonian #60 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

The cocktail menu runs past 100 drinks, and some of them arrive as flavored clouds. Barmini is José Andrés's molecular cocktail bar, the mischievous sibling to Minibar next door, where the same spirit of culinary wizardry gets redirected entirely into what's in your glass. Spherified drinks and leather-aged premixes are the house vernacular. A James Beard nominee for Outstanding Bar Program, it's the kind of place where watching the bartender work is half the point.

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Bar Program
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.
3. The 50 The 50 Discovery

1. AAA Four Diamonds

1. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
2. Eater Where to Eat and Drink on Capitol Hill

1. Washingtonian Best Coffee Shops in DC
2. The Washington Post 9 of the best restaurants in Shaw

Caipirinhas built from fresh sugar-cane juice anchor this small Brazilian bar and kitchen in Adams Morgan, where a vinyl soundtrack keeps the room at a low simmer all night. The open kitchen sends out charcoal-oven dishes and fried tapioca squares with spicy guava sauce that Washingtonian singled out as a favorite dish of the year. A James Beard semifinalist for Best New Bar, it draws the kind of crowd that skips the menu on the second visit.

1. Washingtonian Dadinhos de Tapioca · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. Washingtonian #26 · 100 Very Best Restaurants
3. Eater Best Night Out

A photo of Obama eating a double hangs on the wall, which tells you almost everything about this small, pastel-colored Trinidadian street food spot on H Street. The menu is a love letter to Port of Spain, running through rich stews, channa, and pepperpot fragrant with cinnamon. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and landed on the New York Times Restaurant List, and the lines make sense.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. The New York Times The Restaurant List
3. James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Peter Prime

1. AAA Four Diamonds

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Hollis Wells Silverman - Eastern Point Collective

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant

A 25-seat handroll bar in Capitol Hill where almost every spot goes to walk-ins, so the line outside is part of the deal. The chef's Nikkei style means cones of crackly nori packed with koshihikari rice and fillings that pull from both Japanese and Peruvian traditions. Ceviches, tiraditos, and small plates round things out. The pace is quick by design, so think of it less as dinner and more as something you inhale with a sense of purpose.

1. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now
2. Eater Where to Eat and Drink on Capitol Hill

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service · Brent Kroll

1. Esquire Medina's Martini Service · The Best Martinis in America
2. The Rammys Finalist · Cocktail Program of the Year

Seng Luangrath is widely credited with bringing Laotian food to the DC dining conversation, and this Falls Church strip-mall restaurant is where that reputation took root. The menu leans into bright, lime-forward salads, fragrant soups, and banana-leaf-wrapped fish, with a crispy coconut-rice salad that regulars treat as non-negotiable. Homestyle Laotian cooking in a room that's casual enough for a weeknight but specific enough to feel like a find.

1. AAA Approved
2. Washingtonian #42 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Wine Enthusiast Forward 50 Restaurants

1. The Rammys Finalist · Hottest Sandwich Spot of the Year
2. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic · Rahman "Rock" Harper

1. Time Out The 20 Best Coffee Shops and Cafés in Washington, DC
2. Washingtonian Where to Eat Near the National Mall

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Hollis Wells Silverman - Eastern Point Collective

Fava beans, not chickpeas, go into the falafel here, which tells you something about how seriously this Falls Church spot takes its Egyptian identity. It's a warmly informal, homestyle restaurant where the owner greets everyone like a relative and the menu runs deep, from lamb shank with roasted potatoes to beef moussaka with pine nuts. The kind of room that smells like someone has been cooking since morning, because someone has.

1. AAA Approved
2. Washingtonian #87 · 100 Very Best Restaurants

1. Northern Virgina Magazine #6 · The 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia
2. Washingtonian The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now

Moonraker is a rooftop cocktail bar on the 14th floor of the Pendry Hotel, built around a circular bronze bar under glowing pendant lights. The windows are floor-to-ceiling and the Potomac does the rest, with boats and planes drifting past like extras. Japanese whiskeys, sushi rolls, and small plates keep the hands busy, and the patio fire pits suit a date or a solo drink. Dress like you meant to be here.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In The Wharf

The complimentary chips here come from heirloom corn, and the salsas that arrive with them set the tone for the whole meal: this is a Tex-Mex restaurant where the sauces are the point. The kitchen runs mole the way a French house runs stocks, with a dark, cinnamon-and-chocolate version draped over a spice-rubbed Cornish hen that arrives alongside basmati rice, because why not. Tres leches gets the same treatment, poured tableside.

1. The Rammys Finalist · Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year
2. Northern Virgina Magazine The 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia

1. AAA Approved
2. The Washington Post #1 · The Best Bagels in D.C.

1. AAA Approved
2. Washingtonian 8 Exciting and Delicious Vegan Restaurants Around DC

A few steps down from the lobby, the bar at Tabard Inn sits between a living-room lounge and a black-and-white checkered dining room, which is exactly the kind of transition space that rewards lingering. The hotel around it leans into DC's version of quirky, mismatched vintage furniture and political art on every wall. The cocktail program holds its own against the eccentric surroundings, which is a quiet achievement in a place this determinedly charming.

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide
2. Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants Around D.C.

The buffalo wings here have a two-day head start on you: brined overnight, chilled, then fried and sauced to order with Frank's and butter. This is the food operation inside the U Street bar Sport & Social, run by Scott Drewno, the chef behind Anju. The wings earned a spot on the Washingtonian's favorite dishes of the year, and after one order you'll understand the fuss, even if ordering anything else feels beside the point.

1. Washingtonian Buffalo Wings · Our Favorite Dishes of the Year in the DC Area
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Scott Drewno and Danny Lee - Fried Rice Collective

1. AAA Four Diamonds

The neon hallway cuts through the dark room like a sign that you're not at a standard chophouse. Beloved BBQ is a Japanese steakhouse where central circular grills anchor each table and A5 Wagyu is the main event, cooked tableside. The fried rice, finished by the server so every grain catches the fat, is the kind of dish that quietly upstages the headliner. Find it inside Capitol Crossing.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Eater The Best Tasting Menus in D.C. Right Now

A Georgetown townhouse makes an unlikely but perfectly comfortable setting for an Ethiopian restaurant, with warm fabrics and earthy tones softening the colonial bones of the place. The menu moves between traditional preparations and combinations that can catch an experienced eater off guard, and vegetarians are not an afterthought. Order the combination sampler and let the injera do the work; the range of heat and texture across one plate is quietly impressive.

1. AAA Approved
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. The Rammys Finalist · Wine Program of the Year
2. The Rammys Finalist · Hottest Sandwich Spot of the Year

Kirwan's is an Irish pub on the Wharf, all dark wood that wouldn't look out of place on a 17th-century naval vessel. Downstairs is for sports fans and conference lanyards pouring Guinness, while an upstairs mezzanine has a closed-off snug and a whiskey room tucked below for anyone who'd like their stout with fewer opinions shouted at it. Shepherd's pie and a spice bag are the order, entry-level pub prices apply.

1. Washingtonian 9 Great Pubs for a Full Irish Breakfast Around DC
2. The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In The Wharf

1. AAA Four Diamonds

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
2. Northern Virgina Magazine The 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Peter Chang

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Peter Chang

The line forms before you find the sign, which tells you most of what you need to know about this Vietnamese restaurant tucked inside Falls Church's Eden Center. Rice Paper has been an old-school institution in the Northern Virginia Vietnamese dining scene, turning out coconut curries, lemongrass chicken, and herb-heavy salads to a room that fills fast and empties slowly. The Washington Post named it among the 40 best restaurants in and around D.C.

1. The Washington Post The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around D.C.
2. Northern Virgina Magazine The 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia

Dragon murals climb the brick walls of this Hong Kong-style restaurant and bar tucked off the main road in Shaw, which means half the fun is finding it. The room goes dark and candlelit, the cocktails lean playful and strong, and the menu runs from cheung fun to chili wontons to glossy soy-and-ginger pork ribs. Fortune cookies arrive at the end, though the wisdom inside reportedly skews more Gucci Mane than Confucius.

1. AAA Approved
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Sichuan cooking and serious cocktails share equal billing at this Dupont Circle spot, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and lands on Eater's list of D.C.'s top cocktail bars. The menu runs funky and affordable, with cumin lamb that arrives tender and vivid with spice. No reservations needed if you're happy at the bar, which always has room and is probably where the better conversations are happening anyway.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in D.C.