Monday, August 31, 2026

The Best Places to Eat in Washington, by the Record













  1. Rank 395. Irish Channel

    Irish British Dive Bar



  2. Rank 395. Makeda

    Ethiopian




  3. Rank 395. Minetta Tavern

    Bistro French



  4. Rank 395. Primrose

    French Wine Bar




  5. Rank 395. Shouk

    Middle Eastern


  6. Rank 424. Bronze

    New American


  7. Rank 425. Bantam King

    Ramen Noodles


  8. A converted tourist kiosk steps from the Air and Space Museum that happens to be the only place on the National Mall where you can order a glass of wine with your pizza. The team behind Sonny's Pizza runs this casual counter, pouring natural wine, beer, and spritzes alongside grandma-style pan slices and focaccia sandwiches. Mornings lean espresso and pastries. The footnote writes itself: museum gift shops sell astronaut ice cream; this place sells Aperol spritzes.


  9. Rank 425. Carmine's

    American Italian



  10. Rank 425. DAIKAYA

    Japanese Noodles

    The noodles come from Sapporo, which tells you something about how seriously this ramen counter takes its business. Downstairs, bowls of springy, custom-made noodles arrive in a long-simmered broth, with a vegetarian version that holds its own against the pork. Upstairs flips into a Japanese tavern pouring sake and yuzu cocktails alongside a full menu of drinking snacks. Two moods, one address, zero bad options on either floor.





  11. Rank 425. PubKey

    Dive Bar






  12. Rank 438. Bammy's

    Modern Caribbean










  13. Rank 445. Ingle Korean Steakhouse

    Korean Steakhouse








  14. Rank 454. Agora

    Mediterranean


  15. The polished metal trays arrive loaded with banchan, and the arrangement shifts every time, which is half the point. Baek ban is the format, a Korean rice-set meal with a main and a rotating cast of small dishes, and at this Chantilly spot the lineup might include cubed radish kimchi, sesame-glossed glass noodles, or a perilla-leaf omelet. The smoky-sweet bulgogi landed on the Washingtonian's favorite dishes list, so that one is worth keeping an eye out for.


  16. Rank 454. Banh Mi Oi

    Vietnamese


  17. Rank 454. Bao Bei

    Taiwanese Chinese


  18. The whole branzino is flown in from Greece, cured, air-dried for days, then grilled until the skin shatters, which tells you everything about the kitchen's priorities at this polished Pike & Rose restaurant. It reads like a classic American steakhouse, and you could easily miss the Greek thread running through it, which is exactly what makes that fish such a pleasantly disorienting moment. The owners also run Cava, which is quite the range.


  19. Rank 454. Bun Papa

    American













  20. The sourdough under the roasted chicken isn't an afterthought; it sits in the pan and drinks up every drop of stock and butter until it becomes the point. Nancy Silverton's Georgetown Italian restaurant is a Stephen Starr co-production that landed as a full-blown scene, the kind where former presidents apparently just show up for dinner. The room runs loud and the pastas are homey, but the chicken alla diavola is the dish people are still talking about.



















  21. Rank 489. Sumac

    Piedmont Italian






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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. It runs on the scored places nearby: more good stuff within reach, higher score. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.