Must see restaurants in Washington, DC

  • Top Choice
    Ben’s Chili Bowl

    Ben’s is a DC institution. The main stock in trade is half-smokes, DC’s meatier, smokier version of the hot dog, usually slathered with mustard, onions…

  • D
    Top Choice
    Dabney

    Chef Jeremiah Langhorne studied historic cookbooks, discovering recipes that used local ingredients and lesser-explored flavors in his quest to…

  • C
    Top Choice
    Comet Ping Pong

    Proving that DC is more than a city of suits and corporate offices, Comet Ping Pong offers a fun and festive counterpoint to most of the city's eateries…

  • B
    Top Choice
    Busboys & Poets

    Busboys & Poets is one of U Street's linchpins. Locals pack the place for coffee, boozy brunches, books and a progressive vibe that makes San Francisco…

  • B
    Top Choice
    Bistrot du Coin

    The lively and much-loved Bistrot du Coin is a neighborhood favorite for roll-up-your sleeves, working-class French fare. The kitchen sends out…

  • C
    Top Choice
    Compass Rose

    Compass Rose feels like a secret garden, set in a discreet townhouse a whisker from 14th St's buzz. The exposed brick walls and sky-blue ceiling give it a…

  • S
    Top Choice
    Shouk

    Fast and casual, Shouk creates big flavor in its vegan menu of Israeli street food, served with craft beer and tap wines. A crazy-good burger made of…

  • R
    Top Choice
    Rose's Luxury

    Michelin-starred Rose's is one of DC's most buzzed-about eateries. Crowds fork into worldly Southern comfort food as twinkling lights glow overhead and…

  • A
    Top Choice
    A Baked Joint

    Order at the counter then take your luscious, heaped-on-housemade-bread sandwich – perhaps the smoked salmon and scallion cream cheese on an open-faced…

  • D
    Top Choice
    Donburi

    Hole-in-the-wall Donburi has 14 seats at a wooden counter where you get a front-row view of the slicing, dicing chefs. Donburi means 'bowl' in Japanese,…

  • A
    Top Choice
    Ambar

    Ambar buzzes, especially at happy hour, when the convivial, European-style restaurant slings heaps of small plates. Roasted pepper and eggplant, smoked…

  • L
    Top Choice
    Little Serow

    Set in a cavern-like green basement, Little Serow has no phone, no reservations and no sign on the door, and it only seats groups of four or fewer (larger…

  • T
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    Tail Up Goat

    With its pale-blue walls, light wood decor and lantern-like lights dangling overhead, Tail Up Goat exudes a warm, island-y vibe. The lamb ribs are the…

  • C
    Top Choice
    ChiKo

    ChiKo stands for Chinese and Korean, and it fuses the cuisines with low-key style. Dishes such as pork and kimchi potstickers and chilled acorn noodles…

  • F
    Top Choice
    Fiola Mare

    Fiola Mare delivers the chichi Georgetown experience. It flies in fresh fish and crustaceans from Maine and Tasmania daily. The yacht-bobbling river view…

  • B
    Top Choice
    Baked & Wired

    This cheery cafe whips up beautifully made coffees, bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits and enormous cupcakes (like the banana and peanut-butter-frosted…

  • P
    Top Choice
    Pom Pom

    Pom Pom gets heaped with praise by foodie tastemakers (Bon Appétit magazine, James Beard Foundation) and no wonder. It's hard not to fall for panko fried…

  • S
    Top Choice
    Sichuan Pavilion

    Many Chinese come to this few-frills restaurant to feast on fiery, aromatic Sichuan classics. Around the world, piquant Sichuan (or Szechuan) cuisine is…

  • B
    Top Choice
    Bub & Pop's

    A chef tired of the fine-dining rat race opened this gourmet sandwich shop with his parents. Ingredients are made in-house from scratch – the meatballs,…

  • E
    Top Choice
    Equinox

    Chef Todd Gray has long eschewed imported ingredients in favor of meat, fish, fowl, vegetables and fruit sourced from farms in the Shenandoah Valley and…