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Until recently, tourists who trekked north from the Mall hungry for something more than Smithsonian cafeteria food were stranded Downtown with little but high-end options. Now, young Washingtonians are taking advantage of residential development and moving off Capitol Hill to Downtown, Penn Quarter, and Chinatown, where nothing short of a restaurant revolution has taken shape in the last decade.
This spacious restaurant is on the ground floor of the 130-year-old Riggs Bank Building, now known as the Riggs Hotel. The café boasts large Corinthian columns, original stone floors, a sky-high ceiling, and Palladian windows. The menu is as luxurious as its surroundings: an ample raw bar featuring caviar, oysters, and crab. If seafood is not your thing, there are plenty of other choices, like steak frites and duck breast.
This upscale gastropub chain just a block from the convention center offers more than 40 beers on tap and loads of bottles. The high ceilings, reclaimed wood walls, and copper bar give the large spot a warm, rustic feel. Expect standard American pub comfort food with a few upscale plates like grilled ahi tuna and miso-glazed salmon. There's also a solid brick-oven-pizza selection. It gets a nice crowd, but you never feel crowded in the spacious bar–dining room. The jumping happy hour offers great prices.
Adventurous wine lists, stellar service, and inventive presentations that don't scrimp on the spice—this Indian kitchen is a local legend. A warm, romantic atmosphere means couples snatch up reservations weeks in advance. The menu highlights unique tandooris and grills, from lamb to chicken, and popular vegetarian dishes such as the fried spinach leaves with sweet yogurt sauce called palak chaat. Vegetarians and vegans will be pleased with their extensive veggie-forward menu. There's another location in the West End near Georgetown.
This sophisticated urban dining room with soaring ceilings is a local favorite for meeting friends or dining with a group (and popular enough that reservations can still be difficult to get). Here chef José Andrés devotes practically the entire menu to Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese small plates, known as meze. To get the full experience, make a meal of three or four small plates, perhaps the spicy lamb bahar served with tabbouleh and tahini or the hearty fattoush shepherd's salad in a bright pomegranate dressing. Finishing the shareable roasted lamb shoulder is a worthy quest for diners with big appetites. So many options make this an excellent choice for both vegetarians and meat lovers. Reservations get snapped up quickly here, but you can snag a meal when a roomy bar table opens up. Eating at the bar itself is fun since the bartenders are attentive and friendly.
One block from the White House, the beautiful Bombay Club serves classic and modern Indian fare in a refined setting. On the menu are unusual seafood specialties and a variety of vegetarian dishes, but the real standouts are the aromatic curries. The bar, furnished with rattan chairs and dark wood paneling, serves hot hors d'oeuvres at cocktail hour. You can enjoy live piano music by the bar from Thursdays to Saturdays.
The José Andrés formula is pleasantly familiar to D.C. diners who have visited his ever-growing empire of small-plate restaurants since Jaleo first opened in 1993. This hybrid of Peruvian and Chinese-Japanese styles, inspired by a 19th-century wave of migration to South America, is a popular spot amongst locals. Find chili-speckled dim sum alongside ceviches, donburi bowls, and Peruvian-style fried rice. Cocktail stars are the macerados, Peruvian pisco liquors infused with fruit flavors.
Sadly, D.C.'s Chinatown has lost many Chinese restaurants due to gentrification. Thankfully, China Garden still stands, offering the classics of American-Chinese cuisine such as General Tso's chicken, beef and broccoli, and fried rice. You can't miss the location: a bright-red pagoda-like facade that is a neighborhood landmark. Vegetarians rejoice since there are plenty of plant-based options. The menu is diverse, and you can still get an affordable meal in the heart of D.C.
Formerly a Borders bookstore, the Hamilton (no relation to the hit musical) is now an enormous multiroom restaurant (38,000 sq feet) that includes a subterranean live-music hall capable of accommodating almost 1,000 people. The menu is just as ambitious as the venue, offering burgers, sushi, pasta, steaks, salads, seafood, and one solitary vegetarian entrée. All can be washed down with cocktails, beer, wine, or milk shakes. While typically a kitchen with so many offerings excels at none of them, the crowds—especially around happy hour—show that's not the case here.
Few who stop by this bustling hive of smoky brisket and gooey ribs can deny it does Texas meat right. This is evident in the pay-by-the-pound ethos that lets you sample one slice of lean beef and one scoop of gooey white shoepeg corn pudding alongside a succulent turkey breast. But this family-friendly retreat becomes a social destination come happy hour and beyond, when margarita pitchers reel in the twentysomethings, and Wednesday becomes a rollicking country western love music night.
Traditional Japanese cooking is combined with often inspired improvisations ("freestyle Japanese cuisine," in the words of chef-owner Kaz Okochi) at this serene location. For a first-rate experience, sit at the sushi bar and ask for whatever is best—you're in good hands. But the unique arrangements on the regular menu, from tuna with roasted almonds to salmon with mango puree, are just as memorable. It's not all raw here; the cast of small plates served warm might include local puffer fish with baby bok choy or grilled avocado.
The specialty at chef José Andrés's Mexican stunner are antojitos, literally translated as "little cravings." But the high ceilings, gracious service, and gorgeous Frida Kahlo–inspired interior are anything but small, and even the smallest of dishes is larger than life when doused with chocolate mole poblano sauce or piquant lime-cilantro dressing. Standouts include homemade margaritas topped with a clever salt foam, the seared Chesapeake perch with serrano and cilantro, and grasshopper tacos—yes, those are bugs basted in tequila and chili sauce, and they're delightful. Museumgoers shouldn't miss the filling and fanciful lunch specials.
Bright, loud, raucous, and fun, with a brightly lit bar and long, communal tables, this branch of the New York City original makes it hard not to meet people. An "American" brasserie, it's an ample space with an even bigger menu. Bright hanging chandeliers and smoked mirrors accent the dining room. High ceilings and tile everywhere raise the decibel level, but this is not the spot you come to for a quiet, intimate conversation. The dinner menu is ravenously eclectic, offering everything from a skirt steak to pastas to Korean bibimbap to a lobster roll. It's also open for breakfast at 8 am daily.
For those craving authentic Italian pizza, head to Stellina Pizzeria. The latest outpost of this locally owned company is the work of native Italians Antonio Matarazzo and chef Matteo Venini. Start your meal with Italian starters like arancini (fried rice balls) and fried artichokes. The pizzas based on Italian classics such as cacio e pepe and amatriciana are always in demand. Try to grab a seat at the lively bar for more intimate service and a closer look at the bar and kitchen.
