3 Best Restaurants in Downtown, Washington, D.C.

Reviews Updated by

Jessica Van Dop DeJesus

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.

Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House

$$$$ | Chinatown

Del Frisco's is yet another upscale steak house in a city bursting with them. Like many others, the cuts of meat are tasty, generous, and pricey, but the overall atmosphere here is nicer—or at least brighter. Large booths and gray-tinted chairs lend the large, two-story, 400-seat restaurant a comfortable, modernist feel, and spacious windows look out to the vibrant, new CityCentreDC. In addition to hand-cut steaks and chops, there are excellent crab cakes and salmon, and the lobster tail is carved tableside.

Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab

$$$$ | Downtown

Just a couple of blocks from the White House, this enormous space (a century-old bank building), with a towering second-floor terrace, centers on a vast black-granite bar adorned with marble columns and leather stools. Affiliated with the legendary Joe's Stone Crab in Miami, the D.C. Joe's distinguishes itself with steaks. Sure they have seafood, but this is a steak house. A 30-ounce porterhouse tops the price list, at about $95. Everything is big here—the place, the portions, the prices—but you get the upscale feel with the beautifully appointed room, waiters in tuxedos, and impeccable service. The restaurant seats more than 450, and there are also large rooms for private parties.

Rare Steakhouse and Tavern

$$$ | Downtown

Rare is two restaurants in one: a casual street-level tavern that will appeal to most diners and an upstairs high-end steak house. The Tavern is most accessible, with a large bar decorated with colorful murals, perfect if you are meeting friends for happy hour, and its menu takes pub grub to another level. You'll find the requisite burgers and salads, but the menu includes wonderfully dry-aged steaks, seafood, and even a good plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Upstairs in the steak house is a more opulent atmosphere, tableside salad service, prime steaks, and hefty prices.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

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