The creativity and innovation of DC’s restaurant scene have invigorated the community and continued to appeal to Washingtonians and visitors alike.
DC continues to up its dining scene with an array of global cuisine new to the nation’s capital including the elegant L’Ardente Italian restaurant at the Capitol Crossing Development, Immigrant Food+ in the new Planet Word Museum and Lebanese-inspired Ilili at The Wharf.
The city’s Streatery Program has been extended through Feb. 28, 2022, with plans for a permanent program in the works. Three DC restaurants have been named to Esquire Magazine’s 2021 list of Best New Restaurants in America. Congratulations to Oyster Oyster (#12), Moon Rabbit (#23) and Imperfecto (#32). The list, which was released Nov. 18, featured 40 restaurants across the country that made an impact on four of the magazine’s seasoned food writers. “We found ourselves digging into comfort, sure, but we also leaned into the unfamiliar. Into adventure,” says Kevin Sintumuang, Esquire’s culture and lifestyle director.
Opening Soon
A modern Caribbean restaurant and sister to Michelin-starred Cane, St. James opens late summer in the U Street corridor. The restaurant offers a large indoor space and a limited patio with seating. It’s named for St. James in Trinidad’s capital and will be serving island favourites.
Dupont goes French with Duck Duck Goose, a modern brasserie by Chef Ashish Alfred. With outposts in Bethesda and Baltimore, the DMV favourite features indoor and outdoor seating. Diners find French staples like foie gras, truffles and duck confit.
Inspired by nightlife in Spain’s Basque Country, Chef Johnny Spero’s eponymous restaurant Bar Spero will join other newcomers at DC’s Capitol Crossing and feature open hearth cooking and seafood as a whole turbo for diners to share. The bar will serve house-made cocktails, wine and aged sherries.
The popular Dabney team will open Petite Cerise (“little cherry”), an all-day, French-inspired restaurant in Shaw in early January. The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and feature a selection of authentic French imports and wine.
Han Palace owner, Chris Zhu will debut two new dim sum spots in Woodley Park and Barracks Row in December. Both restaurants will feature made-to-order dim sum, homemade soup dumplings and Cantonese specialties including Peking duck and lobster sticky rice.
Spike Mendelsohn and their family’s Santa Rosa Taqueria is returning to a new location at 301 Pennsylvania Avenue just a few doors down from the original at 315 Pennsylvania Avenue, where the pandemic forced it to shutter in late February. The new location opens early in the year.
From the team behind Duke’s Grocery, Gogi Yogi and Duke’s Counter, Chesapeake brings the region’s favourite shellfish dishes to the heart of U Street. The bar will only serve beers brewed in DC, Maryland and Virginia, alongside a wide selection of spirits and classic dockside drinks like orange crushes.
A new American style restaurant Newland, from the owners of Beuchert’s Saloon and Fight Club, is headed to Capitol Hill, targeting a January opening. The spot will feature Mid-Atlantic staples including crab and pit beef, along with specialty cocktails, wine and beer.
Tokyo is the inspiration for a Japanese food hall on Massachusetts Avenue from internationally acclaimed chef Makoto Okuwa and Unconventional Diner co-owner Eric Eden. Love Makoto, located at DC’s Capitol Crossing development, will feature a ramen shop, a Japanese bakery, sushi and a robata grill. An early 2022 opening is anticipated.
Opening early January in the buzzing 14th Street area, Salazar, a tequila focused, drink forward bar and eatery spans three stories with a rooftop. While there will be a Tex-Mex menu, drinks are the focus. Catch bottomless margaritas during weekend brunch and the basement space is primed for DJs and dance parties.
A taste of sunny Florida arrives in Washington, DC’s Navy Yard neighbourhood in the form of Royal Palm Social Club. The bar is ideal for groups and features fish tacos, frozen drinks and two stories of seating and entertainment, including hanging chairs, cabana-style tables and shuffleboard. A spring 2022 opening is anticipated.
Luna Hall is Chinatown’s newest resident, opening in spring 2022. Helmed by restaurateur Zong Chen, the food hall will feature everything from soup dumplings to ramen to poke and bubble tea.
Recent Additions
Located on the lower level of the new Planet Word Museum, Immigrant Food+ celebrates the American story with global cuisine from award-winning Chef Enrique Limardo and a group of “gastroadvocacy” pioneers. The dual concept restaurant offers a casual immigrant-inspired menu during the day of grab-and-go fusion bowls and sandwiches, and transitions to an upscale dining experience at night featuring food prepared with ingredients from around the world. The bar serves global cocktails and wines from South Africa and the Balkans.
Located atop the new AC Hotel in Mount Vernon Triangle, Ceil Social Club offers 360-degree views of DC’s monuments from its open-air penthouse lounge. Accordion doors seamlessly connect the indoor restaurant dressed up with a striking 12-foot brass chandelier. Diners enjoy a supper club vibe with Mediterranean-inspired tapas like lamb carpaccio and seared tuna along with festive craft cocktails. As the night goes on, Ciel turns into a lounge with a DJ spinning tunes.
Glamourous L’Ardente opened in October at DC’s Capitol Crossing development with a traditional Italian menu that tempts with antipasti, brick-oven pizza and homemade pasta—the 40-layer lasagna made with 20 layers of short rib sugo and a truffle-spiked cheese sauce just may be the most Instagrammable dish of 2021.
Specializing in traditional Oaxacan cuisine, the stylish two-story Maiz64 restaurant in Logan Circle focuses on authentic Mexican dishes including grilled octopus al pastor, corn tamal and fresh ceviche paired with smoky and fruity cocktails.
Comfort food comes to Georgetown with the recent opening of Noosh, a part Persian part Mediterranean restaurant that serves fragrant tagines, stews and curries. Noosh, which translates to “may it nourish your soul,” is sure to dazzle the taste buds too.
Located downtown and set in the Eaton Hotel, Michele’s, a French American restaurant, opened in November. Chef Matt Baker, founder of Gravitas restaurant in Ivy City and three Baker’s Daughter cafes, named his latest restaurant for his mother. Washingtonians and visitors alike will be delighted by dishes including uni custard with Maryland crab, roasted lamb saddle, a caviar service with house-made potato chips and a raw bar.
Pennsylvania Avenue may be a famous address in DC, but it’s also a culinary hub thanks to Western Market. Western Market’s modern marketplace is a one-stop-shop including more than a dozen of the region’s favourite food and beverage vendors all in one place, such as Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls, Roaming Rooster and RAWish. Coming soon: Alikito, a Greek street food eatery, Sushi Onkei and Expat, a sports betting bar and restaurant.
Specializing in traditional Lebanese cuisine, Ilili opened in October at The Wharf with a garden-inspired interior featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows with waterfront views, citrus trees and whimsical birdcage chandeliers. The menu is Lebanese-Mediterranean with a modern contemporary twist, emphasizing flavorful herbs and spices. Meals (dinner only) begin with heaps of Levantine pita bread that are used to scoop hummus, baba ghannouj and other flavorful dips before sharing platters of chicken and lamb. The family-style dining experience is capped off with homemade baklava, sorbets, and Turkish coffee.
Bistro du Jour recreates an authentic Parisian scene at The Wharf. Offering a French café experience, the location is meant for congregating and grazing over food. Patrons start with La Colombe coffee, brioche and quiche and enjoy a changing menu as the day progresses including salad niçoise, onion soup and steak frites along with a selection of Champagne and French spirits.
Cracked Eggery – What started as a famed food tent at a farmer’s market is now a brick-and-mortar sandwich shop in Cleveland Park and Shaw (opening soon). Devour dishes any time, as the 24-hour menu provides sandwiches served on toasted challah, bowls and sweet or savoury tots.
Edited by: Stephen Morton