Best New Restaurant

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1. El Presidente

Stephen Starr’s dramatically decorated Mexican restaurant has a high-energy scene and top-notch fish tacos.

 

2. Petite Cerise

Cheffy all-day cafes were big this year, and Dabney chef/owner Jeremiah Langhorne’s elegant French spot is one of the best.

 

3. Ellie Bird

Sit in a giant birdcage and dig into Vietnamese-­accented dishes such as French onion soup with pho broth.

 

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Best Restaurant in DC

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1. Albi

Pair elegant spins on Levantine dishes—hummus topped with duck leg and preserved ramps, grape-leaf-wrapped rockfish—with arak cocktails and Lebanese Cabernet.

 

2. Maydan

Rose Previte’s fiery dining room is still packed—now you can wait at its new sibling cocktail bar, Medina, across the alley.

 

3. Lapis

Readers love this Afghan destination for its date-friendly vibe, creative cocktails, and dishes both meaty and vegetable-driven.

 

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Best Restaurant in Maryland

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1. Bob’s Shanghai 66

Start your Chinese feast with the best soup dumplings in town, then wind down with a mountain of shaved ice.

 

2. 2Fifty

This Salvadoran-meets-Texan barbecue menu stars meltingly tender Wagyu brisket. A new DC location is slated for 2024.

 

3. Planta

Bethesda Row’s chic vegan restaurant—which has siblings in Toronto and Miami—serves watermelon “sushi” and carbonara with mushroom bacon.

 

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Best Restaurant in Virginia

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1. Ruthie’s All Day

Breakfast biscuit sandwiches, meat-and-three barbecue plates, and a family-­friendly approachability are the draws.

 

2. Thompson Italian

The newer Old Town location serves carefully crafted pastas, like the Falls Church original, but adds brunch and an attention-getting cacio e pepe gimlet.

 

3. The Inn at Little Washington

This 45-year-old bucolic getaway is the area’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant.

 

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Best Restaurant Service

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1. Le Diplomate

The brigade of servers have mastered quick, crisp service that doesn’t feel brusque.

 

2. Rose’s Luxury

“Ultra-personable” seems to be the top job requirement here.

 

3. Caruso’s Grocery

These Little Italy–inspired places boast a generous, friendly vibe.

 

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Favorite Date Spot

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1. Iron Gate

Cozy up by a fire pit on the wisteria-­draped terrace.

 

2. Reveler’s Hour

Moody lighting sets the tone—and there are hearty pastas and a fantastic wine list.

 

3. Lutèce

The French bistro feels charmingly creaky and utterly Parisian.

 

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Favorite Cocktails

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1. The Green Zone

This Middle Eastern–inspired bar accents classic cocktails with ingredients such as dates, pistachios, and arak.

 

2. Jane Jane

A styling (and tiny) hangout that marries old-school hits like the Martinez with newer takes such as a mezcal French 75.

 

3. Silver Lyan

This sophisticated basement den in the Riggs hotel comes from London cocktail star Ryan Chetiyawardana (a.k.a. “Mr. Lyan”).

 

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Favorite Food Hall

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1. Union Market

The food hall that kick-started an entire neighborhood of development just added a pizza-and-oyster bar.

 

2. The Roost

The low-ABV beer bar Shelter anchors this emporium, which also features tacos, sushi, and square pizza.

 

3. The Block

These Asian food halls pack a lot into their smaller spaces, including stops for bubble tea, hibachi, and dumplings.

 

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Favorite Breakfast

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1. Call Your Mother

The slightly sweet bagels work best for sandwiches, such as a pileup of mashed avocado, Fritos, jalapeños, and pickled vegetables.

 

2. La Tejana

This tiny shop serves one thing only: made-to-order breakfast tacos on housemade flour tortillas.

 

3. Tatte

These Israeli-style bakeries, which started in Boston, just keep on coming. (Next up: Reston and Alexandria.)

 

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Favorite Italian Restaurant

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1. Caruso’s Grocery

Matt Adler’s popular dining rooms turn out dreamy versions of all the garlicky, red-saucy Italian American standards. (Go for the scampi.)

 

2. Red Hen

Home of the famous sausage rigatoni that Joe and Jill Biden each ordered on a date night. (We wouldn’t want to share it, either.)

 

3. L’Ardente

You’ve seen the head-turners—flaming tiramisu! 40-layer lasagna!—on Instagram, but even humbler plates, like a white veal ragu, deliver big flavor.

 

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Coolest Decor

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1. Residents Café & Bar

This cocktail cafe, which changes its accents by the season, is currently dripping with autumnal leaves.

 

2. El Presidente

A surrealist mural grabs your attention at the bar, while the back dining room features a velvet-curtained stage.

 

3. Maydan

This Mediterranean/Middle Eastern hot spot features a dramatic copper hearth and timeworn tapestries.

 

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Favorite Fancy Carryout

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1. Rasika

The curries at these refined Indian dining rooms travel very well.

 

2. Gemini (formerly Happy Gyro)

Pair “grandpa” pizza and Mediterranean snacks with natural wines and some of the city’s best ice cream.

 

3. Extra Fancy (formerly Rose’s at Home)

The catering arm of Rose’s Luxury will do anything from date-night meals for two to lavish at-home tasting menus.

 

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Favorite Latin American Restaurant

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1. Taqueria Habanero

The taqueria’s latest location—in Northeast DC’s Bryant Street Market food hall—also features a cocktail spot, Bar Alegria.

 

2. Oyamel

José Andrés’s 16-year-old gem is a favorite for queso and margs or a more elaborate feast of tacos, ceviches, and mod-Mex small plates.

 

3. dLeña

The wood-fired grill turns out a tomahawk steak flambéed with mezcal as well as charred avocado with chimichurri.

 

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Favorite Japanese Restaurant

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1. Sushi Taro

In the special-occasion-worthy omakase room, you’ll have a sushi chef all to yourself.

 

2. Raku and Rakuya

It’s hard to beat the happy hours—and the lunchtime bento deals—at these fusion favorites.

 

3. Perry’s

The revamp-of-the-year award goes to this 39-year-old restaurant and drag-brunch destination, made relevant again by chef Masako Morishita.

 

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Favorite Chinese Restaurant

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1. Chang Chang

Lauded chef Peter Chang’s first District restaurant offers a delicious dim sum brunch.

 

2. Tiger Fork

The chic Blagden Alley place is known for Chinese-medicine-inspired cocktails and a tasty char siu barbecue plate.

 

3. Han Palace

Dim sum is served all day at these Cantonese dining rooms, and the Barracks Row location has an all-you-can-eat option.

 

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Favorite Korean Restaurant

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1. Anju

Danny Lee, Scott Drewno, and Angel Barreto turn out gochujang-glazed fried chicken and prime beef galbi alongside housemade pickles and kimchi.

 

2. Chiko

Danny Lee and Scott Drewno are also behind these fine-casual Chinese/Korean joints.

 

3. Kogiya

The modern, family-run KBBQ house grills up quality beef and pork.

 

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Favorite Vietnamese Restaurant

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1. Doi Moi

Match Vietnamese and Thai street food, noodle dishes, and banh mi with $8 dragonfruit daiquiris (on special until 8 PM).

 

2. Pho Viet

Go for the spicy lemongrass pho at this longtime standby.

 

3. Rice Paper

The ever-popular Eden Center bistro offers nearly 100 dishes.

 

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Favorite Indian Restaurant

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1. Rasika

These lively dining rooms showcase luxe curries and truffle dosa.

 

2. Daru

Beloved for both its spiced cocktails and mod-Indian food.

 

3. Indigo

The indoor/outdoor hangout is a haven for both vegetarians and chili fiends.

 

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Favorite Pizza

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1. Andy’s Pizza

The best New York–style slices and pies you’ll find in these parts.

 

2. 2 Amys

This oft-packed dining room and bar has been spotlighting Neapolitan pies—and terrific small snacks and desserts—for more than two decades.

 

3. All-Purpose

DC’s popular pizza-and-­Negroni destinations will soon get a Bethesda spinoff.

 

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Favorite Burger

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1. Duke’s Grocery

At these eclectic pubs, it’s all about the “proper burger,” laden with Gouda, charred onions, sweet chili sauce, and more.

 

2. Lucky Buns

Alex McCoy opened his biggest burger shop yet this year at the Wharf, with a waterfront patio and patties topped with, say, bacon XO jam or Hatch-chili relish.

 

3. Le Diplomate

The double smash burger arrives with American cheese, pickles, onions, special sauce, and both French and American toothpick flags.

 

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Favorite Bakery

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1. Rose Ave Bakery

This minimalist cafe’s cases are filled with plump sugared doughnuts and savory croissants.

 

2. Bread Furst

Mark Furstenburg’s neighborhood gathering place is a mecca for bread lovers (and apple-pie fans).

 

3. Yellow

Go for labneh croissants, “urfathing” bagel sandwiches, and—at the roomier Georgetown location—chef/owner Michael Rafidi’s pizza-like sourdough pies.

 

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Favorite Thai Restaurant

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1. Siam House

Three generations of the Siri family run this neighborhood-y spot.

 

2. Beau Thai

Delivery-friendly drunken noodles and stirfries.

 

3. Baan Siam

Heatseekers gravitate to the chili-laced salads and curries.

This article appears in the December 2023 issue of Washingtonian.