It’s a big day for the restaurant industry: this morning, the James Beard Foundation announced the 2025 semifinalists for its always-hotly-anticipated awards. Keep in mind that this is just the shortlist—actual nominees will be named on April 2, and winners will be revealed at a June 16 ceremony in Chicago.
The DC area is a bit less well-represented in the top national categories than it was last year. Amy Brandwein of the elegant Italian destination Centrolina is up for Outstanding Chef, the most prestigious award (she has previously been nominated in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category six times). If she wins, it will be the third year in a row a DC chef has taken that national category, following Albi’s Michael Rafidi in 2024, and Oyster Oyster’s Rob Rubba in 2023. Shaw Mid-Atlantic dining room The Dabney is a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. Danny Lee and Scott Drewno of Anju are up for Outstanding Restaurateur. Paolo Dungca of H Street’s Hiraya is a candidate for the Emerging Chef award, which last year went to Perry’s chef Masako Morishita. The inventive plant-based Latin American eatery Mita is in the running for Best New Restaurant. Adams Morgan’s caipirinha-focused Bar Cana is a semifinalist for Best New Bar, a new category, and chefs from the DC area are dominant in the Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic category.
Find the full list of DC-area semifinalists below, and the rest of the nation here.
Outstanding Restaurateur
Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, The Fried Rice Collective (Anju, Chiko, and I Egg You)
Outstanding Chef
Amy Brandwein, Centrolina
Outstanding Restaurant
The Dabney
Emerging Chef
Paolo Dungca, Hiraya
Best New Restaurant
Mita
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker
Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit
Outstanding Hospitality
Tail Up Goat
Best New Bar (a new category)
Bar Cana
Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service (a new category)
Andra “AJ” Johnson, Serenata
Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)
Matt Adler, Cucina Morini
Henji Cheung, Queen’s English
Matt Conroy and Isabel Coss, Pascual
Michael Correll, Ruse (St. Michaels, Maryland)
Carlos Delgado, Causa and Amazonia
Ruben Garcia, Casa Teresa
Fernando Gonzalez, 2Fifty Barbeque
Cagla Onal Urel, Green Almond Pantry
Jarad Slipp, Tremolo (Middleburg, Virginia)
