The Hot List: 10 Restaurants Around DC We’re Loving Right Now

At his Penn Quarter restaurant Cranes, Pepe Moncayo fuses Spanish and Japanese flavors. The Barcelona-born chef’s latest restaurant—a sleek, mid-century mod dining room inside the new Arlo Hotel—focuses more explicitly on his native cuisine. We found the most alluring dishes in the tapas section of the large menu: delightful manchego croquetas with quince-sherry gel; a rustic, brightly flavored escalavida; and juicy shrimp with loads of garlic and lemon, plus a dash of chili crunch. To drink, go for La Jefa, a dirty gin martini with a Cabrales-stuffed olive.

Saigon native Yeanie Bach already runs a trio of well-liked banh mi shops in the Boston area. In mid-April, she made her way down here, setting up shop at the Eden Center, Falls Church’s bustling hub of Vietnamese shops, cafes, and restaurants. The word is out: on our mid-week visit, the lunch crowds poured into the cool little space, done up with a vintage record player, a Neil Diamond album, and lots of plants. (There are a few tables, but that day most folks were getting takeout.) The menu is short and tight—just six banh mi and a few tea and coffee drinks—and what the place does, it does very well. The sandwiches are built on airy baguettes with shatteringly crunchy crusts, and with fresh, crisp vegetables and herbs. The signature—a trio of cold cuts plus pate—was the star, but other versions starring lemongrass-y steak and marinated chicken were close behind.

Fun house-esque Bar Betsie is the loud, dramatic sibling to popular 14th Street cocktail spot Jane Jane—more a destination for a raucous night out than a quiet conversation. Get the party started with a frozen “migraine” cocktail (a painkiller riff) or sophisticated negroni bianco. A smart service move: you can order a small pour of beer or wine that comes out immediately so you have something to sip on while your cocktail is crafted. Bar Betsie is more about the drinks than the food, but fried-pickle dip and pretzel bites with chipotle queso make for great drinking snacks. Before you leave, make sure to look behind the bathroom mirrors for a fun surprise.

This modern Mexican gem moved down the block to a larger location last summer, and we’re here to report that it’s as destination-worthy as ever. Order anything with seafood, particularly the scallop tostada with salsa macha or kampachi tiradito with a vivid mango leche de tigre and black sesame chile oil. Dare we say these are the best tacos in town? The al pastor is a model version of the classic, but the place is also known for its popcorn-like chicatana ants, which are folded into handmade tortillas with stewed tomatoes and onions. Add on an “al pastor” margarita with mezcal, pineapple, and guajillo chile for the perfect meal.

The first thing that lands on your table at Himalayan Wild Yak is a basket of warm, donut-shaped sel roti: deep-fried, chewy rice flour rings. If you like mochi donuts—or warm popovers as an appetizer—then you’ll be pleased already. They’re joined by a plate of spicy pickled radish. Stick to the traditional Nepalese items here, like momos, grilled chicken sekuwa, and crispy goat, and you’ll be rewarded. Plus, if you’ve ever wanted to try yak meat, here’s your chance.

This friendly new sit-down Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant, hidden in a Georgetown alley, is just the kind of next act we were hoping for from the Green Almond Pantry chef Cagla Onal. Mezze draw on Turkish tradition, leaning into seasonal produce: herby feta-goat cheese dip; a bright salad of pomegranate seeds, walnuts, olives, and dill; and big California artichokes stuffed with arborio rice. Carnivores should seek out Onal’s dainty lamb skewers (have you tried the arrosticini at Bar del Monte yet? You’ll like these) hidden under a crisp homemade lavash slathered with fresh tomato spread.

JThe sequel to “Indian-ish” hit Daru is a colorful and funky ode to Indian street foods. Chef Suresh Sundas, an alum of Rasika, turns crispy lotus root into an addictive chaat with dabs of sweet yogurt, green chutney, and tamarind, while upgrading kulcha flatbread by stuffing it with duck and topping it with sour cherry compote, yogurt, and trout roe. You’ll also see some of his Nepalese roots in dishes like wagyu buckwheat momo in a slurpable consommé. The bar, overseen by co-owner and cocktail talent Dante Datta, is just as much a draw as the kitchen. Among our favorite drinks: the frozen jackfruit-and-ginger Junglebird and an umami-rich dirty martini with an achar pickle brine.

The highs are high at Stephen Starr’s much-anticipated revamp of this 120-year-old DC institution: the smoothest martini we’ve tasted, perfectly flaky buttermilk biscuits with honey butter, a supremely elegant appetizer of oysters in beurre blanc, and smart service. Starr’s aim is to revive a gilded age of power dining. Mission accomplished, at least on the surface. The upstairs dining room feels like a true throwback, and during our weeknight dinner the place had the same energy—if not the same back-slapping conviviality—as the downtown DC Palm at lunch. A few dishes were skippable, though, including a tough steak Diane, a way-too-buttery sea bass, and a Caesar that was as enticing as a salad kit from Whole Foods. Close things out with bananas foster, finished with flakes of Maldon salt.

This slick new stripmall spot makes just a handful of buttery Bangalorean snacks, and does them exceptionally well. Here’s our perfect order: ghee podi thatte idli (fluffy rice-flour cakes soaked with butter and a vivid orange spice powder); benne dosa (a thick, crunchy Bangalore-style variation on the classic); saffron-flavored chai; and a sweet malai bun for dessert. Zippy coconut and peanut chutneys, laced with crisped curry leaves, help cut through all the butter.

Chefs Amy Phan and Zach Ramos first started selling their jewel box-like chirashi bowls as a carryout luxury during the thick of Covid lockdowns. Now, after a series of pop ups around town, they’ve landed in a permanent location in Georgetown. Tucked in an alleyway, the two-story space features an intimate omakase counter upstairs and a takeout-only daytime cafe downstairs. At the latter, find pristine cuts of fish straight from Japan’s Toyosu seafood market atop rice that’s seasoned with Okinawan brown sugar and seasonally adjusted vinegar (for example, leaner spring fish are paired with a lighter-dressed rice). There are plenty of other temptations too: ice-shaken matcha drinks, “ono nigiri” that draws inspo from the oversized, over-the-top conveyor belt sushi of Hawaii, and adorably delicious turtle-shaped cream puffs.