We’ve got good news and bad news about Summer Restaurant Week, which runs from Monday, August 18 to Sunday, August 24. First, the bad: calling many of these menus a “deal” would be a stretch—three-course dinners range from $40 to $65 per person, and several restaurants have opted for the more expensive version. Tack on, say, a 20 percent service fee and some drinks, and you may wind up with sticker shock. Now, the good: It’s easier to get a table! Also, there are genuine bargains to be found at lunch or dinner, where menus are still in the $25 to $35 range, and a wider swath of excellent restaurants are taking part. Lastly, this very slow August is a good time to show your favorite spots some love—you’ll note some beloved restaurants on this list are closing soon. Here’s what over 30 places on our 2025 100 Very Best Restaurants list have going.
A Kitchen+Bar
1010 New Hampshire Ave., NW
James Beard-winning restaurateur Ellen Yin opened a branch of her hit Philly restaurant in DC’s West End last fall. The jewel-box space is a prime spot for date night, with a sharing-friendly menu that makes use of a global pantry.
Restaurant Week: There’s a three-course prix fixe dinner for $65 (don’t miss the chickpea panisse, a signature), available through the end of August. The $35 lunch and brunch menus will be offered through August 24.
Amazonia
920 Blagden Alley, NW
Cocktail bar Amazonia, which sits atop lauded tasting room Causa, is a more casual destination for elevated Peruvian street foods and the country’s largest pisco collection.
Restaurant Week: There’s a $55 dinner menu through the end of August. Choose a starter, main course, anticucho (grilled skewer), and dessert. There are lots of options, but also several upcharges, such as a $15 scallop ceviche or $22 lomo saltado.
Amparo Fondita
2002 P St., NW
In Dupont, Christian Irabién expertly infuses citrus and heat into his modern Mexican menu, from seafood to meatier dishes.
Restaurant Week: There’s a $65 dinner menu that starts with chips and housemade salsas, then includes an appetizer (ceviche tostaditas or a salad), entree (tacos al pastor or scallops with mole), and dessert (tres leches cake or cafe con leche flan). Add a wine and agave spirit pairing for $35. A three-course lunch is $25 per person and features sunfish tacos, tacos al pastor, and black-bean soup.
Annabelle
2132 Florida Ave., NW
With its moderate decibel level and solidly delicious cooking, this elegant Kalorama dining room is our frequent recommendation to satisfy all generations.
Restaurant Week: The $65 three-course menu offers several summery choices, including cucumber vichyssoise, ricotta cavatelli with heirloom tomatoes and lemon/ricotta cream, a pork chop with Sungold tomatoes, and vanilla/peach cheesecake.
Bresca
1906 14th St., NW
Fine-dining touches abound at Ryan Ratino’s fanciful French-ish bistro, from the crisp service to the ’grammable glassware your Bee’s Knees cocktail is served in.
Restaurant Week: You have until August 31 to try the $65 dinner menu here, which includes cucumber-and-yogurt salad with white nectarines, lamb sirloin with merguez sausage and summer squash, and—for a $20 per person upcharge—beef striploin for two with onion au poivre. Add on extra snacks for $15, and brioche with honey butter for $12.
Caruso’s Grocery
11820 Trade St., N. Bethesda
Red-sauce standards are given the respect they deserve at Matt Adler’s Italian-American dining room at Pike & Rose (the Capitol Hill location skips Restaurant Week).
Restaurant Week: Highlights on the $40 dinner menu and $25 lunch and brunch menus include the best-in-town Caesar, chicken parm, fettuccine alfredo, and a vanilla gelato sundae with strawberries.
Casa Teresa
919 19th St., NW
Rubén García may be an alum of forward-thinking restaurants like Minibar and El Bulli, but his venture in the Square food hall is a paean to the homey Spanish cooking he grew up on.
Restaurant Week: Dinner ($65), lunch ($35), and brunch ($35) menus are all served family-style and available through the end of the month. A few of our favorite dishes show up, including chicken croquetas, gazpacho, Iberico pork, and pa amb tomiquet, a DIY tomato bread.
Centrolina
974 Palmer Alley, NW
Amy Brandwein’s expansive CityCenterDC dining room exudes business-lunch vibes, but any reason is a good one to have chef Amy Brandwein’s handmade pastas, and the always-polished service shines.
Restaurant Week: A $65 dinner menu—available through the end of August—starts with appetizers like spaghetti-crusted prawns with picatta sauce or charred octopus, then moves onto mains like Cognac-grilled beef cheeks or corn ravioli with truffle butter. Desserts include sesame-butterscotch budino and a chocolate torta with figs and red wine. Luxe it all up with market price truffle and caviar supplements.
Chloe
1331 Fourth St., SE
Chef/owner Haidar Karoum pulls off an all-over-the-map menu at this Scandi-chic Navy Yard spot.
Restaurant Week: Karoum’s $65 dinner menu is characteristically eclectic. Choices include lobster ravioli, shrimp-and-pork dumplings, brioche-crusted cod with sauce choron, and Tokyo wavy noodles with roasted vegetables. Cocktail and wine pairings are available for $35 each.
Cucina Morini
901 Fourth St., NW
A moodily lit bar, a daily martini happy hour, a wine list starring Sicilian bottles, and housemade pastas—what’s not to love at Matt Adler’s vibrant Mount Vernon Triangle eatery?
Restaurant Week: Let’s hear it for a $40 dinner menu. Here, the choices include housemade pasta with mussels and Calabrian chili, pan-seared Arctic char with salsa verde, corn soup with shrimp, and bomboloni with chocolate sauce. The $25 brunch lets you choose three dishes, such as avocado toast with pumpkin-seed gremolada, a prosciutto breakfast sandwich or truffle omelet, and a filled-to-order cornetto pastry with vanilla, chocolate, or pistachio cream.
Del Mar
791 Wharf St., SW
No place in town puts out a better paella than Fabio Trabocchi’s luxe Spanish dining room at the Wharf.
Restaurant Week: You’ll find a shareable veggie paella on the $65 dinner and $35 lunch menu, along with churros, tuna tartare, and jamon croquetas. Brunch, $35, offers traditional dishes like patatas bravas, Andalusian gazpacho, and a potato-and-egg-filled Spanish tortilla.
Daru
1451 Maryland Ave., NE
This low-lit, modern-Indian bar/restaurant, run by Rasika alums Suresh Sundash and Dante Datta, specializes in clever flavor combos, and Datta’s cocktails keep the good vibes going.
Restaurant Week: The $55 dinner menu starts with pani puri, a crispy snack filled with avocado and tamarind. Then, select an appetizer, such as bison dumplings or a duck kebab, a main (wild-mushroom biryani, lamb shank with coconut and saffron, and more), and side dish, and bread, and dessert.
The Duck and the Peach
300 Seventh St., SE
Details matter at this glowing Capitol Hill dining room. The bread, warm pumpernickel, arrives with mounds of cow, goat, and bison butters, all fabulous.
Restaurant Week: The $65 dinner menu includes an entree, side, and dessert. Among the options: diver scallops with tomato fattoush, a half chicken with aji verde toum, tomato risotto, and peach cobbler. Brunch, $35, pairs an entree (duck carnitas or a spinach omelet) and side (say, duck-fat home fries or a cinnamon bun).
Elle
3221 Mount Pleasant St., NW
This Mount Pleasant bakery and restaurant excels at all things fermented, starting with the sought-after sourdough loaves sold from its daytime cafe and served with cultured butter and whey caramel for dinner.
Restaurant Week: The $35 lunch menu includes Elle’s lauded tempeh burger, chilled melon soup, a brisket reuben, and an affogato. At dinner, $65, consider panzanella with fermented cabbage and sourdough breadcrumbs, hanger steak with parsley salad, and Lizzy Evelyn’s honey/goat-cheese cake, a longtime hit.
Ellie Bird
125 Founders Ave., Falls Church
At this family-friendly Falls Church dining room with pink neon and booths styled like birdcages, chef Yuan Tang excels with unexpected cross-cultural mashups.
Restaurant Week: Each of the three courses on the $55 dinner menu offers a trio of options, whether Korean melon elote, ricotta cavatelli with Sungold-tomato cream, a pan-roasted pork loin with Szechuan mustard jus, or Vietnamese coffee tiramisu.
Fava Pot
7393-D Lee Hwy., Falls Church
If you’re not already a falafel fan, the herby green orbs made with fava beans instead of chickpeas at these Egyptian restaurants will convert you. But owner Dina Daniel, who greets diners at the Falls Church flagship as if they’re entering her home, offers much more.
Restaurant Week: Try that falafel on the $35 lunch menu, along with cookies, iced hibiscus tea, and a choice of dips. For dinner, $55, there are gratis guava or mango cava cocktails, plus a variety of appetizers, entrees such as lamb fattah or chicken with creamy mushrooms, and bread pudding.
Ingle Korean Steakhouse
8369 Leesburg Pike, Vienna
The region’s Korean barbecue scene has a growing number of upscale spots, but this airy dining room with marble tabletops and walnut accents feels particularly special.
Restaurant Week: Prix fixe menus—usually $80 at dinner—are generally the way to go here. During Restaurant Week, the $65 menu features tabletop-grilled cuts of American wagyu galbi, tri-tip, and hanger steak plus an array of appetizers, noodle dishes and soups, and desserts.
Joon
8045 Leesburg Pike, Vienna
At this Tysons fine-dining restaurant, all gleaming wood and brass, Iranian cookbook star Najmieh Batmanglij and ex-Maydan chef Chris Morgan turn out Persian feasts.
Restaurant Week: Three-course lunch and brunch menus, each $35, let you graze on rich hummus, minty yogurt dip, kebabs, and rose-water cookies with tea. The sour cherry rice is absolutely worth the $8 upcharge.
L’Ardente
200 Massachusetts Ave., NW
This chic Italian hot spot’s menu doesn’t play by many rules—it’s got strapping Italian American classics, a rainbow of creative veggie dishes, and showboats like 40-layer truffle lasagna.
Restaurant Week: L’Ardente only offers Restaurant Week menus for daytime dining. The $35 lunch and brunch lineups include burrata with corn salad; white pizza with smoked mozzarella, pickled mushrooms, and pancetta; grilled salmon; and a vegetarian version of the place’s famed 40 layer lasagna. Dessert is a choice of olive oil cake or chocolate budino.
Mita
804 V St., NW
This glass box of a restaurant in Shaw is one of those places that will have you asking, “How is this vegan?” The entirely plant-based mod-Latin menu is enhanced by easy-drinking cocktails.
Restaurant Week: Tasting menus are the thing here, and Restaurant Week offers a chance to try an abbreviated version. The $65 three-courser starts with gazpacho, then moves onto soba noodles with eggplant, and finishes with a celebration of corn in several dessert forms (mousse, praline, ice cream, and pudding). Add a wine pairing for $45 more.
Moon Rabbit
927 F St., NW
Could a single restaurant make Penn Quarter’s food scene cool again? Kicking back with a pho martini in Kevin Tien’s buzzy, cozy-chic Vietnamese spot—which landed at #4 in our 100 Very Best Restaurants rankings— might have you thinking yes.
Restaurant Week: Choose a $65 three-course, $85 five-course, or $105 seven-course tasting menu (all featuring extra canapés) through the end of August. On all three you’ll find tempura-fried squash blossoms with crab and brie, lemongrass short rib with grits and tomato gravy, and Vietnamese coffee mousse.
Namak
1813 Columbia Rd., NW
At this Adams Morgan dining room, with its Moroccan tiles and glimmering wicker lampshades, you’ll find fresh takes on dishes from Persia, Greece, North Africa, and Turkey.
Restaurant Week: The $55 dinner menu kicks off with a drink (beer, wine, soda, or a non-alcoholic cocktail), then has a nice array of mezze, mains, and desserts to choose from, including feta saganaki with honey, labne-marinated shrimp kebabs, and Turkish rice pudding. The $35 brunch version centers around dishes like an egg sandwich with grilled soujuk, brioche French toast, and falafel with everything-bagel spice.
Nina May
1337 11th St., NW
This farmhouse-like Locavore dining room in Shaw has a knack for turning familiar dishes into something fabulous.
Restaurant Week: Nina May is best known for its year-round family-style prix fixes; the $55 Restaurant Week dinner version runs through August 31. Dig into six shareable courses, including roasted oysters with kohlrabi kimchi, cacio e pepe agnolotti, lemon-and-thyme roast chicken, and carrot cake. The brunch menu, $35 per person, has a similar format, but with four breakfast dishes.
Nue
944 W. Broad St., Falls Church
Murals in Monet-like pastels fill the walls at this showy Vietnamese dining room, while attention-getting cocktails are set aflame at the table. But it’s not all about visuals—the kitchen cleverly reimagines traditional dishes.
Restaurant Week: A $65 five-course dinner menu offers options like seafood cha gio (our can’t miss dish here); a green-papaya Caesar salad; pappardelle with short-rib ragu; and fried soft-shell crabs. There are several vegetarian choices, and a three-course lunch version is $35.
Perry’s
1811 Columbia Rd., NW
The Adams Morgan sushi institution recently turned 40, but it feels brand-new thanks to inventive Japanese comfort dishes from chef Masako Morishita.
Restaurant Week: The $65 three-course dinner menu features a generous sushi-and-sashimi platter, chilled udon noodles with duck, wagyu roast beef donburi, miso-laced tiramisu, and more.
Rania
427 11th St., NW
It’s dinner and a show all in one at this spacious Indian dining room, with highly drinkable cocktails arriving in smoke-filled cloches and plating that almost feels as if you’re at a gallery opening.
Restaurant Week: Among the choices on the $65 three-course dinner menu: mussels kulcha, Hokkaido scallops with corn curry, monkfish moilee, and butter chicken. There are $35 brunch and lunch versions, and wine pairings are also $35.
Rasika
1190 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj’s upscale Indian destination turns 20 this year, and chef Vikram Sunderam’s inventive cooking and mastery of spices continue to show why it has staying power. The “younger” 13 year-old West End location, where you’ll find Restaurant Week offerings, features a lively, color-splashed dining room and roomy patio.
Restaurant Week: Many of Sunderam’s longtime hits are on the lunch ($35) and/or dinner ($55) menus, including palak chaat, scallop moilee, halibut curry, and chicken makhani.
Reveler’s Hour
1775 Columbia Rd., NW
This sexy, date-night-ready dining room in Adams Morgan features excellent pastas and the handiwork of new chef Mari Kolchraiber. Plus, engaging owner Bill Jensen oversees a bottle list that’ll impress wine snobs and novices alike.
Restaurant Week: The $55 dinner menu is a nice chance to try out Kolchraiber’s dishes, such as Sicilian fried chicken with orange, Calabrian chili, and fennel; bucatini with jalapeños and Sungold tomatoes; and whole Spanish mackerel with green-tomato salad.
Rooster and Owl
2436 14th St., NW
Carey and Yuan Tang’s laidback tasting room—#6 on our 100 Very Best Restaurants list—features brilliantly tweaked comfort food classics that pull influences from all over the world.
Restaurant Week: Choose a $65 three-course or $80 four-course dinner menu (and add on any extra dishes for $15 each). Look for eggplant donburi with miso tahini, rigatoni with Sungold-tomato cream and XO ragu, and a Dubai chocolate sundae. Wine pairings are $95, and you can tack on a champagne-and-caviar course for $145.
St. James
2017 14th St., NW
Jeanine Prime’s 14th Street restaurant showcases the melting pot of Caribbean cuisine in a stylish, soaring setting that encourages diners to linger over dinner and rum punches.
Restaurant Week: Get three courses—plus a free cocktail (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) or glass of wine—for $55. Graze on dishes like crab fritters with culantro-chili aioli; Trini-Chinese pork buns; slow-cooked duck leg with dhal and coconut rice; grilled branzino in banana leaves; and mango sorbet with hibiscus syrup.
Tail Up Goat
1827 Adams Mill Rd., NW
Perhaps the year’s most heartbreaking closure announcement came from this thrilling, but cozy and neighborhoody, Adams Morgan dining room with some of the best hospitality in DC. It’s open until the end of the year, and its fans are showing their love: Restaurant Week reservations are already gone on Resy.
Restaurant Week: The $65 dinner menu hasn’t been released yet, but expect a few choices for each category: snack, mid-course, and entree.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
