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Welcome to Washingtonian’s Hot List! These are 10 restaurants our food team is particularly excited about right now. Every month, we’ll swap in and out new recommendations—old and new, fancy and casual—that we’ve visited recently and deserve your attention. While our 100 Very Best Restaurants ranking is still our ultimate guide to the DC area’s top dining destinations, this is a place where we’ll give you a real-time pulse check on the region’s eating and drinking scene.
Korean • Chantilly • 13934 Metrotech Dr.
“From My Korean Mom’s Table” is the tagline of this new stripmall counter-service spot. In Korean, its name refers to a set meal—something like a bento box or Indian thali—often served on a stainless steel platter in homestyle casual places like Seoul’s gisa sikdang (taxi driver’s restaurants). Venture beyond grilled beef for some of the most rewarding options, like cold buckwheat noodles, kimchi stew, squid bibimbap, ginseng chicken, grilled mackerel, or spicy pollack-roe soup. But as with many great Korean places, the banchan—side dishes in small serving bowls—are the real main event: pickled daikon slices wrapped around veggies, sweet stir-fried anchovies, rolled omelet with crab stick, and tons more.
Taiwanese • Rockville • 12015 Rockville Pike
Maryland-raised chef Kevin Hsieh finally has his first brick-and-mortar outpost after running Bao Bei as a popular ghost kitchen. Already, the Pokemon-themed fast-casual counter space is packed with fans of Hsieh’s Taiwanese comfort dishes, like the Bao Bei bao (pork belly with cilantro on a pillowy bun), Bao Bei bowl (slow-braised pork over rice with mustard greens), and the XL fried chicken (a spiced chicken cutlet breaded with sweet-potato starch).
Steakhouse • North Bethesda • 921 Meeting St.
This luxe, moodily lit steakhouse from the founders of Cava—who are also behind the nearby Julii and Melina—is the Pike & Rose area’s new best bet for a special occasion or splurge-y date night. You could easily stick to well-executed steakhouse classics like a Caesar and New York strip, but the kitchen did just as well with a brightly flavored whole branzino with gremolata or a buttery blue-crab roll. Don’t miss the meal’s bookends: the $12 bread course is worth paying for, and there’s a killer chocolate cake.
French • Sterling • 46290 Cranston St.
Ally and Michael Stebner are the brains behind the always-bustling American spot Local Provisions in Sterling. Now, they’ve added a charmer of a French dining room right behind it. Cheese obsessives will find lots to like: an excellent onion soup (the menu gives credit to Julia Child), crispy brie with fig jam and garlic confit, and a lovely goat-cheese-filled ravioli with tomato butter and lavender honey (it works!). When it comes to bigger plates, we loved the halibut with tangy mustard sauce—and Joel Robuchon’s butter-bomb mashed potatoes.
Brazilian • Adams Morgan • 2412 18th St., NW
You might come to this buzzy Brazilian bar in Adams Morgan for caipirinhas made with real sugarcane and South American vinyl vibes. But can we talk about the food?! Cheesy, mochi-like fried tapioca squares with spicy guava dipping sauce are a must. Other highlights include grilled chicken hearts marinated in lime and cachaca as well as the kibe cru, hand-cut steak tartare with spiced bulgur and herbs that can be spooned into little gem lettuce cups. End with the silky flan or not-too-sweet Brazilian coffee cocktail. Or better yet, both.
Filipino • Dupont • 1633 17th St., NW
In June, chef Paolo Dungca closed his mod-Filipino H Street cafe, Hiraya, and its upstairs dining room, Kayu. Happily, he’s resurrected the latter spot in a spare but cozy Dupont space. Dungca has ditched his old place’s tasting menu option (for now) and built a menu of creative snacks (tasty chorizo sliders on ube-purple bao buns; giant fried chicken wings with fish-sauce vinaigrette) and shareable entrees (branzino curry; short ribs with inky burnt-coconut sauce). Don’t overlook Dungca’s terrific takes on more straightforward Filipino classics like sisig, the hash filled with pickled shallots and loads of crispy pork bits.
Japanese • Georgetown • 1608 Wisconsin Ave., NW.
Japanese tasting menus are having a moment, but this isn’t another sushi omakase. Chef-owner Urara Iwasaki, an alum of Izakaya Seki and wagyu-centric Kappo (she also happens to be an international flight attendant), serves an eight to 10 course meal full of homestyle dishes elevated with high-end ingredients. While the seasonal menu changes often, some early highlights included a Japanese seabass with yuzu kosho vinaigrette, dashi jelly, and caviar as well as a deep-fried lotus root “sandwich” stuffed with minced Japanese pork and wagyu. An upstairs sushi counter will open this fall, and in the meantime, the patio offers a more casual menu of fusion rolls.
Chinese • Penn Quarter • 709 D St., NW
Tim Ma’s hit Chinese-American carryout still exists in Arlington, but now it has a cheffier DC sibling—and an actual dining room—with food that feels way more exciting. We like to load up on fancified snacks like crab rangoons with snow crab, an allium pancake with whipped tofu and caviar, sticky beef perked up with Thai basil and mint, and marrow-laced dumplings. The star larger plate is a heap of lo mein tossed with hunks of buttery blue crab, and an addictive sauce conjured from dashi and caramelized whey. Our next move: heading back here for a mahjong lesson.
American/Ethiopian • Shaw • 2108 Eighth St., NW
Chef Elias Taddesse is known for brilliantly infusing American comfort food with Ethiopian flavors. Here, he consolidates his burger joint Melange and fried chicken hit Doro Soul Food into one arty Shaw space, just around the corner from the 9:30 Club. He’s also added Moya, a taco menu. Grab a seat at the indoor/outdoor bar and order from all three concepts—a classic cheeseburger, stellar fried-cod tacos, and fiery, berbere-red chicken tenders. Don’t overlook sides like black-cumin cornbread, injera-topped mac and cheese, and cooling potato salad.
Fried Chicken • Falls Church • 125 Founders Ave., Falls Church
Ellie Bird—the more casual sibling to DC’s Michelin-starred Rooster & Owl—launched a takeout-only fried chicken operation this summer, and we’re hooked. The birds are marinated in buttermilk and sriracha, dredged, and double fried with three spice levels. We like the “spicy” option finished in a dried-habanero- and-arbol-chili oil, which is more flavorful than searing. Sides have an Asian accent, like kimchi potato salad or miso mac and cheese. But perhaps the best part is the array of dippers, including a scallion aioli, Szechuan mustard, Thai green chili sauce, and others.
