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

This cavernous, Iberian-inflected seafood spot is, surprisingly, a project of the restaurant group behind Clyde’s and the Old Ebbitt Grill. Fittingly, it walks the line between cool (pair a local vermouth-and-tonic with grilled sardines in conserva or dry-aged Ora King salmon) and comfortable (your banquette seating is as plush as it would be at Clyde’s). It feels like the Clyde’s team’s idea of what a hip, buzzy restaurant should be. But a taste of the intense ají amarillo sauce that’s poured over your hamachi crudo confirms this place is no old-school oyster bar.

Former Rappahannock Oyster Company chef Adam Campbell just opened a place of his own, a quirky sandwich shop right by the 9:30 Club. The hefty heroes—all named for dragon slayers of lore—are messy in a good way and don’t hold back on flavor. Go for the Mario, a peppery meatball sub dripping with marinara and provolone, or Campbell’s take on an Italian sub, loaded with prosciutto, soppressata, and capicola on a toasty roll. And sides such as perfectly crispy potatoes with aioli are a reminder that there’s a seasoned chef in the kitchen.

This amber-lit, art-filled Ethiopian dining room feels like a respite from the crowds and honking traffic along U Street. Live singers and jazz acts on some nights further set the mood, as do cinnamon-scented rum cocktails. The veggie platter—colorful stews and salads dotting a giant round of injera—is terrific, and you could fill up just on that and an order of hearty mushroom tibs. But meat eaters are rewarded with a singeing doro wat and jalapeño-studded heaps of lamb shoulder, short rib, and tenderloin tibs.

Food Network and Top Chef star Eric Adjepong’s trendy West African spot opened in February, with contemporary riffs on Ghanaian chop bar dishes like jollof rice, fufu, and kelewele plantains. A $105 four-course tasting menu has highs and lows, with one summit being a hearty vegetarian share plate based around coconut curry Bambara beans, deeply caramelized cabbage, and toffee-colored sweet plantains. Cocktails and a great rap and R&B playlist keep up the vibes in the dining room. “I like to see everyone bopping,” Adjepong says to the diners as he strides back to the kitchen.

It takes a little work to find this mod-Japanese dining room in Tysons—it’s on the second floor of an apartment building—but plenty of folks have discovered it. On our weeknight visit, the bar and dining room were packed. Nobu alum Micheole Dator is behind the vast menu, which includes over-the-top maki (including a $45 rainbow roll topped with caviar, which was bested by a simpler shrimp-tempura-filled Firecracker roll); dishes that nod to his previous employer (miso black cod; nori tacos); snacks like karaage chicken; and an omakase option. Zero in on the nigiri, especially the slices of toro and king salmon that have been dry-aged or conditioned for a shorter length of time. And don’t miss the passionfruit kakigori, finished at the table with creamy mango sauce, for dessert.

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.

Jarrad Silver’s Jewish-Mediterranean barbecue business started as a pandemic project out of his driveway. Then it became a food truck (the first to land on our 100 Best Restaurants list). Now, Silver operates a popular storefront in Bethesda’s redeveloped Westbard complex. The wood-smoked meats are as good as ever, whether lean and fatty brisket or massive baby back beef ribs. Pulled lamb shoulder is best enjoyed in a flatbread sandwich with gruyere and mango sauce, while short rib pastrami makes one of the best Reubens around.

This tiny, unassuming spot has become our new go-to for affordable workday rolls and sushi sets. But chef Javkhlan “Jango” Enkhtaivan has so much more to offer. Grab a spot at the eight-seat counter for the IYKYK lunch omakase, a great value with 10 courses starting at $45 (a more premium option is also available). Dinner offers a more leisurely 20 courses starting at $120 with premium seafood and unique bites that might include firefly squid in a zesty cilantro sauce and nigiri with pinot noir-marinated tuna or A5 wagyu with miso-cured foie gras.

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 modern Korean barbecue newcomer in Fairfax doesn’t offer combos or sets. Rather, a concise grill menu sticks to crowd-pleasing beef and pork staples, including an excellent galbi. The meats are accompanied by five different varieties of salt and an elegant array of banchan, including soy-marinated quail eggs with creamy yolks and raw slivers of octopus in a spicy red sauce. Only a handful of tables in the warm wood dining room have built-in grills, but there’s lots more to explore on the menu: stews, traditional main dishes, and “tapas” such as an unexpected burrata dish with sweet plum-infused tomatoes.