100 Very Best Restaurants 2014: 1789

Cost:

The dining room at 1789 restaurant in Georgetown, which serves a classic Thanksgiving feast. Photograph by Chris Campbell.

About 1789 Restaurant

Cost:

cuisines
American, Modern
Location(s)
1226 36th St NW
Washington, DC 20007
NW
Annandale, VA 22003
4316 Markham St
Annandale, VA 22003

This history-soaked Federal-style rowhouse in Georgetown isn’t just a gorgeous spot to revel in old-Washington formality. It also serves impeccably prepared and elegant fare. Ask for a table in the pub room in front—it boasts a lovely nook of a bar, the perfect place for waiting for a late companion. We like to begin chef Anthony Lombardo’s feasts indulgently, with a brûléed torchon of foie gras sweetened subtly with grape jam and aged maple syrup, or a silky terrine of crispy pork and Bosc pear with parsnip polenta. Among the best follow-ups: Icelandic cod on a bed of lobster-flavored farro and caviar-topped day-boat scallops with Riesling-cream leeks.

Open: Daily for dinner.

Don’t Miss:Fluke-and-plum tartare; duck-confit strudel with mascarpone and foie gras cream; Shenandoah Valley-raised beef with wild-mushroom bread pudding and baby bok choy; sorbets and ice creams.


Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

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.

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.