40 editor picks in Washington DC.
40 mid-range places in Washington DC, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Washington DC, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Washington DC food.
Vigilante Coffee Roastery is the local roaster's flagship cafe outside Washington DC on Gallatin Street, a small-batch direct-trade roaster supplying.
TipSaturday cuppings at 11:00 run free; reserve via the website. The taproom roastery is 15 minutes from DC on the Green Line.
Right Proper Brewing Brookland Production House in Washington DC is the larger Brookland Girard Street brewery from Leah and Thor Cheston, with saison.
TipRaised By Wolves saison is the brewery's flagship; the Northern Brewer fest releases run Saturday afternoons.
Mount Pleasant bakery-cafe by day, contemporary-American chef Brad Deboy by night; fermentation-driven plates, Michelin Bib Gourmand, retro-chic dining room.
TipWalk in before 19:30 for a counter seat; the wood-fired bread plate alone is worth the trip.
DC Brau Brewing in Washington DC is the city's first post-Prohibition brewery, founded 2011 by Jeff Hancock and Brandon Skall on Bladensburg Road NE.
TipBrewery tours run Saturdays at 13:00; the taproom takes growlers and 32oz crowlers. Cash and card.
Queen's English is a british gastropub room in Washington Dc. The Sunday roast at 17:00 takes its own reservation list; book through Tock two weeks ahead.
TipThe Sunday roast at 17:00 takes its own reservation list; book through Tock two weeks ahead.
Compass Coffee Roastery in Washington DC is the Shaw 7th Street flagship of the local roaster founded 2014 by Marines Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez.
TipFree public roastery tours run Saturdays at 11:00 from the 7th Street site; sign up on the website.
Bluejacket Brewery in Washington DC is the Navy Yard Tingey Street brewery from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, with 20 house beers on tap and a full-service.
TipOrder the four-beer tasting flight to walk the range; the gose is the brewery's most-awarded beer.
Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington DC is the 1958 U Street half-smoke counter, the city's late-night anchor with the chili half-smoke served until 04:00.
OrderChili half-smoke past 02:00
TipCash and card both work past 02:00; the take-away counter on the right runs faster than the dining-room line.
Amparo Fondita is a mexican room in Washington Dc. Cash and card both accepted; the mole rojo with chicken is the most-ordered plate on the lunch menu.
TipCash and card both accepted; the mole rojo with chicken is the most-ordered plate on the lunch menu.
Thip Khao in Washington DC is Seng Luangrath's Columbia Heights Laotian dining room on 14th Street, the city's anchor Laotian kitchen with a separate.
OrderThe Laotian-style beef larb from the jungle menu; ask for the off-menu insert by name.
TipThe crispy rice salad and Lao sausage are the second-meal must-orders; bring a wine you don't mind opening (BYO).
Chercher Ethiopian Restaurant in Washington DC is the second-floor 9th Street rowhouse Ethiopian dining room in Shaw's Little Ethiopia, a no-reservations.
OrderThe shiro chickpea stew with extra injera; the menu's editorial signature.
TipNo reservations; the staircase line moves fastest at 17:30 on weeknights and crowds outside the door by 19:00. Cash and card both accepted.
Thip Khao in Washington DC is Seng Luangrath's Columbia Heights Laotian dining room on 14th Street, a casual room with a separate spicy-jungle-menu insert.
OrderThe crispy rice salad (nem khao) with cured pork; the menu's most-ordered single dish.
TipAsk for the off-menu jungle insert by name; the larb on it is far hotter than the standard menu.
Daru in Washington DC is Suresh Sundas's H Street modern Indian dining room on Maryland Avenue NE, a hand-built kitchen with regional Indian street food.
OrderThe Goan crab toast on milk bread; the menu's editorial standout opener.
TipThe chef's counter is the best seat for the kitchen show; the patio runs to October.
La Coop Coffee in Washington DC is the Petworth Kennedy Street cafe and roastery since November 2024, a direct-trade Guatemalan single-origin specialist.
TipRoasting runs through the week and beans go on the retail shelf within days; ask the counter for the freshest single-origin in the case.
Other Half Brewing DC in Washington DC is the Ivy City satellite of the Brooklyn brewery on Okie Street NE, with hazy IPAs and barrel-aged stouts brewed.
TipSaturday IPA can releases sell out by 14:00; queue starts at 11:00 on the sidewalk. Limit 2 cases per person.
Kabob Palace just outside Washington DC is the Crystal City Eads Street 24-hour Afghan halal kabob counter, the metro area's most-known late-night halal lamb.
OrderLamb and chicken kabobs
TipThe kitchen runs around the clock; the lamb kabob is $23.75 and the kabob-e-kubideh $18.95, each served with bread, rice and salad.
Primrose (French bistro) in Washington Dc: The Saturday-and-Sunday 11:00-14:00 brunch is the calmer reservation; the dinner menu changes with the season.
TipThe Saturday-and-Sunday 11:00-14:00 brunch is the calmer reservation; the dinner menu changes with the season.
Le Diplomate brunch in Washington DC is Stephen Starr's 14th Street brasserie's weekend service, the city's most-booked brunch reservation since 2013.
OrderThe croque madame with a glass of Sancerre is the editorial brunch order.
TipBook the patio at 11:00 for the warm-weather window; the bar takes walk-ins on weekday brunch.
Maketto brunch in Washington DC is the H Street NE Cambodian breakfast service, an Erik Bruner-Yang dining room with bai sach chrouk grilled pork on rice.
OrderThe Cambodian breakfast plate with bai sach chrouk pork and rice.
TipThe courtyard bar runs walk-in brunch; the dining room takes Sunday reservations.
Maketto in Washington DC is Erik Bruner-Yang's H Street Cambodian-Taiwanese cafe and dining room, with a sneaker boutique on the ground floor and a courtyard.
OrderThe Taiwanese fried chicken sandwich on a Maketto-baked bun; the menu has carried it since opening.
TipBrunch service runs Cambodian breakfast plates that the dinner menu skips; the courtyard bar is the local move.
Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant in Washington DC is the U Street Ethiopian dining room since 1997, the older sister to Etete and a U Street institution.
OrderThe kitfo (Ethiopian raw beef tartare) leb leb or rare with mitmita spice; the room's deepest cut.
TipLive Ethiopian music plays Friday and Saturday from 21:00; the back booth is the quietest table.
Menomale in Washington DC is Ettore Rusciano's Brookland Naples-style pizzeria on 12th Street NE, with VPN-certified Neapolitan pies and a dough proofed.
OrderThe Diavola with spicy salami and DOP buffalo mozzarella; the kitchen's editorial standout.
TipThe patio runs through October; cash, card, and same-day delivery are all accepted.
Lapis in Washington DC is Shamim Popal's Adams Morgan Afghan dining room on Columbia Road, a family-run kitchen with mantu dumplings and the Kabuli pulao.
OrderThe mantu dumplings under tomato sauce and yoghurt; the menu's editorial signature.
TipThe brunch buffet on Saturday and Sunday is the city's best Afghan-food deal at under $25 a head.
Thip Khao in Washington DC is Seng Luangrath's Columbia Heights Laotian dining room with late-night service until 23:00 Friday and Saturday.
OrderLaotian larb and sticky rice
TipAsk for the off-menu jungle insert by name; the bartender pulls the BYO wine for any party that brings a bottle.
Thip Khao is a columbia heights laotian dining room a block off 14th street that locals keep quiet, with an off-menu jungle insert most tourists never see.
TipAsk for the off-menu jungle insert by name; the larb on it is far hotter than the standard menu.
Lapis brunch in Washington DC is Shamim Popal's Adams Morgan Afghan dining room's weekend brunch buffet, an all-you-can-eat $25 Afghan brunch with mantu.
OrderThe all-you-can-eat $25 brunch buffet with mantu, ashak and kabuli pulao is the editorial value.
TipThe buffet is the value pick; the brunch endless mimosa option adds $15 for the table service.
Doi Moi in Washington DC is the 14th Street Southeast Asian dining room from the Eat Group, a Thai-Vietnamese-Lao kitchen with an outdoor patio and a deep.
OrderThe khao soi northern Thai curry noodles; the menu's most-ordered single dish.
TipThe patio runs from April to October and is the better seat at sunset; the bar takes walk-ups.
Sweet Home Cafe in Washington DC is the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture cafeteria on Constitution Avenue.
OrderThe pan-roasted catfish with cornbread and collards; the menu's most-ordered Southern plate.
TipMuseum admission is free but requires a timed-entry pass; eat after 14:00 to skip the queue.
Alfredo Solis's Mezcalero on 14th Street Columbia Heights Washington DC, the authentic Mexico City taco and mezcal kitchen with handmade tortillas and brunch.
OrderAl pastor tacos with a mezcal flight; the brunch chilaquiles on Sundays.
TipSister to El Sol and the closed Anafre across the street; reservations via OpenTable for Friday-Sunday dinner.
Atlas Brew Works Bridge District in Washington DC is the Anacostia Howard Road SE brewery from Justin Cox since 2025, the relocated DC flagship.
TipThe taproom replaced the Ivy City flagship after its 2025 closure; brewery tours run Saturdays with a flight ticket.
Rooster and Owl is a new american room in Washington Dc. The four-course prix fixe is the editorial value; book Tuesdays for the easiest reservation.
TipThe four-course prix fixe is the editorial value; book Tuesdays for the easiest reservation.
Founding Farmers brunch in Washington DC is the Pennsylvania Avenue farmer-owned cooperative's weekend brunch, the city's best-known boozy brunch.
OrderThe fried chicken and waffles with apple butter is the most-ordered brunch dish.
TipReservations book out a week ahead; the bar takes walk-ins, and the BYOMimosa carafe is the brunch deal.
Barbouzard brunch in Washington DC is chef Cedric Maupillier's K Street French-Mediterranean dining room's Sunday brunch since 2025, the next chapter.
OrderThe socca with eggplant and pomegranate; the menu's editorial brunch opener.
TipBrunch reservations open one week out on the website; the alcove booths take parties of four with the bouillabaisse table-share.
Founding Farmers DC in Washington DC is the Pennsylvania Avenue farmer-owned cooperative dining room near the IMF and World Bank, an all-day American kitchen.
OrderThe fried chicken and waffles with apple butter; the menu's most-ordered single plate.
TipReservations book out for brunch a week ahead; weekday breakfast and the bar take walk-ins.
Ben's Next Door in Washington DC is the sit-down sister of Ben's Chili Bowl at 1211 U Street, a soul-American kitchen with a cocktail list and the half-smoke.
OrderThe buttermilk fried chicken with mac and collards; the room's most-ordered single dish.
TipThe bar runs late on weekends and is the better seat for a single diner; brunch fills up by 11:30.
Pizzeria Paradiso in Washington DC is Ruth Gresser's Dupont Circle wood-fired pizza room on P Street since 1991, a thin-crust Italian pizzeria.
OrderThe Atomica with hot salami, black olives and red pepper flakes; the menu since 1991.
TipThe Birreria downstairs runs over 150 beers; ask for the Italian craft tasting flight at the bar.
Sette Osteria on 14th Street in Washington DC is the Logan Circle Italian sister of the Dupont original on the corner of 14th and Q, with an open wood-fired.
OrderThe bucatini cacio e pepe with cracked black pepper; one of the kitchen's house-made pasta anchors.
TipSaturday brunch from 10:00 takes walk-ins faster than dinner; the patio runs through October on the corner.
Harrar Coffee and Roastery in Washington DC is the Park View Georgia Avenue Ethiopian micro-roastery, with all-Ethiopian single-origin beans roasted on site.
TipTime a Saturday or Sunday visit for the live Ethiopian coffee ceremony; the green-bean retail shelf rotates by harvest and lots sell out by midweek.
City-State Brewing in Washington DC is James Warner's Edgewood-Brookland brewery in a 13,000 square-foot former freight rail depot since 2021.
TipThe brewery is on the Metropolitan Branch Trail; food trucks pull up Friday and Saturday afternoons. 8 Wards IPA is the flagship pour.
Heat Da Spot Cafe in Washington Dc: american diner room. A Petworth-Columbia Heights corner cafe on Georgia Avenue with a small couch-and-vintage-tee.
TipThe berbere-spiced chechebsa (fried flatbread soaked in spiced butter) is the cafe's editorial pick; commuters take the morning line out the door before 09:00.
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