Washington DC’s Must-Try Restaurants for 2025
Elena James
By Kelly McMurtry | Feb. 5, 2025
Last Thursday, I found myself elbow-deep in suya spice at SOST’s vinyl-lined Resto-Lounge, wondering how DC’s dining scene keeps outdoing itself. Five years ago, you’d have been hard-pressed to find West African skewers sharing menu real estate with Nancy Silverton’s burricotta – now it’s Tuesday. Our city’s tables have become passports, with chefs like Michael Rafidi and Keith McNally turning Union Market into a gastronomic Ellis Island. That’s the thing about D.C. these days: a city already full of embassies now has restaurants and chefs bringing the foods of the world to the nation’s capital. After many trips here over the years, I’ve compiled this list of the best Washington, D.C., restaurants right now.
1. SOST
1901 9TH St. NW | Website | Instagram
This tri-level love letter to the African diaspora in the U Street Corridor will have you sipping Ethiopian spiced tea in the café before dancing between Berbere-spiced chicken and Nigerian suya skewers in the vinyl lounge. The soundtrack’s as curated as the menu – expect Fela Kuti remixes with your hibiscus gin fizz
2. Centrolina
974 Palmer Alley NW | Website | Instagram
Amy Brandwein’s James Beard-nominated pasta laboratory in CityCenter turns out cappellacci so delicate they should be insured by Lloyd’s. The market sells her signature nduja alongside truffle grinders – because every home needs a $200 spice apparatus, obviously.
3. Xiquet
2404 Wisconsin Ave NW | Website | Instagram
Danny Lledó’s Michelin-decorated paella palace in Glover Park proves Valencia’s flavors translate perfectly to our capital’s marble counters. The bomba rice crackles with soccarat magic, while avant-garde takes on horchata involve barrel-aged rums and cinnamon smoke. Spain never tasted so Beltway.
4. Elena James
8551 Connecticut Ave. | Website | Instagram
Nina May’s younger, cooler sibling in Chevy Chase serves lamb za’atar pizza alongside short-rib lasagna in a sun-drenched space that’s equal parts neighborhood hang and culinary laboratory. Their “business meeting approved” cocktail list features a smoked old fashioned that’ll make your PowerPoints sparkle
5. Arrels
415 New Jersey Ave. NW | Website | Instagram
Pepe Moncayo’s rooftop aerie at the Arlo Hotel in Penn Quarter is an ode to Spain’s Catalan coast. A 14-seat counter frames his open kitchen theater. The arroz de pato – duck confit mingling with blood sausage and bomba rice – achieves paella nirvana, while cap i pota (veal stew) arrives under a veil of black truffle shavings. Moncayo’s tasting menus blur haute technique and grandma’s hearth, best enjoyed with pours from their sherry-focused wine list.
6. Beth’s
4948 Fairmont Ave. | Website | Instagram
The Gulluoglu brothers (of ala fame) went full magpie in Bethesda – glammed-up hummus shares the stage with kimchi-topped fried chicken under a disco ball-lit ceiling. It’s the rare place where your book club and your college roommate’s bachelorette both feel equally at home.
7. Osteria Mozza
3276 M St. NW, | Website | Instagram
Nancy Silverton’s marble-clad temple to carbs in Georgetown (Michelin-starred, naturally) still serves DC’s best $28 plate of pasta – the orecchiette with fennel sausage pictured here that’ll make you want to slap your nonna. Pro tip: The bar pours obscure Italian amaros that’ll convert even the staunchest Aperol loyalists.
8. Albi
1346 4th St. SE | Website | Instagram
This Michelin-starred hearth in Navy Yard is where Middle Eastern tradition meets DC swank, like these coal-roasted mushrooms with black garlic and an oozy, decadent confit egg yolk. The kubaneh bread service – served with toum whipped into cloud-like submission – should be classified as emotional support carb.
9. Karizma
611 I St NW | Website | Instagram
Ajay Kumar’s restaurant in Chinatown is like two concepts in one: an a la carte menu from Karizma and then Karma, a chef's tasting menu with four, six, or nine courses with wine pairings. Whichever path you take, the dishes are explosions of flavors and ingredients that highlight what makes Indian food great. Example? The 37-ingredient Nirvana salad arrives like Jenga at a toddler party – servers theatrically dismantle the tower into a riot of textures that somehow includes both pomegranate molasses and edible silver leaf. It’s both delicious and an experience, just like dining at Karizma.
10. Yellow
1524 Wisconsin Ave. NW | Website | Instagram
Michael Rafidi’s Levantine powerhouse in Union Market moonlights as a kebab speakeasy after dark. Daytime regulars swear by the ras el hanout croissants, but night owls know the real magic’s in harissa-glazed quail skewers paired with jaffa orange cold brew martinis.
11. Minetta Tavern DC
1287 4TH St. NE | Website | Instagram
Keith McNally’s Gotham institution landed in Union Market like a velvet glove slap – red banquettes, that infamous Black Label burger, and bartenders who’ll school you on proper Vesper construction. The upstairs Lucy Mercer lounge does things with champagne that should be illegal in three states
12. The Inn at Little Washington
309 Middle St. | Website | Instagram
Patrick O’Connell’s three-Michelin-starred fantasyland (technically in Virginia, but we’re claiming it) still serves the East Coast’s most decadent shrimp tartlet. The dining rooms look like Liberace’s hunting lodge, complete with staff who’ll crumb your table like it’s the Shroud of Turin.
13. The Fried Rice Collective
Website | Instagram
Scott Drewno and Danny Lee’s Korean-American trifecta of restaurants (Anju’s kimchi carbonara, Chiko’s orange-ish cauliflower, I Egg You’s bulgogi Benedict) earned them James Beard nods. Their secret weapon? All three restaurants are terrific, but the gochujang bloody mary promises to cure what ails your Saturday morning.
14. Bar Cana
2412 18th St. NW | Website | Instagram
D.C.’s best new cocktail den in Adams Morgan isn’t shy about its Latin roots – expect mezcal flights paired with banana leaf-wrapped canapés and a soundtrack heavy on Bad Bunny remixes. The house special involves clarified milk punch infused with tamarind and tajín. Trust me.
