Now on Resy: Shanklin Hall, Amparo Fondita, Ellington Park Bistro, and More Local Favorites
From an award-winning Tex-Mex gem to a buzzy social club where the cocktails shine, these are just a few of the beloved Washington D.C. spots that are now bookable on Resy. Right this way.
Note: This list will be updated regularly with new additions each month, so be sure to check back often. For D.C.’s newest restaurant openings, head here.
Ellington Park Bistro Dupont Circle
Newly added!
A night out at the St. Gregory Hotel restaurant might mean escargot in Pernod-scented butter, beef tartare and Belgian endive, and mussels (or steak) frites for dinner, or jumbo lump crab deviled eggs, a brick of brioche French toast, and a perfect French omelet for brunch. The handsome room is perfect for either (or both).
Shanklin Hall Adams Morgan
Newly added!
Because this Adams Morgan Black-owned social club is a gathering space, a listening lounge, a cocktail bar, and an eclectic place to stop for a bite. With good vibes on lock, you cannot go wrong with their selection of pretty delicious things like The Mecca, a blackberry-infused vodka number, a collard green artichoke dip, and one fine burger.
KIYOMI Sushi by Uchi Downtown
We’ll never get tired of a parade of pristine sushi, thoughtfully presented by a master, in an intimate 12-seat setting. Chef Uchi knows exactly what his fans want: monkfish liver with shaved black truffle, hotaru ika with Maine uni, glistening slices of chu-toro and otoro. The list goes on.
Amparo Fondita Dupont Circle
It’s all about the details here. The supple, handmade corn tortillas, either on their own or stuffed with meltingly-good seared fish, lamb barbacoa, or cochinita pibil. The avocado dust on top of your side of black beans. The simple but sleek (and bustling, because it will be) room. Just know that somewhere between the last bites of tres leches cake, you’ll be quietly plotting your next visit.
District Winery Navy Yard
Whether grazing boards overflowing with fruits, veg, meats, and cheeses, or passing around plates of shaved Brussels sprouts salad and blue crab-stuffed arancini, you’ll do it with a view here. Brunch cocktails and challah French toast on the patio hit just right.
Shoe’s Cup and Cork Downtown Leesburg
It’s all about Virginia at this downtown Leesburg joint, set inside a former shoe store. Go-to dishes, from homemade meatballs to four-cheese mac, are best enjoyed on the back patio that’s clearly the place to be on sunny days.
Méli Wine & Mezze Adams Morgan
Here’s a club that’s definitely worth joining: Local zoning laws let Méli serve only the residents of its home building — unless you become a lifetime member by buying a $25 bottle of house wine or the equivalent. And when you dig into the tantalizing Greek menu here, you’ll agree that it’s one of the best investments you’ve ever made.
Beau Thai – Mt. Pleasant Mt. Pleasant
Joining the original location in Shaw, this Mt. Pleasant charmer stands out brilliantly in the thriving D.C. Thai restaurant scene. The family-recipe-inspired fare created by chef Aschara Vigsittaboot is all done superbly, and there are innovations like Thai-style empanadas and house specialties like crispy tilapia with spicy basil sauce.
STK DC Mount Vernon Square
Everybody loves a comeback story. The D.C. outpost of this upscale steak-and-seafood international chain shut down in Dupont in 2016 after only two years … But you can’t keep a good restaurant down, and now it’s back, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, complete with power lunches and Japanese Wagyu, and carnivores couldn’t be happier.
Epic Smokehouse National-Landing
What makes a smokehouse epic? All of the smoked meats, from ribs and pulled pork to thick slabs of prime rib. But there are fun things, too, like Kahlua pig eggrolls and jumbo lump crab cakes. Brunch is pretty bodacious, too.
Pilar DC Cardozo
A little literary lore with your ceviche and steak? The Pilar was Ernest Hemingway’s beloved 1934-vintage fishing boat, and this landlocked tribute to both boat and man sprinkles its menus with Hemingway quotes and serves international dishes with nods to his beloved Cuba — including both a classic Cubano sandwich and a unique jackfruit version.
1789 Restaurant Georgetown
Named for the year Georgetown University was founded, this long-running restaurant from the group behind Clyde’s and Old Ebbitt Grill earns well-deserved classic status for its antique-filled Federalist-era townhouse premises and its 21st-century American-European menu. Don’t miss the escargot croissant with Chartreuse butter and chanterelles. Yes, you read that right.
SHŌTŌ Washington DC Downtown
You’ve never seen anything like this Midtown Center stunner from Zuma’s Arjun Waney) — a dazzling upscale izakaya, with 25-foot wooden-grid ceilings, electric hearths set into a wall of greenery, custom ceramics, volcanic stone, and more, and of course, a treasure-filled menu, ranging from sushi, tempura, and robata dishes to unique potato-chip-shell tacos.
Barrel Capitol Hill/Eastern Market
If you don’t already know this animated Capitol Hill pub-grub mecca, open for almost a decade, what are you waiting for? Chef Walfer Hernandez’s you’ll-want-everything menu ranges from corn dogs to pulled pork sliders to (housemade) tagliatelle carbonara, and the whiskey/whisky list is one of the best in town.
Joselito Casa de Comidas Capitol Hill
You might think you’re in Madrid or Seville when you walk into this animated, casually stylish Capitol Hill Spanish place, with its tile floors, café chairs, marble tabletops, walls crowded with vintage photos, and above all, its menu serving just the kind of food you’d get in Spain, from traditional gazpacho and salt cod fritters to fisherman’s rice.
Lapop Adams Morgan
Add this one to your Hit List — a low-key, surprisingly roomy cocktail lounge concealed beneath the beloved Afghan restaurant Lapis, where the coffee is stupendously good, the cocktails weave in Middle Eastern flavors, and the small plates from the Lapis kitchen are just what you want to nibble on.
Rose’s Luxury Rooftop Garden Capitol Hill
It’s everything Rose’s Luxury is downstairs, only more personalized and catered to you and your favorite people, be it friends, family, or someone you invited off the street. The rooftop garden feels like the terrace at your best friend’s apartment, plants, bistro chairs, and all. The food, of course, is way better. There’s a good chance the pork and lychee salad will be at least one of the courses.
Fitzgerald’s Georgetown
Next door to its sibling, 1789 Restaurant & Bar, Fitzgerald’s is hardly your typical college-adjacent hangout — not with its plaid-backed bar seats and caramel-brown banquettes, its menu full of tasty twists (Asian pear with the tuna crudo, peanuts with the chicken wings), and its knockout list of rare Japanese whiskies.
The Tombs Georgetown
Talk about tradition: For more than 60 years old, this neighborhood haunt and collegiate hangout underneath 1789 Restaurant has been an essential part of the Georgetown community — and it’s still the place to come for food you know and love, from nachos to smash burgers to eggplant Parmesan.
Tsehay Ethiopian Restaurant And Bar Adams Morgan
Expect elevated but soulful Ethiopian dishes, including fresh teff injera made daily. Family recipes inspire the menu, and it makes all the difference (Michelin’s taken note, too). Everything from the lamb and beef tibs to the vegan platter are not to be missed.
