Now on Resy: Bistro du Jour, Mi Vida, Hoja Taqueria, and More Local Favorites

Put this light-flooded all-day tribute to Parisian café life from the team behind local favorites like Mi Vida and Succotash on your must-visit list for real-thing French fare, from croissants and salade niçoise to coq au vin.

Roberto Santibañez (of New York’s Fonda restaurants) doubles down on the success of his original Mi Vida at The Wharf with this expanded interpretation, complete with the same romantic lighting, mural-covered brick walls, and irresistible guacamole-to-carne-asada menu.

You’ll want to make the trip to this casual family-owned Solomons Island refuge where the Patuxent River meets Chesapeake Bay. Think waterside dining at its best with an easygoing menu of salads, sandwiches, housemade pastas, and more. And yes, of course there are crabcakes.

Look for Oaxacan-accented fare (with fiery homemade salsas), a high-design art-filled dining room, and a vibrant cocktail program featuring rare agave-based spirits at this Miami import from the group behind the top-rated Broken Shaker bars.

It’s Mediterranean food all day long at the CityCenter branch of this luminous French and Italian Riviera-inspired dining destination. Pro tip: Plan an evening out around the regular daily specials, like chicken and seafood paella on Sundays and lamb tajine on Wednesdays.

Michelin-starred chef Enrique Limardo (of Imperfecto and Seven Reasons) spans the culinary globe at this lively Pennsylvania Avenue tribute to the immigrants who’ve enriched our nation and its cuisine. A signature brunch dish defines the place: Venezuelan arepas served with North African shakshuka.

Come to this Arlington charmer on Courthouse Plaza for the beer garden vibe; a menu of flatbreads, sandwiches, locally made sausages with pretzel buns and Dijon mustard, plus chicken or pork schnitzels of heroic proportions; and more than 20 craft beers on tap, many of them local.

Is this little gem of a place in Mount Pleasant, from Tail Up Goat veterans Demetri Mechelis and Tara Smith, a pizzeria or a Greek taverna? Both of the above. The Neapolitan-style pizzas and Hellenic specialties like whipped feta dip and moussaka play so well together, you’ll want some of each.

Chef Alfredo Solis (of Mezcalero and El Sol) opened this lively Columbia Heights Mexican seafood place three years ago, but pivoted to a pizza pop-up (the kind with chicken mole and chicharrón pies) when the pandemic hit. The pizzas are still there, but most of the original menu is back too, and diners couldn’t be happier.

This one is easy to love, for its comfortably upscale setting (white tablecloths, flattering lighting) in a converted townhouse, its well-chosen and sensibly priced wine list, and above all, its consistently delicious ingredient-focused modern American fare, the work of chef-owner Tom Power.

This longtime Adams Morgan favorite offers any classic from the north or west of India that you could wish for, from biryanis to tikkas to vindaloos — plus less common dishes such as tandoori red snapper and Goan shrimp curry.

Come with a crowd to this amiable Lebanese restaurant in Fairfax so you can sample as many of chef Samer Zeitoun’s irresistible mezze as possible. And don’t even think about leaving without sampling the pistachio cheesecake, a specialty of Zeitoun’s wife, Ragheda.

The offshoot of Zandra’s in Manassas, this colorful taquería deals in the traditional offerings of al pastor and carnitas, but do keep an eye out on the tacos with an international twist — flavors like Szechuan pork belly, falafel, or beef and lamb gyro meat.

This elegant Indian establishment in Reston is as special as they come, with decor channeling 1970s Bombay (before it was Mumbai), complete with a massive freeform chandelier and, yes, velvet upholstery, and a menu offering everything from street snacks to tandoori lamb and chicken.

Come hungry to this suburban Maryland offshoot of the Falls Church original and settle in for one of two generous, meat-heavy, fixed-price, all-you-can-eat repasts — or go à la carte for an array of grill-your-own beef and pork dishes, and more.

You won’t miss the meat at this Dupont Italian deli and “Botanical Bar” where the menus offer calamari, wings, meatballs, lasagna, chicken Parm, and more — all of it plant-based and definitely craveable — with seasonal signature cocktails on the side.

Nobody had more fun in the kitchen than the late Michel Richard, and his infectious culinary joy lives on at the bustling French-American bistro he founded, where his innovations (like chicken-liver “faux” gras) join classics like salade Lyonnaise and hanger steak with frites.

The barbecue’s the real thing at this tribute to Southern cooking from veteran D.C. restaurateur Bo Blair: North Carolina-born chef Rusty Holman, who cooked at Blair’s Bayou, has installed a $35,000 smoker, custom-made in Texas, to turn out his brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and more — and Navy Yard has never eaten (or smelled) better.

If internationally accented all-American comfort food in a razzle-dazzle dining room (lime green banquette, Barney-purple staircase, a huge cartoonish peacock behind the piano) sounds good to you, you’ll definitely want a seat at this all-day Barracks Row café.

Here’s one for date night: a cozy, casual traditional French restaurant with assortments of charcuterie and cheese designed for sharing; a selection of no-surprises main dishes; luscious traditional desserts (when’s the last time you had crêpes Suzette?); and well-chosen wines — to be enjoyed in the dining room or the upstairs Wine Lounge.

The Petworth comfort-food favorite Homestead is gone, but long live its replacement — the same owner’s joyous Tex-Mex place, where the menu covers all the classics (including excellent birria tacos) and there are seven different “bottomless” choices to drink with weekend brunch.

Here’s one to remember for date night — a comfortable, clubby-looking adjunct to the Lorien Hotel & Spa in Old Town Alexandria, with intimate lighting and plenty of space between tables and a French- and Belgian-leaning menu from chef Sebastien Rondier, a veteran of Adour and Decanter.

For cliché-busting Indian fare (Bombay bhaji cheese toast, anyone?) in a lilac-hued dining room, look no further than this Ashburn favorite, the second restaurant in town from self-taught chef Rupa Vira (the Signature was her first), whose eye for colorful presentations is as spot-on as her culinary skills.

German-born D.C. restaurant legend Robert Wiedmaier owns six restaurants in the capital and beyond, but this 1999-vintage Foggy Bottom classic is his flagship, and the Belgian-French dishes on his seductive tasting menus have defined haute cuisine in the city ever since.

You cannot possibly go wrong at this light-filled Navy Yard outpost of the well-loved Morini in New York City, where chef Bill Dorrler oversees a menu of irresistible antipasti, pastas, and main dishes largely inspired by the cooking of the great Italian food capital of Bologna.

An offshoot of the popular Takoda Restaurant & Beer Garden in Shaw, this Navy Yard stunner a block from Nationals Park is 7,000 square feet (including a sprawling rooftop bar) of cocktails on tap, craft brews, and fun-to-eat food (the Old Bay tots are famous).

Because Vin Sur Vingt does wine bars right. Expect the usual food suspects, like charcuterie plates, cassoulet, and salade Niçoise, alongside a heavy-hitting (and rotating) selection of French wines by the glass and bottle, all within a stylish Logan Circle setting.

Set in the former premises of a historic pharmacy that opened in 1891, this GWU-adjacent bar and restaurant can always be counted on, day and night. The drugstore lunch-counter fare of old is honored with chili, burgers, and the like, but the wide-ranging menu has a little bit of everything for everyone.

No prizes for guessing what the signature specialty is here: fresh mussels, served in four variations, courtesy of D.C. restaurant legend Robert Wiedmaier, whose Belgian-inspired Arlington brasserie also spotlights assorted oysters, steaks, and even brick-oven pizzas.

Because chef-owners Neville Nugent and Ed Reynoso source from the very best of local farms for their excellent Jamaican menu (the “unforgettable” braised oxtails live up to their name). Pro tip: Don’t sleep on their burgers either, cheekily named after TV shows — the fiery American Horror Story (with ghost pepper cheese) is a favorite.