The Splurge-Worthy Guide to Dining in D.C.

This charming vegetarian, mid-Atlantic-focused restaurant offers a spectacular tasting menu emphasizing seasonal vegetables. You can choose to have your meal vegan instead of vegetarian, and oysters are an optional add-on for some dishes. (The name of the venue is a nod to both actual oysters and oyster mushrooms.) One course always includes fresh-out-of-the-oven bread, served with an innovative infused butter (ever tried marigold butter? It is even more amazing than you can imagine!), and dessert is always included as well. In between, sample dishes that showcase the best of what is available seasonally and locally, like roasted lion’s mane mushrooms gracefully draped with a black garlic reduction or squash adorned with a fennel kraut and served on a nutty sauce made from seeds and chiles.

While Indian food is usually best eaten family-style, the tasting menu at Rasika Penn Quarter is so decadent and full of so many epic dishes it cannot be missed. Your meal will open with some of chef Vikram Sunderam’s greatest hits, including crispy palak chaat, where spinach leaves are fried and drizzled with yogurt and a duo of chutneys, and sweet potato kebabs.

Aaron Silverman’s ode to fine dining upends everything you thought you knew about the form. Dinner here becomes one of the most memorable parties you’ve ever been to, that also just happens to have some incredible food. When you truly want to splurge, P&P has been the clear choice a long time now.

We love that Fabio Trabocchi gets us — specifically how sometimes we want the most luxe form of Italian cooking. And that of course is Fiola’s superpower, whether the full-bore “Viaggio” tasting menu or the more modest “Leggero.”  And of course it’s truffle season, which means you can go truly big and heady for $600/person. (Look for the “Truffle Experience” on the booking page for any evening.)

Tail Up Goat’s four-course tasting menu includes a choice of dishes for each course, each including at least one vegetarian option. As with many tasting menus, offerings change depending on the season; in the winter you will be treated to items like freshly baked focaccia served with a plum butter, a cheese squash tart, charred cabbage crowned with crispy fried garlic, and of course, dessert. Pro tip: Two different wine pairings are available, at two different price points.

The rooftop option at Gravitas is just the spot for a way to enjoy Matt Baker’s cooking in perhaps a slightly more chill format. “Slightly” being the key word, because there’s always the caviar service starting at $95, with a sublime roster of cocktails to accompany.

Equinox is one of the few restaurants in D.C. that has always offered a plant-based tasting menu, and the regularly changing menu truly showcases chef Todd Gray’s skill and creativity in the kitchen. The five-course modern American menu is entirely vegan and always seasonal.

Call 202-331-8118 for reservations.

Fads come and fads go, and through it all — since 1999 — Robert Wiedmaier’s flagship has been a staple of D.C. dining for good reason: This is French-inspired cooking of the sort that never goes out of style, with an epic wine list and tasting menus to suit every need.

Citronelle veteran David Deshaies and his team rethink Italian classics and create new ones of their own at this spectacular trendsetter, with its double-high ceilings, Murano glass chandeliers, and attention-grabbing wood-fired grill. The signature 40-layer lasagna with truffle mornay and short rib sugo is a must.

Rooster & Owl features an approachable four-course tasting menu, with vegetarian options for each course. The choices are designed to be shared. Indulge in a brussels sprouts Caesar salad, gnocchi, and irresistible desserts like an apple financier, a maple sponge cake, and a goat cheese cheesecake with figs and honey.

Perhaps the ultimate tasting menu in the region, this seven-course extravaganza is filled with sophisticated flavors in dishes like an eggplant, tomato, and cheese napoleon with basil ice cream, a savory black pepper cheesecake, and yuzu sorbet as a palate cleanser.

At Rania, which offers modern, fusion-type versions of Indian classic fare, guests can choose between a three- or four-course tasting menu, each of which include plenty of vegetarian options. The first course offers a popular street snack, chaat, usually made with fried spinach and potato patties, but here is composed of fried shiso leaves and a white pea patty.Desserts are as creative as the savory dishes.

Call 202-804-6434 for reservations.

Frank Ruta’s cooking at this Kalorama staple is the very definition of “grown up.” Items like hand-rolled pici with rabbit ragu or heirloom cabbage with maitake mushrooms and Bernaise could feel like dishes from another era, save that Annabelle finds that perfect intersection of classic and contemporary.

You won’t find many restaurants anywhere like Cranes: Pepe Moncayo has combined his Spanish upbringing with his time in Singapore for electric, eclectic cooking that you could shorthand as “Spanish-Japanese” but really is its own remarkable thing.

That Johnny Spero has evolved his experience cooking at Jose Andres’ minibar to his own wonderful spot is good news for everyone. The inspiration here may be Basque, and the focus on seafood (overlook the Jonah crab rice at your peril) but everything that comes from the wood-fired hearth is a treat — including the whole turbot.

Speaking of seafood: We are very here for it when Fabio Trabocchi turns his attention to the ocean. The epic seafood tower is where you want to start, and then dive into pastas like the paccheri frutti di mare for two, with lobster, branzino, and more.

“Néo-bistro” doesn’t begin to capture the sublime cooking at Lutèce. Dishes like sweetbreads with sauce américaine, duck with black garlic capture French inspiration at its best — although the $105 four-course tasting menu might be the perfect way to experience your evening here.

Chef Matt Baker won a Michelin star for his tasting menus at Gravitas. At Michele’s he goes à la carte, offering an eclectic array of French-influenced American dishes with an occasional New Orleans accent.

Stephen Starr’s iteration of this beloved Brooklyn chophouse is where to go when you want to go big on red meat.  The ax handle ribeye usually starts at 45 ounces, so bring a crew. Or go for less obvious (but equally great) picks like the lamb leg steak. And don’t miss the mushroom toast — or the selection of vintage Madeira.

The omakase sushi entry from Makoto Okuwa at his Love, Makoto lets you choose between old- and new-school paths through his nigiri, with splurges like barbecued eel and foie gras to add on.

Le Dip offers Gallic joy in every speed and style, but we’re always mindful of the option to go big when we wish. That comes in the form of the grand plateau seafood platter ($185), with a fish market’s worth of iced sea creatures. But also lobster frites, and daily plates like a dover sole meunière and pork Milanese.