The Resy Hit List: Where In D.C. You’ll Want to Eat in Aug. 2024
There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
We’ve designed it to be your essential resource for dining in and around Washington, D.C.: a monthly-updated (and now expanded!) guide to the restaurants that you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Four Things In D.C. Not to Miss This Month
- Getting Jazzed: With dozens of performances across the city, the annual DC JazzFest is one of the largest music festivals in the country. Many of the events this year will be anchored at venues along The Wharf starting on August 30. Jazz enthusiasts better come hungry too, some of the best of the city’s dining scene can be found along the Potomac River including at restaurants like
- Eat and Drink Solo, with a Good Book: The National Book Festival comes to the Convention Center on August 24. If you plan on attending, why not also try a solo-dining experience with a good book. Might we suggest the bar at Unconventional Diner or Supra before or after the festival?
- Or Getting Crabby: Summer is soon coming to a close, which means there’s still time to book a picnic table by the water and crack into some Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. And what better way than with a steamed dozen from Tickler’s Crab Shack on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It’s just 90 minutes by car from D.C., and makes for a perfect summertime escape.
- Summer Restaurant Week: From August 12 to 18, several restaurants, including 1789, Easy Company, and Ellē, will be offering multi-course menus (starting at $25 for lunch and $40 for dinner) to celebrate Restaurant Week. Better hurry, these tables book up fast!
New to the Hit List (Aug. 2024)
Republic Cantina, Astoria, Perry’s.
1. Pascual Capitol Hill
Easily one of the year’s most anticipated restaurants. The wife-and-husband team Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy, of Lutèce fame, have opened an intimate Mexican restaurant in Capitol Hill in what was formerly a barbecue shop. The space is reminiscent of one of Mexico’s beach-chic eateries, and all that remains of the barbecue joint is the smell of wood-fired coals. Dishes that take on those smoky flavors include lamb-neck barbacoa, and tacos al pastor with each tortilla made in house. And crucially, don’t miss the parsnip tamal, with its spice-rich mole blanco. While seating is limited to indoors, there are bar seats for walk-in visits and plans for a patio, should a mezcal margarita be calling your name.
2. Astoria DC DuPont Circle
The sleek and intimate space here makes you want to linger for a nightcap or two. And this gem of a craft cocktail bar happens to have some of the city’s best cocktails both in classic formats, like the Vieux Carré, and with unique presentations. That includes tropical drinks like the Molokai Mule, Hart of Darkness, and Dr. Funk, all served in tiki-style mugs. Even better, there’s a deep Sichuan-inflected menu of noodle dishes, plus large-format dishes including water-boiled fish — a seafood feast that reduces down and absorbs the fiery flavors of chiles, Sichuan peppercorn, and doubanjiang to create a rich, savory, and aromatic broth.
3. Albi Navy Yard
Chef Michael Rafidi is fresh off a win as James Beard Best Chef of 2024 for a restaurant that exults in wood-fired Levantine cooking. The result is smoky flavors, including dips and spreads like coal-fired mushroom hummus, which are meant for sharing. Those looking to snag a table at can opt for either à la carte or the signature Sofra menu. This roughly translates to “a table set for you” in Arabic, and it highlights the richness of seasonal ingredients and local produce. This includes Chesapeake rockfish kebabs served with green tomato yogurt, snow peas, and zested Meyer lemon. Dishes come served family style, in a semi-spontaneous, multi-course menu format priced at $145 per person.
4. La Bonne Vache Georgetown
A college-esque sub shop (Booeymongers of Georgetown) has been dramatically transformed into an all-day French cafe to celebrate the good life. Executive chef Robert Aikens (Starr Restaurants) works in the kitchen with sous chef Ann Cashion (Cashion’s Eat Place and Johnny’s Half Shell) and chef de cuisine Scheyla Acosta to create a D.C. dining destination that brings the Côte d’Azur a little bit closer to the nation’s capital.
La Bonne Vache, which translates to the good cow, will absolutely fill the sandwich-sized hole in your heart — try the roti de boeuf or chicken paillard — and save room for the burgers made with a blend of NY strip, hanger steak, brisket, and boneless short rib. Are you salivating yet?
Find more info here.
5. Oyster Oyster Shaw
Rob Rubba led the way as James Beard’s 2023 Outstanding Chef of the Year, with a sustainability-driven menu including Chesapeake Bay oysters and vegetables sourced from the mid-Atlantic region. This may be the toughest table in town to book, for his $135 per person tasting menu, with the option to add wine pairings or nonalcoholic beverages. Don’t worry, we have the inside scoop on how to score a table.
6. Ama Capitol Riverfront/ Navy Yard
Ama brings the essence of Northern Italy to the Navy Yard. Chef Johanna Hellrigl and husband Micah Wilder have pulled from regions around the Ligurian Sea and the “Pale Mountains” of Alto Adige to create a dining experience that is inviting and unrushed. Mornings begin with Caffè Vergnano espresso “al banco” and a delicately flaky cornetto, followed by focaccia Genovese sandwiches and seasonal salads. As the sun sets, Wilder has conjured up spritzes, seltzers, and carbonated frozen drinks to complement signature Northern Italian flavors and dishes, including Tyrolean knödel and Ligurian langoustines.
7. Republic Cantina Truxton Circle
This Truxton Circle cantina is where the neighborhood has been meeting for more than a decade to enjoy Tex Mex hits like enchiladas, brisket chili, and braised birria tacos paired with frozen margaritas and pico-back shots — Tequila with a pico de gallo juice chaser. Outside of happy hour, or should we say “outlaw hour,” this restaurant is also a popular place for breakfast tacos and unique coffees, including an iced horchata latte and Mexican chile chocolate mocha.
8. Shilling Canning Company Navy Yard
Shilling sources some of the Mid-Atlantic region’s best ingredients by partnering with local farms and picking garden-fresh produce grown on their front patio. Under each menu item, including on the seven-course tasting menu (priced at $150 per person), you’ll find the local farm where ingredients were sourced. Also, Ampersandwich is back by popular demand for lunch. This pandemic-era pop-up recently returned; chef Reid Shilling turns out selections like a Baltimore pit beef sandwich and the McReid — his take on a barbecue rib sandwich.
9. 2Fifty BBQ Riverdale Park, Maryland
There is no better way to enjoy a barbecue feast in D.C. than with premium brisket, ribs, and pulled pork found at 2Fifty BBQ. Owner Debbie Portillo González is a Salvadoran restaurateur, who along with husband Fernando González smokes some of the finest Hill Country-style barbecue in our nation’s capital. That includes their take on signature Salvadoran dishes like brisket pupusas. The restaurant is open on a first come, first served basis at the flagship shop in Maryland’s Riverdale Park, as well as another restaurant coming soon to Mount Vernon Triangle.
Walk-ins welcome.
10. L’Avant-Garde Georgetown
L’Avant-Garde honors the French tradition of dining with pleasure. Chef Sébastien Giannini has stepped in and revised the menu to include a new lunch offering, plus updated French Riviera-style cuisine for dinner. That includes salade Niçoise and sea bass seared in olive oil and a generous helping of eggplant caviar. Still, duck remains one of the most prominent features on the menu. You can try it in one of two ways: A foie gras cooked in terrine with cognac, cherries, and toasted brioche. Or a seared duck breast served with cherries, red cabbage, and a duck demi-glace with caramelized gala apples. Pro tip: Giannini also serves up one of the best burgers in town.
11. Aventino Cucina Bethesda
Aventino has brought sleek Roman cuisine to the Maryland suburbs. The menu from chef Mike Friedman (Red Hen) has nods to Roman-Jewish influences, including carciofi ‘alla Giudia’ — fried artichokes served with mint and salsa verde. His pizza rossa is a must order dish, too; this ode to the classic snack tastes like what you might find wandering the streets of Trastevere. And why sample just one pasta when you easily try multiples in one sitting? Friedman prepares smaller-scale versions of cacio e pepe, amatriciana, and tortellini.
12. KAYU H Street Corridor
Chef Paolo Dungca celebrates his Filipino roots with a spirit of “bayanihan” — a concept that centers on community and uplifting others. But what defines Hiraya is a sense of fun, one that permeates all day long, from ube and rainbow-colored lattes to happy hour cocktails, like a pandan daiquiri, as well as a brisket, egg and cheese served on a golden-brown laminated bun, with an optional McDonald’s-style hash brown. Dungca has also taken that spirit upstairs, literally: He recently debuted a tasting menu on the second floor, with options to try all of his best dishes in a seven-course ($145) offering.
13. Tiger Fork Shaw
This contemporary Cantonese restaurant tucked away in Shaw’s historic Blagden Alley is sporting a newly appointed chef. Executive chef Simon Lam features a playful menu of modern takes on street food, traditional dim sum and classic Chinese dishes inspired by the bustling city of Hong Kong, including Lam’s take on congee, a savory Chinese rice porridge, which comes laden with roasted mushrooms and a soft-boiled egg. And it’s not just a place to book for your next dinner. Tiger Fork recently debuted a “Hei Hei Café” menu with brunch and lunch classics on weekend afternoons. It’s inspired by traditional Cha Chaan Teng (Hong Kong’s quintessential East-meets-West diner culture) and offered from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
14. Pastis – DC Union Market District
The latest D.C. rendition from Stephen Starr has the look-and-feel of its New York City sibling but with a je-ne-sais-quoi factor that has quickly made it the “it” power dining destination in Washington. And of course there are several original dishes to this menu including beef tongue, Wiener schnitzel, and roast chicken for two. By far, the bar is the centerpiece. Order-up Starr’s favorite cocktail, the Monsieur Marmalade. (Guess the secret ingredient.) Or, it being Pastis, there’s also Parisian-inspired cocktail classics and easy-drinking spritzes.
15. Joia Burger Mount Pleasant
In the mood for a smashburger? La Joia has both meaty and veggie burger options with Filipino flare. Patrice Cleary, also the owner of Purple Patch (another Mount Pleasant institution) took inspiration from this Filipino restaurant to compose a menu of colorful dishes, including soft-serve ube ice cream. The restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner and you can spot this burger joint by the line that typically snakes out the door during the 9-to-5 meal-time rush. The all-beef smash burgers are made with premium wagyu, while the vegan vegan burger, made from wild oats, rice, and a three-bean patty, stacks up to any competition.
Walk-ins only.
16. Omakase @ Barracks Row Capitol Hill
Ricky Wang’s pop-up omakase counter got so hot on the local sushi scene that the noted chef (formerly of Nakazawa DC) just had to make it permanent with this exquisite omakase bar above Han Palace. Climb the steps to a sushi counter experience perfect for your next date night. There are only two seatings each night. Wang’s concept consists of small dishes followed by a nigiri tasting totaling about 20 courses. Right now, the menu also features seasonal favorites like Chesapeake soft shell crabs. Pro tip: Don’t miss his otsumami — Japanese bar food — options.
17. Amparo Fondita Dupont Circle
Chef Christian Irabién brings a taste of Mexican cuisine to Dupont Circle, with a focus on the country’s coastal regions and an homage to his mother and grandmother’s cooking from Chihuahua, Mexico. The restaurant’s seafood-focused menu transports diners to the beach with offerings like citrus-cured fluke ceviche or red snapper with esquites and salsa macha. Consider even a simple a side of black beans: Irabién works with heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo in Napa Valley, and cooks via a time-intensive process that uses avocado leaves and traditional Mexican spices, an homage to the traditional agricultural practice known as milpa.
18. Padaek Falls Church
Two Padeaks are definitely better than one. This Falls Church restaurant has been serving award-winning Laotian fare for over a decade, and late last year welcomed a sibling restaurant in Arlington. This second location includes an open kitchen, full-service bar, private dining room, plus a covered patio. And on special occasions (follow along on Instagram to be kept in the loop), chef Seng Luangrath invites other guest chefs for takeover tasting menus. The menu at both locations represents chef Seng Luangrath’s life through food, including family recipes from her grandmother, aunt, and friends, passed along in a refugee camp in Thailand. Must-order dishes include her chicken larb.
19. The Duck & The Peach Capitol Hill
After wooing diners with roast chicken at dinner, and exceeding expectations at brunch with a spicy chorizo benedict, Duck & The Peach now has its sights set on a new lunch menu coming later this month. It adds to the easy-come, easy-go vibe at the restaurant with a menu that reads farm-fresh, and dishes you can walk in and order on a whim or get dressed up and savor during an extravagant date night for two. The restaurant is led by Hollis Silverman, a James Beard finalist for best restaurateur, who brings a California cool to the light and airy dining room under the direction of chefs Kat Petonito and Rochelle Cooper.
20. Perry’s Adams Morgan
You certainly can’t beat the rooftop view at Perry’s, plus the expertly crafted omakase tasting menu from chef Masako Morishita, who was recently named Emerging Chef of the Year by the Beard Foundation. One bite of her edamame dumplings, and it’s easy to see why this restaurant is one of the most talked-about in Adams Morgan. What kept us coming back for more this year? For one thing, a Japanese-style breakfast menu, the likes of which D.C. has never seen before. It’s offered Saturdays and is a hearty spread of Morishita’s favorites, including grilled salt-cured ocean trout, a Japanese-style soft omelet, and nasu agedashi — fried shishito and eggplant served in a sweet dashi soy broth.
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