The Resy Hit List: Where In D.C. You’ll Want to Eat Right Now
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
- Holiday Party Planning: The holiday rush is on, meaning it’s the season to book a private room. Whether you are celebrating the holidays with your extended family or office colleagues, these restaurants in D.C. serve as festive and accommodating space to host a holiday brunch, lunch or dinner.
- Dine in a Snow Globe: Hi-Lawn introduces snow globe dining this month, just in time for the holidays. This spherical and immersive dining experience is an immersive 90-minute show. It includes visuals of winter landscapes and the Northern Lights alongside Nordic-inspired cuisine, plus hot toddies. It’s one of many great things to do you can find on our Resy Events page.
- Countdown to 2025: New Year’s revelers have more than a few options for the big countdown is on for 2025. Gather your best-dressed friends and celebrate with Spanish-style seafood and green grapes (for good luck) at Del Mar or indulge in a decadent truffle-themed menu offered by sister restaurant Fiola DC.
- Press Club Coming Soon: Industry vets Will Patton (Bresca) and Devin Kennedy (Pouring Ribbons) are about to open a listening bar featuring classic cocktails, classic vinyl, and an à la carte “track list” cocktail menu, plus flights highlighting seasonal ingredients. We can’t wait to try the French Waltz — with green Chartreuse, riesling, and lime. Keep an eye on all the latest openings with New on Resy.
New to the Hit List (Dec. 2024)
Arrels, Osteria Mozza, Rosedale.
1. Pascual Capitol Hill
One of the year’s most anticipated, and most highly lauded, restaurants. The wife-and-husband team Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy, of Lutèce fame, created 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 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. La’ Shukran Washington D.C.
Michael Rafidi is at it again, adding to his recently opened YELLOW Union Market with a second-story bar and restaurant that can only be accessed from a discreet doorway in the back alley. This bistro-meets-bar and rooftop terrace is looking to be one of the hottest new openings of 2024, and it features unique dishes from across the Levant Region. The food and drinks work in harmonious balance. Take for instance the foie gras with halva butter and pickled huckleberries. The dish comes served with a side of puffed ras-el-hanout beignets combining rich and buttery flavors. This pairs perfectly with a Bedouin Coffee — bar director Radovan Jankovic’s take on an espresso martini infused with cardamom.
4. ANJU Dupont Circle
For robust Korean dishes layered with complex, fermented flavors, look no further. Start with their irresistible mandu — pork and kimchi dumplings — and finish with something bright, like melon flan with pistachios, candied orange peel, and sweetened condensed milk. Beyond the classic gochujang-glazed Korean fried chicken (served here with Alabama white sauce) and the ssam board, we are keen on the dolsot bibimbap served over a hot stone bowl of rice, and your choice of bulgogi or tofu. Indeed, Mama Lee’s Classics are also recipes innovatively adapted from chef Danny Lee’s mother, the family’s first restaurateur — including a jjigae of pork rib, soft tofu, and aged kimchi.
5. Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi Washington D.C.
Dōgon is celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi’s third act of sorts. Having established himself in D.C., he opened the critically acclaimed restaurant Tatiana in New York City about two years ago. This restaurant, which exudes sleek date-night vibes from the moment you enter the doorway, is named for the Dogon people who inhabit what are now parts of Mali and Burkina Faso, and whose mythology is strongly tied to the stars, specifically Sirius. The menu also pays homage to the American historical leader Benjamin Banneker, and features African diaspora dishes, including Mom Duke’s shrimp, the must-order dish alongside a Chesapeake-influenced hoe crab topped with crunchy bits and shitto (a hot sauce from Ghana).
6. Maketto H Street NE
Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Erik Bruner-Yang’s restaurant along H Street is somewhere you can quickly become a regular. This is where Bruner-Yang puts his stamp on Cambodian and Taiwanese flavors. Gather a crew, and eat your way through the menu. There isn’t a single dish we wouldn’t recommend — from dim sum to pan-fried noodles, and a five-spice fried chicken like no other. Bruner-Yang also recently opened Providencia, a speakeasy-esque cocktail bar in the alley behind Maketto. Pro tip: Go for dinner at Maketto, then ask your server to put you on the bar’s waitlist. In no time, you’ll be sipping his Lights of the Night Market, a gin-mezcal sour with pandan, inspired by Taipei.
7. Bar Del Monte Mount Pleasant
This restaurant with buzzy appeal in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood has a walk-in line to prove it’s the Italian restaurant of the moment. A new project from the 2 Amys team, it features seasonal ingredients and a no-fuss approach to Italian-style cuisine. Top dishes of the moment include the porcini mushroom salad, fried zucchini fritters, and a margherita pizza rivaled only by their sister restaurant. Do as the Romans do: end your meal with a digestif or espresso, and finish off on a sweet note with the crème caramel.
Find more info here.
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. Immigrant Food – Ballston Ballston-Virginia Square
Immigrant Food recently expanded its footprint to Arlington, Virginia after gaining a downtown D.C. following at both lunch and dinner. Washingtonians love this menu for its political sensibilities and a menu that spans the globe — a celebration of street food in a cozy, intimate setting with popular lunch dishes like the Madam VP Heritage bowl. This tribute to Kamala Harris combines her Indian and Jamaican heritage with a coconut-curry chicken served over turmeric rice with plantain, chickpeas, and pineapple. Food is always political, but rarely more deliciously so than here.
10. Osteria Mozza Georgetown
A collaboration years in the making between restaurateur Stephen Starr and legendary L.A. chef Nancy Silverton, the D.C. outpost of Mozza is dedicated to rustic and traditional Italian food. Modern design sensibilities extend to a marble-topped mozzarella bar, two private dining areas, and a colorful market showcasing olive oils, spices, fresh produce, tinned fish, and more items handpicked by Silverton herself. Mozza will showcase the iconic dishes that made Silverton a global culinary star: her crisp stracchino-stuffed focaccia di recco, “Nancy’s Favorite Trio” — delicate mounds of mozzarella di bufala draped in Cantabrian anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes, and peppers — and crisp, golden-brown fett’unta (basically, the best garlic bread you’ve ever tasted).
11. Cucina Morini Mount Vernon Triangle
This new concept from Chef Matt Adler brings the legacy of Osteria Morini to the Mount Vernon neighborhood but with a Southern Italian flair. The menu is inspired by Adler’s extensive travels along the Italian coast, with a menu highlighting small plates, family-style dishes and handmade pastas. Do not skip out on ordering pollo alla diavola, a fiery chicken dish from Southern Italy, and linger before or after your meal at the Aperitivo Bar. It is arguably the best bar to save a buck or two at happy hour. Sip on $7 martinis, or a $10 Made in Manhattan, featuring a twist on that classic drink with the addition of Cynar.
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 Kayu (formerly 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. Arrels Penn Quarter
Chef Pepe Moncayo (of Cranes D.C. fame) recently opened his red-hot restaurant Arrels in the new Arlo hotel. The menu honors his Spanish family and personal travels across the Iberian Peninsula. Diners will immediately be drawn in by the heat of this kitchen. The restaurant features a state-of-the-art charcoal grill, infusing dishes with smoky flavors. Early contenders for top dishes include Spanish classics like seafood paella, croquetas, and churros with Espelette pepper chocolate sauce. Moncayo also uses some of his mother’s recipes, including a Catalan dish with rabbit shoulder, carrots and artichokes, served in a broth that is emblematic of the rustic warmth of Spanish home cooking.
14. 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.
15. Pappe Logan Circle
Pappe offers an immersive Indian experience in the heart of DC’s Logan Circle neighborhood. The menu features a wide array of North Indian cuisine with dishes like goat vindaloo and allepey fish curry. There is also an entire vegetable section on the menu. Find four different types of vegetable paneer, or side with some korma, daal two ways (smoked black lentils and yellow lentils), and channa pindi (slow cooked chickpeas). Pappe is also well known and loved for its daily 5-7 p.m. happy hour menu featuring $12 cocktails like a cardamom gimlet and turmeric mango margarita.
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. Rosedale Forest Hills
Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj of the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group is at it again with the grand opening of Rosedale, designed to be a neighborhood gathering place. The giant U-shaped bar is the perfect perch to make new friends and overhear conversation, or opt for the sleek and formal dining room, more casual outdoor patio space, or private dining room. The menu reads new American, with rotating specials including a rotisserie chicken, potato and smoked cheddar croquettes, and grilled Rhode Island squid with ginger sabayon. Don’t overlook sides like the charred carrots with pickled onion and mustard. And pizzas range from traditional to playful (see: Across the Aisle, with bacon, fig jam, and ricotta).
19. Cana – Caipirinha Bar Adams Morgan
The caipirinha cocktail takes center stage at this new Brazilian bar and restaurant in Adams Morgan that adds a dash of Rio De Janeiro to your next date night agenda. Cana is a tropical tribute to the lively botecos of Brazil, where the spirit of music and dance pulses through the air. In true Rio fashion, this bar also features a wide array of vintage vinyl, plus soulful Brazilian cuisine, like salt cod croquettes and a dish snack called torresmo. It’s a delicious and meaty pork belly fried to a crisp and topped with fennel and lime plus maracuja aioli for dipping.
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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