The Resy Guide to Essential Cozy Locales in D.C.

This small and charming pizzeria has all the makings for a cozy dinner: rustic booths, pendant lights, and dynamite pizza — the ultimate comfort food. Before jumping straight to the pizza, consider sampling the famous garlic knots, which come smothered in garlic butter and served with a Parmesan fonduta. But then it’s definitely time for pizza. The Standard is an obvious choice, with the doughy, thick crust draped in melted cheese, tomatoes, and oregano, but the Vespa is equally as tempting, with mozzarella, wild mushrooms, and an earthy black truffle sauce.

The amiable interior of the dining room, dim lights, dark décor, and intimate booths of Astoria, combined with heady Sichuan fare, bring together everything you need for an evening filled with warmth and comfort. The impossible mapo tofu will warm you from the inside out, and garlicky eggplant with chilli oil is just what the season calls for. Even the pretty, light-strung patio is cozy.

Bindaas offers Indian comfort food at its best. The picturesque dining room is filled with the aromas of Indian street food dishes, which includes popcorn tossed with herbs and spices like coriander and cumin; earthy pao bhaji, a flavorful, yielding ginger- and garam masala-infused veggie stew served on warm buttery rolls; and paneer kathi rolls, featuring hunks of cheese and sweet-and-spicy bell peppers wrapped in flaky wheat parathas.

For a truly private meal with friends, book the Sunflower Coach at Compass Rose.  The dining room designed to look like an old-fashioned European train dining car holds six to eight people and offers a $75 prix fixe meal. This will get you all kinds of rib-sticking dishes from the venue’s selection of street snacks from around the world, including Berbere spiced yams from Ethiopia, a juicy Italian watermelon and stracciatella cheese salad, and a potato and leek varenyky (pastry) that hails from Ukraine.

We all know the French do cozy well, and that’s nowhere more apparent than at this snug bistro, where you can enjoy classics in a rustic, moody setting. Dive into the cheesy baked camembert, revel in the mushroom tart, which is served with a silky leek fondue, and marvel at the sage-chip-adorned butternut squash ravioli.

All Malaysian fare pleases with spicy, heady flavors, but undoubtedly Makan’s curry mee is top of the menu in terms of coziness. A giant bowl arrives brimming with a bold curry-laden broth, a heaping mix of glass and egg noodles, chewy greens, a generous dollop of sambal, bean sprouts, and hunks of tofu. It is sweet, sour, and spicy all at once, a dreamy experience for the taste buds. Pro tip: leave room for dessert, as you won’t find their roti & kaya anywhere else. The combination of the buttery, savory flatbread with the sweet coconut-pandan custard is perfect for winter.

Medina describes itself as an “intimate neighborhood bar,” and indeed, it is exactly that. Socialize with old friends or make new ones over inventive cocktails and delicious small plates at this stylish lounge. The tented roof, hanging drapes, jewel tones, and low lighting create an inviting atmosphere perfect for relaxing.

Don’t let the name of this chic Georgetown spot throw you off: The floors and paneling may be clean wood lines, but the banquettes are comfy, and its setting in a historic townhouse exudes more than its share of cozy. Chef Gilles Epié turns out pleasantly tweaked versions of great brasserie dishes, like the truffle brie. Order an ‘Ask the Colonel’ to sip alongside it; the Calvados apple brandy in that cocktail makes it a perfect match, but you really can’t go wrong with any of Beverage Director Hakim Hamid’s creations. This is the season for French comfort food, so settle in and soak up the warmth.

This is no ordinary BBQ joint. At Beloved BBQ, tuck yourself in a cozy booth with your own smokeless grill sunken in the table. The dark walls, chic décor, and warm energy instantly put you at ease, and the menu offers epic comfort dishes including udon mac and cheese, fried rice, mochi potatoes with truffle and blue cheese, and milk buns with miso honey butter. You might come for the grilled A5 and wagyu bone broth, but these sides will blow you away.

If you’ve never sampled a khachapuri, winter is the time to do it. This hearty hallmark of Georgian cuisine features a boat-shaped bread smothered with heaps of melted cheese and herbs. It’s decadent, rich, and soothing. Supra offers a variety of khachapuri, including adjaruli, topped with an egg and mixed with the bubbling cheese, or sokos, where meaty mushrooms are baked into the cheese. Grilled veggies, cauliflower tossed in a walnut sauce, and mushroom khinkali (soup dumplings) also warrant sampling. Bring a group of friends to enjoy the warm hospitality and embrace the Georgian spirit: order a great variety of dishes and at least a few of the spectacular Georgian wines on the menu, and then settle in for an evening of sharing food and stories.

It’s small, relaxed, and features some of the best ramen in town. Toki’s piping-hot broth, chewy noodles, and spice-bomb flavors are all you need to warm you up this winter. If you aren’t into noodle soups, the District’s ramen pioneer also offers other delicious and soul-warming dishes, including dan dan noodles, steamed buns stuffed with sake-battered cauliflower and dollops of Japanese mayo, and various dumplings.

Nothing says cozy quite like the semi-enclosed, blue-cushioned booths at Rasika West End. When the tourist numbers go down and the decorative lights go up, the vibe at this destination for spicy, sensuous Indian fare becomes more neighborly and leisurely while the food and service remains at the same high level. The sweet potato samosas, creamy, smoky black daal, and biryani — arriving piping hot at your table in a copper pot sealed with the traditional (but nowadays rarely seen) bread crust — will make you forget all about the howling wind outside.

We mentioned the charms of cozy French dining, yes? Le Dip has that in spades, too, with its many dining areas allowing you to choose your level of vibe. No matter where you take your seat, the classic dishes are all here, from snails to steak au poivre. But if you really want the Parisian experience, order a steaming bowl of the celeriac-truffle or onion gratinee soups, and savor it with a nice glass of wine on their cute, heated patio from where you can watch passers-by brave the elements.

The charming dining room sets the stage for marvelous seasonal creations like focaccia served with a smoked apple butter, lions mane mushroom doused in a sunchoke miso glaze, and for dessert, a chocolate budino with red wine-poached figs. The dishes are great for sharing, and a seasonal list of heartier wines only adds to the convivial glow.

Michael Friedman’s Italian spot on 1st Street is admittedly not the biggest secret when it comes to getting cozy in D.C. (as in, that info has made it to the President and beyond). No matter: The Hen is where you get warm and relaxed for good reason. And that reason, or reasons, are the exceptional pastas, including the famed rigatoni, although if you’re more of a spaghetti or linguini person, they have those, too, and are equally well-made. And of course, there’s the also-famous roasted maple panna cotta for dessert, which represents the best of cold-weather flavors.

This Adams Morgan mainstay exudes warmth, from the vibrant Afghan rugs on the floor to the ’70s R&B playing in the background. Order everything from dumplings to the flatbreads to the kebabs and share with as many people as possible — or with that one special person.

The chandeliers and candelabras set the scene, the on-point pizzas and pastas complete it. There’s something comforting, if not downright romantic, about a meal here. For the ultimate comfort dish, order the bucatini which comes swirled in the most luscious garlic cream sauce.

The exceptional cooking at Rose’s has long spoken for itself, but might we remind you that the interior feels like an intimate dinner party, in the best way? Is it the lights strung overhead? The storefront windows? Any which way, this is a bright, well-lighted space you’ll want to be in come the colder days. Reservations aren’t always easy to come by, but these tips from the team at Rose’s might come in handy.

The somber tones and meaty focus of this transported Brooklyn tavern, courtesy of restaurateur Stephen Starr, are just the thing as colder weather arrives. The steaks are wood-fired, the deviled eggs come with blue crab, and, Pro tip: You’re going to want to cap your evening by getting warm from their remarkable collection of vintage Madeiras.

French vibes, encore une fois, this time for date night: The main courses here are as hearty as you’d want (boeuf Bourguignon, moules marinières), the crêpes Suzette get flambéed tableside in case you need a bit of warmth, and you can always begin or end the evening upstairs in the wine lounge, sinking into the comfy sofas for a glass or two.

The Residents team has a solid relationship with comfort — from the blankets draped over seats to the heated patio. And they can finesse it all day long, including at weekend brunch. Which is to say, you can transition from shakshuka to an espresso martini to the lavishness of lamb ragout and braised short ribs without missing a beat.

So, the hustle and vibrancy of El Prez might not immediately telegraph cozy, but perhaps you haven’t made your way to the sultry, velvet-covered theater room? We can highly recommend it for a cozy vibe. And besides, mezcal drinks are extra warming in the winter. Try the Carajillo, their take on an espresso martini.

Oh, you knew we’d have more recs for great, hearty cold-season pasta. The fluffy spinach ricotta gnocchi at this D.C. offshoot of the NYC original is its own heat-generating source (soaking gnocchi in a scallion butter is a very good way to say “I love you”), to say nothing of the rigatoni with a wild mushroom ragu. And, it being the season, the bombolini with mint-chocolate is just what you want when there’s a chill outside.