The Resy Hit List: Where In D.C. You’ll Want to Eat in May 2025

Providencia is more than a cocktail bar — it’s a gathering place to enjoy rotating secret menus, seasonal specials and guest chef collaborations. Co-owners Erik Bruner-Yang, Paola Velez, Pedro Tobar, and Daniel Gonzalez came together to entice guests to experience one of the city’s most intimate dining spots, with just 22 seats. Dare we say this is the sweetest bar in D.C. too? Bright, cute, and comfy — like any neighborhood bar should be — and with an even sweeter menu thanks to signature dessert dishes like a Baked Alaska with shaved ice, and cocktails like the Lights of the Night Market, a gin-mezcal sour with pandan. We especially love this partnership because it allows Velez to bring her creative cultural storytelling to a new physical space.

One of 2024’s most highly lauded restaurants, with good reason. Wife-and-husband team Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy of Lutèce  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.

D.C. has an abundance of Ethiopian restaurants, but what if you had to pick just one? Then it must be Tsehay, if only to sample the doro wat and kitfo, arguably the city’s best, not to mention the fresh teff injera made daily. Ask almost any D.C. cab driver, and they will tell you Tsehay is their top pick, too. It’s especially a go-to if you are looking for a vegetarian or vegan-friendly option, with a hefty combo platter that includes seven different vegetables and legumes, from freshly stewed collards (gomen) to spicy red lentils (misir).

New York City restaurateur Keith McNally’s has brought his cherished Greenwich Village tavern to D.C. with all the elements that made the original such a hit: dark woods, aged photos, a gorgeous hand-painted mural over red leather banquettes, and tables close enough to join into conversation. Let’s not forget the American-meets-French menu: favorites include the Black Label burger, roasted bone marrow, French onion soup, coq au vin, and a perfect Vesper that will make you weep. Just don’t forget to make your way to the bar upstairs.

This all-day café, market, and restaurant hails from the team behind Nina May and Opal in D.C. In the morning, guests enter a bright market and coffee bar offering freshly baked pastries. For lunch, sample comforting favorites like crunchy chow mein noodles, patty melts, or lamb and tzatziki pizza. At happy hour, cocktails are made with seasonal ingredients, and the evening experience offers full-service dining and a menu of American classics, indulgent pastas, and a short-rib lasagna that’s layer upon layer of savory indulgence.

Chef Suresh Sundas of Daru has opened a second Indian-ish restaurant along H Street, and people are clamoring to grab a seat. The menu combines all of his experiences in cooking street fare from markets across India that he frequents — everything from kebabs to lotus root chaat. But Nepalese dishes are also on the menu thanks to the talents of chef Baburam Sharma, who joined this effort and has been cooking for nearly two decades in Nepal. What originally started as a long-distance Zoom collaboration eventually turned to what we see today at Tapori, a menu with Himalayan-style dosas, momos, and pani puri.

U Street has a new Ethiopian restaurant with a side of jazz, art, and storytelling nights. The menu is filled with traditional dishes, and each bite tells a story. Take for instance the essential berbere-spiced chicken stew known as doro wat, Ethiopia’s national dish (and understandably so). But there’s plenty more to love, including exceptional plant-based specialties and seafood entrées to vibrant communal vegetable platters.

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.

This Japanese culinary collection from internationally celebrated chef Makoto Okuwa, part of a giant food hall, plays host to a full-service sushi omakase experience for dinner, featuring “new school” and “old school” sushi techniques, plus an omakase express lunch, and plenty of à la carte options like hand rolls and Japanese A5 wagyu that you grill over a tableside hot stone. Need something sweet after dinner? Head to the back of the food hall and order one of the many heart-shaped donuts offered at Love on the Run.

It’s farewell to fondue, and hello to steak frites again this summer. D.C.’s only Swiss-themed restaurant, Stable DC, temporarily closed this spring and reopened quickly as a steak frites spot, serving a limited-run spring and summer menu with inspiration from Paris and Geneva. All steaks here are served medium rare for maximum enjoyment over Café de Paris compound butter — a special recipe unique to the restaurant. This is a value-driven experience too, with a prix-fixe offer at $39.95 per person. That includes bread and butter service, a salad, frites, and steak. Plus, a rotating vegetarian option, as well as sides and snacks like fresh oysters, poached shrimp cocktail, and Coupe Romanoff for dessert.

This Francophile’s dream has all the requisites: beef tartare, mussels, seared hanger steak with wispy, crisp frites, and Niçoise salad. The long and airy space is the perfect date night option. The restaurant is unfussy and vibey, just what you want when enjoying an earthy Côtes du Rhône or a Frenchified cocktail.

This new Dupont Circle restaurant springs forth from cwner Tanya Kim. Her culinary journey led her to an intensive cooking school in Seoul, absorbing Joseon Dynasty cooking standards and the Hansik approach to seasonality. Kim merges those centuries-old notions into thoughtful modern approaches. The dining experience begins with a ceremonial tea cleanse, and squash porridge dusted with flower powder. This prepares diners for the exploration ahead, where bright housemade kimchi accompanies a series of creations that each represent a region, custom, or season.

Chef Alfredo Solis (of Mezcalero and El Sol fame) took this lively Columbia Heights Mexican seafood restaurant to new heights with an expanded menu that includes pizzas inspired by the Mexican coasts. Think pies topped with chicken mole or chile relleno, alongside classic seafood dishes like shrimp aguachile, fish tacos, and pulpo a la diabla. Cocktails are similarly fresh and dynamic, with options ranging from a paloma infused with ancho chile to a sotol-based jungle bird.

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).

Book it to Beth’s for date night in Bethesda. This swanky new restaurant from Deniz and Celal Gulluoglu (with ala | DC in Dupont Circle) recently opened an all-purpose restaurant, great for date nights, but also family dinners, business lunches, or weekend brunch. The menu features Maryland-sourced seafood and dishes that reinterpret American staples. The bites section of the menu includes Chesapeake Bay-style crab dip, plus seafood tacos, and a hefty smash burger.