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

Your new bar bestie should be Bar Betsie. It’s high on theatrics and neon decor, with dishes meant to serve up a party vibe. It’s also the latest nightlife hub in Union Market from the team behind Logan Circle institution Jane Jane. It’s especially a bar filled with nostalgia-fueled finger foods like Lil’ Smokies (mini hot dogs) with a sweet-and-savory barbecue sauce and grape jelly sauce or tangy Buffalo chicken dip loaded with Frito-style scoops. The bar’s divey-meets-swanky vibe carries over to the drinks menu. Inventive house creations include the bold Silent Star (rye, Cognac, lime, crème de cacao, and chocolate bitters) and the zesty Devil in a Red Dress (Tequila, passion fruit liqueur, and lime, topped with a splash of pinot noir). 

 Walk-ins only. Find more info here. 

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.

The Duke’s empire is expanding, with a new location that opened earlier this year in Potomac, Md. What this means is more proper burgers to go around. This might be D.C.’s best burger and you can try it at their Foggy Bottom or Woodley Park locations too. But Duke’s isn’t just known for its double-stack burger. Find British pub and tuck shop favorites like fish and chips, bangers and mash, and a “posh” BLT with avocado. While it may reach for dishes across the pond, the drinks menu features local brews, like Maryland’s Silver Branch and Denizen’s Brewing, plus regional cocktails like the orange crush — a summertime staple offered year-round here.

A slice is always nice at Boogy & Peel. This Dupont Circle pizza shop is best-known for its inventive takes on slices. Chef Rachael Jennings makes unique pizzas like the Kelly Ruben topped with pastrami, Swiss, and sauerkraut, or a shredded lettuce, special sauce, beef, and pickles pizza that’s an ode to the Big Mac. It’s also one of the best places near work for happy hour, with $2 off craft beers, $3 off wines by the glass, and $9 cocktails from 4:30-6:30 p.m. and all day on Thursdays. You can also check Instagram on Wednesdays for a rotating pie special that is half-off during happy hour.

We won’t gatekeep D.C.’s best restaurant, located discreetly off the Lyle Hotel lobby. The calm and moody boutique hotel also houses an art deco-inspired restaurant and bar, with dishes that evoke the feeling of home-away-from-home cooking. Dinner starts with cheddar biscuits, puffed perfectly and ready to be slabbed with butter. Other menu highlights include the charred cabbage with fish sauce and short ribs topped with saffron. But the must-order dish here is the shrimp mezze rigatoni with chile butter, a savory pasta with some spicy kick. Pro tip: Save room for dessert. Lyle’s legendary banana bread has been on the menu since day one, but we are also partial to the whoopie pie with butterscotch syrup.

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.

Casamara is Dupont Circle’s newest and most expansive outdoor dining perch, overlooking the vibrant neighborhood with a sun-kissed menu of Mediterranean coastal cuisine. Top dishes include sardine toast with avocado aioli, pickled red onion, almonds, and fresh herbs, or the delicate and citrusy branzino crudo, with Italian peppers, and hints of basil and lemon, brought together with an exquisite single-origin olive oil. Take in the views while sipping a summer-themed cocktail like the Pepperoncini-tini, a playful twist on a dirty martini featuring vodka and pepperoncini brine, topped with feta-stuffed olives, or taste the Donatella’s Kiss, mixing reposado Tequila with a kick of Calabrian chile, and topped off with ginger soda and honey.

Their groundbreaking Anju may get more plaudits for its role in transforming the Korean American dining landscape, but the mother-and-son team of Yesoon and Danny Lee for many years have won over D.C. dining devotees with their original project. This upscale Mount Vernon Square dining room features excitingly complex Korean fare. Savory Korean comfort dishes range from the traditional — think dolsot bibimbap and bulgogi — to creative mash-up dishes like Korean fried chicken sliders sauced in a sweet-and-spicy soy glaze on toasted brioche buns with Kewpie mayo and pickled radish. And, yes, it now takes reservations.

After abruptly closing on H Street at the end of June, Kayu by chef Paolo Dungca is officially back. The James Beard Foundation 2025 Emerging Chef Semifinalist reopened his modern Filipino restaurant in August. The more casual, streamlined version of chef Paolo’s former Filipino tasting room offers some new spins and old favorites from the previous menu, including a sweet corn agnolotti, cassava cake with crab fat and trout roe, and ube bao bun chorizo burgers with crispy pork belly and a chickpea stew. Enjoy a glass of chenin blanc or a tamarind margarita while snacking on bites at the bar or sitting down for a full dinner in the airy dining room or patio space.

Chef Enrique Limardo recently expanded the menu, more than doubling the number of dishes offered, and highlighting the range of flavors found across Central and South America and beyond, with several dishes that take notes from Chinese or French cooking. The focus is on small, shareable dishes, with the added benefit of lower price points to sample a wide array of options. Try the umami-bomb Twilight Zone escargots, topped with spicy chorizo and a shiso-parsley aioli, then covered in melted goat cheese. Other favorites include earth dumplings stuffed with shrimp, morcilla, and sofrito, or the lamb lo mein noodles plated hot from the wok and coated in spicy passion fruit garlic sauce. Among larger-format dishes, don’t miss the whole grilled octopus.

Hitching Post has been in operation for more than five decades, with customers always coming back for more mac ‘n’ cheese, fried pickles, and mashed potatoes. But don’t sleep on other soul-filling staples, like fried chicken, blackened catfish, and Maryland-style crabcakes. Neighbors typically head to this bar and restaurant in Petworth whenever they need an excuse not to cook at home. Located at the at the corner of Upshur Street and Rock Creek Road, the patio might be your preferred spot to gather a group of friends for happy hour or head into the dining room for a family-style feast.