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.
Consider it your essential resource for dining in and around Washington, D.C.: a monthly-updated 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
- Where to Eat by the National Mall: January will be busy between the Women’s March and Inauguration weekend. When your feet get sore and your belly screams “feed me,” head to nearby restaurants, like Immigrant Food – White House and Mariscos 1133 for either grab-and-go or sit down dining options near downtown.
- Dry January Drinks: If you are going alcohol-free for January, then consider booking a reservation at one of several restaurants across the city offering zero-proof cocktails. Drink options include special menus at Joon in Tysons, River Club in Georgetown, and Lapis in Adams Morgan. Maintaining a wet January? We got you, too.
- Celebrate ICE! at National Harbor: As the temperature dips downward, why not revel in the icy conditions with ICE! at National Harbor — a sub-zero carved ice exhibit that was recently extended to January for visitors to see up close. Great spots to dine before or after include The Walrus Oyster & Ale House – National Harbor and Tom’s Watch Bar – DC.
- Best Wings for Game Day: Football comes with a great debate: Which bar has the best wings? Is it Boundary Stone’s honey hot wings or the hot wings at Duffy’s? Or maybe it’s the honey BBQ wings at The Dubliner. Truly, you can’t go wrong with any of these options. Maybe let your game-day crew decide.
New to the Hit List (Jan. 2025)
Amelie, Bantam King, Eatopia Eatery, Frankly Pizza, KIYOMI Sushi by Uchi, Minetta Tavern DC, Osteria Morini, Providencia, Revel.
1. La’ Shukran Union Market District
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 was 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.
2. Providencia H St. Corridor
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.
3. Pascual Capitol Hill
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.
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. Minetta Tavern DC Union Market
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.
7. Frankly Pizza Kensington
Kensington was once a sleepy Maryland suburb but has recently become a hotbed of restaurant activity, including these wood-fired pizzas. They emerge piping hot, deep golden to mahogany brown with an intended bubbly, charred (not burnt) crust. The menu features a half-dozen red and white pies, with a catalogue of extra toppings for personalizing to your preference, plus homemade focaccia, and desserts like a triple chocolate flourless brownie.
8. Amelie DC Logan Circle
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.
9. Eatopia Eatery U Street Corridor
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.
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. 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.
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. Osteria Morini DC Navy Yard
D.C. chefs Matt Adler and Kris Jimenez recently refreshed the menu options at the Osteria, a cornerstone of Italian fare in Navy Yard. New dishes lean to the influences of Northern Italy including several new pastas: osso bucco ravioli with saffron butter, tortellini in brodo, and baked polenta topped with a rich mushroom ragu. They also recently introduced a new pasta tasting menu where you can sample these dishes together for just $50. The tasting includes a selection of four pastas plus dessert — a perfect way to share family-style or indulge solo.
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. Bantam King Chinatown
What was once a former Burger King is now one of D.C.’s hottest ramen shops. Bantam King serves ramen in various Japanese styles from shoyu to spicy miso and the classic shio style. Don’t forget to order a side of crispy fried chicken. Like the ramen, the fried chicken comes in a variety of savory flavors, from Nashville hot to curry snow fried chicken. If you make it to dessert, the big fat chocolate chip cookie may be the best there is in the city. It’s a warm, gooey cookie stuffed with Valrhona chocolate and includes rendered chicken adding to the decadence factor.
Walk-ins welcome. Find more info here.
16. KIYOMI Sushi by Uchi Downtown
Most omakase experiences put an emphasis on an experience where you have to whisper if you talk. Not at Kiyomi, which is a sushi bar smack-dab in the middle of The Square food hall in downtown D.C. This is more of a sushi party, with ’90s pop playing in the background as you savor fresh cuts of monkfish, fatty tuna, and uni in successive pairings. This counter is also one of the best bargains in the city for a quick omakase at lunch. Seven pieces of sushi, hand roll, and miso soup by chef Masa Uchi are available Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 pm at $40 per person.
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. Revel Belle View, Alexandria
This wine bar is the definition of a hidden gem. It’s tucked into the Belle View Shopping Center in Alexandria and may look low-key from the outside, but it’s packed with wine options, including a local Virginia option from Paradise Springs plus old world and California regional wines. It also amends its robust and uncommon wine selection with a vibrant cocktail menu, and a global menu from gougères to gumbo and dips like labneh or pimento cheese. The vibe is all about reveling in good food and drinks.
