Best of The Hit List Washington D.C.
The 10 Restaurants That Defined D.C. Dining in 2025
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We asked our contributors to the Resy Hit List to share their top dining experiences in their cities this year — to choose 10 restaurants that define the state of great dining right now. Welcome back our Best of The Hit List for 2025.
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2025 was the year the District proved it has staying power as a world-class restaurant city. Our nation’s capital is best-known for its wide range of global cuisines, and chefs who continue to reimagine what’s possible on the plate.
Recent newcomers like Minetta Tavern’s Keith McNally from New York City and Osteria Mozza’s Nancy Silverton settled into our city, and became power-dining venues for the see-and-be-seen set. We also welcomed not one but two Canadian concepts — Casamara and Reynold’s — from Toronto’s Scale Hospitality, giving Dupont Circle a new reason to get dressed up for dinner.
But this year’s spotlight has to go to D.C.’s hospitality stalwarts. This includes Tail Up Goat, which concludes service for good at the end of the month as strong as it started, and will live on in our hearts and stomachs.
Other restaurant veterans made triumphant returns to D.C. That includes the West African-Diaspora dishes at Dōgon from “Top Chef” alum Kwame Onwuachi, as well as street food favorites, like cheesy Georgian khachapuri, at what was once Compass Rose and is now Sook, an all-day, global cafe. Other hospitality veterans launched hotly anticipated sequels from Tapori (the Daru team) and Maison (the restaurant group behind Lapis, Lutèce, and Pascual).
No doubt, 2025 certainly came with unique challenges, including the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, but D.C. restaurants rose to every occasion, bringing new energy to a city where restaurants still hold the balance of power. And so, it’s time to highlight the 10 restaurants that defined eating and drinking here this year.
1. Maison Adams Morgan
D.C.’s most exciting restaurant of the year is tucked away in a historic Adams Morgan rowhouse with a menu of extravagant French dishes. It’s not just a wine bar, though some might start with bubbles, or perhaps a vibrant Beaujolais. Whet your appetite with some small bites — freshly shucked Mid-Atlantic oysters or tuna crudo, perhaps? Then go for the crispy eel croquettes or impossibly savory, puff-pastry topped escargots. Continue your Francophile journey by indulging in the brioche chicken, stuffed under the skin with green garlic and Parmesan cheese. Chef Matt Conroy roasts the whole bird, then carves it to order with a side of gravy and chanterelles. Finish an incredible meal with both Basque cheesecake and profiteroles topped with a rich rum caramel sauce. Maison is like your home, if everything tasted perfect.
2. Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi Southwest Washington
Dōgon is celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi’s third act of sorts. Having established himself in D.C., he opened critically acclaimed Tatiana in New York. But he’s back in D.C. with this restaurant, which exudes sleek date-night vibes from the moment you enter the doorway. It’s 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-inspired 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). The cocktail program features low-proof and zero-proof drinks curated by D.C. bartender Derek Brown, as well as exciting new options like a Jamaican-themed basil smash.
3. Tail Up Goat Adams Morgan
The countdown is on to try Tail Up Goat one last time, after its decade-long run as D.C.’s destination wine bar with an incredible array of signature dishes, like chef Jon Sybert‘s marinated soy pork chop and crispy salt-cod fritters. This joins several new and fiery additions, like Nashville hot sweetbreads with shiso ranch and pickles served on chef Aiden McGuiggin’s milk bread. Or a dish that screams Maryland-fresh: Chesapeake Bay rockfish with perfectly crisp skin, served with sunchoke, lentils, celery, and dates. All of which to say that TUG is going out as interesting and fresh as it began. And when she’s not baking bread, McGuiggin is churning out decadent desserts like layered malt chocolate cake and Carolina gold rice pudding, which is to say, the ending here will be sweet indeed.
4. Sook 14th Street, NW
What was once Compass Rose has been reincarnated into an all-day, global cafe that channels the look-and-feel of restaurateur Rose Previte’s original vision, but now with all-day hours, plus a robust coffee and natural wine bar. Her globe-trotting restaurant is now known as Sook. And it recently opened with breakfast including Lebanese platters and cheesy Georgian khachapuri. Soon it will expand to all-day service and include other bar snacks and a market with grab-and-go sandwiches, spices from her restaurant Maydan, and an extravagant shrimp cocktail that’s easy to pair with one of the many spritzes served at the bar for happy hour. Consider this your all-day D.C. hangout for the new year.
No reservations. Find more info here.
5. KAYU Dupont
You can definitely call this the comeback of the year. When Kayu closed up shop on H Street, NE, it quickly pivoted to a cross-town location in Dupont Circle, where the restaurant is able to live on serving up some of the best Filipino fare in D.C. The new menu is a slight departure from the previous iteration. Instead of a tasting menu format, there are now smaller plates and sides, including lumpia, of course, that fit into the smaller space. Signature dishes include Dungca’s spicy and savory cassava cake, plus chicken Tocino with sweet garlic soy, annatto oil, and salted egg.
6. Osteria Mozza – DC Georgetown
Chef Nancy Silverton has gone bicoastal with the expansion of Mozza to tony Georgetown. Her new restaurant is not only massive, but breathtaking in design, reconfiguring the old Georgetown Market, with a menu that pulls from her original restaurant. Dishes revolve around the massive hearth for wood-fired cooking, a station for handmade pastas, and an entire section of the menu devoted to pizza. Top choices to sample include Nancy’s Favorite Trio, with delicate mounds of mozzarella di bufala garnished with Cantabrian anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes. and peppers, accompanied by Silverton’s crisp, golden brown fett’unta (think of it as the best garlic bread you’ve ever tasted). Her devotees will also recognize legendary dishes like pollo alla diavola, and tagliatelle with oxtail ragu.
7. I Egg You Capitol Hill
This all-day diner on Capitol Hill from chefs Danny Lee and Scott Drewno (Anju, Fried Rice Collective) has a devoted following with a line out the door to prove its popularity. No matter your preference, whether it’s a perfectly made puffin (Korean milk bread blueberry muffin), stacked turkey bacon BLT with a fried egg (a dish that uses smoked turkey from D.C.’s best BBQ joint 2Fifty), or a more traditional Korean comfort dish — fried egg with bean curds — this restaurant has got you covered. What we love most about this place is its playful attitude too. For instance, Pedialyte, Liquid IV, Gatorade, and coconut water are all on the menu for some rehydration after a night out with friends.
Find more info here.
8. Tapori H Street Corridor
Take one step into Tapori, and you feel almost as though you’ve been whisked away to one of the great bustling markets on the Indian subcontinent. That’s by design, as restaurateur Dante Datta and chef Suresh Sundas want you to drink and dine alongside strangers, in communal seating, with colorful design touches inspired by Bollywood. The cocktail program calls on Indian spices and fruits, like jackfruit puree, Kashmiri chile, and bright and juicy hibiscus. Go-to dishes include the lotus root chaat, deep-fried and served with tamarind, sweet yogurt, mint chutney, and kachumber salad, as well as the kitchen’s take on vada pav (a crisp spiced patty of mashed potato and chutneys ensconced in a soft white roll). But the sleeper hit might be the achari macchi kebab: wild North Atlantic halibut, cooked tandoor-style.
9. La Tejana Mt Pleasant
The go-to spot for breakfast tacos has to be this Mount Pleasant stalwart. Our top pick is the Tio Willie, a breakfast taco that combines scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, and a drizzle of queso — no surprise it’s one of the more popular picks on the menu. Or go for the Super Migas, a vegetarian option, loaded with fixings to see you through the day. This shop also partnered up with 2Fifty BBQ to offer an Austin-themed taco known as the 512. It’s a taco stuffed chock-full of Texas-style brisket, cheesy scrambled eggs, queso, and pico de gallo. We also love the new second floor bar and lounge space. Consider this your relaxing sit-down spot for sipping cocktails well into the evening. The evening menu includes bowls of queso and guacamole, plus pitchers of margaritas for happy hour.
10. Fish Shop Southwest Washington
For a taste of the freshest Chesapeake seafood, drop anchor at Fish Shop. This nautical-themed dining room and patio is popular at brunch, lunch, or dinner, and includes all-day bites like smoked trout crumpets, or Chesapeake rockfish grilled over the open flame. This being the mid-Atlantic, you cannot pass up the opportunity to try oysters caught from Tall Timbers in southern Maryland or the Chesapeake blue crab salad. It is also one of the best happy hour deals found along The Wharf, with $12 spritzes and Old Bay fries for $6.
