11 Great D.C. Tasting Menus Under $100

The $85 set menu at the award-winning Anju is the efficient route through Danny Lee and Angel Barreto’s nouvelle Korean cooking: pork-and-kimchi mandu, gochujang fried chicken, and reimagined street food, paired with soju and makgeolli twists. The name refers to Korean drinking snacks, and the whole place leans into that spirit — bold, a little boozy, and meant for sharing. The set menu takes the guesswork out and lets the kitchen show its full range in one sitting. And take note: the set menu requires full table participation.

Price: $85 per person.

The grill-your-own sibling to Dear Sushi under the same roof: a Michelin-recognized Japanese steakhouse where you cook A5 wagyu and American beef over a smokeless tabletop grill. The barbecue omakase — snacks, sides, wagyu, and dessert — runs $68. Korean influences turn up in the sides, from napa kimchi to a bubbling kimchi stew, and the meat is the kind of quality you usually pay far more to cook yourself. Bring people you like talking to; this one is built for a table.

Price: $68 per person.

Rubén García, an El Bulli veteran and José Andrés’s right hand for 16 years, cooks the open-fire, seasonal Catalan food of his heritage. The $42 lunch prix-fixe is the way in under budget (the dinner tasting jumps to $140); don’t skip the build-your-own pa amb tomàquet or the creamy croquetas. Nearly everything runs through an oak-fired oven, an homage to the home cooks García grew up around in Terrassa. Tucked into the Square downtown, it’s one of the area’s best midday deals.

Price: $42 per person during lunch.

Chef Makoto Okuwa’s omakase runs from seasonal snacks through several sushi courses to dessert, and doesn’t have to be ordered by the whole table. The express version is $42, a rare sub-$50 omakase from a chef of this pedigree. Okuwa launched his American career in D.C. decades ago behind the counter at Sushi Taro, and this is his homecoming, now the anchor of the Love, Makoto collection. Grab a seat at the counter and let the chef steer.

Price: $42 per person.

Served daily in a warm room overlooking Church Street, the five-course tasting doesn’t require full table participation. Chef Nick Palermo changes the menu constantly and that daily availability (and no all-in requirement) makes it one of the most flexible tasting menus in the region, ideal for a spontaneous weekday. À la carte is on offer too, but the tasting is the way to watch the kitchen think out loud.

Price: Expect it to range from $73 to $89 per person on any given night (price fluctuates, call ahead to confirm final cost if needed).

With a lunch prix-fixe of $60 and dinner at $80, this is the smart way to get introduced to wagyu and other specialty cuts without ordering blind (or getting overwhelmed). The kitchen builds the progression for you, so you get a guided tour of the marbling instead of a guessing game at the grill. Tableside cooking keeps it interactive without the sticker shock of most wagyu-forward steakhouses. And take note: the set menu requires full table participation.

Price: $60 per person during lunch, $80 per person during dinner.

Chef Paolo Dungca‘s streamlined return keeps the ambition and drops the ceremony: three courses for $65. The short menu is the sweet spot, a serious chef’s cooking well under budget. The room is small and the service unhurried, the kind of place where the kitchen would rather you trust it than scan a menu. Order the seven-course if you want the full argument for what modern Filipino cooking can be. And take note: The tasting menu requires full table participation.

Price: $65 per person for three courses.

Tucked above its sister wine bar Apéro, La Bohème is quite possibly the most photogenic $99 in town. The price includes four courses and is a rotating tasting built around a different artist, film, or writer each season. Each menu is a fully committed bit, from the plating to the soundtrack, so dinner reads as much as theater as it does a meal. Start with a glass of Champagne and a little caviar at Apéro downstairs and make a full night of it.

Price: $99 per person.

A $59 dinner tasting in a 10-table husband-and-wife bistro where the menu turns over with the season and the garden — it’s a small, personal, and genuine steal. Since the room barely seats more than two dozen guests, dinner comes with the kind of attention big kitchens can’t offer. It’s been a quiet Vienna favorite for years, and the tasting is the best value on the board.

Price: $59 per person.

At $59, one of the most economical tasting menus in the city, veggie-forward and hyperlocal in a cozy brownstone off Logan Circle. Order a cocktail from the flavor-organized list while you’re at it. The menu shifts with whatever’s coming out of nearby farms, so no two visits look quite alike. It’s the rare tasting format that feels less like an occasion and more like a very good neighborhood dinner.

Price: $59 per person.

A single, weekly-changing prix-fixe at $55 per person before service, built around locally sourced bread, four main dishes, and dessert. The menu posts by Wednesday, so you know what you’re in for. Everyone in the room eats the same thing, which is the whole idea: one focused menu the kitchen can execute perfectly rather than a sprawling list. Come as a pair and it’s one of the best dinners for $110 for two in the city.

Price: $55 per person.