9 Best Restaurants in Washington D.C.
History is what makes Washington D.C. so great. Everywhere you go, even if it’s just to a restaurant, you will experience the rich history Washington D.C. has to offer. During your corporate stay with Dharma Home Suites, make sure you get a taste of the superb foods Washington D.C. restaurants have to offer. We have compiled a list of some of the best places to eat. Browse through and decide what you’re in the mood for. Happy eating!
American Restaurants
- 1789 Restaurant: The 1789 Restaurant gets its name due to the year it was bought by Archbishop John Carroll, the founder of Georgetown University. This was also the year the Constitution was adopted! In 2014 Samuel Kim came to be the executive chef for the restaurant. Having found his culinary passion here in 2004 he came back after gaining more experience and knowledge.
Now, Executive Chef Kim brings Washington D.C. residents and visitors a daily changing menu based on fresh ingredients. 1789 Restaurant offers delicious three course meals with wine pairings. The restaurant has also been chosen as one of the “100 Best Restaurants” and is recognized annually by DiRonna for dining excellence.
- Blue Duck Tavern : Receiving three stars by the Washington Post and “Award of Excellence” by Wine Spectator is no easy feet. Blue Duck Tavern has accomplished a long list of awards. Its wood burning oven and slow-roasted cuisine, along with its extensive list of wines is no doubt the reason why so many Washington D.C. residents have chosen this as a local favorite for drinks after work.
Enjoy cheese boards, fermented vegetables, and jam assembled by Chef de Cuisine, Brad Deboy. Brad Deboy has worked at award winning restaurants and gained plenty of experienced while working with Chef Angela Hartnett, a protégé of Gordon Ramsey himself!
- Bistro Bis: Endive salade, steak tartare, salade frisée, beef bourguignon, and steak frites are just a few of the delicious meals you’ll savor at Bistro Bis. The bistro is located on Washington D.C.’s Capitol Hill so if you decide to pay a visit you’ll be enjoying the company of congressmen, senators, and even celebrities.
Jeffery Buben leads his restaurant as the owner and chef. Jeffery is a Culinary Institute graduate and winner of the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic 1999.” He owns three restaurants, so if experience says anything about a restaurant, you can rest assured that this will be a delectable experience.
- Bistro Cacao: “Similarly, what made the hanger steak so good one night wasn’t the quality of the meat but the attention lavished on its simple preparation. A good, coarse crust of salt and pepper made for a strong textural contrast with the rosy-hued meat and obviated the need for the accompanying cup of Dijon. The matchstick fries were treated to fresh oil and fried to a clean, greaseless turn.”
This review from the Washingtonian says it all about Chef Owner Kemal Deger and his restaurant. Partnered up with the Bloukbasi brothers, Kemal Deger transformed a dying restaurant from a modern Turkey style to an old European inspired bistro, bringing you quality French dishes.
Italian Restaurants
- Al Tiramisu: Italian restaurants are as every bit about the experience as the food itself. Al Tiarmisu’s website declares, “’Cozy, warm, and joyful’ are the words most often used to describe Washington DC’s ‘most authentic’ Italian restaurant. A celebrity favorite for decades…” The delicious food and memorable experience is all thanks to the vision of award-winning Chef/Restaurateur Luigi Diotaiuti.
You might ask, “What award did he win?” None other than the “Insegna del Ristorante Italiano,” also known as the seal of approval by the President of Italy. If the President of Italy himself likes the house made fettuccine, with veal ragù, or the marinated Portobello mushrooms, local goat cheese, fresh herbs, and mesclun salad, so much so that he awarded this restaurant with his seal of approval, you know it’s going to be delicious.
- Tosca: Who can you trust the most to make authentic and mouth-watering Italian food? An Italian native of course! Executive Chef Matteo Venini was born in Italy and studied at the Academy of Castalimenti and Etolie and La Cucina Italiana in Milan. His passion truly takes an art form. He creates dishes from local produce, fresh house made pastas and farm-raised local proteins.
If you get a chance to see him you’ll see some of those same ingredients tattooed on his arms. If that’s not passion for cooking I don’t know what is. Here’s what the Washington Post Magazine has to say on the restaurant, “Tosca might be the most moving-and shaking restaurant in town…”
Seafood Grills
- BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant: Sustainable living is beginning to catch on at long last. With sustainable living comes conscientious consumption. Washington D.C.’s Blacksalt Fish Market & Restaurant keeps these ideas in mind when serving you delicious seafood.
The market & restaurant has its own farms for the seafood it serves. So you can enjoy buttered lobster tail, New England clam chowder, and blue shell mussels without ever feeling guilty, unless of course you have the chowder and are on a diet. Blacksalt Fish Market and Restaurant is another one of Washingtonian’s 100 best restaurants.
- Legal Sea Foods: “…is a fish company in the restaurant business.” This is a simple yet delectable restaurant to choose for seafood in Washington D.C. At the beginning they served seafood on paper plates and had other accents of humbleness. Don’t let the humble beginnings fool you though; USA today ranked Legal Sea Foods as the #1 seafood restaurant.
The Washingtonian even said, “Best place for great seafood.” It’s election year, which means they’ll soon be serving their inaugural clam chowder!
Spanish Restaurants
- Barcelona Wine Bar 14th Street: Located on 14th street, Barcelona Wine Bar offers award-winning tapas, known as Spanish appetizers, to the table. Adam Greenberg is the executive chef at the Washington D.C. location. Rightfully so when you look at his background studying underneath several world-renowned chefs and earning cum laude at Johnson & Wales for culinary arts.
He prepares fresh dishes and ingredients such as swordfish, calamari, garlic aioli, cow’s milk feta, caperberries, and much more.
Other Notable Restaurants to Try
Fortunately, Washington D.C. is filled to the brim with delicious places to eat. Unfortunately, it would take an incredibly long and boring article to describe all of the quality restaurants. Here are some more restaurants to check out for those who want more options than provided here.
- Boqueria Washington D.C.
- Proof
- Bistro Du Coin
- Rasika
- Jyoti Indian Cuisine
- II Canale
- Hank’s Oyster Bar
- Del Campo
- El Chalan Restaurant
- Grill from Ipanema
Happy feasting Dharma Guests!
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