Current Time
Currency
Weather
Advertisement
restaurants
Washington, D.C. restaurants
Washington, D.C.'s dining scene has come a long way since the days when lobbyists and lawmakers peddled influence in wood-paneled steak houses and fussy French restaurants. Today, deals are still brokered over meals, but food no longer takes a backseat: A young professional workforce has demanded fresher, more innovative fare. Ferran Adrià protégé José Andrés jump-started the scene in 1993 with the opening of his tapas restaurant, Jaleo; his local empire now runs the gamut from lively taco spot to eight-seat, 30-course molecular gastronomic experience. These, as well as other standouts, such as Rasika and Proof, are mostly downtown and in the Penn Quarter. Dupont Circle and the emerging U Street corridor are home to neighborhood spots such as Hank's Oyster Bar and the Belgian soul food restaurant Marvin, where Obama staffers often congregate.
D.C. is the province of the power lunch, and at spots like the Oval Room and Central, it's tougher to score a table in the afternoon than at night. You can reserve a table a few days in advance at all but the most popular restaurants (CityZen, Minibar). Prime dinner hours run from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, a little later on weekends. Washington is also a big brunch town: On weekends, the eggs Benedict and Bloody Mary crowd descend on Dupont Circle, U Street, and Capitol Hill.
Completely revamped by restaurant design guru Tony Chi in summer 2006 this restaurant at the Park Hyatt, once a prix fixe, white-linen affair, now sports a...more
The number of expats crowding D.C.'s embassies and nonprofits has created a cottage industry of restaurants offering them a taste of home. For Brits, that means...more
Jamie Leeds made a name for herself at 15 ria (1515 Rhode Island Ave. N.W.; 202-742-0015; www.15ria.com), but she longed for her own place in her own...more
You don't necessarily expect a Puckish sense of humor with such serious food, but because superchef Michel Richard originally trained as a pastry chef,...more
A six-stool outpost on the second floor of the popular Café Atlántico is the smallest restaurant in Spanish chef José Andrés's...more
RSS Feeds