The Hottest New DC Restaurants You Need to Try Now
When new restaurants open, we check them out. This means that we subject our stomachs and social lives to the good, the bad, and more often than not, the perfectly fine. And every once in a while, a new spot makes us feel like Kamala Harris at a pantsuit sale. When that happens, we add it here, to The Hit List.
The Hit List is where you’ll find all of the best new restaurants in DC . As long as it opened within the past several months and we’re still talking about it, it’s on this guide. The latest addition might be a buzzy new restaurant with caviar priced by the bump. Or it might be an under-the-radar lunch counter where a few dollars will get something that’ll rattle around in your brain like a loose penny in a dryer.
Keep tabs on the Hit List and you will always know just which new restaurants you should be eating at right now.
New to the Hit List (6/20): Osteria Mozza
THE SPOTS
Osteria Mozza
Eighteen years after Nancy Silverton opened Osteria Mozza in LA, the iconic Italian restaurant has arrived in Georgetown . It doesn’t matter why or when you find yourself underneath the dining room’s soaring ceilings, eating at Osteria Mozza feels like an occasion. Start with the Focaccia di Recco. It’s not an option so much as a necessity—an ultra-thin, crispy, cheese-stuffed marvel finished with some of the best olive oil we’ve ever tasted. The sea trout is pan-seared to crisp-skinned perfection, its buttery flesh offset by the acidity of braised red cabbage, earthy Roveja peas, and the surprising richness of hard-boiled eggs. But if we had to pick just one reason to visit Osteria Mozza, it would be the dessert menu. The tiramisu is outstanding, but playing favorites feels unfair. If you decided to skip dinner entirely and focus solely on desserts, we wouldn’t judge you. In fact, we might join you.
The Occidental
Originally opened in 1906 a stone’s throw from the White House, generations of presidents, senators, and journalists have flocked to The Occidental to make history, or drink their way out of it. Now, after a century of grandeur interspersed with bouts of irrelevance, Stephen Starr has stepped in and dusted off the red velvet. The midcentury menu revives dishes that haven’t been on-trend since the Eisenhower administration, and does them so spectacularly you’ll wonder how exactly they went out of style in the first place. You’ll find the requisite raw bar with oysters and cold king crab legs, but also a nod to Soviet dining in the herring under a fur coat. There’s caviar and crab cakes, of course, but also pigs in a blanket, made from Hebrew National hot dogs wrapped in the Occidental’s soon-to-be-legendary biscuits. The Occidental is a loving homage—and an assertive return—to power dining with a wink and a flourish, where you can eat like a Kennedy and drink like a Cold War diplomat.
Tapori
If you want to do Tapori right, recruit a small army. You’ll want to fan out along the long table that runs almost the entire length of the dining room and order just a bit more of everything than seems reasonable. The new Indian-Nepalese spot comes from the people behind Daru , but the vibe here is decidedly more unbuttoned, thanks at least in part to the mixing of conversations and sharing of dishes that happens around that table covered in vintage tiles. Get the lotus root chaat, dusted with tamarind and black salt and served with a dollop of sweet yogurt on the side, and the panipuri, little baskets of fried dough filled with potato and chickpeas and topped with mango. If the achari macchi kebab seems omnipresent at the communal table, it’s for good reason. The salmon is coated in gram flour and mustard oil, charred, and served with a ginger glaze. Wash it down with Tapori’s take on a Boulevardier, made with Indian whiskey and tamarind.
Rosedale
Every now and again a restaurant comes along that feels like an instant institution. Rosedale, from the team behind Rasika , is one of those spots. When it opened late last year in Van Ness, it was almost immediately hard to imagine the neighborhood without it. The space leans into nostalgia without veering into kitsch, with dark wood beams, open shelving stocked with heirloom dishware and toy tractors, and a rotisserie of glistening chickens turning hypnotically behind the open kitchen. That rotating wall of birds is more than decor. Rosedale’s signature chicken, lacquered in a five-spice red wine jus, is a masterclass in crisp-skinned perfection, and the Tidal Basin pizza, with a sourdough crust that’s been nurtured since 1988, is a serious contender for one of DC’s best. Rosedale is the kind of restaurant that feels like it’s always been there. And if there’s any justice, it always will be.
Ama
If a love letter existed in restaurant form, it would look like Ama. Literally meaning “love” in Italian, the Navy Yard newcomer is intimate enough for a first date, but not so stuffy that you can’t waltz in for a solo dinner at the bar (where you can people-watch along New Jersey Ave). Always start with the focaccia di formaggio, which has got to be some of the best this side of the Atlantic. The blissful combo of fresh, flaky dough and melty cheese is so divine, you may find yourself levitating. Pasta is, of course, a must here, and the raviolini al tocco is the move. Stuffed with braised pasture-raised beef and escarole and dipped in a savory meat jus, you’ll wonder whether any other pasta dish in DC can compete. (At the moment? Doubtful.) Leave room for the tiramisu because A) tiramisu is always a good idea and B) the housemade mascarpone is magnificent.
Cordelia Fishbar
One of the newest spots in Union Market, Cordelia Fishbar is what the area was missing—a place casual enough to pop in after work without a reservation, but also delicious and buzzy enough to schedule a group dinner around. The fish-centric restaurant by the folks behind the iconic DC tavern Clyde’s excels in the group experience with soaring seafood towers filled with oysters, lobster salad, shrimp, and sturgeon caviar. Not in the mood for a fish high-rise? Their Rhode Island calamari, bluefin tuna tartar, and whole black sea bass are more subtle—but still delicious—options.
Minetta Tavern
It doesn’t matter if you visit Minetta Tavern for a cocktail at the bar alone on a Tuesday or plan weeks (months?) ahead for a Saturday dinner with friends that stress tests your credit limit. Much like at the original New York location , both experiences will feel special. The vibes—and seemingly the decor—have been air-lifted from Greenwich Village to Union Market, with buttered yellow light, black-and-white tiled floors, and burgundy banquette booths just asking to be splashed with a bit of gin from a full martini. Whenever you go, and for whatever occasion, order the coq au vin served with housemade gnocchi and wash it down with a Burgundy from the deep and French-leaning wine list.
La’ Shukran
La’ Shukran is its own self-contained world, a place to go when you want to forget you’re in DC and lose yourself in a Levantine salon with exceptional small plates, and the feeling that at any moment a dance party could break out and not end until dawn. Plates of hummus with beef tongue or escargot dot most tables, and an entire menu of cocktails made with arak are churned out from behind the bar. The Arab funk music is loud but never overpowering, and provides the perfect soundtrack for a hang with old friends, or a date night cozied up underneath a shelf of decorative (we think) hookahs.
a.kitchen+bar
Hidden in the basement of the Hotel AKA Washington Circle in Foggy Bottom , a.kitchen+bar is a sultry, secluded spot that feels like an underground terrarium, with windows peeking onto New Hampshire Avenue and vines trailing along the glass. The Philly transplant’s menu focuses on seasonal American plates—think flank steak, oysters, and ribs—but the highlight is the chickpea panisse. The crispy, steak fry-esque rectangles have a perfectly creamy inside and are served with grilled pickles for a tangy kick. The true star of the menu, however, isn’t on the menu at all—it's the unlisted creamy vegan chocolate sorbet, topped with pralines and toasted sesame. It's impossibly rich and decadent, and quite possibly the best way to end a meal in the entire city.
Dōgon
Things are done a little differently at Dōgon. The newest restaurant from Kwame Onwuachi, the chef behind Kith/Kin and Infatuation NYC’s highest-rated restaurant, Tatiana , is tucked in the lobby of the Salamander hotel on the Southwest Waterfront. Step inside the expansive dining room, beyond the pillars that create little nooks, and the soft R&B tunes playing overhead will invite you to settle in. You should. Everything you’ll taste on the Afro-Caribbean menu starts at very good and dips into incredible. While there are a few traditional Caribbean and Pan-African dishes, nothing is quite what you might expect. The Hoe Crab? Delightful silver-dollar-sized plantain hoe cakes with delicately seasoned crab meat in a crab shell. It all feels playful, and it all goes down very, very well.
