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Michele’s debuted a tasting menu this month featuring an heirloom tomato salad dotted with smoked Stilton blue cheese.
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16 Tasting Menus to Try in D.C. Right Now

Fantastic prix fixe feasts ranging from affordable to excessive, and brand new to tried-and-true

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Michele’s debuted a tasting menu this month featuring an heirloom tomato salad dotted with smoked Stilton blue cheese.
| Leading DC

Despite their high price tags, tasting menus continue to have a home in D.C. The Michelin Guide has reinforced the splurge-worthy movement over the past few years, naming the Inn at Little Washington the region’s first three-star restaurant in 2019. A total of 24 area restaurants, from internationally-inspired kitchens like Cranes and El Cielo to modern American fixtures like Gravitas and Rose’s Luxury, currently hold coveted Michelin stars.

Tasting menus are as much about the experience as they are about the food. Sushi Nakazawa and Minibar give diners a front row view of the action, and recently rebooted Pineapple and Pearls encourages fancy attire for a lavish, gold-plated affair. All that to say, the city’s top tasting menus don’t come cheap — starting around $55 and soaring to $325 — often before drinks, taxes, or gratuities. D.C. just got a brand new option with the arrival of Peruvian prix fixe place Causa. Its Blagden Alley neighbor Dabney will close Monday, August 29 and reopen Monday, September 12 for a Mid-Atlantic makeover. D.C. just lost a tasting destination with the closure of short-lived Newland on Capitol Hill.

With restaurants still recovering from a difficult few years, menus and pricing are subject to change as chefs navigate supply and pricing challenges. This prix fixe list includes a mix of brand new options, big-ticketed Michelin meals, and less-expensive tasting menus to try.

And starting Monday, August 15, hundreds of local restaurants temporarily transform into affordable prix fixe places for RAMW’s Summer Restaurant Week (multi-course lunches and brunches are $25 and dinners are $40 or $55).

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Slate Wine Bar

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Slate is where Michelin-starred chef and owner Danny Lledo first introduced himself to D.C. diners. The available three-course tasting menu is more affordable and casual than that of Michelin-starred upstairs sibling Xiquet, yet still embraces Lledo’s Spanish heritage. Expect dishes like grilled octopus with purple potatoes and a preparation of the decadent “presa” cut of Iberico pork. Pricing is $55 per guest with a $40 optional wine pairing.

Seven Reasons

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Seven Reasons was Enrique Limardo’s first restaurant in D.C., and he has hopes that a new tasting menu will help it join its West End sibling, Imperfecto, in earning a Michelin star. The four-course spread leans into Latin American cooking with plates like halibut tiradito with pineapple-lychee leche de tigre, black truffle-topped cauliflower gnocchi, and a sweet guava cheesecake. The experience starts at $80 before drinks and optional add-ons like fried fish or coffee-roasted short rib. A newly branded ceviche patio out back showcases a glistening selection of raw fish plates.

A plate of halibut and papaya plays a part in Seven Reasons’s new tasting menu.
Seven Reasons

Chef Ryan Ratino holds a trio of Michelin stars. One of those comes courtesy of his work at Bresca, a French-accented modern bistro that celebrates seasonality. The restaurant offers both a three- ($84) or four-course ($96) tasting menu along with a decadent chef’s tasting ($148). Choices for summer include coho “mi cuit” with sorrel and raspberry, brioche-stuffed chicken with chanterelle mushrooms and cavatelli and sweets like strawberry pavlova. The kitchen’s treasured duck press dish is an optional upcharge. For those looking to pull out all the stops, there’s Jônt — Ratino’s two-starred showstopper upstairs.

Masseria

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Masseria is Nicholas Stefanelli’s Michelin-starred, tasting menu-only restaurant near Union Market. Influenced by the Puglia region of Italy, the sleek setup offers a nightly six-course “La Cucina” tasting menu for $178 alongside an eight-course chef’s tasting for $236. Beverages pairings can be requested separately. Dishes change regularly — expect a steady variety of pasta, meat, seafood and vegetables. Stefanelli’s Greek prix fixe place Philotimo is temporarily closed downtown due to a fire in the kitchen.

Lobster and tripe from Masseria.
Lobster and tripe from Masseria.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

El Cielo

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This August, the Union Market district’s Michelin-rated Colombian marvel unveiled a bar tasting menu featuring four cocktails filled with Latin spirits and fruits alongside snacks like crab empanadas, lobster ceviche roll, and yuca gnocchi. Exclusively served at its illuminated, seven-seat bar, the $120-per-person experience is a cool new way to try a snapshot of the dining room’s prix fixe menu that sets back diners anywhere from $198 to $258.

Oyster Oyster

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Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba is also a member of the D.C. Michelin-starred club, garnering attention for his sustainable and avant-garde vegetarian-focused tasting menus. His food spotlights hyper-seasonal veggies plucked from small farms. Expect plenty of plant-based surprises on his current “solstice season” multicourse menu. It runs $95, with wine pairings for $60.

Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba shows off a fresh batch of mushrooms
Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba shows off a fresh batch of mushrooms
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Named for Peru’s iconic national dish, 22-seat Causa opened in Blagden Alley this month with an ambitious, prix fixe-only format that aims to capture the bounty of the South American country in one sitting. Peruvian-born chef and co-owner Carlos Delgado sends out six-course menus ($85) centered around seafood delicacies and ingredients from the high-altitude Andes Mountains. The fine-dining venture sits under Amazonia, its color-soaked, more casual counterpart that debuted one level above in May.

Causa’s “tasting experience” lets diners add on whole fish, meat, and seafood for the table, based on daily selections and preparations.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Boqueria (multiple locations)

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This lively Spanish bar and restaurant offers a casual (and filling) culinary experience without a high price tag or upscale atmosphere. Guests can graze on a sampling of menu favorites for $52 a person or try it all with the full Boqueria experience at $65. Possibilities include pan con tomate, crispy patatas bravas, and lamb meatball “albondigas” bites. Available at its Dupont and Penn Quarter locations.

Boquerias dining room, with pantry items and a leg of jamon on the back wall, a tapas counter to the left, and banquette seating to the right.
Boqueria’s open kitchen in Penn Quarter.
R. Lopez/Eater DC

Chef Paolo Dungca showcases elegant Filipino tasting menus at his ambitious weekend perch inside downtown’s the Block food hall. The eight-course affair ($95 per person) pays homage to his native Philippines, growing up in California, and chefs he met along the way. Foie gras and shrimp dumplings, for instance, speak to his time at Baltimore’s Nihao with chefs Peter Chang and Pichet Ong. The latest lineup loops in Path Valley Farms asparagus. sea grapes, and Maryland blue crab. The glamorous space, dressed with gold leaf decor and soft pink seats, is the fine-dining counterpart to his new Piccoletto stall below that specializes in pastas with Asian flavors.

The Setting

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The Setting, a nod to its location beneath a jewelry store, wows West End guests with a parade of global plates set to a trippy, LED-lit backdrop with drippy, Dali-like clocks. The talent here is top-notch, led by Minibar alum John Synder and sommelier Kiran Saund. Presentation prioritizes finger food, proving that fine dining can exist outside of fancy silverware. The multi-course dinner starts at $175 with the choice to supplement the meal with cocktail or non-alcoholic drink pairings.

Michele’s

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Nearly one year in, chef Matt Baker’s French American favorite in the Eaton hotel unleashes its first-ever tasting menu ($85 per person) that switches up every few weeks. The three-course meal, served across its open kitchen-facing dining room, debuts with options like grilled quail with preserved peach, shaved fennel salad, and Texas barbecue sauce; summer vegetable etouffee; and best sellers like crawfish linguine. His hit New Orleans-influenced barbecue carrots, formerly served as a side, reappears in a pork tenderloin and belly main. Meanwhile, the bar area maintains an a la carte lineup featuring a new double-patty smash burger on brioche. For a fancier prix fixe place under Baker’s watch, consider Michelin-rated Gravitas in Ivy City ($90 to $165 per person).

Roasted trout with Spanish chorizo and pimento hollandaise at Michele’s.
Leading DC

Chef Pepe Moncayo’s D.C. debut blends modern Japanese and Spanish cooking in a sleek setting that holds a Michelin star. His 10-course omakase menu runs $128 per person, not including the optional $68 beverage pairing (wine and sake, anyone?). Lunch features a shorter “executive” version, priced at $65 and $35 for beverages. Many dishes are available a la carte, too, including savory mushroom rice with shio kombu and scamorza cheese and octopus with edamame hummus.

The modern dining room at Cranes
The sleek dining room at Cranes overlooks an open kitchen framed in slate.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

The Duck & The Peach

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New American cooking and seasonal, local ingredients are the vision at Capitol Hill’s relative newcomer The Duck & The Peach. A new summer chef’s tasting menu ($85) invites guests to share their preferences and let the kitchen do the rest. The a la carte menu includes dishes like tuna crudo, asparagus with sheep’s ricotta, and a rotisserie half pekin duck. An optional $65 beverage pairing highlights woman-made wines.

The Duck & the Peach recently rolled out a chef’s tasting menu option.
The Duck & the Peach

Pineapple and Pearls

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Pineapple and Pearls is the move for anyone looking for an unapologetically fancy night on the town, complete with a few racy touches (read: bedazzled handcuffs). This is the place to dress to impress and get ready for a night full of exceptional food and hospitality. Chef Aaron Silverman’s restaurant advertises itself as a party, and the $325 menu has been redesigned to offer a choice of four larger dishes rather than a parade of fine-dining small plates. Wine and cocktails are selected a la carte.

This summer, chef Michael Rafidi introduced diners to a five-course tasting menu that highlights the best of his Michelin-starred Levantine cooking. The menu, named “Sofra” in Arabic, translates to “a set table.” It begins with starters of lamb meat pie and swordfish dolma before moving to a selection of pita with spreads (sweet corn hummus with lump crab, for example) and larger plates like chermoula black bass. The feast is $125 for food; wine pairings are priced at $55 or $95. After trying out the tasting menu-only format for a month, Rafidi decided to reintroduce a la carte options in the dining room starting this week.

The bar at Albi sits underneath one end of a colorful 50-foot mural
Albi just brought back a la carte options in addition to its $125-per-person tasting menu .
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Shilling Canning Company

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This Mid-Atlantic restaurant and raw bar with a wood-burning oven introduced a seven-course chef’s tasting menu upon turning two last summer. The menu changes weekly, featuring local products from fishermen in the Chesapeake and partner farms ($125 per person, $65 for wine pairings). Other prix fixe options include a three-course dinner ($55) or brunch ($35).

Shilling Canning Co. oven
Shilling Canning Co.’s glossy oven.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Slate Wine Bar

Slate is where Michelin-starred chef and owner Danny Lledo first introduced himself to D.C. diners. The available three-course tasting menu is more affordable and casual than that of Michelin-starred upstairs sibling Xiquet, yet still embraces Lledo’s Spanish heritage. Expect dishes like grilled octopus with purple potatoes and a preparation of the decadent “presa” cut of Iberico pork. Pricing is $55 per guest with a $40 optional wine pairing.

Seven Reasons

Seven Reasons was Enrique Limardo’s first restaurant in D.C., and he has hopes that a new tasting menu will help it join its West End sibling, Imperfecto, in earning a Michelin star. The four-course spread leans into Latin American cooking with plates like halibut tiradito with pineapple-lychee leche de tigre, black truffle-topped cauliflower gnocchi, and a sweet guava cheesecake. The experience starts at $80 before drinks and optional add-ons like fried fish or coffee-roasted short rib. A newly branded ceviche patio out back showcases a glistening selection of raw fish plates.

A plate of halibut and papaya plays a part in Seven Reasons’s new tasting menu.
Seven Reasons

BRESCA

Chef Ryan Ratino holds a trio of Michelin stars. One of those comes courtesy of his work at Bresca, a French-accented modern bistro that celebrates seasonality. The restaurant offers both a three- ($84) or four-course ($96) tasting menu along with a decadent chef’s tasting ($148). Choices for summer include coho “mi cuit” with sorrel and raspberry, brioche-stuffed chicken with chanterelle mushrooms and cavatelli and sweets like strawberry pavlova. The kitchen’s treasured duck press dish is an optional upcharge. For those looking to pull out all the stops, there’s Jônt — Ratino’s two-starred showstopper upstairs.

Masseria

Masseria is Nicholas Stefanelli’s Michelin-starred, tasting menu-only restaurant near Union Market. Influenced by the Puglia region of Italy, the sleek setup offers a nightly six-course “La Cucina” tasting menu for $178 alongside an eight-course chef’s tasting for $236. Beverages pairings can be requested separately. Dishes change regularly — expect a steady variety of pasta, meat, seafood and vegetables. Stefanelli’s Greek prix fixe place Philotimo is temporarily closed downtown due to a fire in the kitchen.

Lobster and tripe from Masseria.
Lobster and tripe from Masseria.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

El Cielo

This August, the Union Market district’s Michelin-rated Colombian marvel unveiled a bar tasting menu featuring four cocktails filled with Latin spirits and fruits alongside snacks like crab empanadas, lobster ceviche roll, and yuca gnocchi. Exclusively served at its illuminated, seven-seat bar, the $120-per-person experience is a cool new way to try a snapshot of the dining room’s prix fixe menu that sets back diners anywhere from $198 to $258.

Oyster Oyster

Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba is also a member of the D.C. Michelin-starred club, garnering attention for his sustainable and avant-garde vegetarian-focused tasting menus. His food spotlights hyper-seasonal veggies plucked from small farms. Expect plenty of plant-based surprises on his current “solstice season” multicourse menu. It runs $95, with wine pairings for $60.

Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba shows off a fresh batch of mushrooms
Oyster Oyster chef Rob Rubba shows off a fresh batch of mushrooms
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Causa

Named for Peru’s iconic national dish, 22-seat Causa opened in Blagden Alley this month with an ambitious, prix fixe-only format that aims to capture the bounty of the South American country in one sitting. Peruvian-born chef and co-owner Carlos Delgado sends out six-course menus ($85) centered around seafood delicacies and ingredients from the high-altitude Andes Mountains. The fine-dining venture sits under Amazonia, its color-soaked, more casual counterpart that debuted one level above in May.

Causa’s “tasting experience” lets diners add on whole fish, meat, and seafood for the table, based on daily selections and preparations.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Boqueria (multiple locations)

This lively Spanish bar and restaurant offers a casual (and filling) culinary experience without a high price tag or upscale atmosphere. Guests can graze on a sampling of menu favorites for $52 a person or try it all with the full Boqueria experience at $65. Possibilities include pan con tomate, crispy patatas bravas, and lamb meatball “albondigas” bites. Available at its Dupont and Penn Quarter locations.

Boquerias dining room, with pantry items and a leg of jamon on the back wall, a tapas counter to the left, and banquette seating to the right.
Boqueria’s open kitchen in Penn Quarter.
R. Lopez/Eater DC

Hiraya

Chef Paolo Dungca showcases elegant Filipino tasting menus at his ambitious weekend perch inside downtown’s the Block food hall. The eight-course affair ($95 per person) pays homage to his native Philippines, growing up in California, and chefs he met along the way. Foie gras and shrimp dumplings, for instance, speak to his time at Baltimore’s Nihao with chefs Peter Chang and Pichet Ong. The latest lineup loops in Path Valley Farms asparagus. sea grapes, and Maryland blue crab. The glamorous space, dressed with gold leaf decor and soft pink seats, is the fine-dining counterpart to his new Piccoletto stall below that specializes in pastas with Asian flavors.

The Setting

The Setting, a nod to its location beneath a jewelry store, wows West End guests with a parade of global plates set to a trippy, LED-lit backdrop with drippy, Dali-like clocks. The talent here is top-notch, led by Minibar alum John Synder and sommelier Kiran Saund. Presentation prioritizes finger food, proving that fine dining can exist outside of fancy silverware. The multi-course dinner starts at $175 with the choice to supplement the meal with cocktail or non-alcoholic drink pairings.

Michele’s

Nearly one year in, chef Matt Baker’s French American favorite in the Eaton hotel unleashes its first-ever tasting menu ($85 per person) that switches up every few weeks. The three-course meal, served across its open kitchen-facing dining room, debuts with options like grilled quail with preserved peach, shaved fennel salad, and Texas barbecue sauce; summer vegetable etouffee; and best sellers like crawfish linguine. His hit New Orleans-influenced barbecue carrots, formerly served as a side, reappears in a pork tenderloin and belly main. Meanwhile, the bar area maintains an a la carte lineup featuring a new double-patty smash burger on brioche. For a fancier prix fixe place under Baker’s watch, consider Michelin-rated Gravitas in Ivy City ($90 to $165 per person).

Roasted trout with Spanish chorizo and pimento hollandaise at Michele’s.
Leading DC

Cranes

Chef Pepe Moncayo’s D.C. debut blends modern Japanese and Spanish cooking in a sleek setting that holds a Michelin star. His 10-course omakase menu runs $128 per person, not including the optional $68 beverage pairing (wine and sake, anyone?). Lunch features a shorter “executive” version, priced at $65 and $35 for beverages. Many dishes are available a la carte, too, including savory mushroom rice with shio kombu and scamorza cheese and octopus with edamame hummus.

The modern dining room at Cranes
The sleek dining room at Cranes overlooks an open kitchen framed in slate.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

The Duck & The Peach

New American cooking and seasonal, local ingredients are the vision at Capitol Hill’s relative newcomer The Duck & The Peach. A new summer chef’s tasting menu ($85) invites guests to share their preferences and let the kitchen do the rest. The a la carte menu includes dishes like tuna crudo, asparagus with sheep’s ricotta, and a rotisserie half pekin duck. An optional $65 beverage pairing highlights woman-made wines.

The Duck & the Peach recently rolled out a chef’s tasting menu option.
The Duck & the Peach

Pineapple and Pearls

Pineapple and Pearls is the move for anyone looking for an unapologetically fancy night on the town, complete with a few racy touches (read: bedazzled handcuffs). This is the place to dress to impress and get ready for a night full of exceptional food and hospitality. Chef Aaron Silverman’s restaurant advertises itself as a party, and the $325 menu has been redesigned to offer a choice of four larger dishes rather than a parade of fine-dining small plates. Wine and cocktails are selected a la carte.

Albi

This summer, chef Michael Rafidi introduced diners to a five-course tasting menu that highlights the best of his Michelin-starred Levantine cooking. The menu, named “Sofra” in Arabic, translates to “a set table.” It begins with starters of lamb meat pie and swordfish dolma before moving to a selection of pita with spreads (sweet corn hummus with lump crab, for example) and larger plates like chermoula black bass. The feast is $125 for food; wine pairings are priced at $55 or $95. After trying out the tasting menu-only format for a month, Rafidi decided to reintroduce a la carte options in the dining room starting this week.

The bar at Albi sits underneath one end of a colorful 50-foot mural
Albi just brought back a la carte options in addition to its $125-per-person tasting menu .
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Related Maps

Shilling Canning Company

This Mid-Atlantic restaurant and raw bar with a wood-burning oven introduced a seven-course chef’s tasting menu upon turning two last summer. The menu changes weekly, featuring local products from fishermen in the Chesapeake and partner farms ($125 per person, $65 for wine pairings). Other prix fixe options include a three-course dinner ($55) or brunch ($35).

Shilling Canning Co. oven
Shilling Canning Co.’s glossy oven.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Related Maps