Colin McClimans and Danilo Simic, the culinary duo behind Logan Circle’s super-seasonal mainstay Nina May, tacked on a Chevy Chase destination for fish, vegetables, and meats sourced from the American coastline. Situated in a converted row house, Opal puts a wood-fired oven to work to bake baller breads and roast all sorts of proteins. Menu highlights include ricotta dumplings with brown butter, English peas, and fiddlehead ferns; mushroom risotto; bright salads bursting with peak produce; and pan-seared scallops with cannellini beans, bacon, and watercress. A circular bar sending out smoked Sazeracs anchors an 80-seat dining room surrounded in stone and exposed beams.

For D.C. residents, sampling the most tantalizing brisket inside the Beltway requires a drive into Riverdale Park, Maryland. Fernando González and Debby Portillo, the couple that own and operate 2Fifty, pay homage to Central Texas by using oak smoke to develop a dark bark on fatty hunks of prime and American wagyu beef that jiggle on the chopping block. Beef ribs, pulled pork, sliced turkey, and St. Louis-style ribs are all available too. Daily specials like brisket tacos and barbecue pupusas give the kitchen a creative outlet. Sides like red kidney beans braised with brisket, caramelized pineapple, and coleslaw interspersed with raisins nod to the owners’ Salvadoran heritage. Diners can preorder for pickup Wednesday through Sunday with the option to dine there or take it to go. 2Fifty expanded into D.C. during the pandemic with a small stall inside Union Market.

Mount Rainier’s pandemic-era arrival for artsy American comfort foods has solidified its status as a neighborhood gem. Here Bar Pilar alum Jesse Miller sends out stellar Southern dishes like buttermilk-fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade, meaty gumbos, slow-roasted rabbit and biscuits, spreadable pots of chicken liver mousse, crabby deviled eggs with chile relish, collard greens cooked with ham, and family-style helpings of brisket or pork chop platters. A lively weekend brunch brings warm bowls of shrimp and grits to the table both indoors and out across its stylish patio. Delicate, vintage plateware is one of many callbacks to the era when the restaurant space was part bank, part sewing machine factory. 

At this Malaysian restaurant in Columbia Heights, chef James Wozniuk navigates a balance of pungent, spicy-sweet, and funky umami flavors that vary in intensity but never veer out of control. Wozniuk’s condiments — sambal made from bird’s eye chiles, palm sugar, tamarind, and fried anchovies; appetite-piquing pickled limes with prune and golden raisin; and peanut-based satay sauce — assert themselves in an array of rice and noodle dishes. The bar mixes complex tropical cocktails, like a blackstrap rum and pineapple Jungle Bird, that vie for attention. Order takeout or delivery online. Tables are available in a breezy dining room or on a patio. Wozniuk also unleashed a bar bites menu at underground sibling Thirsty Crow.

Inside a narrow, dark basement underneath an ice cream shop in Mount Pleasant, Martha Dear owners Tara Smith and Demetri Mechelis serve a style of Greek pizza that’s unlike anything else in D.C. Mechelis mans a domed oven that fires round, naturally leavened pies studded with salty Mediterranean cheeses; the white pizza boasts crumbly myzithra and hard kefalograviera, while Mechelis’s take on pantzarosalata dots the classic roasted beet and yogurt salad with candied hazelnuts and herbs. Its salted chocolate chip cookies are also not to miss. Pre-order online for carryout or snag a seat inside or out on Wednesdays to Sundays.

Chef Ryan Ratino’s buzzy bistro on lower 14th Street NW whips up prix fixe dinners filled out by tuna crudo with Calabrian chile, wild fennel, makrut lime and foie gras gateau with pistachio, strawberry, celery, and anise. The ambitious chef, who’s among the youngest to ever earn a Michelin star, also incorporates a vintage French duck press gifted by gourmet supplier D’Artagnan into a theatrical tableside offering. A boundary-pushing bar program spearheaded by beverage director Will Patton is also not to miss, earning the team an exceptional cocktails award from Michelin last year. Seasonal tasting menus start at $84 (reserve via Resy).

Situated between Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan, Anju serves Korean bar food with a refined touch from the restaurant group behind casual hit Chiko. James Beard Award-nominated chef Angel Barreto leads a kitchen that plates up standouts ranging from pork and kimchi mandu (dumplings) and smoky gochujang-glazed fried chicken with white barbecue sauce to a seafood fried rice (bokum bap) and seared ribeye galbi boards. Weekend brunches bring on breakfast sandwiches and a grit bowl that riffs on juk.

This family-run underground lounge landed in Dupont last spring with a star cast of Thai talent behind the wheel. Former sushi chef Billy Thammasathiti brings the heat with quail egg wontons, fiery papaya salads, boneless duck laap, and spicy beef or pork skewers, plus experimental orders like Parmesan-dusted egg noodles with tom yum herbs, bacon, and roasted chili jam or bite-sized calamari dressed with garlicky salt. Andy Thammasathiti of Baltimore’s Mayuree Thai Tavern whips up passion fruit daiquiris and Sichuan baijiu cocktails behind a racy, red-lit bar fit for Bangkok. Billy’s aunt Satang Ruangsangwatana, of Fat Nomads supper club fame, also contributes destination dishes like khao soi. The 50-seat lair swings open at 4 p.m.; reserve a seat or order takeout or delivery.

Chef Rob Rubba puts vegetables on a pedestal, so Oyster Oyster’s presence in Shaw is somewhat ideal for diners who don’t eat meat but still want to enjoy an avant-garde tasting menu with a Michelin star. Food & Wine’s best new chef for 2022, who first attracted D.C. critics’ attention as the former chef at Hazel, partnered with Estadio owner Max Kuller on this venture — which prioritizes sustainability with a dedication to sourcing from hyperlocal farms and mills. Think: a bird’s nest of fried celery root wrapped around a morsel of smoked tofu and shiitake chip cookie for dessert. A $60 selected wine pairing goes with a $95 meal. Reservations are available here.

This beloved Brooklyn import smashes the city’s stuffy steakhouse conventions with a menu at this Union Market tavern that gives vegetables equal billing. Butter-packed biscuits with pimento cheese have become the stuff of legend, and a salmon collar practically melting under a butter-lemon bath has its own cult following. Ax-handle ribeyes and pork chops are priced by the ounce for communal feasts. Like sibling spot Le Diplomate, St. Anselm built nifty dining nooks on the street during the pandemic that are here to stay. Stephen Starr’s blockbuster NYC bistro Pastis is slated to join St. Anselm in the budding industrial complex this year.

Causa named for Peru’s iconic national dish, sailed into Blagden Alley last August with an ambitious, prix-fixe format that aims to capture the bounty of the South American country in one sitting. The anticipated fine-dining venture makes a fashionably late appearance behind Amazonia, its color-soaked, more casual counterpart that debuted one level above in May. At Causa, six-course menus ($85) send diners on a seafaring voyage along the Peruvian coastline and into the Andes Mountains. The intimate space with just 22 seats lends itself to an immersive, personalized experience led by Peruvian-born chef and co-owner Carlos Delgado.

Mexico-born restaurateurs Alfredo and Jessica Solis (El Sol, Mezcalero, and Anafre) gave Logan Circle a color-soaked seafood spot that bounces all around Latin America. Mariscos, which means “seafood” in Spanish, opened nearly a year ago with a treasure trove of fresh fish, crustaceans, and bivalves prepared raw, fried, and grilled. Made-to-order citrusy ceviches, jicama slaw-topped oyster po’boys, Caribbean-style lechon, and other Latin dishes harken back to Alfredo Solis’s days running downtown’s Ceiba for Passion Food Hospitality. A 12-seat bar sends out a pisco sour, caipirinha, mojito, and other Latin-hopping cocktails that follow the food’s lead. A Coronarita — a Corona bottle draining into a frozen margarita — keeps summer in swing all year. Book a patio or indoor booth seat online.

Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo’s follow-up to scene-y, tropically appointed Seven Reasons brings the West End a new fine dining venue for Mediterranean-Latin fusion full of surreal plating and modernist technique. Sturdy staples like a moussaka cigar — with crispy phyllo dough, smoked eggplant, ground lamb, and goat-manchego cream — and fried Spanish octopus with Amazonian chimichurri anchor the rotating dinner menu. Go a la carte or choose the omakase tasting experience at the chef’s counter (currently 16 to 22 bites) that has a Michelin star. A soaring white bar lined with soft cranberry stools sends out sharply conceived cocktails with Mediterranean ingredients like Greek olives, truffle honey, and limoncello.

At this roomy Thai restaurant in Mt. Vernon Triangle, chef Jeeraporn Poksupthon has a kitchen worthy of her skill and ambition. Poksupthon led large catering kitchens in Thailand before she helped usher a wave of chile-fueled Northern and Northeastern cooking into D.C. at now-closed Baan Thai in Logan Circle. At Baan Siam, she’s playing the hits — creamy, crunchy, and complex khao soi; tapioca skin dumplings with ground chicken, peanuts, and sweet fermented radish; and all sorts of spicy-sweet salads — while exploring sour-leaning dishes from her home country’s interior and ultra-hot curries from the South. Order for pickup or in-house delivery here, or reserve a table for indoor or outdoor dining here.

After a long pandemic pause, CityCenterDC’s polished seafood showpiece made a triumphant comeback last March with a menu full of remixed Chesapeake classics like fluke-flanked ceviche and smoked rockfish dip served in shells. The Conrad hotel’s glassy, 3-year-old restaurant, originally headlined by celebrity chef brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, reemerged with No Goodbyes alums Ria Montes and Sean Tew at the helm. Estuary 2.0 casts a wider menu net across the largest estuary in the nation, the Chesapeake Bay, with Maryland crab hush puppies dressed with yuzu aioli, decadent shrimp toast with lobster butter sauce, squash disguised as dan dan noodles, and sourcing from local growers like Moon Valley Farm. Hungry tables should consider its expertly-fried whole fish and Roseda Farms bone-in rib-eye. Playful surprises include build-your-own sundaes comprised of caviar, ice cream, and mini black sesame waffle cones.

A wood-burning oven imported from France is the workhorse inside Amy Brandwein’s Italian cafe in CityCenter, an everyday alternative to Centrolina, her dressier osteria across the street. Last summer, the five-time James Beard Award finalist added twice as many seats, seasonal spritzes, and more wood-fired capabilities to roast all kinds of vegetables, seafoods, and meats like ribs and pork and lamb sausages. A daily pastry program produces quiche and phenomenal focaccia, and the 10-layer eggplant Parmesan remains a best-selling showstopper. Eating light is painless, too, from charred Napa cabbage to a carrot-and-bulgur wheat bowl with cauliflower, raisin, and pistachio. Order takeout online or get delivery via Caviar from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

H Street’s buzzy seafood showpiece offers an abundant underwater menu filled with lobster rolls, peel-and-eat shrimp, crab cakes, and East and West Coast oysters shucked up front behind its glassy facade. The 3-year-old nautical venture with some serious sourcing skills comes from Aaron McGovern and Arturas Vorobjovas (Biergarten Haus). Oysters Rockefeller get a Cajun spin from broiled andouille sausage, red pepper corn succotash, Parmesan, and corn bread crumble. Other crowd-pleasers include po’boys, truffled mushroom mussels, and daily specials like grilled branzino or lobster risotto. A second D.C. location debuted in Dupont this year.

Dante Datta and Suresh Sundas, a respective drink expert and chef who met while working together at Rasika West End, reunited under one roof last summer with an anticipated Indian restaurant and cocktail bar at a corner just south of H Street NE. At Daru, which recently landed on New York Times’s coveted top 50 restaurants list, Sundas likes to combine Northern and Southern Indian cooking styles with some unorthodox touches. That includes za’atar olive naan, chicken tikka tacos, chimichurri chutneys, or grilled chicken reshmi kebabs with a hint of blue cheese. Datta and bar manager Tom Martinez, both alums of now-closed Columbia Room, collaborate on inventive riffs on classics. Book a seat online for service after 5 p.m. or order takeout and delivery for both lunch and dinner.

Michelin-starred chef Johnny Spero (Reverie) brought a slice of Spain’s buzzy Basque country to D.C.’s Capitol Crossing complex last fall with the splashy debut of seafood-heavy Bar Spero. The well-traveled chef makes good use of a fire-fed grill to prepare everything from elegant Spanish turbot to meaty pork from the Shenandoah Valley. The raw bar is stocked with whatever Spero can get his hands on—including Nantucket scallops, oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, or lobster—and doesn’t limit itself to marine life (see: a beautiful beef tartare). Compliment the entire meal with sesame sourdough from Maryland’s buzzy new bakery Manifest. A sleek, neon-lit bar serving cocktails, wines, and regional beers on tap joins a soaring, blue-toned dining room filled with wooden four-tops and built-in booths. Reserve a table online.

This is the flagship restaurant for Daikaya Group, D.C.’s foremost experts in ramen. The ground floor houses a first-come, first-served ramen shop that imports bouncy noodles from Sapporo. On the second level, its experimental izakaya gives chef Katsuya Fukushima a platform to present playful dishes like a new wagyu beef tartare with rice crackers and kimchi, a classic fried eggplant and miso rice ball, or a beloved mentaiko (spicy cod roe) burrata with orange zest and grilled toast. During the pandemic, the company put considerable thought into takeout and delivery, which remains an option. Customers can order par-cooked noodles for a quick nuke in the microwave, or uncooked if they want to boil their own. The entire Daikaya Group portfolio, which tastes and looks more polished than ever these days, includes Tonari next door, Bantam King nearby, Hatoba in Navy Yard, and Haikan in Shaw.

José Andrés’s whimsical Mexican staple, situated in Penn Quarter since 2007, is a premiere place for made-to-order guacamole, colorful ceviches, vegetable-heavy antojitos (small plates), and tacos like a Yucatán-style cochinita pibil (pit-cooked pig). Head chef Omar Rodriguez’s menu highlights longtime purveyors like Rancho Gordo beans, Anson Mills rice, and Hamakua Farms hearts of palm. Oyamel was among the first in D.C. to grind its own Mexican heirloom corn, and its salt air margarita remains a top seller at the bar brimming with butterfly decor. An on-site agave store is stocked with over 30 types of tequilas and mezcal to take home.

James Beard Award-winning chef Vikram Sunderam plays liberally with spicy chiles and sour fruits to make Rasika one of the most celebrated Indian restaurants in the country. His palak chaat—a fried baby spinach dish decorated with sweet yogurt, tamarind, and date chutney—has inspired imitators around town. Dal makhani is slowly simmered in a decadent, buttery gravy. Both the Penn Quarter flagship and its West End sibling are ideal venues for vegetarian diners, too.

Open since 2014, Spanish stalwart Ser continues to shine in its evolving Ballston neighborhood. It’s hard to go wrong with any of the 12-plus tapas on the list, but the tomato bread, gambas al ajillo, croquetas, and deep-fried eggplant are not to miss. Seafood, meat, or vegetable paella for two is another excellent choice, and for a dash of drama at the table, go big with a whole roast suckling pig. Other standouts include crab-topped lobster from the raw bar, gorgeous seasonal salads, and gazpacho when summer calls. Its Spanish co-owner Javier Candon infuses his own spirits, as seen in Ser’s superior gin and tonic. Joselito is its sister spot in Capitol Hill.

Matt Adler’s decidedly unmodern tribute to classic red sauce joints takes diners on a well-worn path that carefully steers clear of the contrived. Dishes heavy on nostalgia, quality ingredients, and technique are served in a red banquette-lined, vintage photo-laden dining room that buzzes with hospitality and delight. Tender chicken parm with a light breading gets tucked under a zingy marina, hunky garlic bread arrives with a bowl of four-cheese sauce for dipping, and shrimp scampi gets splashed with house-made limoncello. Drinks, like a Manhattan with an amaretto rinse and antipasti dirty martini, receive equally attentive treatment. Keeping with theme, the menu is surprisingly affordable. Adler recently opened a second location in Maryland’s Pike & Rose complex.

Albi chef Michael Rafidi manipulates smoke with a master’s touch, sending out dishes from the wood-burning hearth at his high-end Levantine restaurant that have a way of commanding a diner’s full attention. The Maryland native’s Middle Eastern menu tweaks dishes to incorporate peak produce — see the coal-fired mushroom hummus for spring — but the snack-sized lamb kefta kebabs speared on cinnamon sticks should never go out of style. Cocktails, desserts, and a lengthy wine list full of hard-to-find Eastern Mediterranean labels all rise to the occasion. An a la carte menu joins a newer multi-course option featuring lamb meat pie and swordfish dolma, pita with spreads, and larger plates like chermoula black bass. The feast is $125 for food; beverage pairings are priced at $55 or $95. For something more affordable, head sibling bakery and cafe, Yellow, which just debuted in Georgetown.

Come to 2941 for chef Bertrand Chemel’s French-infused take on contemporary American dishes, and stay for the serene, floor-to-ceiling views of bubbling waterfalls and a koi pond. The Falls Church fine-dining destination has expanded its focus over the years to be both a place for special occasions and random nights out. Fish, pastas, duck, and soups are among Chemel’s go-to specialities. East Coast oysters with a citrusy ponzu mignonette, truffled wagyu tartare, and bright Caesar salads are ideal precursors to rich mains like fondue-flanked ravioli and Australian lamb chops. Props to a knowledgable wine service too.

The “home-style” Chinese restaurant in Peter Chang’s portfolio pays tribute to the women that influenced the legendary former embassy chef, with fiery dishes that call back his childhood in the Hubei province of central China and his home life in Virginia. Chang, a master of numbing spice, has woven Sichuan and Hunan techniques into a menu of vegetable-heavy plates, dim sum, and family-style orders. There’s dine-in seating across its plant-filled, zen dining room in Fairfax. Order takeout here or get delivery via Uber Eats. The famed Chinese chef just planted roots in Dupont Circle with the opening of Chang Chang, his first-ever D.C. restaurant.

Homegrown chain Hank’s Oyster Bar from chef Jamie Leeds dishes out mussels, fried clams, and seasonal ingredients in a festive, casual atmosphere. They even have their own variety of oyster cultivated for them. The neighborhood go-to serves its namesake on the half shell and other “ice bar” selections like peel ‘n eat shrimp or ceviche. From there, move on to a fabulous crab cake, shrimp po’boy, or best-selling lobster roll. The Hank’s empire includes outposts in Dupont, the Wharf, and a newly-relocated Alexandria location.