Restaurateur Jerry Hollinger (The Daily Dish and the Dish & Dram) delivered downtown Silver Spring an Art Deco-styled American chophouse and raw bar celebrating local farmers, watermen, and purveyors. A black truffle vinaigrette-dressed beet salad or shrimp-and-pork belly toast adorned with homemade kimchi are good ways to start, followed by Rohan duck confit, homemade spinach ricotta ravioli, halibut filet atop summer succotash, and luxe lineup of steaks like A6 wagyu strip loin. Augment dishes with underwater add-ons like butter-poached crab, lobster, jumbo shrimp, and fried oysters. The Sinatra-like space near the Fillmore also has a robust bar program starring New York Sours and fig-sage rye cocktails. Opt for a la carte or a summer tasting menu starting at $32 for two courses.

Former NFL player-turned-talented chef Tobias Dorzon brought a fancy fusion restaurant to his hometown of Hyattsville, Maryland last fall. Hermès plateware balances early hits like jerk short ribs with curry pea risotto and shaved carrots, a namesake salad slathered in a house citrus dressing that begs to be bottled, charbroiled oysters decorated in Cajun butter, and bacon jam-topped deviled eggs. A section of pastas like a decadent fettuccine flecked with creamy crab and jalapeno speak to Dorzon’s culinary training in Sicily. Sizable mains include whole fried snapper or grilled branzino finished with garlic chips. The wide-reaching menu also plays up a small, yet strong, selection of sushi rolls.

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 chilled gazpacho amplified with Maryland crab; ricotta dumplings with brown butter, English peas, and fiddlehead ferns; mushroom risotto; bright salads bursting with peak produce; and pan-seared scallops studded 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.

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. 

Considered the standard-bearer for Lao cuisine in D.C., Thip Khao comes from mother-and-son chefs Seng Luangrath and Boby Pradachith. Their Columbia Heights standby continues to satisfy heat-seekers with a menu full of fermented fish sauce, a heavy dose of chiles, offal, and cured meats. Hit orders include crispy tamarind-glazed wings, grilled pork shoulder with lemongrass, and a fiery Lao papaya salad. The restaurant is open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Monday with carryout, indoor dining, and outdoor service across a cozy tented patio (90-minute limit with a $20 deposit charged via Tock).

Perry’s has long been an under-the-radar reliable spot for sushi, and with rising chef Masako Morishita at the helm since last fall, the revitalized Adams Morgan restaurant is generating lots of attention for her flavorful Japanese creations. Standout starters included grilled broccoli rabe in a miso-garlic butter, a fiery Fuji apple salad with a kick from Korean gochujang, garlic edamame dumplings hidden under a snowy blanket of parmesan. The deep-fried shrimp katsu burger with togarashi tartar is also not to miss. The sleek, wood-framed restaurant with a strong sake collection continues to host one of D.C.’s best drag brunches on weekends.

Four years in, fine-dining vet Yuan Tang continues to seamlessly unite global cuisines across four-course seasonal tasting menus at his Michelin-rated mainstay on 14th Street NW. Options right now include a tzatziki salad with honeydew and Calabrian chili; foie gras-filled banh mi with Nueske’s bacon; “cacio-e-elote” with charred corn and queso fresco; and goat cheesecake. The $85-per-person price tag rises to $95 on July 18. A new splurge-worthy add-on is Royal Ossetra caviar with creative fix-ins, brown butter steamed buns, and Champagne ($135). Tang’s local restaurant group just grew this spring with the arrival of family-friendly Ellie Bird in Falls Church.

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).

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.

At this hip reboot of Georgetown classic Cafe Bonaparte, chef Matt Conroy adopts a French appreciation for market produce to ensure that every ingredient shines on the plate. Parisian gnocchi and grilled octopus are among the seasonally rotating, “neo-bistro” dishes available in its casual and cozy dining room. Reservations for a chef’s table tasting menu ($90 per person) include four courses and a view of the kitchen; the tasting menu is also now available restaurant-wide ($85 per person). Now open on Mondays.

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. Crowned best chef in America at the James Beard Awards last month, Rubba first attracted D.C. critics’ attention as the former chef at Hazel and 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.

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.

The team behind Georgetown’s acclaimed cocktail bar L’Annexe added a sophisticated, 100-seat brasserie next door in December that pays homage to Parisian nightlife with foie gras beignets, green asparagus with yellowtail tartar, classic French roast chicken with frites, ultra-rich black truffle risotto, a parade of bubbly Bellinis, and Old Fashioneds built with duck fat-washed rye. Opulent finales include a “Grand-Cru chocolate” millefeuille with pistachio cream and chilled soufflé. Renowned French chef Gilles Epié — the youngest chef to receive a Michelin star at age 22 (in 1980 at Le Pavillon des Princes) — was most recently at the helm of the five-star Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu, Hawaii, and the former Montage Beverly Hills before that. His star-studded Rolodex of guests have included former French and U.S. presidents, Princess Diana, and Robert De Niro.

Partners Gerald Addison (Bammy’s) and Casey Patten (Grazie Grazie) brought hand-tossed pies and nostalgic Italian fare to Midtown Center with the September opening of Grazie Nonna. The red-sauced tribute to Patten’s nonna and her many Sunday suppers centers around pizzas, antipasti dishes like calamari, burrata, and arancini balls, and hearty bowls of pasta. A dreamy bar lined with family photos sends out Italian wines, elderflower spritzes, and Negronis three ways. The restaurant seats about 80, in addition to an outdoor bar geared towards downtown’s 9-to-5 happy hour set.

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, steamed Virginia clams with furikake butter, white peppercorn tagliatelle, seasonal sorbets, and sourcing from local growers like Moon Valley Farm. Hungry tables should consider its expertly-fried whole fish and Roseda Farm bone-in rib-eye.

H Street’s cool cafe, streetwear shop, and, now, record store, continues to stay relevant eight years in thanks to a loyal following for its Taiwanese fried chicken, dim sum, crystal shrimp dumplings, and lo mein topped with pork shoulder and chicken confit. Prolific D.C. chef Erik Bruner-Yang wasted no time when the pandemic hit, launching an ambitious crowdfunding system Power of 10 to put restaurant workers back on the job and feed communities in need at the same time. Book a table or order pickup and delivery online. Maketto’s inventive new H Street NE sibling Bronze explores Afrofuturism through food in the old Smith Commons space.

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 with an anticipated Indian restaurant and cocktail bar at a corner just south of H Street NE. At Daru, which 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.

Chef David Deshaies (Unconventional Diner, Central) and business partner Eric Eden unveiled their soaring, “glam Italian” restaurant in the shiny new Capitol Crossing development last fall. The flashy showstopper, framed with shimmering Missoni drapes and abstract art, has amassed a fast following for pizzas crisped to perfection in a gold-plated oven, a 40-layer lasagna that begs to be photographed, and Florentine steaks fired up on an imported grill from Spain’s Costa Brava region. Other highlights include generous orbs of saffron-accented arancini, grilled cabbage adorned with creamy beurre blanc and glistening trout roe, and mini shots of duck ravioli served in claw-footed vessels. Starting at 5 p.m., fight for a spot at its scene-y bar to order a spot-on Negroni and decadent espresso martini. Reserve a seat in the dining room or order takeout and delivery. Lunch and brunch are now in the mix, too.

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, 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.

When NYC-import Sushi Nakazawa opened in the Trump International Hotel right after José Andrés stormed out of a contract in the same location, it became the most controversial sushi bar in D.C. (Fortunately for the restaurant, the clocktower-topped hotel is now a Waldorf Astoria and will soon welcome a Bazaar by José Andrés.) The 20-course, nigiri-sushi omakase stuns in the expert hands of “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” chef Masaaki Uchino. There’s no dinner menu, which leaves more time to linger over an impressive list of Japanese whiskey and sake. The most coveted seats are at the 10-seat sushi bar that offers the best view of the action.

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. A chic cocktail-and-dessert lounge called Saha just arrived next door. For something more affordable, head to sibling bakery and cafe, Yellow, which just debuted in Georgetown.

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 that’s also available for summer assembling at home. The Hank’s empire includes outposts in Dupont, the Wharf, and a newly-relocated Alexandria location.