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Hearth-roasted vegetables from the Dabney are available as part of a three-course prix fixe
Hearth-roasted vegetables from the Dabney are available as part of a three-course prix fixe
The Dabney [official]

How to Order From Eater 38 Restaurants That Are Still Open Around D.C.

Many of the area’s essential dining venues are still running takeout and delivery during the coronavirus crisis

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Hearth-roasted vegetables from the Dabney are available as part of a three-course prix fixe
| The Dabney [official]

When business carried on as usual, Eater editors would fine-tune the list of 38 essential restaurants in D.C. every season. Needless to say, these are not normal times. While government officials do their best to flatten the curve of local COVID-19 cases, kitchens are observing dine-in bans in the District, Maryland, and Virginia. The novel coronavirus pandemic has left restaurants with difficult decisions to make, and many standouts have opted out of takeout to protect their employees and their customers from being exposed.

For those that choose to stay in business, churning out to-go orders helps pay employees in an industry that’s devastated by layoffs and waiting on unemployment payments or stimulus loans to pay out. In the greater D.C. area, 23 of the essential 38 are still going. Many have pivoted to family-style meals and more casual formats to stay afloat.

Here’s a look of where to find beloved options for tacos, spicy Northern Thai, pupusas, kebabs, ramen, pasta, and more.

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Taqueria Habanero

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Call in orders of tacos, chilaquiles, memelas, enchiladas verdes, and more from Puebla-born chef Dio Montero. Customers can request no-contact pickup, too.

Call Your Mother

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After shutting down for the first few weeks of the coronavirus crisis, the wood-fired bagel shop and “Jew-ish” deli reopened for next-day, contactless pickup. Call in pre-orders or order online to access a limited menu of bagels — in packs of three or 13 — latkes, and pastrami and egg sandwiches.

A bagel sandwich at Call Your Mother.
A bagel sandwich at Call Your Mother.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Federalist Pig

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Pitmaster Rob Sonderman’s region-hopping barbecue joint in Adams Morgan is accepting online orders for scheduled pickups and Postmates delivery. A limited number of walk-ins is allowed, and the shop is also selling half-smokes, burgers, and other barbecue-stuffed sandwiches as part of a Fedwich pop-up from sibling Kramerbooks’s Afterwords cafe in Dupont.

A barbecue platter from Federalist Pig.
A barbecue platter from Federalist Pig
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Bistro Aracosia

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This Afghan grill in the Palisades offers call-in and online ordering for a long menu full of kebabs, lamb chops, leek and scallion dumplings, butternut squash, and more. An early bird special for orders placed between noon and 3 p.m. includes an appetizer, entree, side, and dessert for everyone ($18.95 per person, four-person minimum). There’s a $10 delivery fee.

To-go meals from the wood-burning hearth fires Middle Eastern and North African dishes include whole chickens with paprika potatoes, hummus, and whipped garlic toum spread ($65) or a variety of kebabs ($45) with all of the restaurant’s condiments. Order from noon to 2 p.m. for pickups between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. It’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

A few options from chef Robert Curtis’s Turkish tavern menu — hummus, carrot haydari, zhug, and pomegranate-glazed short ribs — are available on Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s new online delivery platform, Neighborhood Provisions.

Carrot haydari from Hazel
Carrot haydari from Hazel
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

The Red Hen

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The cozy neighborhood pasta place in Bloomingdale is still serving its signature chicken liver mousse with fig conserva and its rigatoni with sausage ragu for carryout dinners. Call or order online, and take one less trip to the grocery store by adding a CSA box from from Earth N Eats Farms.

Estadio

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The Spanish mainstay in Logan Circle is offering takeout paella and tapas for dinner from Tuesday through Saturday via online ordering.

Little Serow

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Typically available only as a prix fixe tasting menu, chef Johnny Monis’s chile-packed Northern Thai menu comes a la carte for carryout. From Tuesday through Saturday, customers can schedule pickups online from the basement restaurant in Dupont. The menu has grown from a few options to a page-long list that includes “hammered” beef with tomato-tamarind jeow sauce, Thai fried chicken, and crispy rice salad. Next-door, Mediterranean fine-dining destination Komi has turned into a vegetarian diner pop-up called Happy Gyro.

Sushi Taro

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The Michelin-starred sushi spot in Dupont Circle is open for lunch and dinner takeout orders. In addition to nagiri, rolls, and lots of sake, Sushi Taro has combo packages ($18 to $45) for sushi, sashimi, and bento boxes.

Masseria

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Coastal Italian dishes with roots in the Southeastern Puglia region normally make up pricey tasting menus at this Michelin-starred getaway near Union Market. During the pandemic, chef Nicholas Stefanelli is designing — and sometimes personally delivering — family style “Masseria a Casa” meals for $85 (for two) from Tuesday through Sunday. The menu changes every day, but examples include whole roasted chickens with sides of linguine with XO sauce or veal ossobuco.

Clarity

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Chef-owner Jonathan Krinn has pivoted from haute cuisine full of globally sourced luxury ingredients to a more casual approach with comfort foods like pizza, barbecue, and banh mi. Order online for curbside pickup.

HAPPY EXACTLY FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO CLARITY!! Sunday April 5th Dinner Menu is live. Definitely won't forget this one!! My team wishes everyone who has helped make this happen could join us inside - we will take a rain check on that. Long distance hugs and high fives tomorrow if you stop by. We did make some crab cakes (click drop down of Main Course Meals), and are smoking short ribs overnight - both in limited quantities so jump at them. Video was today's short rib portioning jam. Also... Going to have 12 hour sous vide Prime Brisket available for Wednesday's Passover, and will have an Easter Menu for next Sunday. More info on both of those occasions coming tomorrow.

Posted by Jonathan Krinn on Saturday, April 4, 2020

Stellina Pizzeria

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The pizza counter near Union Market is has takeout and delivery available for dinner from Tuesday through Sunday. Customers can also buy lasagnas, kits with fresh pastas and sauces, or butcher boxes ($95 to $275).

The Dabney

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This hearth-fueled, Mid-Atlantic restaurant recognized by Michelin and the James Beard Foundation is selling three-course prix fixe meals for $45 each (Wednesday through Sunday). Daily menus go up for sale online at 11 a.m. and sell out soon thereafter. Every meal comes with a fried catfish appetizer served in a sweet potato roll with tartar sauce, red onion, and bread and butter pickles.

Unconventional Diner

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The family-style takeout menu at the whimsical diner inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center is one of the best deals in town right now. For $40, customers get mains like meatloaf, fried chicken, jambalaya, or chickpea curry stew with a range of hearty sides for pickup or delivery. To-go orders can be picked up from 2 p.m. to 10 pm.

El Rinconcito Cafe

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The tiny, typically packed Salvadoran restaurant near Mt. Vernon Square has takeout pupusas, soups, combo plates, and Sal-Mex fare available for call-ins and online ordering.

Come Enjoy our Delicious and Authentic Salvadoran Dishes! Currently we are doing only carryout orders. You can place your order online at: https://elrinconcitocafe.smartonlineorder.com 1129 11th Street, N.W. • Washington • DC • 20001 Llamenos al: 202-789-4110 #happyhour #DMV #salvadoran #margaritas #salvadoranfood #lunchspecial #beer #tacos #enchiladas #chimichangas #taquitossonora #burritos #tacosalad #pupusas #nachos #quesadillas #ropavieja #mocomd #margarita #tequila #michelada #washingtondc #dc

Posted by El Rinconcito Cafe on Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Centrolina

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Chef-owner Amy Brandwein’s rustic Italian restaurant is selling fettuccine with white bolognese and seafood roasted in a wood-burning oven for pickup and delivery seven days a week. A gourmet market is also well stocked for Caviar orders.

Pasta from Centrolina
Pasta from Centrolina
Centrolina [official]

Eater D.C. Chef of the Year Peter Prime makes Trinidadian takeout and delivery available on Caviar from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Special family meals ($50 to $75) require 24 hours advance notice, including an option for the chef’s colorful, escovitch-style fried snapper.

Jerk wings from Cane
Jerk wings from Cane
Cane/Caviar

Daikaya

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The Sapporo-style ramen shop in Chinatown has started offers online ordering for pickup from 11 a.m. to 8:150 p.m. and now has delivery available through Uber Eats.

Rasika (Multiple locations)

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James Beard Award-winning chef Vikram Sunderam is serving a limited dinner menu of modern Indian dishes — including a chicken green masala and his famous crispy spinach chaat — for takeout and delivery from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. The Penn Quarter original and West End outpost are both still operating.

Best American Food Cities: DC
Palaak Chaat from Rasika
Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

This inventive counter that sells riffs on Chinese and Korean classics is open for takeout and delivery dinners at its Capitol Hill HQ. Its recently opened Dupont location serves lunch, too.

Chiko orange chicken high res
Orange-ish chicken from ChiKo
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Mama Chang

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Renowned Chinese chef and restaurateur Peter Chang nods toward his Hubei province roots, his female family members, and some Sichuan and Hunan greatest hits at this Fairfax restaurant. Customers can order takeout lunch and dinner online or score local delivery on Uber Eats.

Mama Chang dumplings.
Dumplings from Mama Chang
Rey Lopez/For Mama Chang

Peking Gourmet Inn

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This Falls Church destination has been a standard bearer for Peking duck for more than 40 years. Call in takeout or delivery orders of duck, dumplings, hot and sour soup, black pepper beef, and more for lunch and dinner every day.

Peking Gourmet Inn [official]

Taqueria Habanero

Call in orders of tacos, chilaquiles, memelas, enchiladas verdes, and more from Puebla-born chef Dio Montero. Customers can request no-contact pickup, too.

Call Your Mother

After shutting down for the first few weeks of the coronavirus crisis, the wood-fired bagel shop and “Jew-ish” deli reopened for next-day, contactless pickup. Call in pre-orders or order online to access a limited menu of bagels — in packs of three or 13 — latkes, and pastrami and egg sandwiches.

A bagel sandwich at Call Your Mother.
A bagel sandwich at Call Your Mother.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Federalist Pig

Pitmaster Rob Sonderman’s region-hopping barbecue joint in Adams Morgan is accepting online orders for scheduled pickups and Postmates delivery. A limited number of walk-ins is allowed, and the shop is also selling half-smokes, burgers, and other barbecue-stuffed sandwiches as part of a Fedwich pop-up from sibling Kramerbooks’s Afterwords cafe in Dupont.

A barbecue platter from Federalist Pig.
A barbecue platter from Federalist Pig
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Bistro Aracosia

This Afghan grill in the Palisades offers call-in and online ordering for a long menu full of kebabs, lamb chops, leek and scallion dumplings, butternut squash, and more. An early bird special for orders placed between noon and 3 p.m. includes an appetizer, entree, side, and dessert for everyone ($18.95 per person, four-person minimum). There’s a $10 delivery fee.

Maydan

To-go meals from the wood-burning hearth fires Middle Eastern and North African dishes include whole chickens with paprika potatoes, hummus, and whipped garlic toum spread ($65) or a variety of kebabs ($45) with all of the restaurant’s condiments. Order from noon to 2 p.m. for pickups between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. It’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Hazel

A few options from chef Robert Curtis’s Turkish tavern menu — hummus, carrot haydari, zhug, and pomegranate-glazed short ribs — are available on Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s new online delivery platform, Neighborhood Provisions.

Carrot haydari from Hazel
Carrot haydari from Hazel
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

The Red Hen

The cozy neighborhood pasta place in Bloomingdale is still serving its signature chicken liver mousse with fig conserva and its rigatoni with sausage ragu for carryout dinners. Call or order online, and take one less trip to the grocery store by adding a CSA box from from Earth N Eats Farms.

Estadio

The Spanish mainstay in Logan Circle is offering takeout paella and tapas for dinner from Tuesday through Saturday via online ordering.

Little Serow

Typically available only as a prix fixe tasting menu, chef Johnny Monis’s chile-packed Northern Thai menu comes a la carte for carryout. From Tuesday through Saturday, customers can schedule pickups online from the basement restaurant in Dupont. The menu has grown from a few options to a page-long list that includes “hammered” beef with tomato-tamarind jeow sauce, Thai fried chicken, and crispy rice salad. Next-door, Mediterranean fine-dining destination Komi has turned into a vegetarian diner pop-up called Happy Gyro.

Sushi Taro

The Michelin-starred sushi spot in Dupont Circle is open for lunch and dinner takeout orders. In addition to nagiri, rolls, and lots of sake, Sushi Taro has combo packages ($18 to $45) for sushi, sashimi, and bento boxes.

Masseria

Coastal Italian dishes with roots in the Southeastern Puglia region normally make up pricey tasting menus at this Michelin-starred getaway near Union Market. During the pandemic, chef Nicholas Stefanelli is designing — and sometimes personally delivering — family style “Masseria a Casa” meals for $85 (for two) from Tuesday through Sunday. The menu changes every day, but examples include whole roasted chickens with sides of linguine with XO sauce or veal ossobuco.

Clarity

Chef-owner Jonathan Krinn has pivoted from haute cuisine full of globally sourced luxury ingredients to a more casual approach with comfort foods like pizza, barbecue, and banh mi. Order online for curbside pickup.

HAPPY EXACTLY FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO CLARITY!! Sunday April 5th Dinner Menu is live. Definitely won't forget this one!! My team wishes everyone who has helped make this happen could join us inside - we will take a rain check on that. Long distance hugs and high fives tomorrow if you stop by. We did make some crab cakes (click drop down of Main Course Meals), and are smoking short ribs overnight - both in limited quantities so jump at them. Video was today's short rib portioning jam. Also... Going to have 12 hour sous vide Prime Brisket available for Wednesday's Passover, and will have an Easter Menu for next Sunday. More info on both of those occasions coming tomorrow.

Posted by Jonathan Krinn on Saturday, April 4, 2020

Stellina Pizzeria

The pizza counter near Union Market is has takeout and delivery available for dinner from Tuesday through Sunday. Customers can also buy lasagnas, kits with fresh pastas and sauces, or butcher boxes ($95 to $275).

The Dabney

This hearth-fueled, Mid-Atlantic restaurant recognized by Michelin and the James Beard Foundation is selling three-course prix fixe meals for $45 each (Wednesday through Sunday). Daily menus go up for sale online at 11 a.m. and sell out soon thereafter. Every meal comes with a fried catfish appetizer served in a sweet potato roll with tartar sauce, red onion, and bread and butter pickles.

Unconventional Diner

The family-style takeout menu at the whimsical diner inside the Walter E. Washington Convention Center is one of the best deals in town right now. For $40, customers get mains like meatloaf, fried chicken, jambalaya, or chickpea curry stew with a range of hearty sides for pickup or delivery. To-go orders can be picked up from 2 p.m. to 10 pm.

Related Maps

El Rinconcito Cafe

The tiny, typically packed Salvadoran restaurant near Mt. Vernon Square has takeout pupusas, soups, combo plates, and Sal-Mex fare available for call-ins and online ordering.

Come Enjoy our Delicious and Authentic Salvadoran Dishes! Currently we are doing only carryout orders. You can place your order online at: https://elrinconcitocafe.smartonlineorder.com 1129 11th Street, N.W. • Washington • DC • 20001 Llamenos al: 202-789-4110 #happyhour #DMV #salvadoran #margaritas #salvadoranfood #lunchspecial #beer #tacos #enchiladas #chimichangas #taquitossonora #burritos #tacosalad #pupusas #nachos #quesadillas #ropavieja #mocomd #margarita #tequila #michelada #washingtondc #dc

Posted by El Rinconcito Cafe on Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Centrolina

Chef-owner Amy Brandwein’s rustic Italian restaurant is selling fettuccine with white bolognese and seafood roasted in a wood-burning oven for pickup and delivery seven days a week. A gourmet market is also well stocked for Caviar orders.

Pasta from Centrolina
Pasta from Centrolina
Centrolina [official]

Cane

Eater D.C. Chef of the Year Peter Prime makes Trinidadian takeout and delivery available on Caviar from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Special family meals ($50 to $75) require 24 hours advance notice, including an option for the chef’s colorful, escovitch-style fried snapper.

Jerk wings from Cane
Jerk wings from Cane
Cane/Caviar

Daikaya

The Sapporo-style ramen shop in Chinatown has started offers online ordering for pickup from 11 a.m. to 8:150 p.m. and now has delivery available through Uber Eats.

Rasika (Multiple locations)

James Beard Award-winning chef Vikram Sunderam is serving a limited dinner menu of modern Indian dishes — including a chicken green masala and his famous crispy spinach chaat — for takeout and delivery from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. The Penn Quarter original and West End outpost are both still operating.

Best American Food Cities: DC
Palaak Chaat from Rasika
Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Chiko

This inventive counter that sells riffs on Chinese and Korean classics is open for takeout and delivery dinners at its Capitol Hill HQ. Its recently opened Dupont location serves lunch, too.

Chiko orange chicken high res
Orange-ish chicken from ChiKo
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Mama Chang

Renowned Chinese chef and restaurateur Peter Chang nods toward his Hubei province roots, his female family members, and some Sichuan and Hunan greatest hits at this Fairfax restaurant. Customers can order takeout lunch and dinner online or score local delivery on Uber Eats.

Mama Chang dumplings.
Dumplings from Mama Chang
Rey Lopez/For Mama Chang

Peking Gourmet Inn

This Falls Church destination has been a standard bearer for Peking duck for more than 40 years. Call in takeout or delivery orders of duck, dumplings, hot and sour soup, black pepper beef, and more for lunch and dinner every day.

Peking Gourmet Inn [official]

Related Maps