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Takoda’s rooftop stays open year round.
Daniel Swartz for Takoda

Where to Eat and Drink in Navy Yard

The waterfront neighborhood has exciting options for decadent pies, scenic cocktails, and Mid-Atlantic ingredients

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Takoda’s rooftop stays open year round.
| Daniel Swartz for Takoda

It took awhile, but the arrival of Nationals Park eventually led to a dining and drinking boom in Navy Yard, an area of D.C. that has become increasingly residential and now boasts a variety of restaurants and amenities, including Michelin-rated Middle Eastern fare, excellent Puerto Rican food, and much more. The Southeast neighborhood is also home to a big assortment of sports bars, including Tap 99, Walter’s Sports Bar and Restaurant, Stadium Sports Bar & Smokehouse, and a new Green Turtle, with Tom’s Watch Bar coming soon.

Navy Yard newcomers include British pub Duke’s Grocery, cool cocktail bar Trouble Bird (formerly Maxwell), and massive mini-golf bar Swingers. The Southeast neighborhood will soon welcome cabana-covered waterfront hangout The Cove, juice shop Llama Bar, and chef Tim Ma’s all-day cafe Any Day Now in the old ABC Pony space.

Outside of this curated list, the neighborhood is booming with quick-service options for Indian bowls (Rasa), slices (Wiseguy), Korean fried chicken (Bonchon), scoops (Ice Cream Jubilee), affordable burgers (Swizzler), and more. Go here for a guide to dining inside Nationals Park during the 2023 MLB season, which kicks off on Thursday, March 30.

Here are 18 essential dining and drinking destinations in Navy Yard.

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Chicken + Whiskey

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Logan Circle’s popular destination for Peruvian poultry and brown liquor unveiled a follow-up D.C. location right across from Nationals Park last summer. Chicken + Whiskey debuted in 2017 along the bustling 14th Street NW strip, where Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo (Seven ReasonsImmigrant FoodImperfecto) sends out slow-roasted chickens brined for 12 hours. Unlike the narrow layout of the original — a chicken joint in the front, and a wall of whiskeys and vinyls behind a refrigerator door in the back — Chicken + Whiskey puts its two components side-by-side in Navy Yard with roll-up garage doors spanning the length of the facade.

Chicken + Whiskey cooks its namesake protein over wood charcoal. 
Chicken + Whiskey

Side Door Pizza

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A small side door at Scarlet Oak in Navy Yard explains the name behind the pint-sized takeout and delivery operation that’s been going strong since fall 2020. Neighborhood regulars flock to the tiny carryout for Detroit-style pizzas baked with Wisconsin brick and mozzarella cheeses and finished with a double racing stripe of zesty pizza sauce.

Atlas Brew Works/Andy’s Pizza

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Fast-growing local chain Andy’s Pizza has quickly developed a reputation as one of the better local options for New York-style slices. An Atlas Brew Works production facility and taproom on Half Street has partnered with Andy’s, too, so customers can order individual portions, whole pies, Old Bay wings, and salads for carryout or patio dining. There are also to-go Atlas beers in cans, crowlers, and 750-milliliter bottles.

Three pizza pies and other food in the foreground of Atlas’s space.
Atlas Brew Works has a partnership with Andy’s Pizza at its new Navy Yard facility.
Atlas Brew Works

Hatoba by Daikaya

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Daikaya Group’s Japanese restaurant in Navy Yard reopened last spring with a newly built-out bar, karaoke, and Hawaiian dishes like poke bowls, trail mix, and macaroni salad that speak to executive chef Katsuya Fukushima’s island upbringing. A retooled bar program includes a potent Big Island Iced Tea — a tropical spin on the back-in-style Long Island classic.

Takoda Navy Yard

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Six years after debuting in Shaw, Takoda Restaurant & Beer Garden unveiled a sophomore D.C. location across from Nationals Park last June. The 7,000-square-foot millennial magnet, nearly twice the size as the original, features a second-floor space and third-story rooftop that fast-growing Better Hospitality Group (BHG) calls the biggest in the neighborhood. Takoda brings over its popular tots, boneless chicken wings, sliders, bottomless brunch, frose, and cocktails on draft, plus new drops like build-your-own burgers and taco salads. Starters like truffle fries and fish and chips are also part of a late-night weekend menu.

Takoda’s 213-person perch is the largest rooftop bar in the area. 
Daniel Swartz for Takoda

Silver Diner

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Silver Diner’s debut D.C. location, situated directly across from Nationals Park, unveiled a shiny new rooftop bar in late October. The 21-and-up space, dubbed Silver Social, serves bar bites like half-smoke sliders, flatbreads, and Buffalo chicken tacos from the Maryland-based chain’s chef Ype Von Hengst. The 121-seat perch with a heated terrace loops local spirits and fresh juices in its cocktails to go along with a list of beers and wines. Silver Social stays open until as late as 2 a.m. on weekends, with a build-you-own mimosa brunch until 4 p.m.

Silver Social sports an outdoor terrace looking out at the baseball stadium in Navy Yard.
Silver Diner

Mission - Navy Yard

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This two-story Mexican bar right across from Nationals Park is where sports fans and late-night crowds congregate for margaritas and sheet pan nachos. The millennial-driven group recently added a beachy bar next door called Royal Sands Social Club that resembles one big pool party.

Knead Hospitality + Design’s stylish ode to greasy-spoon Americana debuted across from Nationals Park last spring with throwback cocktails, meatloaf, oversized chicken pot pie, an In-N-Out-inspired smash burger, and vegan Caesar salad. The diner’s epic weekday happy hour (11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) features $4 chilled Jim Beam shots, $8 frozen daiquiris, and discounts on the night’s featured “Blue Plate” special like lasagna, braised short ribs, or fish and chips. Revered NYC bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr powers Gatsby’s desserts section with decadent pies, cakes, sundaes, and ice cream. Order online for pickup or delivery.

The glamorous, tiled-framed bar at Gatsby
Original murals of festive flappers overlook diners seated in handsome quilted leather booths.
Rey Lopez for Gatsby

La Famosa

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Chef Joancarlo Parkhurst, who grew up running around his family’s fruit canning factory in the Puerto Rican city of Bayamón, opened this all-day cafe to represent the island’s cuisine in D.C. Traditional dishes include garlicky mashed plantain mofongo, tripleta and jibarito sandwiches, and the chuleta kan-kan: a Berkshire pork chop that features a “mohawk” of pork belly cut to expose its fatty edges. Coffee and pastries are available for breakfast, and several rum cocktails are available for sipping on the patio. Order takeout here.

A blue plate holds a smashed, fried circles of plantain tostones, rice, pink beans, and a chuleta kan-kan (bone-in pork chop) that features a “mohawk” of pork belly cut to expose three edges from each fatty piece.
The chuleta kan-kan (bone-in pork chop) from La Famosa.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Seasoned D.C. chef Haidar Karoum — formerly of Proof, Estadio, and Doi Moi — makes food that reflects his life story. Featured menu items range from traditional pate and a hummus bolstered by spiced beef to roasted Vietnamese chicken with chile-lime dipping sauce and whole fish flanked by salsa verde. The restaurant is available for indoor or outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery (via Caviar).

Plate of crudo with red pepper and avocado garnishes.
Cobia crudo from Chloe
Photo by Scott Suchman for Chloe

Surveyor

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The recent replacements to Danny Meyer’s establishments at the hip Thompson hotel include a lobby-level American restaurant that just added weekend brunch and airy rooftop bar. DJs regularly spin up top on Saturday nights.

Thompson hotel has two places to dine and drink.
Thompson Hotel/official photo

Arabic for “my heart,” chef-owner Michael Rafidi’s first solo restaurant relies on a wood-burning hearth and oven to churn out puffed-up pita, sfeeha (meat pies) made with ground duck, and Turkish manti dumplings served with an urfa chile crunch. Beiruiti hummus and fattoush are full of seasonal produce. Open for indoor and outdoor dining, with reservations via Tock.

A plate of manti dumplings in urfa broth with urfa chile crunch, herbs, and garlic yogurt at Albi
Dumplings from Albi.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Shilling Canning Company

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This Mid-Atlantic restaurant and raw bar with a wood-burning oven offers three-course tasting menus packages (around $60 per person), a seven-course chef’s table option, and a la carte menus full of dishes like Chesapeake rockfish, beet tartare, panna cotta, and standout thick-cut fries. Reservations are available inside or on a patio garden. Takeout or delivery are available too.

Shilling Canning Company dining room wide
Shilling Canning Company’s glossy dining room.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Bammy's

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Partners Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan made a huge hire last summer at their waterfront Caribbean mainstay with the addition of Eater DC’s 2019 Chef of the Year Peter Prime. The Cane alum brings his native Trinidad and Tobago to the table with a revised menu full of signature doubles (fry breads), smoked jerk wings, grilled oxtail, whole fried snapper escoveitch, stews, and duck or chickpea curries. A family-style menu ($75) is also available. Sit down for a creamy, rum-packed painkiller cocktail on the patio, or place an order for takeout.

After exiting Cane, Peter Prime resurfaced in D.C. this summer as a new chef at Bammy’s.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Dacha Beer Garden (Navy Yard)

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Dacha’s massive 800-seat beer garden on the Anacostia River offers happy hour Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with deals on glass boots of beer and German sausage with sauerkraut. The airy, 4-year-old hangout has a new canopy covering, stylish deck flooring, fire pits, and spruced up grounds. 

Salt Line

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This local favorite for seafood (and cheeseburgers) serves New England-style “stuffies,” lobster rolls, and rotating specials from chef Kyle Bailey that showcase sustainable varieties of fish. Its refreshed riverfront patio and bar offers coverage from the rain.

All-Purpose (Multiple locations)

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The Navy Yard outpost of chef Mike Friedman’s Jersey-style pizzeria serves fried cauliflower, clam-topped pies and plus warm chocolate chip cookies a la mode. This month, Friedman and the team debuted a new trattoria-styled menu full of pastas, salumi, entrees, and more. That includes rigatoni with spring pea cremosa, asparagus, mint, parmigiano, and roasted garlic breadcrumbs and Tuscan fried chicken with crispy rosemary, chili honey, and parmigiano. Order pickup or delivery online, or wolf down a pizza on the patio or its rooftop.

Pizza topped with greens and cheese.
A brunch pizza from All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Solace Outpost Navy Yard

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Northern Virginia’s craft beer sensation Solace Brewing Company planted a massive, sun-drenched taproom on the banks of the Anacostia River over a year ago. The soaring, industrial-style addition to the Dock 79 waterfront development pours its beloved IPAs, special one-off brews, and beertails alongside a section of half-smokes, bratwurst, and all-beef hot dogs supplied by Georgetown butcher Stachowski Market.

Rows of bottles
Solace Outpost offers growlers to-go.
Leo Lee/official photo

Chicken + Whiskey

Logan Circle’s popular destination for Peruvian poultry and brown liquor unveiled a follow-up D.C. location right across from Nationals Park last summer. Chicken + Whiskey debuted in 2017 along the bustling 14th Street NW strip, where Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo (Seven ReasonsImmigrant FoodImperfecto) sends out slow-roasted chickens brined for 12 hours. Unlike the narrow layout of the original — a chicken joint in the front, and a wall of whiskeys and vinyls behind a refrigerator door in the back — Chicken + Whiskey puts its two components side-by-side in Navy Yard with roll-up garage doors spanning the length of the facade.

Chicken + Whiskey cooks its namesake protein over wood charcoal. 
Chicken + Whiskey

Side Door Pizza

A small side door at Scarlet Oak in Navy Yard explains the name behind the pint-sized takeout and delivery operation that’s been going strong since fall 2020. Neighborhood regulars flock to the tiny carryout for Detroit-style pizzas baked with Wisconsin brick and mozzarella cheeses and finished with a double racing stripe of zesty pizza sauce.

Atlas Brew Works/Andy’s Pizza

Fast-growing local chain Andy’s Pizza has quickly developed a reputation as one of the better local options for New York-style slices. An Atlas Brew Works production facility and taproom on Half Street has partnered with Andy’s, too, so customers can order individual portions, whole pies, Old Bay wings, and salads for carryout or patio dining. There are also to-go Atlas beers in cans, crowlers, and 750-milliliter bottles.

Three pizza pies and other food in the foreground of Atlas’s space.
Atlas Brew Works has a partnership with Andy’s Pizza at its new Navy Yard facility.
Atlas Brew Works

Hatoba by Daikaya

Daikaya Group’s Japanese restaurant in Navy Yard reopened last spring with a newly built-out bar, karaoke, and Hawaiian dishes like poke bowls, trail mix, and macaroni salad that speak to executive chef Katsuya Fukushima’s island upbringing. A retooled bar program includes a potent Big Island Iced Tea — a tropical spin on the back-in-style Long Island classic.

Takoda Navy Yard

Six years after debuting in Shaw, Takoda Restaurant & Beer Garden unveiled a sophomore D.C. location across from Nationals Park last June. The 7,000-square-foot millennial magnet, nearly twice the size as the original, features a second-floor space and third-story rooftop that fast-growing Better Hospitality Group (BHG) calls the biggest in the neighborhood. Takoda brings over its popular tots, boneless chicken wings, sliders, bottomless brunch, frose, and cocktails on draft, plus new drops like build-your-own burgers and taco salads. Starters like truffle fries and fish and chips are also part of a late-night weekend menu.

Takoda’s 213-person perch is the largest rooftop bar in the area. 
Daniel Swartz for Takoda

Silver Diner

Silver Diner’s debut D.C. location, situated directly across from Nationals Park, unveiled a shiny new rooftop bar in late October. The 21-and-up space, dubbed Silver Social, serves bar bites like half-smoke sliders, flatbreads, and Buffalo chicken tacos from the Maryland-based chain’s chef Ype Von Hengst. The 121-seat perch with a heated terrace loops local spirits and fresh juices in its cocktails to go along with a list of beers and wines. Silver Social stays open until as late as 2 a.m. on weekends, with a build-you-own mimosa brunch until 4 p.m.

Silver Social sports an outdoor terrace looking out at the baseball stadium in Navy Yard.
Silver Diner

Mission - Navy Yard

This two-story Mexican bar right across from Nationals Park is where sports fans and late-night crowds congregate for margaritas and sheet pan nachos. The millennial-driven group recently added a beachy bar next door called Royal Sands Social Club that resembles one big pool party.

GATSBY

Knead Hospitality + Design’s stylish ode to greasy-spoon Americana debuted across from Nationals Park last spring with throwback cocktails, meatloaf, oversized chicken pot pie, an In-N-Out-inspired smash burger, and vegan Caesar salad. The diner’s epic weekday happy hour (11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.) features $4 chilled Jim Beam shots, $8 frozen daiquiris, and discounts on the night’s featured “Blue Plate” special like lasagna, braised short ribs, or fish and chips. Revered NYC bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr powers Gatsby’s desserts section with decadent pies, cakes, sundaes, and ice cream. Order online for pickup or delivery.

The glamorous, tiled-framed bar at Gatsby
Original murals of festive flappers overlook diners seated in handsome quilted leather booths.
Rey Lopez for Gatsby

La Famosa

Chef Joancarlo Parkhurst, who grew up running around his family’s fruit canning factory in the Puerto Rican city of Bayamón, opened this all-day cafe to represent the island’s cuisine in D.C. Traditional dishes include garlicky mashed plantain mofongo, tripleta and jibarito sandwiches, and the chuleta kan-kan: a Berkshire pork chop that features a “mohawk” of pork belly cut to expose its fatty edges. Coffee and pastries are available for breakfast, and several rum cocktails are available for sipping on the patio. Order takeout here.

A blue plate holds a smashed, fried circles of plantain tostones, rice, pink beans, and a chuleta kan-kan (bone-in pork chop) that features a “mohawk” of pork belly cut to expose three edges from each fatty piece.
The chuleta kan-kan (bone-in pork chop) from La Famosa.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Chloe

Seasoned D.C. chef Haidar Karoum — formerly of Proof, Estadio, and Doi Moi — makes food that reflects his life story. Featured menu items range from traditional pate and a hummus bolstered by spiced beef to roasted Vietnamese chicken with chile-lime dipping sauce and whole fish flanked by salsa verde. The restaurant is available for indoor or outdoor dining, takeout, and delivery (via Caviar).

Plate of crudo with red pepper and avocado garnishes.
Cobia crudo from Chloe
Photo by Scott Suchman for Chloe

Surveyor

The recent replacements to Danny Meyer’s establishments at the hip Thompson hotel include a lobby-level American restaurant that just added weekend brunch and airy rooftop bar. DJs regularly spin up top on Saturday nights.

Thompson hotel has two places to dine and drink.
Thompson Hotel/official photo

Albi

Arabic for “my heart,” chef-owner Michael Rafidi’s first solo restaurant relies on a wood-burning hearth and oven to churn out puffed-up pita, sfeeha (meat pies) made with ground duck, and Turkish manti dumplings served with an urfa chile crunch. Beiruiti hummus and fattoush are full of seasonal produce. Open for indoor and outdoor dining, with reservations via Tock.

A plate of manti dumplings in urfa broth with urfa chile crunch, herbs, and garlic yogurt at Albi
Dumplings from Albi.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Shilling Canning Company

This Mid-Atlantic restaurant and raw bar with a wood-burning oven offers three-course tasting menus packages (around $60 per person), a seven-course chef’s table option, and a la carte menus full of dishes like Chesapeake rockfish, beet tartare, panna cotta, and standout thick-cut fries. Reservations are available inside or on a patio garden. Takeout or delivery are available too.

Shilling Canning Company dining room wide
Shilling Canning Company’s glossy dining room.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Bammy's

Partners Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan made a huge hire last summer at their waterfront Caribbean mainstay with the addition of Eater DC’s 2019 Chef of the Year Peter Prime. The Cane alum brings his native Trinidad and Tobago to the table with a revised menu full of signature doubles (fry breads), smoked jerk wings, grilled oxtail, whole fried snapper escoveitch, stews, and duck or chickpea curries. A family-style menu ($75) is also available. Sit down for a creamy, rum-packed painkiller cocktail on the patio, or place an order for takeout.

After exiting Cane, Peter Prime resurfaced in D.C. this summer as a new chef at Bammy’s.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Dacha Beer Garden (Navy Yard)

Dacha’s massive 800-seat beer garden on the Anacostia River offers happy hour Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with deals on glass boots of beer and German sausage with sauerkraut. The airy, 4-year-old hangout has a new canopy covering, stylish deck flooring, fire pits, and spruced up grounds. 

Related Maps

Salt Line

This local favorite for seafood (and cheeseburgers) serves New England-style “stuffies,” lobster rolls, and rotating specials from chef Kyle Bailey that showcase sustainable varieties of fish. Its refreshed riverfront patio and bar offers coverage from the rain.

All-Purpose (Multiple locations)

The Navy Yard outpost of chef Mike Friedman’s Jersey-style pizzeria serves fried cauliflower, clam-topped pies and plus warm chocolate chip cookies a la mode. This month, Friedman and the team debuted a new trattoria-styled menu full of pastas, salumi, entrees, and more. That includes rigatoni with spring pea cremosa, asparagus, mint, parmigiano, and roasted garlic breadcrumbs and Tuscan fried chicken with crispy rosemary, chili honey, and parmigiano. Order pickup or delivery online, or wolf down a pizza on the patio or its rooftop.

Pizza topped with greens and cheese.
A brunch pizza from All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Solace Outpost Navy Yard

Northern Virginia’s craft beer sensation Solace Brewing Company planted a massive, sun-drenched taproom on the banks of the Anacostia River over a year ago. The soaring, industrial-style addition to the Dock 79 waterfront development pours its beloved IPAs, special one-off brews, and beertails alongside a section of half-smokes, bratwurst, and all-beef hot dogs supplied by Georgetown butcher Stachowski Market.

Rows of bottles
Solace Outpost offers growlers to-go.
Leo Lee/official photo

Related Maps