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Washington Convention Center
The area around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center is packed with prime dining options.
Walter E. Washington Convention Center

Where to Eat and Drink Near D.C.’s Convention Center

Grab a bite or enjoy a drink in between or after meetings

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The area around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center is packed with prime dining options.
| Walter E. Washington Convention Center

Thousands of people traveling to D.C. on business typically find themselves at the cavernous Walter E. Washington Convention Center. And many may ask the same question: Where’s a good place to go eat?

Whether it's a quick bite nearby, a casual spot for a sit-down lunch or dinner, or restaurants to host a formal business gathering, these are the best places to eat and drink in the immediate area. The good news for anyone venturing through the area is that adjacent Shaw remains one of the hottest neighborhoods in town to dine and drink.

Have another favorite option near the meeting space? Share in the comments or sound off via email.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Convivial

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Chef Cedric Maupiller's festive, French-American restaurant serves everything from gourmet cheeseburgers to fried chicken "coq au vin."
Go for: A sit-down dinner
Distance from CC: 0.5 miles

Convivial DC burger A gourmet bacon cheeseburger at Convivial. Convivial/Facebook

Maxwell Park

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Proprietor Brent Kroll is an experienced sommelier who can pick out the perfect pour to try from wine regions all around the world. There's plenty of outdoor patio space, and each month the wine bar changes its menu, focusing on fun themes like wines made by women or glasses filled with bubbly. Chef Masako Morishita leans into Japanese comfort foods like savory pancakes and teriyaki burgers.
Go for: Drinks
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Maxwell Park sommelier Brent Kroll.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Whole grain breads and pastries are cooked to perfection inside a giant oven that's hard to miss at D.C.'s debut whole grain bakery, mill, and coffee bar. The “financiers” (French almond cakes) are impeccable.
Go for: A quick bite or coffee
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Tiger Fork

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This sleek addition to Blagden Alley specializes in noodle dishes, Asian barbecue, and Hong Kong-style street food. It also has a late night menu featuring DC Brau beer specials. The alley is also home to sibling bar Calico, an indoor-outdoor happy hour hideaway for fried eggplant and hoagies (look for a tall wooden fence with mural of painted carrots).
Go for: A sit-down dinner, drinks
Distance from CC: 0.2 miles

Scott Suchman for Tiger Fork

All-Purpose

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Chef Michael Friedman’s Italian eatery specializes in gourmet pizzas, seasonal cocktails, and Italian-American brunch offerings. The critically acclaimed Shaw restaurant also has a Navy Yard location across from Nationals Park.
Go for: A casual lunch, dinner or brunch
Distance from CC: 0.2 miles

A seasonal pie at All-Purpose.
All-Purpose

TallBoy

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This laid-back bar revolves around craft beer, chicken wings, and grilled cheese — what more could one want? Go here for happy hour, or try out the new brunch menu with specials like chicken and waffles.
Go for: Drinks, bar food, and brunch
Distance from CC: 0.1 mile

TallBoy Grilled Cheese
A grilled cheese at TallBoy.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Causa/ Bar Amazonia

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The latest addition to Blagden Alley stars an expertly crafted Peruvian tasting menu from chef and co-owner Carlos Delgado. The ambitious venue pays tribute to his native Peru’s three main geographical regions: the seafood-rich Pacific coast, the dense Amazon rainforest, and the high-altitude Andes and cloud-forest regions. Industry vets and Service Bar owners Chad Spangler and Glendon Hartley curate the cocktails for the restaurant and its Bar Amazonia sibling upstairs. This spot also boasts one of the largest pisco collections in America.

A whole fish dish on a table
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

James Beard Award-winning chef Jeremiah Langhorne's fiercely popular, Michelin-starred restaurant focuses on carefully sourced, Mid-Atlantic fare cooked over a wood-fired hearth. If dinner reservations prove elusive, try to land a seat at its first-come, first-serve bar. Note: the restaurant goes dark August 29 and reopens September 13 with a new six-course menu ($170) in addition to a la carte at the bar.
Go for: A sit-down dinner (with advance preparation), drinks
Distance from CC: 0.2 miles

Chef Jeremiah Langhorne
Chef Jeremiah Langhorne
Dabney [official]

Unconventional Diner

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Chef David Deshaies raises eyebrows by applying classic French technique to American-style diner food. Think a haute take on meatloaf, or mini-pot pie poppers that explode with flavor. Looking for something simpler? Unconventional Diner recently launched a new happy hour menu, weekdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the bar. Brunch is offered daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with popular offerings like chicken and waffles and blueberry-lavender pancakes.
Go for: Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, plus happy hour.
Distance from CC: 0.1 miles

Unconventional Diner
Gourmet meatloaf at Unconventional Diner.
Unconventional Diner/Facebook

Supra is D.C.’s first Georgian restaurant from husband-wife team Jonathan and Laura Nelms. They offer a wide array of Georgian wines, as well as cheesy, buttery khachapuri, essential eating for anyone who has ever dreamed of traveling to The Caucasus region.

Go for: Lunch, dinner, or happy hour.
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Supra pours varietals from one of the oldest wine regions in the world.
Supra

Mariscos 1133

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This color-soaked corner newcomer from Mexico-born restaurateurs Alfredo and Jessica Solis (El SolMezcalero, and Anafre) prepares a treasure trove of fresh seafood in various ways (think citrusy ceviche, whole grilled red snapper, and Puerto Nuevo-style lobster), with Latin-hopping cocktails that follow the food’s lead.
Go for: A casual dinner or brunch
Distance from CC: 0.3 mile

Scott Suchman/Mariscos 1133
Coronaritas at Mariscos 1133.
Scott Suchman/Mariscos 1133

Rumi's Kitchen

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This Persian standby came to D.C. by way of Atlanta in 2020. Chef and owner Ali Mesghali’s menu focuses on shareable Iranian meze, kebabs, and stews, making it a great spot to book for a large-scale or group lunch or dinner.

Go for: Lunch, dinner, or happy hour.
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Mushroom hummus with taftoun(flatbread) and a complimentary plate of herbs, radishes, nuts, and feta.
Mushroom hummus with taftoun (flatbread) and a complimentary plate of herbs, radishes, nuts, and feta.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Craft cocktails set to a bright, blue backdrop are the star of the show here. Most specialty drinks run about $16, and it's a great place to order riffs off classic cocktails, like a mint julep or Negroni.
Go for: Drinks
Distance from CC: 0.1 mile

Compass Coffee (Multiple locations)

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This local coffee shop has a location in the grand lobby of the convention center that’s perfect for a quick breakfast or a caffeine fix. The original roastery is also a few blocks north at 7th and P Street NW.
Go for: A quick bite or coffee
Distance from CC: In the grand lobby

Compass Coffee DC crowd
Customers lined up at a Compass Coffee shop.
Compass Coffee/Facebook

Convivial

Chef Cedric Maupiller's festive, French-American restaurant serves everything from gourmet cheeseburgers to fried chicken "coq au vin."
Go for: A sit-down dinner
Distance from CC: 0.5 miles

Convivial DC burger A gourmet bacon cheeseburger at Convivial. Convivial/Facebook

Maxwell Park

Proprietor Brent Kroll is an experienced sommelier who can pick out the perfect pour to try from wine regions all around the world. There's plenty of outdoor patio space, and each month the wine bar changes its menu, focusing on fun themes like wines made by women or glasses filled with bubbly. Chef Masako Morishita leans into Japanese comfort foods like savory pancakes and teriyaki burgers.
Go for: Drinks
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Maxwell Park sommelier Brent Kroll.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Seylou

Whole grain breads and pastries are cooked to perfection inside a giant oven that's hard to miss at D.C.'s debut whole grain bakery, mill, and coffee bar. The “financiers” (French almond cakes) are impeccable.
Go for: A quick bite or coffee
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Tiger Fork

This sleek addition to Blagden Alley specializes in noodle dishes, Asian barbecue, and Hong Kong-style street food. It also has a late night menu featuring DC Brau beer specials. The alley is also home to sibling bar Calico, an indoor-outdoor happy hour hideaway for fried eggplant and hoagies (look for a tall wooden fence with mural of painted carrots).
Go for: A sit-down dinner, drinks
Distance from CC: 0.2 miles

Scott Suchman for Tiger Fork

All-Purpose

Chef Michael Friedman’s Italian eatery specializes in gourmet pizzas, seasonal cocktails, and Italian-American brunch offerings. The critically acclaimed Shaw restaurant also has a Navy Yard location across from Nationals Park.
Go for: A casual lunch, dinner or brunch
Distance from CC: 0.2 miles

A seasonal pie at All-Purpose.
All-Purpose

TallBoy

This laid-back bar revolves around craft beer, chicken wings, and grilled cheese — what more could one want? Go here for happy hour, or try out the new brunch menu with specials like chicken and waffles.
Go for: Drinks, bar food, and brunch
Distance from CC: 0.1 mile

TallBoy Grilled Cheese
A grilled cheese at TallBoy.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Causa/ Bar Amazonia

The latest addition to Blagden Alley stars an expertly crafted Peruvian tasting menu from chef and co-owner Carlos Delgado. The ambitious venue pays tribute to his native Peru’s three main geographical regions: the seafood-rich Pacific coast, the dense Amazon rainforest, and the high-altitude Andes and cloud-forest regions. Industry vets and Service Bar owners Chad Spangler and Glendon Hartley curate the cocktails for the restaurant and its Bar Amazonia sibling upstairs. This spot also boasts one of the largest pisco collections in America.

A whole fish dish on a table
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

Dabney

James Beard Award-winning chef Jeremiah Langhorne's fiercely popular, Michelin-starred restaurant focuses on carefully sourced, Mid-Atlantic fare cooked over a wood-fired hearth. If dinner reservations prove elusive, try to land a seat at its first-come, first-serve bar. Note: the restaurant goes dark August 29 and reopens September 13 with a new six-course menu ($170) in addition to a la carte at the bar.
Go for: A sit-down dinner (with advance preparation), drinks
Distance from CC: 0.2 miles

Chef Jeremiah Langhorne
Chef Jeremiah Langhorne
Dabney [official]

Unconventional Diner

Chef David Deshaies raises eyebrows by applying classic French technique to American-style diner food. Think a haute take on meatloaf, or mini-pot pie poppers that explode with flavor. Looking for something simpler? Unconventional Diner recently launched a new happy hour menu, weekdays from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the bar. Brunch is offered daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with popular offerings like chicken and waffles and blueberry-lavender pancakes.
Go for: Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, plus happy hour.
Distance from CC: 0.1 miles

Unconventional Diner
Gourmet meatloaf at Unconventional Diner.
Unconventional Diner/Facebook

Supra

Supra is D.C.’s first Georgian restaurant from husband-wife team Jonathan and Laura Nelms. They offer a wide array of Georgian wines, as well as cheesy, buttery khachapuri, essential eating for anyone who has ever dreamed of traveling to The Caucasus region.

Go for: Lunch, dinner, or happy hour.
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Supra pours varietals from one of the oldest wine regions in the world.
Supra

Mariscos 1133

This color-soaked corner newcomer from Mexico-born restaurateurs Alfredo and Jessica Solis (El SolMezcalero, and Anafre) prepares a treasure trove of fresh seafood in various ways (think citrusy ceviche, whole grilled red snapper, and Puerto Nuevo-style lobster), with Latin-hopping cocktails that follow the food’s lead.
Go for: A casual dinner or brunch
Distance from CC: 0.3 mile

Scott Suchman/Mariscos 1133
Coronaritas at Mariscos 1133.
Scott Suchman/Mariscos 1133

Rumi's Kitchen

This Persian standby came to D.C. by way of Atlanta in 2020. Chef and owner Ali Mesghali’s menu focuses on shareable Iranian meze, kebabs, and stews, making it a great spot to book for a large-scale or group lunch or dinner.

Go for: Lunch, dinner, or happy hour.
Distance from CC: 0.3 miles

Mushroom hummus with taftoun(flatbread) and a complimentary plate of herbs, radishes, nuts, and feta.
Mushroom hummus with taftoun (flatbread) and a complimentary plate of herbs, radishes, nuts, and feta.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Morris

Craft cocktails set to a bright, blue backdrop are the star of the show here. Most specialty drinks run about $16, and it's a great place to order riffs off classic cocktails, like a mint julep or Negroni.
Go for: Drinks
Distance from CC: 0.1 mile

Compass Coffee (Multiple locations)

This local coffee shop has a location in the grand lobby of the convention center that’s perfect for a quick breakfast or a caffeine fix. The original roastery is also a few blocks north at 7th and P Street NW.
Go for: A quick bite or coffee
Distance from CC: In the grand lobby

Compass Coffee DC crowd
Customers lined up at a Compass Coffee shop.
Compass Coffee/Facebook

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