The 20 best new restaurants in the D.C. area
By Tom Sietsema
May 7, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
8 minutes ago
1 min
Every year around this time, I get to answer one of my favorite questions: 'What's new?'
Let me share the bounty, which includes imports from New York, tasting menus from top chefs, some welcome bargains plus several places with original ideas that you won't find anywhere else in the country — unless I'm missing a menu that includes pheasant under glass or a setting that marries church and steak.
This has not been an easy year in Washington. Federal layoffs and labor issues have taken their toll on restaurants, and diners seem more hesitant than before to pay ever-higher prices to eat away from home. Even the big cheeses worry about the fate of downtown. That means that as much as we all want to follow what's fresh, being a regular at your favorite restaurant, old or new, might be more important than ever.
Restaurants are an investment of time and money. Diverse as they are, these 20 newcomers brim with rewards.
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D.C.
Maryland
Virginia
Vegetarian-friendly
Entrees under $25
Showing all 20 restaurants
La' Shukran
417 Morse St. NE, alley entrance, D.C.
Middle Eastern
Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi
1330 Maryland Ave. SW, D.C.
Afro-Caribbean
Osteria Mozza
3276 M St. NW, D.C.
Italian
The Occidental
1475 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, D.C.
American
Wye Oak Tavern
211 E. Church St., Frederick, Md.
American
Alara
1303 Wisconsin Ave. NW, D.C.
Mediterranean
Butterworth's
319 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, D.C.
French
Cordelia Fishbar
550 Morse St. NE, D.C.
Seafood
The Duchess
1002 W. 36th St., Baltimore
Guamanian
Elena James All Day
8551 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase, Md.
American
Elmina
2208 14th St. NW, D.C.
Ghanaian
Elyse
10822 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax, Va.
American
Evelyn Rose
111 Church St. NW, Vienna, Va.
American
Kayu
1250 H St. NE, D.C.
Filipino
Minetta Tavern
1287 Fourth St. NE, D.C.
American
La Plaza Bar & Tapas
3917 14th St. NW, D.C.
Spanish
Raw Omakase
1326 14th St. NW, third floor, D.C.
Japanese
Rosedale
4465 Connecticut Ave. NW, D.C.
American
San Pancho
7056 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park, Md.
Mexican
Tapori
600 H Street NE, Suite E, D.C.
Indian and Nepalese
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