It sure is a wonderful time to be a foodie in DC. The capital city’s dining scene just keeps getting better and better and even as an avid restaurant diner, it seems to be getting harder and harder to keep up with the constantly evolving food scene. As someone who’s obsessed with always wanting to try the latest and greatest new restaurant, I assure you, this is a very good problem to have!

While most of the restaurants we’ve recently eaten at have left us gleefully satiated, not every meal has wowed us or has even come close to meeting our expectations. Below are our most recent dining experiences, from the divine to the disappointing, and everything in between.

DIVINE

 

Chloe

This restaurant probably has me the most excited. In fact, I am so smitten with our new go-to neighborhood spot that I’ve eaten here three times in the past week. I know. Excessive.

We love living in the Navy Yard neighborhood but I wouldn’t exactly say it’s a foodie destination. Unlike areas like Shaw and 14th Street, Navy Yard isn’t particularly drawing diners from all over the city for its food. Of course there are many good neighborhood spots that we frequently dine at including the Salt Line, Osteria Morini, Bluejacket, and Due South, but they’re not exactly putting Navy Yard on DC’s culinary map. I feel like the newest addition of Chloe (and even Ana at District Winery–see below) has finally done just that. The food here is outstanding and while the restaurant is beautiful, it’s not nearly as grand or formal as Del Mar (listed below), which arguably makes it a bit more approachable and more suitable for a weeknight dinner. Standouts include the crispy cauliflower, broiled oysters, cobra crudo, roasted cod, and the spiced roasted chicken (according to T and our carnivore friends). Love, love, love our new neighborhood spot!

Cobra Crudo

Butternut Salad

So good to see our college friend Katie while she was in town. 

 

Del Mar

Our favorite on this list, this restaurant is as stunning as it is superb. Fabio and Maria Trabocchi, highly regarded throughout the city for their restaurant empire that includes Fiola and Fiola Mare (one of our favorites), have done it again with this showstopper masterpiece. The restaurant’s decor and grandeur is absolutely jaw-dropping; every detail from its impressive design to the immaculate silverware and place settings are meticulously appointed. The attention to detail here is nothing short of exquisite and the cuisine and service are both equally exceptional. A spectacular addition to the Wharf and to the DC dining scene.

Post Del Mar euphoria with our good friends Eric and Jordyn

DELIGHTFUL

 

ANA AT DISTRICT WINERY

A winery in our neighborhood with great food to boot? It’s easy to see why we’re big fans of this place. Similar to Chloe, I think I dined here like four times within a three-week span (have I mentioned that I get obsessed easily?). So I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus because well, apparently you can have too much of a good thing. Menu highlights include the butternut squash muhammara, wild mushroom toast, grilled octopus,and the charred broccoli steak (fyi: the first time I ordered this, it was amazing, the second time, it was just meh). The wines and cocktails are equally wonderful and the ambience is lovely. What a fabulous addition to the Navy Yard neighborhood!

Sadly no (good) food and wine pics, but surely you enjoy photos of me, T and friends posing in front of bottles of wine, and just having a grand ol’ time, right?

BRESCA

Refined dining meets casual neighborhood eatery at 14th Street’s brilliant restaurant, Bresca. This bright and modern bistro is pure gold: friendly and attentive service, a warm and whimsical ambience, and mind-blowingly delectable cuisine. Every dish we ordered was better than the last. Notable plates include the burrata and winter citrus salad, artichoke agnolotti, Icelandic arctic char (so good we ordered it twice!), and the white park sirloin. So delicious!

Burrata & Winter Citrus

Icelandic Arctic Char

KITH AND KIN

If I had created a category in between divine and delightful, that’s where I would’ve placed Kith and Kin. Don’t let the second tier ranking fool you, this restaurant is absolutely sensational. Here, Afro-Caribeean fusion creates bold and unique flavors all while set in a dazzling ambience. Such a perfect spot for a memorable Valentine’s Day dinner date. Standouts include the brussels suya, king crab curry dip, spicy red lentils, and the whole fried red snapper.

I could bathe in this crab curry dip.

All table manners fall by the wayside when dissecting and devouring a whole fish. Yum.

Food coma with my valentine

LITTLE PEARL

Would you expect anything less than delightful from Aaron Silverman, the culinary genius behind Rose’s Luxury and Pineapple and Pearls? We have pretty much fallen in love with this cozy wine bar and coffee shop and cannot wait to return. And um, we might have ordered nearly everything on the menu, but that’s a good thing since we loved every single thing that we ate. Faves include the raw oyster and citrus, smoked onion dip, okonomiyaki spring roll (just as good as we had in Japan–not kidding), smoked eel, and anchovy toast. I told you we pretty much ordered all of the things. We also really enjoyed their interesting and unusual wines, particularly varietals from Macedonia and Sicily.

Several glasses of wine too many. I blame the Macedonia wine for forgetting to take food pics.

 

REPUBLIC

It’s not very often that I venture out to Takoma for dinner, so I won’t pretend that I know a lot about its restaurant scene, but if Republic is any indication, something tells me that I should be dining there more often. This neighborhood gem is yet another fabulous restaurant from the Black Restaurant Group (Blacksalt [our favorite of the group], Pearl Oyster Dive, Black Market, etc.). Casual yet refined, what I love most about this eatery is its focus on local vegetables and its seasonally-driven menu.

REQUIN

Clearly if you want to dine in a dramatic and stunning setting in DC, the Wharf is where to go. You’ve probably noticed a pattern here–I’ve become slightly obsessed with the Wharf of late, and it’s not even warm outside yet! Requin, Mike Isabella’s French-inspired glamorous hot-spot that’s similar to Del Mar and Kith and Kin in its splendor, is a place to see and be seen. A friend and I enjoyed appetizers and drinks here: the tuna tartarte (nicoise-style) and trout sashimi were both excellent, but the chanterelle tarte was average at best. Hoping to return sooner than later to enjoy a full-fledged meal here!

 

Tiger Fork

Hong Kong’s dynamic food scene is alive and well at this hip Chinese bistro in Shaw’s Blagden Alley. Casual and eclectic, Tiger Fork isn’t anywhere near as upscale as many of the other restaurants featured here, but it is just as delectable and delightful. Every single item we ordered here was heavenly. Our favorites include cheung fun (shrimp, flowering chives), buffalo tofu, the spring rolls and the noodle dishes (beef chow foon and the mushroom-based one).

Buffalo tofu + Japanese whiskey = one very happy girl

Cheung Fun

Mushroom noodle goodness 

DECENT

 

JOSELITO

Capitol Hill folks, do you remember Sona? The neighborhood wine and cheesemaking shop? It wasn’t anything special per se, but I loved it and went there often. So when it closed, naturally I was disappointed, but when I heard that a Spanish tapas-inspired spot was replacing it, my disappointment quickly disappeared. I dined at Joselito (coincidentally) two consecutive nights and while nothing was bad, nothing was great, either. Every dish was kinda meh to be honest, which makes me miss Sona even more. With Capitol Hill’s continuously emerging food scene, I see no real reason to ever return here when there are just so many other better restaurants in the neighborhood.

 

SUCCOTASH

This restaurant has received a lot of hype and while some of it is certainly warranted, I’m not entirely sure what all the hoopla is about. I wanted to love this place more. And make no mistake, there are some things to love about Succotash. Set in an old converted bank, this spacious eatery is dramatic, bold and downright gorgeous. Their cocktails are terrific and the blackened octopus is delicious. But everything else we ordered, including the cornbread cakes, fried oysters, catfish, and short ribs were all good, but not exactly great. As with most things in life, if I hadn’t had such high expectations, I would’ve probably liked Succotash more. Succotash is worth a visit, but you might want to temper your expectations a little.

 

DISAPPOINTING

 

HONEYSUCKLE

It’s not so much that Honeysuckle is bad. It’s really not. In fact, it’s totally fine. It’s just that we had high expectations for this place, which has consistently received great reviews, and it just didn’t live up to any of the hype. The large space (formerly the widely beloved Vidalia) is funky and eclectic, painted with tattoo-style murals that honor the chef’s 200+ tattoos (cool, right?). Its menu is kind of cool, too: Nordic fare with a bit of southern flare. With all this coolness, not to mention the price tag, we expected a lot more.  I should have known from the get-go: I easily made a last-minute reservation for four people on a Friday night and the restaurant was probably only half full, so that was a bit telling. With so many fabulous restaurants throughout the city, Honeysuckle just isn’t worth the time or the money.

 

So what DC restaurants are we still dying to get to?

The current top three of my forever-growing list: Metier, Maydan, and Chiko. I NEED to eat at these spots (and so many more!) STAT.

Here’s to enjoying more phenomenal food in the nation’s capital!

 

Related Reads: DC Dining Winter 2017, DC Dining Fall 2016, DC Dining Summer 2016

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