With immigrant chefs shaking up the restaurant scene in Washington D.C., the cuisine varies from Latin American, Ethiopian, and Native American to Indian, while its buzzing bars go from upscale cocktail lounges to hidden speakeasies. This is our must-visit list of where to dine and drink in the city. Let your palate explore and explode with unusual flavours and exciting cocktails.
Ethiopic
This family-run restaurant is counted as the best in a city that offers the most authentic Ethiopian cuisine outside Addis Ababa. Known for its generous use of spices and communal eating, the favourites include Injera – a tangy, flat, spongy sourdough bread – stews and vegetarian dishes. One of the signature items is Tibs – sizzling hot lamb pan-fried with spices, onions, and vegetables. It’s best to go for a sampler to taste their hit items. Accompanied by local wine or beer, it’s magic, and don’t forget the strong coffee!
Rasika
The modern Indian cuisine here is so delicious that even the Obamas, Angelina Jolie, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos couldn’t resist dining here. The pan-Indian dishes include chaats, dosas, curries, kebabs, and tikkas. Their Palak Chaat, Sweet Potato Samosa, and Tandoori Chicken Tikka have taken Washington, DC, by storm. Seafood items on their menu, like Lobster Hawa Mahal and the Shrimp Kerela Curry infused with tamarind and black cod, are also hot favourites. One can also opt for a four or six-course tasting menu. And definitely, don’t leave without having the Rose Rasmalai and Gulab Jamun.
Silver Lyan
Its location is as historic as the cocktails it whips up! Housed in a former bank vault at Riggs Hotel, the signature cocktails at this classy bar are inspired by historical events. Relax on comfy red sofas to sip drinks like Bare Market Hardshak, inspired by the story of sex workers and Press Gang Daisy, which is a tribute to the tradition of sailor tattoos. Their tater tots are pretty delicious. What’s more? Perch on a bar stool and chat with the mixologists to learn how they blend history and innovation.
Allegory
This sleek speakeasy blends cocktails, art, and literature into a heady mix. Hidden behind a nondescript door at the Eaton DC hotel, the eye falls on artist Erik Thor-Sandberg’s dramatic murals inspired by Alice in Wonderland and the story of civil rights activist Ruby Bridges. The drinks menu, aptly named “Down The Rabbit Hole”, is divided into different chapters with a tale behind each cocktail that is linked to the mural. The bestseller here is “Eyes of Flame”, a potent mix of mezcal and aged rum that is the Beverage and Creative Deke Dune’s take on the Oaxacan Old Fashioned.
El Cielo
Would you like chocolate being poured on your hands and then being asked to lick your fingers at a fancy Michelin-star restaurant? This is one of the courses named Chocotherapy from El Cielo’s menu that became viral on social media – it stimulates the senses. The modern Colombian restaurant by Chef Juan Manuel Barrientos has two tasting menus – 20 courses and 10 – which take you through the full experience of flavours in this South American country. One of the visually spectacular dishes is the” Tree of Life”, a yucca bread perched on a small trunk-like structure that resembles a bonsai.
Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe
One of the few places in the city where you can sample Native American dishes, Mitsitam recently reopened at the National Museum of the American Indian. Its name means “let’s eat” in the Piscataway and Delaware languages. The dishes at the four stations – Campfire Grill, Woodlands & Coastlines, Mitsitam Chef’s Table, and Four Corners – traverse the different cultures, regions, and ingredients of the USA’s original inhabitants. The most popular are fried bread, bison burgers, wild rice cakes with smoked candied salmon, and the Southwest lamb stew.
