Albi
Sfeeha, the lamb pie Michael Rafidi used to steal from the fridge growing up, goes into Albi's wood-fired oven as raw pita dough spread with ground lamb, sumac and tahini.
Why go
Michael Rafidi, whose family's roots are in Ramallah, grew up in Maryland. He opened Albi, Arabic for my heart
, in Navy Yard in 2020. It was meant to be the food of my youth and the food I grew up eating,
he told Washingtonian in 2025 (Washingtonian). Nearly every dish passes through the wood-burning hearth at some stage, the house says (Albi). Rafidi won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2024 (Washingtonian). In June 2026 Ligaya Mishan gave Albi four stars in The New York Times, the first time the paper has given four stars to a restaurant outside New York City (Washingtonian). Washingtonian reported that she found a wholly realized world
there, where even the familiar is made new
(Washingtonian).
[Albi] is very Arab Palestinian to the palate, but it's American in the sense that we're trying to support all our local producers, farmers and fishermen,
Rafidi told 50 Best in July 2026 (50 Best). The house cooks with Maryland crab, sweet corn and Chesapeake rockfish in season (Albi). In April 2025 he shut the restaurant for two weeks, took out every barrier between the tables and the kitchen, and started calling the restaurant Palestinian. Calling it a Middle Eastern restaurant, Levantine restaurant just didn't feel right,
he said (Washingtonian). The MICHELIN inspectors, who gave Albi one star in 2025, wrote that the tastiest dishes come from the wood-fired hearth, imbued with smoke and char
(MICHELIN Guide).
Book the Sofra. The name comes from an Arabic word meaning a table set for you
(Eater DC). When Albi reopened in April 2025, Rafidi planned to build the five courses and snacks around what each table wanted, so two tables side by side might eat different meals on the same night (Washingtonian). The sofra is really welcoming someone to your house, and we're just cooking for you,
Rafidi said in 2025 (Washingtonian). It cost $185 in July 2026, with drink pairings from $95 to $135 (Eater DC). In January 2026 Washingtonian's critics wrote that it opens with snacks such as plump ember-roasted mussels with arak butter and trout roe
and ends on a lamb-loin-and-belly kebab with fermented-chili honey and a carrot mutabal sauce
with a table of side dishes (Washingtonian).
If you order from the menu instead, start with hummus. Thomas Rose of The Infatuation called hummus and pita non negotiables at Albi
in a review first published in 2023, before the renovation. His came with smoky wood-fired mushrooms and a confit egg that makes it extra smooth.
Then have the warak dawali, grape leaves stuffed with minced lamb and rice. We think about the tender, crispy contrast of the lamb belly and neck that comes with the warak dawali almost daily,
Rose wrote. He described the dining room this way: Feet away, a wood fire roars as chefs shuttle cuts of duck breast and golden rice through its flames
(The Infatuation).
Order this / avoid
- Order: the sfeeha, small lamb pies with toum (garlic sauce) and lemon that Eater's map said in July 2026
should never go out of style.
5 - Order: the hummus with wood-fired mushrooms and confit egg (Rose, The Infatuation, 2023).1
- Order: the warak dawali, served with barbecue lamb belly and lamb neck. Rose (2023):
truly the dish of our dreams.
1 - Order: the mish-mish (apricot) duck mujadara for the table, a skillet of rice, lentils and golden onions with duck breast and
foie gras folded over a log of kefta
(Rose, 2023).1 - Order: the brown butter knafeh with yogurt ice cream. The MICHELIN inspectors called it
a marvel
in 2025.9 - Drink: the Za'atar Tini,
a martini riff made with olive oil and za'atar
(Rose, 2023), or arak, the anise spirit, from what he calleda fantastic list.
1
What locals & experts say
- Tom Sietsema, Washington Post (October 2025):
My Restaurant of the Year: Albi, the Levantine jewel in Navy Yard that just keeps getting better.
8 - Dante Datta, co-owner of the H Street restaurant Daru (The Local Palate, 2025):
I love the fact that you can turn it into a more upscale tasting menu or you can go for comfort food.
10
Good to know
- Booking: The Infatuation said in 2023 that reservations open a month ahead. Book on that day, or expect only the early-bird slot.
- Without a booking: at the April 2025 reopening, Washingtonian reported bar seats kept for walk-ins, bar tables you could book and the full menu at both.
- When: dinner only (Eater, July 2026). Rafidi told Washingtonian in June 2026 that the restaurant had cut its hours a little, so check the days when you book.
- Price: Washingtonian put dinner for two at $201 or more in January 2026.
Verdict
must-visit — Go to Albi, the room The New York Times gave four stars in June 2026, for Michael Rafidi's Palestinian cooking off a wood hearth. Take the Sofra and let the kitchen cook for you: five courses for $185 in July 2026.