Washington, DC.

Walk in and take a bar seat at Albi. 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. When Albi reopened in April 2025, Washingtonian reported bar seats kept for walk-ins, with the full menu served at them. It serves dinner only. Michael Rafidi said in June 2026 that he had cut the hours a little, so check which nights it opens.

If that bar is full, get to The Dabney in Shaw when the doors open. That was Tom Sietsema's answer in 2019, when he was the Washington Post's critic: take a bar stool. The à la carte menu is served at the bar and on the garden patio, so order the catfish slider on a sweet-potato roll. Washingtonian's critics wrote in January 2026 that they never leave without one. The Dabney serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday.

Or try the bar at Dōgon in Southwest D.C. Thomas Rose of The Infatuation found tables hard to get even weeks ahead in 2024, but the compact bar took walk-ins, up to two to a party, with the full menu. Get there early for the Mom Dukes shrimp. Rose's warning: If you come to Dōgon and skip the Mom Dukes Shrimp, you messed up.

Pascual itself keeps some seats for walk-ins. Rose found in 2024 that an early dinner, the patio or the bar were the easier tables.

Andrés and Ratino go to the raw bar at Old Ebbitt Grill, a block from the White House. Andrés told the MICHELIN Guide in 2025 that he goes for some of the best oysters in the area, drinking a beer or a glass of sparkling wine, having a conversation with the bartenders. Ratino told Fine Dining Lovers that his table always gets the Grand Plateau, the big shellfish platter, and loves the burgers and the fried calamari. The chef Masako Morishita orders the platter called the orca at the happy hour, when the platters, oysters and seafood are discounted. It runs every day, once in the late afternoon and again from late evening into the small hours. Ratino's warning: at 1am they're busy, at 8pm they're busy.

Rafidi named The Dabney one of the best restaurants in D.C. to Condé Nast Traveler in July 2026. He cooked there in 2019. Jeremiah Langhorne cooks the Mid-Atlantic over a hearth. In January 2026 Washingtonian's critics ate cider doughnuts there with apple butter and whipped foie gras that looked straight out of a Dutch Master still life.

For a celebration, Andrés sends you to Moon Rabbit. He called it another incredible place to celebrate in 2025: I love the Bún Chả Hà Nội, crispy skin pork belly, or to just let Chef Kevin decide. The chef Dante Datta had his birthday meal there and tried flavors that I hadn't had before, really.

If you book one, book the Sofra at Albi. It cost $185 in July 2026, with drink pairings from $95 to $135. At the April 2025 reopening, Michael Rafidi planned to build the five courses and snacks around what each table wanted: The sofra is really welcoming someone to your house, and we're just cooking for you. In January 2026 Washingtonian's critics ate from plump ember-roasted mussels with arak butter and trout roe through to a lamb-loin-and-belly kebab with fermented-chili honey and a carrot mutabal sauce. Ligaya Mishan of The New York Times gave Albi four stars in June 2026.

Causa in Blagden Alley runs Carlos Delgado's tour of Peru. In 2025 Thomas Rose of The Infatuation had sea urchin, scallops and corn in a leche de tigre (tiger's milk, the marinade for the raw fish) that tastes like boiled Pop Rocks, in a good way. The menu cost $179 in July 2026, up from $85 in October 2022. Budget for the supplements: in 2025 the whole fish from the case ran from $125 up to $430 for a 4-pound fish, on top of the menu.

For less, take the five-course prix fixe at The Dabney, $145 in July 2026. The restaurant switched to it in 2025, with an à la carte menu across the room, and Washingtonian's critics called the change The smartest thing this hearth-lit Shaw dining room has done over the past year.

Fiola costs the most. Nine courses were $345 in September 2026, and four courses of your own choosing were $215. Order the cubetto, square ravioli filled with duck, which the MICHELIN inspectors called a memorable dish.

The barbecue is worth the drive. Go to 2Fifty in Riverdale Park, northeast of the city. Order the wagyu brisket first. Jonathan Smith of The Infatuation wrote in March 2026 that the smoke manages to penetrate every millimeter of the supremely juicy meat. Get the plantains too, cocooned inside a perfectly crystalized sugary shell, with cotija to crumble on top. Tim Carman of the Washington Post called 2Fifty hands-down, the best smokehouse in the area in 2020. It opens every day but Tuesday, until the meat sells out. Eater warned in July 2026 that lines get long at weekends, so preorder online for pickup. A second 2Fifty on K Street NW saves the drive, but Smith calls it perfectly serviceable and still prefers Riverdale Park.

So is the Persian food. Go to Joon in Tysons, Virginia, at lunch. Thomas Rose of The Infatuation got tahdig with a chicken kabob or falafel for $20 in March 2026, and the flatbread came free and bottomless. The Persian cookbook writer Najmieh Batmanglij opened Joon in 2023 with Chris Morgan. Rose's verdict: Downtown elitists won't like to hear it, but the best Persian restaurant in the DMV is in the burbs. At dinner, order the duck fesenjoon and an extra serving of the rice with sour cherries, rose water and lime, as Ann Limpert of Washingtonian told readers to in 2023. She found complimentary valet parking out front.

Start at the raw bar at Old Ebbitt Grill. Omnia Saed of The Infatuation had crisp, briny Pink Moons from the Chesapeake in 2024 and wrote: They're all incredibly fresh and reliably delicious. Six cost $16 at the happy hour when she went in November 2024. Her jumbo lump crab cakes were decadently moist and gave Baltimore a run for its money. Book a week or more ahead, or eat late.

For crab from a Mid-Atlantic kitchen, book The Dabney. Jeremiah Langhorne stocks it from the region's farms and watermen. In 2019, when Tom Sietsema was the Washington Post's critic, his bowl of Maryland crab soup came with smoked tomatoes and fried cornmeal okra where the oyster crackers would go: The bowl is perfect. Thomas Rose of The Infatuation liked the Maryland lump crab in 2022. Before dinner, The Cellar, the bar in front on 9th Street, serves seafood towers.

At Albi, the kitchen cooks with Maryland crab, sweet corn and Chesapeake rockfish in season, the house says, and nearly every dish passes through the wood-burning hearth.

Go to Centrolina in CityCenterDC for pasta. It serves lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday. Tom Sietsema, then the Washington Post's critic, wrote in June 2025: Honestly, I've never had a pasta here that I haven't Hoovered. Order the white Bolognese, which he called so smooth, so comforting, or the squid ink bucatini in a lush tomato-eggplant ragu that Allison Robicelli of The Infatuation praised in 2024. Pastas and main courses cost $28 to $52 in June 2025. Skip the grilled beef tongue, the one dish from the wood fire that Sietsema left on the plate.

For barbecue downtown, the second 2Fifty is at 414 K St NW in Mount Vernon Triangle. Omnia Saed of The Infatuation called its massive wagyu beef ribs, citrus pineapple slices and baked beans poem-worthy in October 2024.

If you can get out to Tysons, Joon serves tahdig with a chicken kabob or falafel at lunch. It cost $20 when Thomas Rose of The Infatuation ate there in March 2026, and the flatbread came free and bottomless.

Start with brunch at Anju near Dupont Circle. It serves brunch at weekends and dinner every night. The brunch menu in July 2026 carried a smash galbi burger and gochujang chicken on a corn-cheese waffle. Order the panchan (Korean side dishes) and Angel Barreto's 30-day kimchi, which Washingtonian's critics called fiery in 2026. Book well ahead. Omnia Saed of The Infatuation wrote in 2023: You're more likely to win the lottery than get day-of reservations at Anju, so plan in advance.

In the afternoon, drive out to 2Fifty in Riverdale Park, open every day but Tuesday until the meat sells out. Order the wagyu brisket and the smoked turkey, which Washingtonian's critics said in January 2026 puts all others to shame. Lines get long at weekends, so preorder online for pickup.

End the day at Amazonia, the bar and rooftop above Causa in Blagden Alley, which opens in the middle of the afternoon at weekends. Washingtonian's critics told readers in 2026 to drink past the pisco sour and into the restaurant's massive selection of Peruvian brandy. Tom Sietsema, then the Washington Post's critic, called its lomo saltado a class act in 2022.

Start at Moon Rabbit, where Susan Bae mixes savory and sweet. Ann Limpert of Washingtonian described it this way: think green-curry sponge cake with avocado sorbet and fish sauce caramel. Washingtonian's critics say Bae's desserts sound wackier than they taste, and their favorite in 2026 was a durian and white chocolate mousse with passionfruit granita. Madeline Weinfield of The Infatuation wrote in 2024: Even if you fall into the durian-skeptical side of the debate, you might make an exception here.

At Albi, finish with the brown butter knafeh with yogurt ice cream. The MICHELIN inspectors called it a marvel in 2025.

At Pascual, end on the buñuelo. The MICHELIN inspectors described a crispy rosette dusted in cinnamon sugar and served with cajeta and chocolate sauces in 2025.

At Joon, take the baklava. Ann Limpert passed over the sour-cherry sorbet and dry 'love cake' in 2023 for the not-too-sweet baklava.