Best Restaurants, Bakeries, and Cafes in Washington D.C. (and Places to Avoid)

I lived in Washington D.C. for two years, and spent a lot of time eating (and being disappointed).

This is my personal guide to the best restaurants, bakeries, and cafes in Washington D.C., plus the places that weren’t worth it, so you can figure out where to eat in D.C. without spending $50+ on every meal.

Best Restaurants in Washington D.C.

Indian & Indian Fusion

• M&N’s Pizza (Bethesda, $$): One of my top 3 pizza places in the world. Achari chicken pizza is unmatched.
• RASA (Multiple locations, $): Fast casual, affordable. Fantastic butter chicken burrito.
• Rasika (DC, $$$): Great butter chicken and chaat.
• Spice 6 (DC, $$): Fantastic dosa and “naan pizza.”
• Karma (DC, $$$): Very good, classic Indian food at a high price point.
• Namaste JALSA (Alexandria, $$): Great momos, tandoori chicken, naan.

Thai, Laotian & Cambodian

• Baan Mae (DC, $$$): Crab curry is a must.
• Padaek (Multiple locations, $$): Fantastic dishes at a reasonable price, owned by the same people as the more popular Thip Khao.
• Thai Chef Street Food (DC, $$): Fast service, delicious pad see ew, reasonable prices.
• Baan Siam (DC, $$): Fast service, southern Thai dishes.
• Mai Thai (DC, $$): Good for large parties, very solid food.

Asian Fusion

• Rooster & Owl (DC, $$$$): Asian fusion, Michelin-star tasting menu, everything on the menu was creative and delicious.
• Cranes (DC, $$$): Former Michelin-star restaurant. Their dishes are hit or miss – the good dishes are really good. My favorites: Wagyu, pork ribs, churros with black sesame & miso caramel.

Japanese

• Umai Nori (DC, $$$): Best sushi in D.C.
• Donburi (DC, $$): Fast casual Japanese bowls, reasonably priced but small portions.

Vietnamese

• Simply Banh Mi (Multiple locations, $): Great vermicelli & grilled pork. Didn’t like the banh mi.
• Pho Thang Long (Fairfax, $): Banh mi is one of my favorites.
• Pho 75 (Arlington, $): Cash-only, off-putting service. Only serves pho. Food is good, affordable, and very fast.

Italian

• Happy Gemini (DC, $$$): Fantastic pizza. Long waits and difficult seating. Pasta was less impressive and had small portions.
• Sfoglina (Multiple locations, $$$): Expensive. Penne alla vodka is fantastic, and the $18 hazelnut chocolate cake blew my mind.

Brunch

• The Market Lunch (DC, $$): Delicious pancakes, reasonable price. Long line that moves fast. Syrup is extra.

Chinese

• Duck Chang’s (Annandale, $$): Only good Chinese place I’ve found in the DMV. The Peking duck is delicious and authentic.

Korean

• K Street (Annandale, $$): Inside K Market International grocery store’s food court. Bulgogi is fantastic.

American

• Union Kitchen (Multiple locations, $): Chicken pesto sandwich.
• Chloe (DC, $$$): New American. Every dish I had at Chloe was delicious, with a special shoutout to the gnocchi.

Mediterranean

• Agora (Multiple locations, $$$): All around very solid spot, favorite dish is the grilled chicken. They’re known for their bottomless brunch.
• Zaytinya (Multiple locations, $$$): An objectively very good restaurant, but it’s never quite hit the spot for me.
• Maydan (DC, $$$$): Michelin-star restaurant, most of the meal was good but forgettable, but the steak was incredible.

Best Bakeries and Cafes in Washington D.C.

• Two Nine (DC, $$): Butter mochi and hojicha donut.
• Midori Tea House (Falls Church, $$): Hojicha basque cheesecake and hojicha latte.
• Boulangerie Christophe (DC, $$): Legitimate French bakery with pretty good croissants, can be a bit sweet.
• Seylou Bakery (DC, $$): Great sandwiches and bread. Croissants weren’t good.
• Pluma by Bluebird (DC, $$): Great basque cheesecake.
• Call Your Mother (DC, $$): Chocolate babka muffin is fantastic.
• St. Elmo’s (Alexandria, $$): Year-round apple cider donuts!
• Zeke’s Coffee (DC, $): Great cold brew.
• Misha’s (Alexandria, $$): Fantastic cinnamon donut, good coffee.

Restaurants to Avoid in Washington D.C.

• Ted’s Bulletin (Multiple locations, $$): Very popular, but the French toast was the worst I’ve had – Absolutely inedible, salty instead of sweet, dry and stale texture.
• Fresh Baguette (DC, $$): Avocado croissant sandwich featured an avocado that was so raw that it was rubbery and inedible. The croissant was greasy and made me nauseous.
• Pisco y Nazca (DC, $$$): Expensive and terribly salty, I struggled through every bite.
• Ambar (Multiple locations, $$$): Food was overpriced, salty, and poor quality.
• Supra (DC, $$$): Cheesy bread, manti, and kebab were expensive and flavorless.
• Astoria (DC, $$$): I got minor food poisoning after eating here.
• High Side (Fairfax, $$): Greasy and salty, a poor excuse for Asian food.
• Chill Zone Cafe (Arlington, $$): Banh mi is insanely greasy and the cut of pork was mostly fat and oil.
• A&J Restaurant (Annandale, $$): Dim sum was disappointing and mediocre.
• Matt & Tony’s All Day Kitchen + Bar (Alexandria, $$): The corn flake French toast was 60% fried material and oil and 40% actual food.
• Hawkers Asian Street Food (Multiple locations, $$): Roti canai was 200% too salty.

Bakeries and Cafes to Avoid in Washington D.C.

• Roggenart (Multiple locations, $): I cannot believe this place hasn’t shut down. I got a brownie (simplest pastry you can make), took a single bite, and couldn’t eat any more – Artificial and stale.
• Grace Street Coffee Roasters (DC, $$): Yet another disappointing brownie – Too sweet, odd Play-dough-like taste.
• Un je ne sais quoi (DC, $$): Insanely disappointing. Croissants are doughy and dry, not flaky at all, zero flavor, and super expensive.
• Levain (DC, $$): Cookies are way too sweet and thick to the point where they’re completely underbaked and doughy.
• Origin (Arlington, $$): Lemon loaf cake was way too sweet.
• Sharbat (AdMo, $$): Had a large selection of pastries here and nothing was good.
• Good Company Doughnuts (Arlington, $$): Too sweet, messy to eat. None of the flavors taste like the flavors they’re supposed to be.
• Nino’s (DC, $$): A crowd favorite, but the nutella croissant I got was way too greasy, and extremely messy (needed 6 napkins) to eat.
• Saku Saku (DC, $): Kouign amann was very dry.
• Any Day Now (DC, $$): Signature scallion pancake sandwich is greasy and flavorless, and the ube latte is about 300% too sweet.
• D Light Cafe & Bakery (DC, $$): Waffle was small, flat, dry, and flavorless, and they added a hidden fee at the register.
• Colada Shop (Multiple locations, $): I’ve gotten two drinks here and haven’t been able to finish either. The flavors are super off-putting.

Conclusion

D.C. has a strong high-end food scene, but it’s hard to find great food at a reasonable price. Most of my favorite restaurants ended up being either fast casual or outside the city.

If you’re visiting or moving here, it’s definitely still possible to eat well – you just have to be a bit more selective, and take Google reviews with a grain of salt.

If you’re curious what it’s actually like living in Washington D.C., including cost of living, neighborhoods, and day-to-day life, check out my review on living in Washington D.C. (and why I left).