Whether you’re trying to impress a date, your parents or yourself, D.C.’s winter Restaurant Week is a diner’s dream. From Jan. 22 to 28, hundreds of local eateries will offer brunch and lunch deals for $22 and dinner deals for $35.
Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to branch out into D.C.’s world-class dining scene, which earned its own Michelin Guide two years ago.
It’s tough to choose between the 250 restaurants planning to participate this year. But with brunch, lunch and dinner menus fixed at reasonable prices, Restaurant Week may be one of your best chances to score a high-end meal for a mid-tier price.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of D.C.’s top-rated, pricey or Michelin-approved dining spots, including three restaurants that earned stars in this year’s guide.
Reservations are definitely recommended and available through OpenTable. You can also check out all the participating restaurants on the Restaurant Week website.
Michelin-Starred Spots
Fiola
This Michelin-starred, downtown spot will offer lunch specials during Restaurant Week. The ultimate dining experience would usually set you back $75 or more, but Fiola actually offers more affordable lunch options year-round. Still, if you’re in the mood for a Restaurant Week lunch downtown, this D.C. favorite is ready.
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Elevated, but familiar, dishes impress many diners at Georgetown's 1789 Restaurant. Their dinner-only Restaurant Week menu features choices including celery root soup with white truffle oil, bucatini, short rib with polenta and chocolate dacquoise. Wine pairings will cost an extra $55.
At Sushi Taro, you can try a multi-course Japanese dinner in the traditional Kaiseki style. Reservations are highly recommended for this 17th Street Northwest restaurant that earned a coveted Michelin star. It’s unlikely the yet-to-be-announced specials for Restaurant Week will be the deluxe offerings that floored the Michelin team. However, a focus on fresh food keeps online reviewers generally raving.
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Bib Gourmands
The Michelin Guide’s bib gourmand list details restaurants where you can enjoy a good meal at a reasonable price. On Restaurant Week, however, you can feast on a budget.
One of several Jose Andres restaurants on this list, Oyamel offers Mexican food in a brightly-colored, Penn Quarter setting. Previous Restaurant Week menus included three antojitos (“little cravings”), a taco and a dessert.
Try two cuisines you can’t always find on the typical Asian fusion menu -- Cambodian and Taiwanese -- blended at Maketto. Chef Erik Bruner-Yang just opened up a new restaurant in the new DC LINE Hotel, but this original spot on H Street is where you can encounter the James Beard Award nominee’s dishes for Restaurant Week dinner.
A group of four could sample every dish on Jaleo’s Spanish tapas-style Restaurant Week lunch or dinner menu. Between the rich bacon-wrapped dates, light sauteed spinach with pine nuts and meaty pork loin with blue cheese sauce, you'll likely walk out stuffed. Locations in D.C.'s Penn Quarter, Crystal City and Bethesda are participating.
In this bright Van Ness restaurant where the waitstaff is decked out in floral attire, a pasta dish will usually cost you between $23 and $26. But picks from their regular menu, including potato gnocchi, squid ink and paprika cannellini curl and provence black truffle pappardelle, keep this restaurant filled with diners year-round.
Thai and Southeast Asian food is balanced with sweet, salty, sour and spicy that makes each dish deal a flavor punch. Centered on 14th Street in restaurant-packed Logan Circle, Doi Moi has won over many mouths with their flavorful dishes. Past Restaurant Week offerings include a version of Thailand’s “som tam,” a green papaya salad with lime, peanuts, green beans, tomato and chili. You’ll also find classics like khao soi, stir-fried rice noodles and mango sticky rice.
When it comes to food, the fusion of Chinese and Peruvian is enough to pique almost anyone’s interest. Backed by one of D.C.’s most famous chefs, Jose Andres, menus featuring 4-course dinners and 3-course lunches (including dessert!) are a tasty bet downtown.
Foodie Favorite: Eun Yang’s Pick
This Penn Quarter modern Indian restaurant didn’t get starred by Michelin -- which several local foodies, including News4’s own Eun Yang, considered a snub. You can decide for yourself during Restaurant Week. They’re only serving lunch, but the early-bird “pre-theatre” dinner menu always has an appetizer, entree and dessert for $35.
D.C.’s Luxe Steakhouses
This steakhouse, with locations in Las Vegas, New York, Napa, Reno and, of course, near the Capitol, has lunch and dinner menus that offer a good value and some options not usually found on the standard menu. The 18-ounce New York Strip Steak will add an extra $15 to your Restaurant Week bill, but still offers a good discount from regular prices.
There are dozens of Morton’s across the country, each aiming to offer a classic American steakhouse experience. In the past, Morton’s has offered salad, steak and dessert specials. Bethesda and Reston locations plan to participate.
Dark, wooden interiors, linen tablecloths and plush chairs fill the dining room at downtown D.C.’s Mastro’s Steakhouse. They haven’t released a menu yet, but you can expect good service and, if you’re lucky, some representative sushi on the Restaurant Week menu.