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Restaurants in downtown DC have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with tourists, sports fans, and office workers mostly absent from the once-bustling area. Ristorante Tosca, a fine dining mainstay, is the latest casualty—at least for now. After reopening a month ago with takeout and delivery, manager Lisa Fotter says the restaurant will close on Saturday, October 10 with an eye towards reopening in the spring. The restaurant cited “the current environment and our downtown location” as a reason for the shutter.
Tosca, a favorite among lobbyists and politicos—and once a date night spot for the Obamas—remained a bastion of white tablecloth dining in Washington. When it reopens in the spring, guests can expect “a fresh new look and an exciting new menu,” per Fotter. Check back for more details.
Over the summer, a number of downtown DC restaurants like Central went on temporary hiatus, and you may see more of that during the slow winter months. A big outdoor streatery in Penn Quarter, Dine Out on 8th, was recently launched to drive more dining traffic back in the area. Still, a number of hospitality businesses have closed since March, including David Chang’s Momofuku in CityCenter, DC’s only Taco Bamba, and fine dining sister Mexican restaurant Poca Madre.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
