11 New DC-Area Restaurants We’re Excited About This Month

Atlas Brew Works Bridge District

Never heard of “the Bridge District”? The newly christened neighborhood is a development in Anacostia near the eastern foot of the Frederick Douglass Bridge, and this new taproom from Atlas Brew Works, where you can sip microbrews and snack on pizza and wings, is among its first occupants. The facility also doubles brewing capacity for the DC-born producer, which makes craft beers such as Ponzi IPA and Bullpen Pilsner.

Cowbell Seafood & Oyster Bar

Rappahannock Oyster Bar was the centerpiece of Union Market for more than a decade before closing in 2022. In October, another oyster bar finally took its place. Cowbell—from the couple behind Navy Yard’s late Shilling Canning Company—focuses on Chesapeake oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, crabcakes, and fried chicken.

Isla and Goodlove

Isla, a chic downtown DC restaurant opened by a Toronto-based team with roots in Jamaica, brings Caribbean influences to fine dining—the Obamas have already been guests. Look for dishes like snapper crudo, lamb tartare with green seasoning, and grilled Trinidadian flatbreads. Next door is Goodlove, a nightclub with classic cocktails and Caribbean tunes.

Manifest 002

The multipurpose barbershop/cocktail bar/social club Manifest 001 in Adams Morgan now has an 11,000-square-foot Union Market sibling with a boutique, a workspace where Michelle Obama recorded a podcast, and a new DC-inspired restaurant from chef Erik Bruner-Yang called (h)ours. You’ll find dishes such as berbere-spiced white Bolognese, chicken and dumplings with pickled okra, and buttermilk-fried plantains.

Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao

This soup-dumpling chain has been spreading across the eastern US since opening in Flushing, Queens, in 2006. There’s now a sleek outpost in Westfield Montgomery mall, and with flavors that go beyond the usual pork to include scallop, truffle, and abalone, it’s worth a visit for any dumpling fan.

Oak & Ember

A farm-to-table eatery with local wines just opened in the unmissable jet-black historic storefront that formerly housed the Black Market and Aldie Country Store, on the rural road out to Middleburg. Its owner, Christian Puccio, ran a New York–style deli in Leesburg for decades, but his new effort is an upscale tasting room more befitting Horse Country.

Omakase Room by Tadayoshi

Chef Tadayoshi Motoa’s traditional omakase bar with Michelin ambitions sits two blocks from the White House. The luxurious 12-seat restaurant sources all of its fish from Japan, including tuna, monkfish, and spot prawn. High-end sake pairings are available, too.

Qui Qui

This slice of Puerto Rico from chef Ismael Mendez has found a new home in Park View after losing its second-story Shaw space this summer. The island flavors of mashed-plantain mofongo, empanadas, fried chuletas, octopus salad, and home-style rice and beans are complemented by a live salsa soundtrack.

Realm Rooftop Bar & Lounge

Keem Hughley, the DC-born chef behind the now-closed Bronze, has repurposed the underused rooftop of Shaw’s Hyatt House hotel for this loungey space meant to evoke tropical resorts in places like the Maldives or Tulum. The cooking takes inspiration from the Seychelles, with dishes including lemongrass smoked chicken and tamarind-glazed lamb. Cocktails lean into tropical flavors such as passionfruit, hibiscus, and soursop.

Ro Sushi Co.

Everything from understated nigiri omakase to a wild gochujang-and-mango-glazed tuna-belly roll is available at this new neighborhood sushi place. The chefs, who hail from Ukraine and Mongolia, took over part of the Elena James space in the Chevy Chase Lake development. At lunch, you can find good deals on various sushi specials and bentos.

This article appears in the January 2026 issue of Washingtonian.

Ike Allen

Staff Writer

Ike Allen covers politics, food, culture, and transportation in DC and writes the monthly Hidden Eats column for the magazine. He grew up in DC.