Ambar
523 Eighth St., SE
Looking for an all-you-can-eat spot? This Balkan restaurant, which also has locations in Shaw and Clarendon, offers bottomless brunch ($38 per person), lunch ($33 per person), and dinner ($50 per person) plates. Each menu is wide-ranging, with dips, salads, kebabs, hearty stews, and more, and you can add unlimited drinks, too.
Art and Soul
415 New Jersey Ave., NW
Chicago chef Art Smith debuted this hotel restaurant—on a block that feels like no man’s land but is actually steps from the US Capitol—in 2008. And although the decor could use a refresh (and Smith is no longer involved), brunch here is still a draw. For those who lean toward sweet fare, the lemony pancakes are terrific. Short-rib hash with chipotle hollandaise and steak and eggs are savory standouts. Right in between? Tasty buttermilk-fried chicken thighs with waffles.
Belga Café
514 Eighth St., SE
Restaurants from Top Chef alums can be fussy productions, but Bart Vandaele’s Belgian brasserie in the residential part of Capitol Hill marries comfortable style with substance thanks to the hearty fare. Moules frites are a Belga classic for a reason, but don’t overlook cheffier creations such as lobster waffles or a robust Flemish beef stew. Dining out? Alfresco greenhouses make for a lovely indoor/outdoor setting, especially for a sweet or savory waffle-filled brunch.
Boulangerie Saint Georges
303 Seventh St., SE
You may have heard about the crazy-long lines at Maru San, but there’s another spot down the block that’s drawing quite the queue: this pretty, green-tiled French bakery. The place makes a seriously good croissant, and there’s a long case of gorgeous little tarts, eclairs, and cakes (go for the oversized raspberry macaron and the St. Honore, which tasted like a hybrid of a cream puff and a creme brûlée). Baguettes already sold out? Get one in sandwich form, stuffed with ham and cornichons.
Buffalo and Bergen
240 Massachusetts Ave., NE
DC is clearly hungry for Jewish-style fare, and Gina Chersevani, the driving force behind Buffalo & Bergen, has been one of the restaurateurs satisfying that demand. Her Hill location has become a standby for on-the-go bagel breakfasts, sure, but you can also sit down for a more elaborate brunch. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the Lox’d & Loaded: a Bloody Mary topped, absurdly, with an entire lox bagel.
Caruso’s Grocery
914 14th St., SE
It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten excited over a simple salad with creamy Italian dressing, but that’s Caruso’s—an Italian-American restaurants that take dishes you’ve probably had a million times and make them their best selves. Think great garlic bread, a standard-setting chicken parm, and extra-lemony scampi. Even the dirty martini is a standout: The housemade tomato gin is garnished with an antipasti skewer of mozzarella and olives.
Della Barba
1382 E. Capitol St., NE
Many pizzaioli pick a single style—pretty Neapolitan, chubby Chicago—and spend their lives perfecting it. Then there’s Joey Barber, the guy behind this snug Capitol Hill pizzeria. His ultra-cheesy, rectangular Detroit pie, with two stripes of zingy red sauce, is a thing of beauty. Most impressive is that his New York and grandma-style pies are just as delicious.
The Duck & The Peach
300 Seventh St., SE
Take a cue from the chef carving a glossy roast duck when you walk in the door. Juicy meat, crisp skin, and a whisper of orange make it the star of the menu at this gallery-like dining room on the Hill. But it’s not all about duck. There are fun plates such as beluga-caviar canapés on crispy squares of fried yuca; pumpernickel with an array of butters; and a fantastic frisée-and-pear salad blitzed with shaved Blu di Bufala cheese and dressed in a Calvados vinaigrette.
Hill East Burger
1432 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Charred-poblano relish and smoky cheddar add an extra campfire dimension to our favorite burger at this cute Southwestern outpost on the Hill, where all the patties are cold-smoked before hitting the grill. Squeeze in on a Tuesday night, when everything is half-price, and queue up some Willie Nelson on the vintage jukebox.
Mangialardo and Sons
1317 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Where’s the best Italian sub in the area? It’s a question we get all the time. The answer is this closet-size deli, which started as an Italian grocery and has been serving the Hill lunch crowd for more than 70 years. The sandwiches aren’t fancy but are constructed on fresh rolls, with paper-thin meats, crisp lettuce, and vinegary peppers, all layered in perfect proportion.
I Egg You
517 Eighth St., SE
If breakfast in bed is on the agenda, order takeout or delivery from this Barracks Row brunch spot from the team behind Anju and Chiko. The milk bread egg sandwiches that made the place a smash hit during its days as a pandemic pop-up are all here. Or, do it up with blueberry-muffin bread pudding or a savory egg custard gilded with Petrossian caviar. There are plenty of perks to dining at the cafe, too—an all-day brunch menu, mimosas and crushes with freshly squeezed OJ, and frothy Dalgona coffee.
Little Engine
250 Seventh St., SE
Rob Sonderman is the culinary mind behind some seriously popular DC joints, including the urban barbecue pioneer Federalist Pig and the Petworth fried-chicken bar Honeymoon Chicken. His little rotisserie shop, decorated with ’90s relics like videotapes and CDs, feels like 2026’s answer to the late local chain Chicken Out—a Clinton-era staple for reliable takeout. Scrambling to figure out a weeknight dinner that’ll feed the family and not horrify your cardiologist? Sonderman wants to be your guy. The $42 “Family Van” takeout package, centered around a whole chicken, will feed four. Make sure to get extra jalapeño/lime sauce.
The Market Lunch
225 Seventh St., SE
Before there were food halls in seemingly every neighborhood in DC, there was Eastern Market. And for the last 48 years, the best reason to visit has been this bustling short-order spot. Line up for pancakes (regular or blueberry buckwheat), or the Brick, a warm egg sandwich laden with bacon and potatoes. Crabcakes, for good reason, fly out of the kitchen at lunch, but they’re also delicious paired with eggs at breakfast.
Maru San
325 Seventh St., SE
Causa chef Carlos Delgado’s tiny handroll bar (25 seats, almost entirely for walk-ins), is worth the inevitable wait in line. His Nikkei-style handrolls—cones of crackly nori with koshihikari rice and a variety of fillings—are excellent. The $37 set of six is the way to go, and if the shrimp with huacatay aioli isn’t included, you should absolutely add it on. Don’t sleep on the ceviches and tiraditos, or small plates such as octopus in a creamy olive sauce or Wagyu tataki with grapefruit ponzu. One thing to note: this isn’t a place for lingering—once you tick off your order on a sheet of paper, the handrolls and other plates come at you fast.
Omakase @ Barracks Row
522 Eighth St., SE
Chef Ricky Wang goes to great lengths to source the best seasonal seafood from Japan’s Toyosu market at his 14-seat omakase counter, while Minibar alum Gabriel Enjamio acts as the master of ceremonies, carefully detailing what makes each bite so special. You might try ivory rainbow trout raised in the melted snow of Mount Fuji or be instructed to immediately eat mackerel pike—it defies the fishy stereotype—so its fat melts on your tongue. Even miso soup is rich and complex, made with the heads and bones of all the fish served throughout the meal, plus a raw filet of black sea bream that gently cooks from the heat of the broth.
Pascual
732 Maryland Ave., NE
The 2024 arrival of this lovely Capitol Hill place marked an exciting full-circle moment for chef-couple Isabel Coss and Matt Conroy—they’d worked in some of New York City’s best-known Mexican restaurants before opening the French-ish bistro Lutèce in Georgetown. Getting a table here can still be a worthwhile challenge. Large platters such as the lamb-neck barbacoa with ayocote beans and tortillas are superb, but vegetable-centric dishes have impressed us even more on recent visits: a bowl of fideo noodles with inky huitlacoche and maitake mushrooms; a salad of slivered chayote squash and Asian pears with nutty guajillo oil; and, of course, a mighty guacamole platter with hefty tostadas and an array of salsas, smoked fruit, and veggies en escabeche.
Pineapple and Pearls
715 Eighth St., SE
Some special-occasion restaurants feel like food church—hushed and pious. Now imagine the opposite and you’ll get something close to Aaron Silverman’s dopamine bomb of a Capitol Hill tasting room. Think LL Cool J on the speakers, chefs in custom-made gold Nikes, and loads and loads of caviar (sometimes served with gummy bears). The four-course menu is a ton of fun—we loved melty pork belly with a taco al pastor–inspired jus; a lobster riff on Chinese walnut shrimp; and a truffle-laden onion tarte Tatin. This is a place with plenty of luxury, and nothing quiet about it.
Rose’s Luxury
717 Eighth St., SE
Twelve years on, this restaurant still feels like DC’s coolest (and warmest) dinner party. The four-course dinner—diners choose their own appetizer and pasta, then share a main course and dessert—opens with a smiling server carrying a gingham-lined basket. Inside? Warm truffle madeleines. We fell hard for the Bear–inspired Italian-beef-sandwich pasta and miso-glazed cod with extra-buttery Robuchon potatoes, and for the tiny orange Bundt cake we were sent home with.
Sushi Hachi
735 Eighth St., SE
This low-key Barracks Row spot—our go-to for weeknight delivery—plays it pretty straight. Unlike its Arlington sister restaurant, Sushi Rock, there are no wonton nachos or Instagram-bait maki. Here, simple, affordable sushi is the thing. Classic rolls (such as yellowtail and scallion or spicy salmon) are $8. Pieces of nigiri get subtle accents: Sea bass is dabbed with sweet miso, while spot prawn comes with wasabi tobiko. If you dine in, go for the ishiyaki, slices of beef cooked at the table on a hot stone.
Tune Inn
331 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
This Hill hangout, first opened in 1947, has survived a fire and a Guy Fieri filming, so it’s basically invincible, right? Hill interns have long joined patrons from all walks of life for beers, shots, and greasy patty melts amid taxidermied animals mounted on the walls.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind DC’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
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.
