Ellē Mt. Pleasant
low-key neighborhood bites in a charming old building

Big Bear Cafe LeDroit Park
like having morning coffee in a sleepy mountain town

Potter’s House Adam’s Morgan
nonprofit cafe with a social justice bookstore

Tynan Coffee & Tea Columbia Heights
the sandwiches and service are both top notch

Little Pearl Capitol Hill
charming cafe in a Civil War-era carriage house

Seylou Bakery Shaw
artisan breads baked from grains milled in-house

Call Your Mother Georgetown, Foggy Bottom
cult-favorite bagel sandwiches - try the Sun City

Residents Café & Bar Dupont Circle

chic outdoor dining with an evolving menu

Tatte Bakery Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter *
everything is tasty - Claire comes here weekly

Java House Dupont Circle
inexplicably Alex’s favorite cafe in town

Baked & Wired Georgetown
skip Georgetown Cupcakes, these are the best

Le Diplomate 14th Street
café culture in a bustling neighborhood

Bar Pilar 14th Street
unassuming gastropub inspired by Hemingway

Rose’s Luxury Capitol Hill
a perennial favorite - order the pork & lychee salad

Maketto H Street
modern Taiwanese-Cambodian ft. a record store

Fancy Radish H Street
vegetables that taste really, really good

China Chilcano Penn Quarter *
Chinese-Peruvian-Japanese by MVP Chef José Andrés

Thai X-ing U Street
traditional home-style Thai, menu is chef’s choice

Sakuramen Adams Morgan
a Korean spin on ramen, in an underground locale

Mezcalero Cocina Mexicana Columbia Heights
afterwards, hit up the pinball bar next door

St. Anselm Union Market
even the vegetarian options are fantastic here

ilili DC The Wharf
like dining in the courtyard of a Beirut home

Comet Ping Pong Friendship Heights
Pizzagate.

Basin Street Lounge Alexandria
old world cigar bar with live jazz and blues

Silver Lyan Penn Quarter *
order the Ceres Joker drink for a surprise!

Service Bar U Street
unpretentious neighborhood cocktail bar

Suns Cinema Mt. Pleasant
small bar in an indie movie theater in a townhouse

Tilt Side Bar 14th Street
eclectic speakeasy behind an unmarked door in BlackJack

Player’s Club 14th Street
70’s sports-themed gamer’s paradise in a basement

Cantina Bambina The Wharf
kitschy beachy dock bar with frozen orange crushes

dLeña Roja Mt. Vernon Triangle *
intimate, vibey, subterranean mezcal lounge

VUE Rooftop Penn Quarter *
best monument views - Meghan is banned from here

Ivy and Coney Shaw
Chicago and Detroit expat bar with Stroh’s and malort

Dan’s Cafe Adams Morgan
definitively the classiest spot in town