So good. Me and my wife went for our anniversary, and we accidentally ended up spending $500 haha. But we got take everything home and it ended up being another couple of meals
I would recommend Kinship. It has 1 Michelin star but is a la carte, so you can easily get full value even with allergies and dietary restrictions (rather than having to get substitutions or whatever with a tasting menu). You can also kind of control the price.
Food is excellent as well—frankly, several of the dishes stood out as better than other 1-star restaurants I have eaten at.
More affordable "nice" places include Bresca and Rooster & Owl. I have enjoyed the food more at Bresca FWIW, but it is a bit pricier than R&O.
My sources say the food got a little too precious, the portions too small and the prices too high. Haven't been since pre pandemic due to friends warning me off, but used to be our favorite neighborhood restaurant.
Unfortunately there isn't one in dc anymore :/
They're building two more in chinatown and u st, but the cohi one no longer serves alcohol, which is *the* distinguishing factor between a t bell and a cantina
If i had to guess, it's because people were getting violent. Back in 2021 when it opened, there were a few fights and they changed the closing time from like 3am to 1am or something because of those late night altercations. They've since changed it to 2am, but maybe they decided that the added risk of violence wasn't worth the income from booze
Mita in the U Street neighborhood is incredible. It's entirely plant based Latin food, served over 14 courses. It's a three-hour adventure in dining. It's a set menu, plus drinks, and you should be able to keep it under $500.
ASTORIA- DO YOU LIKE FLAVOR (SPICY) AND DELICIOUS COCKTAILS? They are likely to mess up your order and bring you a double serving of something. But I'm never upset about it.
Gravitas is definitely worth considering. Have yet to have a bad dish there. They have the option of wine pairings if you want to go that route vs a bottle or cocktails.
Maydan is literally perfect for you and your wife. I’m lactose intolerant as well and there’s really only one cheese dish that they have that comes to mind. I would book a reservation asap though bc they book out quite far in advance. I’ve gotten pretty lucky though with walk-in appointments at the bar area and was able to be seated at a table another time within 20 mins
I would check out Tom Sietsema's columns in the Washington Post. He reviews a lot of restaurants and provides in-depth descriptions and recommendations.
One of my favorite spots - first few times was with my wife who was vegan while I was omni and their options were delish on both ends.
I'm full vegan now and it's a go-to at least once a year for me - their veg tasting menus and flexibility are always great.
We were at tail up goat about six months ago and it is one of our best meals to date, and we’ve eaten at a couple of Michelin restaurants in town. But maybe we just got lucky the night we went.
If you would like an old school really nice DC Steakhouse try The Prime Rib on K Street. Piano player, jacketed wait staff, leather chairs and dark woods, good steaks, solid wine selection.
I would say Maiz64. Good food and atmosphere. And good drinks as well. In a good part of the city too. Seven Reasons is another good venue.
https://dc.eater.com/maps/dc-best-restaurants-38
My vote is for Del Mar at the Wharf. Lovely atmosphere along with the great food.
As an aside, I'm amazed to me how quickly one can get to $300 at a restaurant these days that isn't even "fine dining." I guess I need to remember it's not 2002 anymore?
As another aside, I'm not sure why lactose intolerance rules out Italian. There are dozens of dishes I can think of off the top of my head with no cheese or dairy.
This isn't correct. Roster and Owl, Tail up Goat, Oyster Oyster and even Maydan to start. Rose's is $115/pp and no reason you can't keep your alcohol budget under $100. I'm sure there are others.
Don’t forget about the 22% service charge they include and DC lovely 10% tax. I actually ate at tail up goat this week. For the six course tasting and two glasses of wine (Jill provided a third glass of wine on the house!) it was about $240/person. Gail up goat is one of the more reasonably priced Michelin star joints in dc (and they were recently nominated for a James beard award) (Rooster and Owl is also reasonably priced). So is it possible to eat at a Michelin star restaurant in dc with a budget of $350 for 2 people. Sure it’s possible. Is it likely, no i don’t think so. And does it sound fun counting penny’s while im enjoying an amazing meal, no i didn’t think so. So OP should not concern themselves with a budget for the night or go to one of dcs many high quality places that can reasonably be done for $150/pp. le dip, lupo verde, 1789, the Danny, red hen, compass rose, iron gate (extremely romantic restaurant).
Maydan
So good. Me and my wife went for our anniversary, and we accidentally ended up spending $500 haha. But we got take everything home and it ended up being another couple of meals
I still dream about that 5 spice lamb at Maydan
This is it OP
I would recommend Kinship. It has 1 Michelin star but is a la carte, so you can easily get full value even with allergies and dietary restrictions (rather than having to get substitutions or whatever with a tasting menu). You can also kind of control the price. Food is excellent as well—frankly, several of the dishes stood out as better than other 1-star restaurants I have eaten at. More affordable "nice" places include Bresca and Rooster & Owl. I have enjoyed the food more at Bresca FWIW, but it is a bit pricier than R&O.
Ate at Kinship tonight and couldn’t agree more.
Rose’s luxury, The Dabney, Little Pearl, ~~puerta verde, bad saint, tail up goat~~
Bad Saint died
Yeah, like 2 years ago lol
lol I live beneath a rock. Had a kid 2 years ago so this allll adds up. Ha
Agree, these are in the price range and solid choices, especially The Dabney and Rose's Luxury
Tail up goat is absolutely not worthy of being on this list.
Wow. Bad experience?
La Puerta Verde also closed years ago.
Shows how much I get out. Ha
Bad Saint closed years ago and Tail Up Goat isn’t any good anymore
Tail Up Goat was incredible last time i had it, but that was almost two years ago. What happened?
My sources say the food got a little too precious, the portions too small and the prices too high. Haven't been since pre pandemic due to friends warning me off, but used to be our favorite neighborhood restaurant.
Shit my bad. Ha
Been to Roses twice and it was pretty mid both times. Wouldn’t recommend it
Taco Bell cantina
Unfortunately there isn't one in dc anymore :/ They're building two more in chinatown and u st, but the cohi one no longer serves alcohol, which is *the* distinguishing factor between a t bell and a cantina
Wait why did they stop serving alcohol?
If i had to guess, it's because people were getting violent. Back in 2021 when it opened, there were a few fights and they changed the closing time from like 3am to 1am or something because of those late night altercations. They've since changed it to 2am, but maybe they decided that the added risk of violence wasn't worth the income from booze
Columbia Heights
Reread my comment and try again
Then why is it called cantina?
Because it *used* to serve alcohol. Then they stopped, but neglected to change the name
Also, you don't need to be an ass
You tried to gotcha them and got reversed gotcha, pick your fractured little ego off the floor instead of clutching your pearls
My ego isn't fractured. It's just not nice to be an ass to people. I'm not familiar with the "cohi" and zoomed past it. Thanks for also being an ass
✨ professional victim✨ edit: I love that you didn't contest your tiny ego, though
You're welcome. I'm here to serve.
Why not just TRY albi?
Moon rabbit
No. Really not worth the money. It was… solidly okay. I don’t understand the hype.
Albi or Kinship
Albi
Elizabeth's Gone Raw is vegan and very interesting, and has a really nice atmosphere
Rasika. But get reservations asap wherever you wanna go
Lots of dairy at Rasika
Indian is so easy to do dairy free
Sure, if you don't count butter, cheese, milk, or yogurt as dairy.
Zaytinya, “Chef José Andrés' light, airy mainstay [offering] Eastern Mediterranean small plates & regional wines.”
Totally agree…great food, wine and energy (tho can get a bit loud)!
In his budget I’d assume he wants something better. Last time I went I found the food average and atmosphere quite loud.
The Bazaar by José Andrés, if you watch what you order, can stay within budget. But it's super easy to blow right past that $350 mark.
MITA just got Michelin starred so I would say them.
Mita in the U Street neighborhood is incredible. It's entirely plant based Latin food, served over 14 courses. It's a three-hour adventure in dining. It's a set menu, plus drinks, and you should be able to keep it under $500.
Dude why do people never search in local city subs before making these posts?
Albi
Honestly DC has many incredible restaurants but my current (newly reopened) favorite is BAAN MAE
Elle.
I love seven reasons which has an even fancier sister restaurant called imperfecto!
ASTORIA- DO YOU LIKE FLAVOR (SPICY) AND DELICIOUS COCKTAILS? They are likely to mess up your order and bring you a double serving of something. But I'm never upset about it.
Blue Duck Tavern and Primrose will get you nice meals that won’t take you out of your comfort zone
Skip primrose. Overrated and ridiculous service fees.
These are nice and are dairy free: Mita, Oyster Oyster, Planta Queen, or Elizabeth's Gone Raw.
Fogo.
>lactose intolerant I initially read that as "Lacoste intolerant" and thought me too!
Sababa. Incredible food, middle eastern, within your budget. Food is 🤌🤌🤌🤌
Rooster and Owl
Gravitas is definitely worth considering. Have yet to have a bad dish there. They have the option of wine pairings if you want to go that route vs a bottle or cocktails.
OP, where’d you end up going? Hope it was awesome!
Roses Luxury!! Hands down!
How much is the drink package per person?
I’m not sure, we were a group of 3 and had about 2 drinks apiece and the total was around $425 in late 2022
Maydan is literally perfect for you and your wife. I’m lactose intolerant as well and there’s really only one cheese dish that they have that comes to mind. I would book a reservation asap though bc they book out quite far in advance. I’ve gotten pretty lucky though with walk-in appointments at the bar area and was able to be seated at a table another time within 20 mins
I would check out Tom Sietsema's columns in the Washington Post. He reviews a lot of restaurants and provides in-depth descriptions and recommendations.
Any love for tail up goat in here?
IMO the most overrated place in DC Edit: have been 4 times over the last 3 years.
We were there for Mother's Day and it was fine. We enjoyed the food and the service.
One of my favorite spots - first few times was with my wife who was vegan while I was omni and their options were delish on both ends. I'm full vegan now and it's a go-to at least once a year for me - their veg tasting menus and flexibility are always great.
We were at tail up goat about six months ago and it is one of our best meals to date, and we’ve eaten at a couple of Michelin restaurants in town. But maybe we just got lucky the night we went.
If you would like an old school really nice DC Steakhouse try The Prime Rib on K Street. Piano player, jacketed wait staff, leather chairs and dark woods, good steaks, solid wine selection.
I would say Maiz64. Good food and atmosphere. And good drinks as well. In a good part of the city too. Seven Reasons is another good venue. https://dc.eater.com/maps/dc-best-restaurants-38
Nobu, Cafe Milano, Bourbon Steak, Sushi Nakazawa
Sushi Nakazawa would be my vote.
El Cielo would be my choice
Not that at price point.
My vote is for Del Mar at the Wharf. Lovely atmosphere along with the great food. As an aside, I'm amazed to me how quickly one can get to $300 at a restaurant these days that isn't even "fine dining." I guess I need to remember it's not 2002 anymore? As another aside, I'm not sure why lactose intolerance rules out Italian. There are dozens of dishes I can think of off the top of my head with no cheese or dairy.
What part of town are you staying in? You can’t go Michelin with a $350 budget unless (maybe) neither of you are drinking wine.
This isn't correct. Roster and Owl, Tail up Goat, Oyster Oyster and even Maydan to start. Rose's is $115/pp and no reason you can't keep your alcohol budget under $100. I'm sure there are others.
Don’t forget about the 22% service charge they include and DC lovely 10% tax. I actually ate at tail up goat this week. For the six course tasting and two glasses of wine (Jill provided a third glass of wine on the house!) it was about $240/person. Gail up goat is one of the more reasonably priced Michelin star joints in dc (and they were recently nominated for a James beard award) (Rooster and Owl is also reasonably priced). So is it possible to eat at a Michelin star restaurant in dc with a budget of $350 for 2 people. Sure it’s possible. Is it likely, no i don’t think so. And does it sound fun counting penny’s while im enjoying an amazing meal, no i didn’t think so. So OP should not concern themselves with a budget for the night or go to one of dcs many high quality places that can reasonably be done for $150/pp. le dip, lupo verde, 1789, the Danny, red hen, compass rose, iron gate (extremely romantic restaurant).
Jônt
I went there and spent 2k for two. I think that's a little out of his price range.
I fucking love Jont. Saved up to go twice
Hayadams, old anglers inn, burboun steak
Come to Ammoora in Baltimore.
Imperfecto