11 Classic Restaurants In DC

A classic restaurant is like a classic car. They’re familiar to lots of people, often endearingly imperfect, and you’ll more than likely see Jerry Seinfeld sitting in one of them. We don’t think of a classic as something that solely equates to age, though. (Like, be real, that stain on your kitchen wall isn’t “a classic stain.” It’s the scene of a so-so ragu you cooked ten years ago).

Something as special as a classic restaurant needs more than longevity and more than perfect food. It needs to make you feel something. That being said, a classic restaurant doesn’t have to be faultless. It can have great oysters but bad lighting, average half-smokes and an amazing history. But as long as it gives everyone that feeling—that contentment that only a true institution can offer—well, then that’s what makes it a stone-cold classic. These are DC’s best.

THE SPOTS

The Monocle

A steakhouse is as much a DC institution as traffic cameras, questionable politicians, and Fannie Mae. The Monocle on Capitol Hill is not only one of the city’s oldest steakhouses, it’s undeniably one of its best . Sit at the small wooden bar if you want to hear Hill staffers spilling congressional secrets after one too many ginger Manhattans or head to the dining room where lobbyists and tourists, both fresh off meetings with representatives, dig into lightly salted and perfectly seared sirloins.

Heat Da Spot

At Heat Da Spot, you get the best of both worlds: breakfast and Ethiopian food. The Petworth cafe is a Monday morning rite of passage for commuters filling up on their Zoom essentials: caramel iced cinnamon honey lattes, berbere-spiced scrambled eggs, and chechebsa, a flatbread marinated in spiced butter. If it’s your first time, start with a BEC, Heat Da Spot’s classic breakfast sandwich with the perfect cheese-to-bacon-to-egg ratio. Sprinkle on some berbere peppers, and it might just quickly become your favorite breakfast sandwich in the city.

Rose's Luxury

Rose’s Luxury made a huge splash when it hit the DC scene in 2013, and while some of the fabled lore of presidential dinners and 100-person lines down 8th St. have subsided, it’s still one of the District’s most visited restaurants. The playful American food at this Barracks Row restaurant mostly hits (and occasionally misses), but we never turn down an invitation to come here because it’s always a good time. The main downstairs dining room holds some of that rowhouse living room spirit, but there’s also a smaller, more intimate dining room upstairs and a covered patio on the ground floor. Wherever you land, get the pork and lychee salad—it’s the best thing on the menu and the only thing that’s stayed on it since it opened.

Murry & Paul's

Murry & Paul’s is a real old-school diner. Not the aesthetic kind that we see pop up in DC from time to time, but the no-bullsh*t if-you-don’t-know-your-order-head-to-the-back-of-the-line type joint. A faded menu hangs on the wall at this Brookland spot, where plates are stacked against brown linoleum walls and squeeze bottles of hot sauce stand on every table. It’s one of DC’s few remaining cash-only restaurants, where you can still get $6 omelets and $8 breakfast specials. Bring your friends along, and you’ll find yourself saying things like “they don’t make them like this no more” while drenching your golden-brown pancakes in a heap of butter and syrup.

Annie's Paramount Steak House

For over 75 years, Annie’s has been a refuge for DC’s LGBTQ+ community, where the words “you don’t have to hide that here” can be found on laminated placards on every table. The family-owned steakhouse in Dupont Circle keeps it casual with a bartender shouting from behind the bar, inviting you to sit wherever you want, and a “formal dining” room brimming with laid-back groups in sneakers, jeans, and polyester pants (because the best way to eat a steak is in loungewear). Regulars know their go-to dishes among the Maryland crab cakes and grilled ribeye steak—for us, that includes an order of the sweet and sour key-lime pie with extra whipped cream.

El Tamarindo

DC’s largest immigrant population hails from El Salvador, and that means there are lots of fantastic places to get Salvadoran classics like pupusas. El Tamarindo in Adams Morgan is our oldest Salvadoran spot, and serves up fast, flavorful food. The menu is a mix of Salvadoran and Mexican, so along with pupusas, sweet plantains, and tamales, there are tacos, burritos, and fajitas. It’s a casual spot that gets busy with both visitors and locals, and there’s an all-day Happy Hour at the bar if you have some free time.

Ben's Chili Bowl

The most famous Black-owned restaurant in DC might not make the most memorable food in the city, but we never pass up the chance to grab a half-smoke at Ben’s Chili Bowl anyways. Inside, you can scan through the photos of visitors from across the decades scattered around the restaurant that tell the history of both Ben’s and “Black Broadway.” Prepare to wait in line to get some food, which you can eat at the counter or, if you’re lucky, at one of the few red booths. Get the original chili half-smoke with all the fixings, and make sure you ask them to split it.

Jaleo

José Andrés is the unofficial culinary king of DC, and Jaleo is his crown jewel. The Spanish restaurant in Penn Quarter has been open since the ‘90s, and although the food falls squarely in the “just fine” category, the restaurant’s location and huge dining room that’s great for a last-minute group dinner make it a popular choice. With over 50 tapas to choose from, dining here can sometimes feel like an old-school game of Battleship. But every once in a while, you come across a hit—like the coliflor salteada made with dates and olives.

Tony Cheng's Seafood Restaurant

Like the Washington Monument or the US Capitol building, Tony Cheng’s is a spot you want to see when you walk down H St. It’s a living monument, a testament to what Chinatown used to be, even if the menu can be a little hit-or-miss. And the restaurant’s tenure is obvious—the felt seats probably haven’t been upholsftered since it opened in the ’80s, and the walls with photos of Jimmy Carter and Marion Berry feel more like a historical shrine than decor. Stick to ordering the seafood, like the slightly sweet black garlic scallop and shrimp and the crispy crab wontons, which are a firework of flavor.

Filomena Ristorante

This Georgetown restaurant has been serving DC pasta for over 40 years, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a spot that does a better job . The underground restaurant is packed day and night, as folks turn everything from simple weeknight dinners to birthdays into an experience as big as Filomena’s chicken parmesan. There’s a homey feel to the place, filled with antique knickknacks that look like they’ve been acquired throughout the last century. And that coziness, combined with the giant plates, is what keeps huge groups coming back night in and night out.

The Players Lounge

Grab some chicken wings with the greens and mac and cheese (and a strong-a*s drink that’ll have you under the table) and you’re in for a good time at The Players Lounge. The restaurant in Congress Heights has been a community staple since the '70s and on any given night, you’ll find it packed with regulars enjoying the fantastic soul food. It’s a step back in time, with stained-glass Michelob overhead lamps, wood paneled walls and an old-school cash register. Be ready to chop it up at Wednesday night karaoke, and if you know how to act, you’ll feel at home in no time.