Take a Bite of Washington DC
On my trip to Washington DC I learned that the real acronym for DC is delicious cuisine. If you get the chance to visit, you’ll understand why.
This travel guide is simply formatted so you can get where you need to be. Our major market recommendation categories:
Sunday Sauce, timeless and traditional recommendations that you will find all over Condé Nast Traveler and every celebrity cooking show.
For You Page, where the girls are dining in our most popular destinations.
Personal Favorite, giving flowers to the restaurant that knocked our socks off.
Bon appétit!
Sunday Sauce
Old Ebbitt Grill, established in 1856
This was our very first stop for an 11 PM dinner after a day filled with flight delays. And it did not disappoint. If you were not aware of the time, you would’ve thought it was a 5 PM happy hour. The place was swimming with people in suits having drinks and talking about idk, policies or something.
We had a spread of oysters, pasta, bread, steak, and martinis — none of it disappointed. Our waiter made killer recommendations. The vibes were exactly what you imagine when you think of a quintessential Capitol Hill scene.
Late night is definitely not when I would have planned to go, but it was a happy accident. 10/10 would recommend, even if just for a drink and some people watching.
Ben’s Chili Bowl, established 1958
Ben's Chili Bowl is a historic and iconic restaurant. We visited the charming, original is location on U Street.
Ben and Virginia Ali’s restaurant has a rich history for the African-American culture in DC. During the 1968 riots following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Ben's remained open, serving both police and protesters, and became a symbol of resilience and civil rights support. It has been visited by numerous celebrities and politicians, including President-elect Barack Obama.
We ordered the restaurant’s claim to fame, the half-smoke—a local sausage served with mustard, onions, and Ben's signature chili—and it is delicious. However, the homemade banana pudding with Biscoff cookies is what stole the show for me. I still think about it everyday. Recipe attempt incoming.
Filomena Ristorante, established in 1983
Located in Georgetown, this spot is known for its traditional Italian cuisine and warm, old-world ambiance filled with antiques and family memorabilia. You walk through the doors and find a person hand making fresh pasta, travel down a staircase into a MASSIVE (and, if you are like me, slightly overstimulating) room full of people and objects. No corner or shelf is left unoccupied.
The food was absolutely to die for! My favorite item was the house-made gnocchi, followed by the veal cutlet — those two items are my go-to order at a classic Italian restaurant. The wine selection was extensive and the portions were insanely large.
Every meal at Filomena ends with a signature shot of Sambucca or Ameretto that you get to pour yourself at the table. Needless to say, Filomena lived up to the hype.
For You Page
This one was a close second for me as the personal favorite! It is located in Georgetown and has a fast-casual atmosphere. It was an amazing lunch spot!
Yellow is a colorful Levantine café by Chef Michael Rafidi, known for blending Middle Eastern flavors with French pastry techniques. We had falafels, a lamb shoulder pita, the most delicious za’atar croissant, batata tots, and the turmeric + honey latte. Everything was exceptional! I can’t wait to go back.
Toki Underground is such a vibe. We are heading to Japan this winter, but from what I can imagine this place is like stepping straight into a shotgun eatery in Tokyo. The decor is chaotic, in the best way. They were playing loud music and there were groups of young people sprawled across the whole 2nd floor. We sat at the bar against the street-facing windows and got to people watch in every direction, haha.
We ordered the Classic Ramen, Kimchi Ramen, and the Pickles Plate. Everything was delicious!
Tatte is now our favorite thing to find when we are traveling around the Northeast — praying for a continued expansion! Every cafe is unique with a consistent mixture of comfort and chic. At this point I think we’ve tried most everything they serve, all the coffee is unbelievable! Our favorite bakery item is the Passionfruit Krembo — must order.
I did not have the opportunity to visit this spot, but it comes highly recommended!
They serve a 40 layer lasagna — that’s all I need to say about that.
Personal Favorite
Rose’s Luxury, the reason I kicked off Pickled with a Washington DC food guide
Rose’s Luxury served the best meal I have ever eaten. The food was insanely complex and unique, all questions were met with excitement and answered throughly by our server. The team was eager and excited to help us select our dishes for the “choose your own adventure” style menu.
It truly made all the difference, I always hate when I am at a high end restaurant and they make me feel out of place.
My fiancé and I were having a hard time picking pastas and the chef ended up bringing us all three to try! The menu is seasonal and ever evolving, but we ate every bit of our 8 dishes — including the massive dessert!
When we were leaving they gave us a small gift bag with the ingredients and recipe to make Cacio e Pepe at home. I could literally write an entire blog just about this one meal and I would encourage anyone who can land a reservation to go! We planned this trip a little last minute so we ended up at the bar top and it was perfect.
Washington DC Travel Notes
If you made it this far, congratulations! Here are some other general observations and notes —
DC is wildly expensive. It is worth the money, but this is not a budget-friendly destination.
We stayed at Hotel Washington. The hotel was gorgeous with a great rooftop bar and views of the Washington Monument and The White House. I would probably opt to stay in Georgetown if we went back!
The National Mall is definitely worth a stroll if the weather is nice.
Almost all museums and historic sites are free, you just have to schedule an entry time.
Ubers were quite expensive, if you can use public transport that would be ideal.
Georgetown is so quaint and has great shopping.
This is probably obvious, but confirm routes to your dinner spots, etc and possible street closures. We almost missed a dinner reservation because we did not consider how much security would be in place during the State of the Union. Haha.
Unfortunately, we did have a meal at José Andrés restaurant Jaleo. It was extremely underwhelming and expensive. It might have been a one-off experience, as his praises are sung by many foodies, but wanted to be honest and make that note!
Washington Delicious Cuisine is definitely worth a visit for the food scene alone! If you are heading there tag us in your content and let us know what you think about the recs — @pickledpickledpickled on Instagram.
