With one of the highest concentrations of restaurants in the city, the options in Dupont Circle feel limitless. On any given Sunday you can find yourself salsa dancing at Cafe Citron, people-watching at the fountain, or eating your weight in bread at a farmers market. Whether it’s a quick lunch while ducking co-workers, date night with someone special, or Happy Hour to melt the stress away, there’s something here for everyone. Here are our picks for the best spots to eat in Dupont Circle.
Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.
THE SPOTS
When you inevitably jump in the wrong lane and end up on P St. instead of Massachusetts Avenue, you might as well take a pitstop at DC’s best pizzeria. Alfreda’s crispy sourdough crust is a gamechanger—it always has a nice brown finish and a crunchy bite. We’d come here just for the plain pizza, topped with gooey mozzarella and a slightly acidic tomato sauce. But when you add toppings like thick, salty pepperoni, the subtly sweet Pennsylvania sausage, and the pickled chilis, it’s almost impossible to stop grabbing the next slice (or ordering another pie to eat at home). The casual walk-in-only spot is perfect for a laidback weeknight dinner with friends and family.
If you gravitate toward familiar favorites like soup dumplings and peking duck buns, you won’t be disappointed at Chang Chang. But take a chance on Peter Chang’s experiments with Asian fusion. The bite-sized bits of sweet and sour spareribs will have you licking every speck of housemade plum sauce off your fingers, wondering what the secret ingredient is (it’s osmanthus flower). And while rosemary-flecked chicken wings may look like the most boring things on the menu, they’re low-key one of the best.
If you blink as you’re walking down P Street, you might miss Sura, a basement restaurant with a paper-plastered door and some of the best street-food style Thai in the city. The meals are fresh and fast—so fast that you might wonder if they brought you someone else’s dinner by mistake. Fret not, that really is your bowl of steaming spicy belly rice that has been set in front of you. The menu changes here often, so don’t get overly tied to one dish. Instead, try them all. You won’t be sorry.
Gemini is a kinda-sorta restaurant. It’s a natural wine shop serving some of DC’s most exciting Italian food as a mostly takeout operation. If you want to sit down to eat, you’ll need to grab one of the picnic tables that occupy the former street parking spot out front—perfect for pizza night with the kids—which fill up almost immediately after it opens at 5pm. Pasta has to be eaten inside, where there are a few tall tables and counters but no seats. And while eating pasta in an upright position might not be comfortable, it’s worth it at Gemini. There’s also an ice cream cart on the sidewalk, in case you’re not in the mood to enter a building at all. It’s an odd place with odd rules, which only adds to the magic.
This contemporary Korean restaurant by the owners of Chiko has great food and a chic atmosphere—the exposed wood beams and vintage apricot wallpaper give the whole thing a contemporary, barn-inspired feel. The Korean fried chicken is glazed in a spicy gochujang and barbeque sauce and is pretty darn good, even if it isn't the best thing on the menu. Get the jjamppong, a thick noodle soup made with a rich and spicy seafood broth and roasted clams that will have you slurping at the table without shame. Tables here are usually booked about a week out, so plan accordingly.
You never know who you’ll run into at the Tabard Inn & Restaurant. An old colleague? An old flame? Your grad school professor? The over 100-year-old establishment is an in-the-know revolving door for DC, and even though it’s located in well-trodden Dupont Circle, chances are the date you bring here didn’t even know this place existed. A wood burning fireplace, live, low-volume jazz on Sunday and Monday nights, and lots of comfortable seating (it’s a little threadbare, but that adds to the charm) is what it’s all about here.
DC doesn't have many casual French restaurants—most of them cater to the special occasion crowd, with the sort of price points and impossible reservations that might have fueled the French Revolution. That’s why we love Bistrot Du Coin. The nearly 25-year-old spot feels like it was pulled right out of the French countryside and dropped into the middle of Dupont Circle. Its narrow dining room, warm yellow glow, checkered tablecloths, and antique bicycles hanging on the walls feel more timeless than anything else we’ve found on Connecticut Avenue. Order the ravioli with cream sauce and gruyere, and pretend your next move is a casual stroll in the countryside.
Surfside, a casual Tex-Mex restaurant, is a prime lunchtime spot (and late-night lifesaver open 24 hours). The menu includes some seriously masterful taco combinations like the Bora Bora that’s made with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, guacamole, and a honey peanut sauce. There is no indoor seating here, so take your order to go or lounge at one of the three tables on the sidewalk (under a heated canopy in cold weather). The service here is quick, whether in-person or online, you'll be in and out in under 10 minutes.
Compliments Only is a counter-service deli that radiates kindness. If you need proof, take a peek inside your to-go bag to find complimentary candies waiting for you. The cheekily decorated sub shop has a houseplant installation focused on making your plants happier and photos of Lizzo and Martha Stewart posed with sandwiches on the wall. Though the sandwiches here are Dupont-pricey at around $15 a pop, they are about a foot long and stuffed with layers of meat and fresh vegetables. Get the Crunchy Boi made with turkey, provolone, garlic, mayo, pickles, and potato chips. It’s crunchy, savory, and delicious.
You can trick your friends with the knockoff calamari at DC Vegan because, like everything on the menu, it’s that good. In fact, it tastes better than a lot of the calamari we’ve had in the city. The two-story restaurant has a deli upstairs that serves a range of vegan goods including delightful cauliflower “wings” marinated in buffalo sauce and desserts like carrot cake, with icing that’s finger-licking good. Downstairs, the botanical bar is adorned with flowers that fall from the ceiling. Try an aromatic drink like the moonflower, made with Aperol, elderberry, and ginger tea.
Iron Gate should be your go-to for a fancy-ish meal in Dupont Circle when you feel like eating at the bar rather than on a white tablecloth. Yes, you should still dress up a little, but everything is fairly understated here. Base yourself at the front of the restaurant, which was once a carriage way and now houses Iron Gate’s narrow bar which, with its smokey mirror and jazz playlist, is undeniably romantic.
Agora is one of those places that everyone has been to. If you haven't, put it on your list, because the Mediterranean food here is fantastic and it’s a fun place to be. The laughter and good times are infectious, and it’s a spot best enjoyed in a group, especially since it’s all small plates. Come for lunch or dinner, which is a calmer experience than the haphazard all-inclusive brunch. Expect it to be packed all the time, both inside and on the patio. The htipiti, a red pepper spread, is a star across all menus.
Good Spanish food is hard to find in DC, but Boqueria does a damn good job bringing you as close to Spain as possible. The outdoor patio is often packed out during lunch and dinner with Dupont Circle workers grabbing a bite, but slide in for early Happy Hour to get a more chill vibe with all the great food. The patatas bravas, a staple of Spanish cuisine, are crispy and doused in flavorful sauces. Pair them with the gamabs al ajillo that have a bright, lemony taste.
Tokyo Pearl is one of those spots with entrances on both Connecticut Avenue and 18th Street and the restaurant uses those dual doors to create two separate worlds that come together over great sushi. The back patio is a playground full of flowers, butterflies, and swing chairs, and inside there’s a bar covered in glow-in-the-dark graffiti, which turns into a full-on nightclub after 10pm. You can get the glorious chicken bao buns and sushi (including good vegetarian options) in both spots.
A spot for every meal—and then some.