6 New DC Restaurants You Have To Try

This month has seen the closure of two D.C. dining institutions. Crazy Aunt Helen’s, known for their iconic drag brunches, and Roofers Union, the party-hard AdMo beer hall, have both closed their doors. It’s a gut punch, but there are lots of new openings to celebrate.

Tonari Cafe:

The Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant is opening a café with breakfast sandwiches, Italian-inspired onigiri, and sandwiches on croissant-dough baguettes. It opens today and is giving away one free drip coffee with every purchase all day!

Casa Teresa:

Chef Rubén García’s downtown Spanish restaurant opened Monday. Meals are served family style with whole fish and large-format grilled meats. A jamón cart, tinned seafood, slow-cooked stews, cheese, and wines are also prominent.

Medina:

The Maydan team opened this new cocktail bar across the street, decorated with tapestries, cushions, and lanterns. The North African-inspired menu includes a martini cart for two and several small plates.

Omakase @ Barracks Row:

Chef Ricky Wang is turning his much-loved omakase pop-up into a brick-and-mortar. The bar has only two seatings a night and offers impeccable seafood sourcing and non-traditional flavor combos.

Amparo Fondita:

This ​​seafood-centric Mexican restaurant and tortilleria opened in Dupont last week. They serve Mexican pastries and café con leche in the morning and seafood platters and tacos after lunch. They even have their own stone mill for grinding and pressing fresh tortillas.

Philotimo:

Nicholas Stefanelli's Greek restaurant reopened service last week after a one-year hiatus due to a fire. The new menu pulls on homestyle cooking with homemade bread and pasta and lots of seafood.