D.C. has countless local restaurants, 52 spots alone in Adams Morgan, which can make trying all the great food expensive. Here are eight tips to enjoy the restaurant scene without spending too much.
There are countless local restaurants around D.C. — 52 spots alone in Adams Morgan, for example — so trying all the great food the region has to offer can add up, moneywise.
Because we know eating out can be expensive, DCist/WAMU crowdsourced tips from locals who patronize a lot of D.C.-area restaurants, including DC Food Pundit (whose real name is Joseph Billiot) and Black Girls Explore DC (whose real name is Cornelia Poku).
Don’t worry, we vetted the recommendations (some readers suggested just going on dating apps to, ahem, get someone else to pay for your meal, which we know from experience is not a reliable good time). Suggestions run the gamut for your dining needs, from getting a quick affordable bite to enjoying a Michelin-star restaurant in a budget-friendly way.
Here are eight tips to enjoying D.C.’s restaurant scene, without breaking the bank:
Hit up happy hour
Poku, who reviews local restaurants and food happenings on TikTok (and writes occasionally for DCist), says her best tip is to hit up happy hours. She made a video of affordable happy hours, which spotlights deals at Vagabond, a Dupont Circle restaurant that offers $9 cocktails and $3 quesabirria from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. weekly; and King Street Oyster Bar, a NoMa spot that offers $8 cocktails and $9 burgers everyday from 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Many local happy hours end by the time a lot of people get off from work and can make it to the bar. (Or they make it just in time and to quickly order the first item they see on the happy hour menu.) Restaurant operators schedule happy hours during their slow hours, according to Poku. But she says there are a few gems that have generous hours, including Talay Thai Restaurant in Capitol Hill.
Talay Thai Restaurant has happy hour from 4 p.m.-9:30 p.m. every weekday. There’s $6 dollar cocktails, $5 gyoza, and $2.50 Miller Lites. A satisfying meal of chicken wings, fried wontons, gyoza, and a Siam Dragon cocktail (which is boozy homemade thai tea) cost $30.25, inclusive of a 25% tip.
The happy hour menu is the idea of manager, Tan Viriya, whose 80-year-old mother owns the Thai restaurant. She says she added the generous happy hour to attract more patrons during a slow business period in 2018. It worked. She says most of her customers nowadays are Capitol Hill interns, who’ve come to rely on her happy hour because they don’t earn a lot of money.
Other restaurants that have solid happy hours at off hours include Piece Out Del Ray in Alexandria, a pizzeria that serves a Piece Out pilsner and a slice for $8 every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m., and Masa Hibachi Steakhouse in Silver Spring, which offers happy hour all day Sunday so you can get a shrimp tempura roll and cocktail for $12.
Follow chefs on social media
This one is from Billiot, who suggests following on Twitter or Instagram the chefs whose food you want to try — because they will likely share deals.
“They’ll do a pop-up at someone else’s restaurant that might be actually more accessible,” he says. “So you can still go taste their food and get a cool experience without necessarily having to go to their flagship.”
A recent example was Johnny Spero of Michelin-starred D.C. restaurant Reverie (which is temporarily closed because of a fire). His tasting menu there costs $220. But he just hosted a pop-up at YELLOW in Georgetown, where he prepared a smash burger pita for $21. He plugged the event on his Instagram. YELLOW says to expect more more pop-ups with local chefs, which the cafe plugs on its social media.
Try Bib Gourmand restaurants
For the uninitiated, the prestigious Michelin Guide doesn’t just reward fine-dining restaurants, but also places that its critics deem easy to get into and reasonably priced. Three dozen restaurants in the area made the Bib Gourmand list in 2022. A few of those restaurants have solid happy hours, including Daru (which sells $10 tikka masala, with rice and garlic naan).
It’s possible to enjoy a satisfying meal at other Bib establishments for less than $20, including at Taqueria Habanero in Columbia Heights. There you can get three toasted tacos stuffed with stewed beef, chihuahua cheese, cilantro and onions, accompanied with savory beef broth for dipping.
Jackfruit tacos at Daru, a restaurant whose happy hour one of our contributors recommended.Mariah Miranda / DCist/WAMU
Remember Restaurant Week
Don’t dismiss Restaurant Week, because restaurants offer a lot of deals and specials then.
There are several restaurant weeks a year. So if you have the budget to hit a bunch of new spots in a week, we suggest planning around one. The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington hosts them during the summer and winter — the next one starts Aug. 28 — and over 100 businesses usually participate.
We are currently in the middle of one of two restaurant weeks in the region that celebrates Black-owned establishments. All Set Restaurant & Bar in Silver Spring is offering a three-course meal for $45 and The Park at 14th in downtown D.C. is hosting a $45 bottomless brunch.
If you’re looking to eat closer to home, don’t sleep on the fact that some of the suburban neighborhoods — including Alexandria, the City of Fairfax, and Bethesda, to name a few, do their own restaurant weeks. Maryland also hosts one, planned for September, with participants in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Eat lunch instead of dinner
Here’s another one from Billiot. He directed this tip to parents, who have guaranteed child care during lunch time because kids are usually in school. But eating out for lunch instead of dinner is a great way for anyone to eat at fine dining restaurants in a more affordable way.
He likes to enjoy a meal with his wife during this time. He recommends going to Michelin-starred restaurant Cranes, which reduces the cost of its omakase menu by over 50% during lunch. Dauphine’s is another Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant that has a lunch menu, offering two savory courses (from crawfish étouffée to crispy pork and grits) for $32.
Order appetizers as the main course
DCist/WAMU food editor Rebecca Cooper finds it can be cheaper to order appetizers at fancier restaurants instead of main courses, which at the minimum are usually $30 per plate. Not only can the small plates be more cost effective, but they allow you to try different things on the menu for the same prices as an entree.
Cooper recommended trying the appetizers at St. James On 14th Street NW. The modern Caribbean restaurant offers $15 jerk wings, $12 salt-fish fritters with culantro-chili aioli, and $14 Trini-style Chinese steamed buns.
Don’t order alcohol
A lot of lovers of food recommended this one. Because when a cocktail is priced at $15, even the nonalcoholic ones, the tab can easily add up. So if you are dining out for the food, maybe skip the booze.
The sandwich shop is on the Too Good To Go app, which means users can get really cheap food that would otherwise be thrown away.Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU
Download the Too Good To Go app
This mobile app from Denmark connects businesses that have leftover food with patrons in need of a cheap bite. The idea is to prevent food waste from restaurants, bakers, and even grocery stores.
You’re probably not going to find fine dining restaurants on the app, but there are several local favorites listed, including RASA, D Light Café & Bakery, and Compliments Only. The app says you can pick up a a gourmet sandwich from Compliments Only, which usually runs anywhere from $11.50 to $18, for a bargain: $3.99.
The catch is you can’t pick what you get, which can be a problem for people with allergies. The pickup time can be really early or late, because businesses are trying to give away food operators would otherwise throw away. But if you dig around the app, you can find a solid lunch or dinner. For example, We The Pizza on U Street NW has pick up times all throughout the day.
DCist/WAMU audience producer Abbey Monsour has used the app, and has paid $6 for a handful of pastries from Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery and $15 for two boxes of wine from Crystal City Wine Shop. She and others have recommended using the app.