D’Lena

476 K St NW Suite D,

Washington, DC 2001

D’Lena serves elevated Mexican cuisine, it’s dark and moody giving Tulum vibes. It’s really hard to get a reservation here, but Happy Hour is offered from 5 pm- 6 pm so go then! The food and drinks were really delicious, and this place is worth the hype! After dinner, make sure you check out the hidden speakeasy downstairs. It’s first come first serve but offers a completely different menu and is a must-see! The drink in the speakeasy was a bit pricey, but that’s normal for speakeasies.

Ala

1320 19th St NW,

Washington, DC 20036

Ala is by far one of my favorite dining spots in DC! Ala serves Mediterranean cuisine with mostly Tapas style plates so it’s a great place. Drinks are so insta worthy and also taste amazing! We ordered a bunch of small plates – short rib, feta spread, chicken kabob with dates, watermelon feta salad, duck prosciutto, fried halloumi, hummus, and falafel.We had all of that, and everything was perfection!

Yardbird

901 New York Ave NW,

Washington,DC 20001

Yardbird is an elevated restaurant that serves southern food. The decor is modern and elevated. I saw their lobster mac and cheese all over Insta, so I had to try it. It was $60 – it was good but not really worth the price. Everything else we ordered was amazing though. We ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes which was great and I don’t even like tomatoes. We also ordered the Crispy Chicken sandwich and the crunch was perfect! Next, we got chicken and waffles but the chocolate cake was the highlight of the whole meal, it was by far the best chocolate cake I have ever had!

Mercy Me

1143 New Hampshire Ave Nw Ground Floor

Washington, DC 20037

This is the perfect date night restaurant! Mercy Me serves “sorta South American food” and the vibes definitely are grown and sexy. I had my usual – espresso martini, and it was 10/10. We ordered appetizers/small plates – Colombian Empanadas filled with boronia and green aji sauce and Tenderloin Skewers. For dessert we got an amazing bread pudding, you have to check them out!

Rumi’s Kitchen

640 L St NW 

Washington DC 20001

This Persian restaurant offers dark and moody vibes. Cocktails here are 10/10! We started with the Hummus and Rumi’s wings which were great. For entrees we order the chicken kabobs and Duck Fesenjoon. The Duck Fesenjoon has a thick walnut sauce with pomegranant, and was by far my favorite. For dessert we got the Persian Ice Cream Sandwiches.

North Italia

2112 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Ste 102

Washington, DC 20037

I’ve been here for brunch and happy hour, and both were amazing! For brunch, you need to start off with coffee cake, it is to die for! We then got The Breakfast Sandwich which comes with crispy bacon, eggs, and smoked mozzarella. We also ordered the Berry French Toast and Fried Chicken with Gravy. You can’t forget the Garlic Bread which was topped with tons of cheese and butter. Not the healthiest place but is a must in DC!

Cranes

724 9th St NW

Washington, DC 20001

This is a Japanese and Spanish fusion restaurant and sake lounge which was recently awarded a Michelin star. For drinks we got the sake sangria and the Rose Garden, which I loved because they weren’t too sweet.We ordered several tapas, which were more like appetizer size so four tapas was enough for us. I ordered the Shrimp and Squid Tempura, Shishito Peppers, Bao Buns and the Eggplant Confit. Everything was delicious and I’d definitely recommend this spot!

xoxo,

Finding Francesca