What’s New in Washington, D.C.: Spring 2024 Update

Senior Editor Elizabeth Harvey shares recent finds and travel intel—plus a few always-return-to favorites—from her trip to Washington, D.C. earlier this March.

NEW

The former Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C. will be reopening in May as a member of the Salamander Hotels & Resorts portfolio, owned by entrepreneur and producer Sheila Johnson (it currently counts six properties). Sitting directly between the National Mall and the rapidly growing waterfront development The Wharf, the renovated Salamander, Washington, D.C. will offer 373 rooms, a two-level spa, a state-of-the-art fitness center and a new restaurant, Dogon, by one of the hottest chef-restaurateurs in the U.S. right now, Kwame Onwuachi (his Lincoln Center restaurant Tatiana was named the best new restaurant in New York City of 2023 by The New York Times's Pete Wells in December). Also opening this spring, the restaurant concept will pay homage both to Onwuachi's own heritage to the West African Dogon tribe and to the legacy of Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician, astronomer and surveyor born to formerly enslaved parents in 1731 (who also traces ancestry to the Dogon tribe), who made significant contributions to the development of the city of Washington, D.C. The Afro-Caribbean menu will nod to Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian and Creole influences—and, of course, "our menu will celebrate all the cultures within DC’s four quadrants," says Onwuachi. (Also on the culinary front, the Salamander plans to bring back the property's beloved afternoon tea service.)

My Indagare colleagues recently scouted the new waterfront Pendry Washington DC, also at The Wharf. Their take: "The hotel is a fantastic choice for those looking to experience a different, up-and-coming side of the city, with a lively restaurant and nightlife scene. Don't miss a drink with breathtaking sunsets over the Potomac at the Japanese-inspired Moonraker rooftop bar." They also checked out The Lyle, a boutique hotel that opened in the spring of 2021 in a 1940s Art Deco building. They report: "Staying at The Lyle feels like staying at the apartment of your ultra-chic friend—a unique and welcoming experience. It's a nice option for travelers looking for a more affordable, residential hotel."

Also on my radar is The Morrow, a modern hotel with 203 rooms and suites in NoMa (convenient for business travelers, it's just a five-minute cab ride or 20-minute walk south of Union Station) that opened in November 2022. Accommodations feature natural light and a soothing blue-and-grey color palette—but the standout is the culinary program, which offers four food and beverage venues crafted by acclaimed chef Nicholas Stefanelli (more on him, below). Highlights include Vesper, a sultry cocktail lounge with live music and caviar service; Le Clou, a contemporary take on the French brasserie; and the panoramic rooftop restaurant and bar Upstairs at The Morrow. The hotel is also plugged into the vibrant artistic scene of its up-and-coming neighborhood, so guests can expect a fun calendar of seasonal events and exhibitions at their fingertips. (The Morrow also sits at the center of NoMa’s Metropolitan Beer Trail, which links 11 of the District’s most popular breweries and bars.)

FAVORITE

This March, I returned to the The Dupont Circle, a historic hotel named for the well-heeled, mansion-lined, diplomatic neighborhood it sits in. Originally built in 1947, the property was acquired and renovated by the Irish family-owned portfolio The Doyle Collection, and it reopened in 2020—only to close a few months later for the pandemic. The Dupont Circle has finally, properly hit its stride in the last few years, and it has become a neighborhood hub that attracts stylish locals and emissaries as well as visitors (a table for Sunday brunch at their restaurant The Pembroke is a coveted reservation, thanks to cheery, leafy interiors by Martin Brudnizki and a particularly aesthetic—and also perfectly light—french toast dish). Cozy in my studio terrace suite (on the all-suite ninth floor), I found that most magical thing begin to happen during my recent stay, which occurs at only the best hotels—I began to believe myself at home. (This is in large part the result of the considerable combined talents of designer Clodagh and owner/creative director Bernie Gallagher, whose own private art collection hangs throughout the property.)

I also had the good fortune of experiencing the hotel's Irish Heritage Month programming, leading up to St. Patrick's Day; as the preeminent Irish-owned hotel in Washington, D.C., The Dupont Circle is the de facto annex of the Irish embassy (and the favored property of the prime minister). So, it pulls out all the stops in March. (And did you know Washington, D.C.'s Irish roots run deep? In fact, the White House was designed by an Irishman, James Hoban.) This year, the major event was a pop-up restaurant with Irish-born, London-based chef Richard Corrigan, whose portfolio currently includes Daffodil Mulligan in Shoreditch, Corrigan's Bar & Restaurant in Mayfair and Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill, also in Mayfair. Over his decades-long career, chef Corrigan has earned Michelin stars, authored two cookbooks, both won and judged on the popular BBC series The Great British Menu and cooked for such heads of state as the late Queen Elizabeth and President Barack Obama. We savored the pop-up dinner, yes, with highlights like a welcome Irish Breeze cocktail (and vintages from Irish Wine Geese producers), wild snapper ceviche and sinfully good fried hearts and livers with spicy aioli, smoked haddock with cured egg yolk and kale, tikka celeriac with tahini and pomegranate, roasted maialeto with apple kimchi and a massive grass-fed beef rib, generously sprinkled with salt. (The menu was inspired by the more informal, inventive kitchen at Daffodil Mulligan, where the international team of cooks is regularly encouraged to test new recipes inspired by their backgrounds. Next time I am across the pond, I intend to visit.) But even more memorable were the post-shift pints with chef in the Doyle bar, where we debated the future of food and farm-to-table (on chef Corrigan's orders: support your local farmers), and learning to bake Irish soda bread in the hotel kitchens, with perhaps a bit too much Champagne (this was okay, as chef's recipe is fool-proof in its simplicity). In a high-powered city like D.C., The Dupont Circle is the kind of hotel where these moments of warmth and friendship can happen—and they often do.

Plus: In Georgetown, my favorite hotel remains the Rosewood. The addition of six private, four-story townhouses designed by Thomas Pheasant in 2020 was a game-changer, and I still dream of my perfect hideaway for one—complete with a Dyson hair dryer, Toto toilet, private patio, fireplace and Bosch washer and dryer. The new Wolfgang Puck restaurant, CUT, is also a must-visit.

NEW

• Casa Teresa is the first solo venture from Catalan chef Rubén García, an alum of the José Andrés group and former head chef of the celebrated Minibar. Attached to the new food market hall The Square, Casa Teresa shares the traditional, live-fire home cooking of northern Spain, with tapas and larger plates, in a fun, low-key atmosphere.
• From the team behind D.C. hard-hitters Compass Rose and Maydan, Medina is a new Middle Eastern restaurant and cocktail bar with major Morocco- and Tunisia-inspired décor (think tapestried ceilings, carved lanterns, velvet tassels and zellij mosaic wallpaper).
• Philotimo is a long-awaited Greek creation by Nicholas Stefanelli, chef and owner of the Michelin-starred Masseria. The restaurant also includes Kaimaki, a coffee and cocktail bar.
• Balos Estiatorio: This buzzy restaurant in Dupont Circle is the latest vibey creation from veteran restaurateurs and life-long friends Stefanos Vouvoudakis, Tom Tsiplakos and Joe Ragonese. The large, attractive dining room is popular for groups and special occasions. Expect classic Greek/Mediterranean cuisine.
• Pascual: From chef Matt Conroy (an alum of Brooklyn's Michelin-starred Oxomoco) and chef Isabel Coss (an alumna of Manhattan's Empellón and Cosme), this new Mexican restaurant on Capitol Hill is sleek and contemporary, with an edited, classic menu that has a few unique twists.
• New-ish: Gravitas opened in the summer of 2018 in Ivy City, another of D.C.'s rapidly developing, up-and-coming neighborhoods (and a popular spot for breweries and distilleries). The space is cool and slightly industrial—with brick walls, soaring ceilings, square-pane windows and exposed piping. Currently holding one Michelin star, the restaurant serves fine-dining, chef's tasting menus with three-, four- and six-course options.
• New-ish: L'ardente opened in the fall of 2021 on Massachusetts Avenue, near the Georgetown University Law School. Spunky, irreverent and a little bit glamorous (there are Murano glass chandeliers, neon signs and Missoni curtains), L'ardente is a local hot spot serving indulgent Italian cuisine to match. There's wood-fired pizza, buttery homemade pastas and rich sharing plates. The 40-layer lasagna is Instagram-famous and actually delicious. L'ardente is sister restaurant to Love, Makoto, a Japanese restaurant (and food hall) by chef Makoto Okuwa, which opened in 2022 and which I also tried; the izakaya serves tasty small bites and very well balanced cocktails.

FAVORITE

• Le Diplomate for brunch and people-watching
• Il Canale for a lunch of Neapolitan pizza
• Bluejacket for craft beer brewed on-site
• Albi for the best Levantine dinner in the city
• Zaytinya for the best Greek dinner in the city
• Baked & Wired for something sweet (and great coffee)
• The Roost for a quick break or drink
• The bar at Café Riggs for a martini with atmosphere

NEW

• The International Spy Museum, which first opened in 2002, unveiled a new location (envisioned in collaboration with the architects behind the Centre Pompidou in Paris) and a vastly expanded experience in 2019. Some of the old museum favorites are still there—like the lipstick pistol—but the collection has since tripled in size, and it now digs into present-day questions of espionage and security, including terrorism and cybersecurity. For families and adults alike, the new museum is a must-visit—and don't miss the "Bond in Motion" exhibition, open through April 2025, which displays 17 iconic vehicles featured in six decades' worth of 007 films.
• Opened in the fall of 2022, the Rubell Museum is a unique contemporary art collection housed within a former school near the Navy Yard. Sister to the Rubell Museum in Miami, the pioneering space presents the many treasures of the Rubell family's private holdings (which include works by Keith Haring, Kehinde Wiley, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst). The exhibitions on display at the D.C. museum feature a diversity of artists who are perhaps a bit less blockbuster, but the experience is thought-provoking. I particularly enjoyed the display of Franco-Senegalese artist Alexandre Diop's work, on now.
• At the Phillips Collection, a headlining reinstallation of the Rothko Room just concluded this week (as three of the original four Rothkos displayed in this room are currently on loan at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, three rare works from the artist's children's collection took their place temporarily). Two special exhibitions that will still be on view through the spring are "Bonnard’s Worlds", the first major retrospective of the French Impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard at the collection in two decades, and "In and Out of the Garden", a similarly verdant exploration of Jennifer Bartlett works created while she stayed in Nice, France in 1979.
• The National Museum of Women in the Arts was reopened this past fall after a two-year renovation. The first major museum in the world that is dedicated solely to women artists, the collection includes works by such icons as Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner and the Guerrilla Girls, as well as up-and-coming artists from diverse communities.
• Currently under construction is a $69-million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial, with the addition of a new museum within the caverns that sit underneath it. The new museum will uncover how the famed memorial was built and explore its important role in the civil rights movement—and national celebrations up to present day. It is expected to be unveiled in 2026.

FAVORITE

• For shopping: With locations in Logan Circle and Union Market, Salt & Sundry is my favorite for chic home décor, accessories and fun gifts. I also recently discovered The Phoenix, a beautifully curated, family-owned boutique in Georgetown at the top of Wisconsin Avenue. It was first founded in 1955 and is currently operated by the family's third generation, Samantha Hays Gushner.
• Dumbarton Oaks is a hidden gem north of Georgetown. This 19th-century manor house and its sprawling gardens are an absolutely romantic escape.
• The Renwick Gallery is in a beautiful red-brick mansion across the street from the White House, with rotating exhibitions spotlighting contemporary American arts and crafts.
• I can spend hours in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
• A wonderful way to enjoy the National Mall and monuments is to run or walk from Georgetown along the waterfront. The two-mile route will bring you to the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and then the World War II Memorial, which is always humbling.