The 10 best Georgetown restaurants

If Amélie is your ideal date movie, allez to this intimate Georgetown spot. As cute as a box of macarons, the mint-colored dining room delivers southern France on a plate. Nuzzle over warm olives, wine-poached duck eggs, fish soup topped with toasted Gruyère, roasted trout with fennel, and profiteroles filled with ice cream and bathed in warm chocolate sauce. When the weather is fine, relax in the private patio with a bottle of rosé for less than the price of a cab to Dulles. The restaurant is the baby sister of Petworth’s Chez Billy, which is also brimming with bon goût.

Georgetown’s 1789, site of countless graduation fêtes and anniversary dinners, is evocative of a Washington of old, when men wore ties and women smiled and nodded. These things still happen, of course, and the main dining room, with its antique-style china and gold-framed historical prints, is an appropriate setting for them. The menu stresses local provenance—rockfish from Kent Island, Maryland, say, with celery root purée, braised escarole with citrus and black trumpet mushrooms, or Shenandoah Valley lamb with arugula, potatoes and roast garlic. The food is exceptional; the service, as might be expected, impeccable.

If you’re looking for a decadent splurge and a high probability of a celebrity sighting, head to this modern restaurant inside Georgetown’s Four Seasons hotel, where steaks are poached in butter and movie stars and power players rub shoulders. California-based chef Michael Mina opened a branch of his contemporary steakhouse as part of a very posh makeover of the Four Seasons. Steakhouse classics such as an aged porterhouse, creamed spinach and wagyu beef are joined by locally sourced fare such as Virginia swordfish, plus a shellfish and caviar selection. The complimentary fries that land on the table are crisped in duck fat and very addictive. The swank bar is a regular hangout for VIP guests and, true to its name, offers a nice selection of rare bourbons and Scotches.

What started as a humble farmers’ market stand in 2013 has since blossomed into a wildly popular taco empire. Founded by Suzanne Simon and Bettina Stern, the new vegetarian taco restaurant in Georgetown includes the same beloved tacos served on hand-pressed tortillas. (Fillings included mushrooms with feta cheese and creamy kale with potato.) New at the space: rotating sides like sweet potato gratin, as well as wine and beer on tap. Visit on the weekends, when you can add an egg to any taco for an additional charge.