"Michael Rafidi’s wood-fired Levantine cooking earned a Michelin star and a James Beard; book the SOFRA menu to impress visiting clients."
Albi opened in Navy Yard in early 2020 and has spent every year since climbing: a Michelin star held annually since 2022, and in 2024 a James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef for owner Michael Rafidi. The name means “my heart” in Arabic, and the cooking is an unapologetically personal take on the eastern Mediterranean, built around a wood-fired hearth that handles nearly everything that reaches the table. It is one of the most decorated rooms in our Washington DC dining guide.
Rafidi grew up in a Palestinian-American family in the DC suburbs and cooked in California and the Middle East before coming home to open Albi. The kitchen runs on live fire: vegetables, breads and meats all pass over or near the hearth, and the smoke is the signature rather than a garnish. Mezze come out precise — the baba ghanoush and kefta are benchmarks — but the wood oven is where the food turns memorable, from charred flatbreads to whole fish. Dessert is a brown-butter knafeh with yoghurt ice cream that regulars plan the meal around.
The headline format is SOFRA, which translates loosely as “a table set for you”: a roughly $185 tasting menu that walks a group through the hearth’s range, though an à la carte option remains for a lighter visit. For the wider city, read our DC guide, compare the tasting-menu ambition of Minibar, or see where Albi sits among our picks to impress clients.
Albi is a warm, design-forward room: pale wood, woven textures and an open hearth that throws light and the smell of woodsmoke across the space. The sound level rises with a full house, so it reads as lively rather than hushed, and conversation carries without strain at most tables. Lighting is low and flattering, spacing is generous for the neighbourhood, and the dress code lands at smart-casual. The hearth itself is the floor show, which makes a seat with a view of the fire worth requesting when you book.
Book Albi to impress a client for three reasons: the food carries real credentials, with a Michelin star and a James Beard behind it; the SOFRA menu removes ordering friction so the table can talk; and the hearth gives the meal a sense of occasion without tipping into stiff formality. A typical scene: a four-top by the open fire, a parade of mezze, then the smoke-edged mains landing as the conversation finds its rhythm. Reserve well ahead and ask about SOFRA when you do. See also our picks to impress clients and for an anniversary.
Not for a quick weeknight bite or a strict budget: Albi is a destination tasting-menu room where the SOFRA experience and wine push the bill well past casual-dinner territory.
Yes, if you want one of DC’s most distinctive tasting menus. Albi holds a Michelin star, owner Michael Rafidi won the 2024 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef, and the wood-fired Levantine cooking — from charred flatbreads to the brown-butter knafeh — is genuinely memorable. The SOFRA menu runs about $185 per person, which is fair for the pedigree, though it is firmly a special-occasion spend.
SOFRA means roughly “a table set for you” in Arabic. It is Albi’s chef-driven tasting menu, around $185 per person, that walks a table through the kitchen’s range of mezze and wood-fired dishes. It is the move for a group; an à la carte option remains for a lighter visit. Book it when you reserve.
Albi is at 1346 4th St SE in DC’s Navy Yard, near Nationals Park. It serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday and books through Resy, filling weeks ahead for prime weekend slots. Reserve early, especially for the SOFRA menu, and ask for a seat near the open hearth.
Yes. The Michelin star and James Beard Award give it credibility, the SOFRA menu removes ordering friction, and the hearth-side room feels like an occasion without being stuffy. For other options see our picks to impress clients.
Albi books through Resy and fills weeks ahead for prime weekend slots. Reserve early and ask about the SOFRA menu for a group.
Affiliate disclosure: Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission when you book through our reservation links, at no cost to you. Our scores are editorial and never paid for.
Albi earns its place for Michael Rafidi’s wood-fired Levantine cooking, a Michelin star and a James Beard, anchored by the SOFRA tasting menu.
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