DC Michelin's 2025 cycle (covering the 2026 dining year) held twenty-five starred restaurants in the District and surrounding region. Three two-stars sit at the top — The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia (the only Michelin Green Star in the region), Minibar by José Andrés in Penn Quarter, and chef Ryan Ratino's Jônt in Adams Morgan. The November 2025 announcement added no new starred restaurants, the first time since the DC guide launched in 2017 — a year of stability rather than expansion.
What follows is the editor's ranking of the rooms — built for diners trying to decide which star is right for which occasion, not to mirror the Michelin order alphabetically. Cross-reference with the DC restaurant directory, the DC sushi guide, and the national Michelin map.
Reservation pattern: The Inn at Little Washington at twelve weeks. Jônt and Minibar at eight to ten weeks. The top tier of one-stars (Pineapple and Pearls, Sushi Nakazawa, Bresca, Rose's Luxury) at four to six weeks. The mid-tier one-stars at two to three weeks. Tipping: 20% standard; the tasting-menu rooms (Minibar, Jônt) include service in the prix fixe.
AnniversaryProposalImpress Clients
Two stars plus the region's only Michelin Green Star — chef Patrick O'Connell's Virginia destination is the most decorated room in the DC region and the country's longest-running fine-dining institution.
Food10/10
Ambience10/10
Value9/10
Why it ranks here
The Inn at Little Washington at #1 has held two Michelin stars since the DC guide launched in 2017 and is the only restaurant in the region with a Michelin Green Star (sustainability). Chef Patrick O'Connell's Virginia inn (a sixty-five-mile drive from the District) runs two tasting menus ($358 and $458) inside a Relais & Châteaux property. The most ambitious American fine-dining cooking in the region — signature dishes include the napoleon of tuna and foie gras, lamb tenderloin with charred eggplant and purslane. The right reservation for a special-occasion drive from DC. Book twelve weeks ahead.
AnniversaryImpress ClientsSolo Dining
Chef Ryan Ratino's Adams Morgan tasting room — DC's most ambitious modern fine-dining counter and the city's longest tasting menu at thirty-two courses.
Food10/10
Ambience9/10
Value9/10
Why it ranks here
Jônt at #2 has held two Michelin stars since 2022 — chef Ryan Ratino running an eight-seat counter inside an Adams Morgan townhouse, $395 for a tasting menu of roughly thirty-two preparations across three hours. The cooking is global-modernist with heavy Japanese-seafood influence; signature dishes include dry-aged pork and Rohan duck. The most ambitious modern fine-dining cooking in the District. Book eight weeks ahead.
AnniversaryImpress ClientsSolo Dining
José Andrés's twelve-seat avant-garde counter — DC's most playful two-Michelin-star room and the most-photographed thirty-course tasting in the country.
Food10/10
Ambience9/10
Value8/10
Why it ranks here
Minibar at #3 has held two Michelin stars since the DC guide launched in 2017 — José Andrés's twelve-seat avant-garde counter in the ThinkFoodGroup building, $295 for roughly thirty courses across three hours. The cooking is technically theatrical — modernist plating, dishes engineered as visual surprises, the longest single-format tasting menu in DC. The right reservation for a diner who wants the mod
