New Big Wong in Chinatown, is cozy, consistent, and always welcoming! They have great American-Chinese food and they’re open until 4 a.m. every night. I discovered it mainly because I was trying to date my now-girlfriend, Annie, and she said she “might stop by there after work” one night. It’s an essential gathering place for lots of industry folks, as it has a big dining room that can fit large groups.

They have a lot of things that you wouldn’t see at a Panda Express, like little salt-and-pepper sardines and pig intestines. My go-to dishes are the pan-fried meat dumplings, garlic scapes, crispy beef, vegetable fried rice, scallop fried rice, shrimp toast, walnut shrimp, beef chow fun….I could go on and on, but personally I like the pan-fried meat dumplings the most. They’re super hot and super flavorful, they make them to order, and they come with a soy sauce that I like to keep and put on everything else.

To guide us through the maze of options, we consulted some of the chefs and restaurateurs that have had a hand in building DC’s impressive dining culture. These include Pizzeria Paradiso’s chef-owner Ruth Gresser and beverage director Drew McCormick; Rubén Garcia, director of creativity at Minibar; chef Amy Brandwein of Centrolina; chef Opie Crooks of A Rake’s Progress; and James Simpson, beverage director of Espita Mezcaleria.

Here are some of their favorite spots for drinks, late-night eats, breakfast and brunch, special-occasion meals, and local classics that you absolutely can’t miss on a trip to the nation’s capital. You’ll see that some locations are technically in Maryland, but all restaurants are accessible via the DC metro.

With 20 Michelin stars across 16 restaurants, multiple James Beard awards, and countless “Hot 100″ lists to its name, Washington, DC, is, more than ever, a destination dining city.

Best Late-Night Eats
Chinatown gems, industry hangouts, and kimchi on everything: Here’s where to go for a good meal in the wee hours.

Food may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Washington, DC—the current news cycle being what it is, you’d be forgiven for forgetting the District is home to more than just lawmakers, political pundits, and lobbyists. But DC has a thriving culinary scene to rival that of any American city, one that has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 15 years.

Where the image of dining here may have once conjured primarily brass bars, dark booths, steak-and-martini dinners, and rubbing shoulders with political elite, for the past couple of decades the city has been pushing the boundaries of culinary creativity with restaurants like Minibar, José Andres’s 12-seat, fine dining restaurant; Vikram Sunderam’s modern Indian hotspot, Rasika; and Rose’s Luxury, the inventive New American small-plates joint that has daily lines down the block.

Of course, many of the classics are still around, too—Old Ebbitt grill is still a meeting spot for politicians, restaurant industry insiders, and locals craving happy hour oysters. And because DC is an international hub, it’s an excellent place to find top-notch restaurants specializing in cuisines from every inch of the globe, from Laotian and Spanish to Georgian and Ethiopian, with mashups of everything in between.

My new favorite late-night restaurant is Anju, a modern Korean restaurant near Dupont Circle. It’s from the Fried Rice Collective, a restaurant group run by Danny Lee, Scott Drewno, and Drew Kim. Everything they do is absolutely delicious. One of the famous things at Anju is a dish consisting of fried potatoes with salad and citrus aioli. But my favorite is the kimchi slaw dog—a late-night hot dog works for everyone—with gochujang, hot mustard, and slaw made with incredible house-made kimchi, which uses a family recipe and is fermented for 100 days. The fried chicken is great, too: it’s crispy, and it comes with creamy white BBQ sauce and spicy Korean BBQ sauce, both made in-house.

The place feels really homey and cozy, especially the second floor—it’s like you’re in someone’s house. You have these big tables with lazy Susans, where hotpot is served. And Chef Danny Lee’s family is involved in the daily operation of Anju, which makes it really special—his aunt is a painter, so they showcase her art.

TallBoy is directly across the street from my restaurant, Espita, and after I lock the doors late at night, I can always count on their Kim Cheese (grilled cheese with kimchi), and smoked wings for a great late night meal. The wings are smoked in-house in the same kitchen where Marjorie Meek-Bradley (Ripple, St. Anselm) used to smoke her famous pastrami, and they have tremendous flavor. They have a few different sauces for the wings, but go with the classic Buffalo, no garnishes.

The whole vibe of the place reminds me of the local watering holes in Charleston, South Carolina, where I come from: Good beer, simple food with great ingredients, excellent bar staff. The walls are lined with corrugated aluminum siding and vintage beer cans, it’s small and only holds about 30 people, and it’s open until 2 a.m. every night. His mom could be there making mandu (Korean-style dumplings) and handing them to you over the counter. She comes to the table and talks to the guests. She’s trying to make everyone feel really welcome in her house. It’s unique to see that these days.

Old Ebbitt is a classic DC restaurant that serves burgers and other delicious, straightforward American-style food until 1 a.m. But it’s best known for its huge old-school oyster bar—think lots of dark wood, brass fixtures, and big mirrors.

The restaurant’s been around for eons, and a ton of people from both the political world and the restaurant industry go there after work. I especially love the late-night oyster happy hour, which runs from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Their oysters are fantastic and fresh; I’m partial to eating an order of the small, tasty Kumamoto oysters with a bit of mignonette.

Best Drinks
Whether it’s tiki cocktails, killer wine lists, or just a really good Cuban coffee you’re after, DC delivers.

Archipelago does tiki right, and sitting at this bar is as much of an education in tiki culture as it is an imbibing session. It’s located right on U Street, but whoever the genius is that leaves the shades down in the front, I have to thank them: it makes Archipelago the perfect escape from the busy U Street–crowd.

For the best experience, sit at the six-seat bar downstairs in front of their rum collection. The bartenders aren’t very chatty here unless you buy them a shot, and the décor is classic tiki: kitschy wallpaper and slowly moving blacklight projections all over the walls. The general ambience can only be described as chill island vibes. I can’t remember when I first discovered this place, but isn’t that how it goes with your favorite bars?

Ask the bartender for my favorite cocktail, the Macadamia Nut Chi-Chi (you won’t see it on the menu; it falls under “classics”). This drink is all secret ingredients, except for the macadamia nuts, but think tropical and boozy with a bright, clean finish. It’s hand-blended, then poured on the rocks in a classic green head-hunter tiki mug. Also off-menu is my second-favorite drink, a frozen Piña Colada served in the bottom half of a pineapple with an assortment of decorative tiki garnishes, like paper dolphins and plastic monkeys.

I live in the apartment building above Ellē, in Mount Pleasant. It’s all your favorite things in one beautiful, relaxing place: coffee, sweets, and drinks; plus a good selection of pickled foods. It’s a place that brings craft cocktails and delicious baked goods to Mount Pleasant, all while honoring the legacy of the former bakery [that was in the space]. Although Elle is housed in the historical Heller’s Bakery space, even the most loyal Heller’s customer wouldn’t recognize it. A coffee counter with warm lighting, fresh flowers, and beautiful pastry display cases leads to the back bar and dining room space. A beautiful green-stone bartop urges you to relax, sit a while, and order a martini. The rotating cocktails by Sean MacPherson and Dante Datta always keep me coming back—a favorite right now is the Cashmere Gold, with gin, cognac, lemon, saffron cordial, Domaine de Canton, orange bitters, and soda. It’s light and floral, with a warming ginger spice and notes of saffron.

I love Colada, in Cardozo—it’s a Cuban-inspired coffee shop that serves Cuban pastries and Cuban-style coffee during the day, and turns into a cocktail bar come evening. It’s really fun: a place where you can go to have breakfast, then lunch, and then drinks. ​It’s a very welcoming and friendly space, really relaxed; I love the bright colors. During the day, it’s a place for neighbors and office workers. At night it changes and becomes more of a hang out spot with some of the best cocktails in the city. The music and aromas transport you to Cuba (especially after the third cocktail!).

Their offerings are straightforward, but they use really high-quality ingredients, products, and techniques. “Colada” is the name of a Cuban coffee drink with super-strong brewed coffee—like, really strong—with sweet crema, and they of course serve that here. It’s bittersweet and creamy; it goes great with pastelitos (pastries with sweet or savory fillings) or empanadas.

The cocktails are in the style of Miami’s Calle Ocho—the famous street where there are hundreds of Cuban restaurants and clubs with live music. I like all of the cocktails at Colada, the majority of which are based on rum. So you have classic drinks like mojitos, piña coladas, and the Hotel Nacional—a mixture of white rum and dark rum, along with pineapple and lime—there’s always lime in these cocktails.