Yellow is one of our favorite cafes in the city. The Palestinian coffee shop is an incredibly charming place where pops of saffron yellow (obvi) splash across the wall and line the windows looking out on the bustling crowds on Wisconsin Ave. The pastries, like their orange blossom croissant or date and labne coffee cake, can make any day better. Pair either with the coconut cardamom iced coffee for the ultimate daytime snack.

Craving a juicy patty to sink your teeth into? Thunder Burger is your spot. During the day, you’ll find families lining the pink zebra-skin booths to grab a bite after a day of walking the C&O Canal. But the afterwork (and after-school) crowd takes over later in the day—mostly grabbing a drink or two at the sparkly bar. While this burger joint serves up bison, black bean, chicken, impossible, and pork burger, the beef is the best.

There aren’t a lot of spots to get fresh, fast food in this part of town, but Georgetown Seafood serves delicious fish and shrimp that you can get on the run. The converted rowhouse has a couple of tiny dining rooms decorated with fake pelicans and buoys, plus a small umbrella-covered patio outside. We recommend the Maine lobster roll made with butter and lemon juice (no mayo), and the sweet, crunchy shrimp served piping hot (seriously, blow and chew slowly).

Eating at Filomena is one of the most old-school Italian dining experiences you can have in the city. The dining room is dark, loud, and complete with an area where you can watch Pasta Mamma (that’s her nickname) stuffing huge ravioli in the window—which you should definitely order. The waiters in tuxedos and the knit placemats help create a mix of upscale and homey, making it great for birthdays, date nights, or simple family dinners.

Martin's Tavern claims that JFK proposed to Jackie O. at one of its booths, which we don’t recommend doing. Especially since you’re not JFK. But you could come here for something more casual. The space looks like it hasn’t been updated in a few decades, and that’s part of its appeal. There’s a dark wooden bar, stained glass light fixtures, and pictures and paintings of DC back in the day. The menu is a mix of American and pub food - expect things like potato skins and fish and chips.

We feel like the Washington Harbour hasn’t really reached its full potential. The view is great, but the restaurants are generally overpriced, too crowded, and not worth the hassle. Fiola Mare is the exception. It’s expensive ($75 for two pieces of ravioli is a lot), but worth it for a special occasion. Use it as an excuse to get dressed up—they have a formal dress code—and enjoy the patio on a nice day.

Thomas Sweet is an old-timey ice cream shop with a hand-drawn chalkboard menu, fudge counter, and creamy homemade ice cream you don't want to miss. The space is pretty small, so there’s sometimes a line out the door, but you can kill the time by deciding what you want from the slightly overwhelming menu. Mix and match flavors like rum raisin and coffee oreo, but don’t stress too much over what you'll get—everything here is good.

Georgetown's late night scene is pretty pitiful these days. Thankfully, there’s Donahue. The lounge, which is open until 1am during the week and 2am on the weekends, feels like a place where you’ll meet a mysterious stranger who is an international spy (we did not). The crowd is looking for something more laidback than Martin’s Tavern—the other major late night player—so the jazz music is the loudest thing happening.

Stachowski’s is your best bet for a meal on the go in this neighborhood. This corner market/butcher shop serves huge, meat-heavy sandwiches, as well as dinner specials like roast chicken and pork schnitzel. Our go-to order is the 4 Meat Grinder—essentially the stretch Hummer limo of Italian subs (obnoxiously huge, but when you want it, there’s no substitute).

The city’s only fine-dining Ethiopian restaurant serves the best beef tibs you’ll find in DC alongside some spectacular people-watching—both in the dining room and along M St. What’s fun about Das is that it combines the family nature of Ethiopian cuisine with crystal wine glasses and white linen tablecloths. So you’ll see people dripping fresh, colorful shiro wat, lentils, and cabbage onto sequined dresses and designer shirts, maybe while trying to impress their partner’s parents.

This steakhouse’s dining room is mostly business folks and hotel guests (it’s inside the Four Seasons). But we love it for dinner with parents because there’s enough happening that you can divert the conversation from the fact that they only have fur grandbabies. And the food is just good enough that they’ll be on the fence about whether or not it’s a disappointment—much like your life. But hey, at least you’ll have free fries and a juicy ribeye for dinner.