Eighteen years after Nancy Silverton opened Osteria Mozza in LA, the iconic Italian restaurant has arrived in Georgetown. Start with the Focaccia di Recco. It’s not an option so much as a necessity—an ultra-thin, crispy, cheese-stuffed marvel finished with some of the best olive oil we’ve ever tasted. But if we had to pick just one reason to visit Osteria Mozza, it would be the dessert menu.

Originally opened in 1906 a stone’s throw from the White House, generations of presidents, senators, and journalists have flocked to The Occidental to make history, or drink their way out of it. Now, after a century of grandeur interspersed with bouts of irrelevance, Stephen Starr has stepped in and dusted off the red velvet. The midcentury menu revives dishes that haven’t been on-trend since the Eisenhower administration, and does them so spectacularly.

If you want to do Tapori right, recruit a small army. You’ll want to fan out along the long table that runs almost the entire length of the dining room and order just a bit more of everything than seems reasonable. The new Indian-Nepalese spot comes from the people behind Daru, but the vibe here is decidedly more unbuttoned, thanks at least in part to the mixing of conversations and sharing of dishes that happens around that table covered in vintage tiles.

Every now and again a restaurant comes along that feels like an instant institution. Rosedale, from the team behind Rasika, is one of those spots. When it opened late last year in Van Ness, it was almost immediately hard to imagine the neighborhood without it. The space leans into nostalgia without veering into kitsch, with dark wood beams, open shelving stocked with heirloom dishware and toy tractors, and a rotisserie of glistening chickens turning hypnotically behind the open kitchen.

If a love letter existed in restaurant form, it would look like Ama. Literally meaning “love” in Italian, the Navy Yard newcomer is intimate enough for a first date, but not so stuffy that you can’t waltz in for a solo dinner at the bar (where you can people-watch along New Jersey Ave). Always start with the focaccia di formaggio, which has got to be some of the best this side of the Atlantic.

One of the newest spots in Union Market, Cordelia Fishbar is what the area was missing—a place casual enough to pop in after work without a reservation, but also delicious and buzzy enough to schedule a group dinner around. The fish-centric restaurant by the folks behind the iconic DC tavern Clyde’s excels in the group experience with soaring seafood towers filled with oysters, lobster salad, shrimp, and sturgeon caviar.

It doesn’t matter if you visit Minetta Tavern for a cocktail at the bar alone on a Tuesday or plan weeks (months?) ahead for a Saturday dinner with friends that stress tests your credit limit. Much like at the original New York location, both experiences will feel special. Whenever you go, and for whatever occasion, order the coq au vin served with housemade gnocchi and wash it down with a Burgundy from the deep and French-leaning wine list.

La’ Shukran is its own self-contained world, a place to go when you want to forget you’re in DC and lose yourself in a Levantine salon with exceptional small plates, and the feeling that at any moment a dance party could break out and not end until dawn. Plates of hummus with beef tongue or escargot dot most tables, and an entire menu of cocktails made with arak are churned out from behind the bar.

Hidden in the basement of the Hotel AKA Washington Circle in Foggy Bottom, a.kitchen+bar is a sultry, secluded spot that feels like an underground terrarium, with windows peeking onto New Hampshire Avenue and vines trailing along the glass. The Philly transplant’s menu focuses on seasonal American plates—think flank steak, oysters, and ribs—but the highlight is the chickpea panisse.

Things are done a little differently at Dōgon. The newest restaurant from Kwame Onwuachi, the chef behind Kith/Kin and Infatuation NYC’s highest-rated restaurant, Tatiana, is tucked in the lobby of the Salamander hotel on the Southwest Waterfront. Step inside the expansive dining room, beyond the pillars that create little nooks, and the soft R&B tunes playing overhead will invite you to settle in. You should. Everything you’ll taste on the menu starts at very good and dips into incredible.