The Dabney

"A one MICHELIN-starred American restaurant featuring Mid-Atlantic flavors with a Southern accent, offering a committed expression of culinary talents." - Kevin Chau

"Each plate at The Dabney is a reimagining of a regional folk dish, like oyster pie, or a modern elevation of a local ingredient, like hen of the woods mushrooms. And while you can try those things in the eight-course, $235 tasting menu, our favorite way to do a meal here is a la carte. That’s only offered in the bar area, but you’re not missing out—The Dabney’s bar has a great rustic-meets-industrial vibe and a more informal service that matches the Mid-Atlantic comfort food on the menu. While it’s a little more limited, you’ll still experience the open-hearth cooking the restaurant is known for in dishes like grilled carrots served with ricotta, or a locally-sourced steak. And the staff will still give you the backstory on the ingredients for each dish, like the oysters, which are farmed by a former employee who moved to Chincoteague Island. photo credit: Nina Palazzolo photo credit: Nina Palazzolo photo credit: Nina Palazzolo photo credit: Nina Palazzolo photo credit: Nina Palazzolo If you do spring for the tasting, you’ll get an array of small plates that are all delicious and interesting, if not as mind-blowing as the price tag might suggest. For instance, a wafer-thin sweet potato crisp stuffed with whipped lemon and raspberry jam was a fun play on a Pirouette cookie. Similarly, the mini Maryland blue crab cake was served with black truffles in a sherry-forward bisque and tasted like a decadent version of cream of crab soup. If you do want multi-courses but don’t want all eight of them, smaller prix fixe options are available at the bar and on the patio. Food Rundown The Dabney offers a an eight-course tasting menu in the dining room, a three-course prix fixe in the bar area, and a four-course prix fixe on the patio, as well as a la carte in the bar area. All of the menus change frequently, but here’s an idea of what you’ll find. Metompkin Bay Oyster Pie This is The Dabney at its best: a somewhat-forgotten Mid-Atlantic staple brought back into the mainstream and improved upon with a rich beurre blanc and a dollop of caviar. Grilled Autumn Olive Farms Pork Loin This fatty pork loin cooked over a wood fire and served with a smoky jus, radicchio salad, and stuffed squash was our favorite part of the tasting menu during our last visit. Considering the price, we wish the meal included a couple more proteins like this. Quaker Valley Quince Sorbet This sorbet is citrusy, tart, crisp, and reminds us of a fancy Italian ice. Dabnog At least in the winter, no one should end a meal at The Dabney without trying the eggnog. With bourbon, rye, rum, and Madeira, this drink is serious business." - Tess Shiras

"Another of Ratino's top restaurant choices in Washington, D.C." - Nancy DePalma

"What is mid-Atlantic cuisine? James Beard Award-winning chef Jeremiah Langhorne will show you. His fiercely popular, Michelin-starred restaurant focuses on carefully sourced, fare cooked over a wood-fired hearth. If dinner reservations prove elusive, try to land a seat at its first-come, first-serve bar. Or visit the almost-speakeasy-like oyster bar Dabney Cellar under 9th Street NW. If all else fails, his sister restaurant Petite Cerise is a chic French bistro open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (on the east side of the Convention Center). Go for: A sit-down dinner (with advance preparation), drinks, or try sister restaurants Dabney Cellar and Petite Cerise for possible walk-in service. Distance from CC: 0.2 miles" - Tim Ebner

"Shaw’s Michelin-starred eatery is all about mid-Atlantic ingredients, so it’s no surprise its chef-owner Jeremiah Langhorne is working with softies right now. The grilled crab joins watercress pistou, country ham vinaigrette, hearth-roasted Hakuri turnips, and a cilantro flower to finish. Available on the a la carte menu at the bar." - Tierney Plumb