The Best Restaurant Openings in Washington, D.C. – September 2026

Tucked beneath Capitol Hill whiskey bar Barrel, The Bit is a 32-seat cocktail haven helmed by lead bartender Decker Beasley, an alum of Service Bar and Bresca. Some of the drinks are autobiographical. Skipping School pays homage to a roadside chicken shack he loved as a kid, mixing aged rum, mezcal, cornbread honey, and citrus into a milk punch. The menu also covers classics such as the gimlet, Manhattan, and Last Word. To nibble on: biscuits with charcuterie and accoutrements, grilled cheese oozing with aged cheddar and fontina, and shrimp ceviche. The duskily lit room pairs low tables and velvet couches with horse bits that nod to its name and black-and-white photographs of old Hollywood stars.

The former Marcel’s space in Foggy Bottom has been transformed into an ambitious Italian restaurant by Advanced Sommelier and restaurateur Elli Benchimol, owner of Apéro and La Bohème in Georgetown. Culinary director Jennifer Castaneda-Jones oversees a menu designed to be shared, including crudos, house-made pastas, and large-format mains such as crispy porchetta with porcini sauce, rosemary-accented rib-eye steak, and chicken Milanese with citrus gremolata. The cellar leans Italian but makes plenty of room for Champagne. Its Witching Hour aperitivo runs Tuesday through Thursday with spritzes and cicchetti, Venetian small bites often compared to tapas. Another 25 seats are planned for the patio.

Carb lovers, get ready for a road trip to Easton, Maryland. Bluepoint Hospitality, whose local portfolio includes Bas Rouge, Bonheur, and Washington Street Pub, has opened The Flour Shop, a European-inspired bakery focused on bread. Executive pastry chef and chocolatier Sarah Deale and head baker John Aversa turn out sourdough, golden baguettes, puffy focaccia, slender ficelles, ciabatta, and ciabattini each morning. Pastries include canelés and cream-filled maritozzi, along with cookies, Bundt cakes, pistachio cake, and tea cakes. Pro tip: shop with three stages of eating in mind: in the moment, on the ride back, and at home.

Bill Thomas, owner of revered whiskey redoubt Jack Rose Dining Saloon, and longtime business partner John Roberts are behind Carla, a neighborhood bar on the border of Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle. A ground-floor bar gives way to two open-air roof decks, offering plenty of room to settle in. The drinks lean toward comfortably priced classics, along with a substantial no- and low-alcohol selection. Food ranges from roasted poblano croquetas and berbere-spiced chicken skewers to bang bang shrimp bao.