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Best place to stay in DC for Chow

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This may be a bit vague but what is the best tourist area to stay in for good food whilst in Washington? Or maybe a better way to ask it is, what areas are bad for chow?

We're planning our trip now and I thought it may be a good starting point to decide which neighbourhood to stay in.

Thanks in advance


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  1. I live in Balitmore, not DC and so not terribly familiar with all the DC dining or neighborhhods. But along U Street there are a ton of fantastic Ethopian restaurants, Oohs and Aahs for Soul food, Pyramids for Morroccan food. I'd stay in Dupont Circle, ypou're walking distance to these areas, plus all the Dupont restaurants (which someone else can make better recommendations about than I can) plus Dupont nightlife. You're near the Metro (red line in Dupont Cirlce, green line on U St.) though not exactly walking distance to the major DC attractions.

    For high end chow you might be better staying near Chinatown (avoid the Chinese food) and then you could walk to the mall and a lot of the museums.

    1. DC is highly reachable via cabs and metro, so if you're comfortable with that I'd stay either in DuPont or closer to the whitehouse. How long and when are you in town would be helpful. Your pricepoint and desires for food would be helpful too

      1. I would suggest Dupont. You'll be in walking distance to all the Dupont, Adams Morgan and U St places. You can also reach downtown and Woodley Park if you like to walk. You can metro or cab to every other area pretty easily.

        1 Reply
        1. re: Jacey

          If money is not an object, stay at the Mandarin Oriental just across the 14th St. Bridge from Virginia. The hotel has one of the best restaurants in the entire city -- CityZen -- and it's an elevator ride from your room, which by the way, has the most comfortable bed you'll ever sleep in and a flat screen TV. The hotel is also a short walk to the DC waterfront and all the seafood restaurants on my "B List"....

          Otherwise, stay "downtown" -- the Sofitel and the St. Regent are upscale, but the Capital Hilton is more affordable on 16th St. You will be within walking distance of Georgia Brown's, Olives, Kaz Sushi Bistro, Bobby Van's, Old Ebbitt Grill, Taberna del Alabardero.....Foodie Heaven!

          A few blocks down K St. is the Sheraton Four Points at 12th and K Sts., and its restaurant Corduroy is one of the hidden gems of Washington. You'll go there every night of your stay, but you're also within walking distance of Jose Andres's restaurants -- Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinya and Jaleo. And you're not far from Chinatown either.

        2. Thanks for all the suggestions. We're visiting between christmas and New Year, probabaly for 3-4 nights.
          Foodwise we'll eat anything as long as it's good, but our favourites are fish/seafood and steak. Pricewise, we wont be spending top dollar, but willing to pay a bit extra for quality. We're looking for places for lunch and dinner.

          Realise it's all stiull a bit vague, but we're just starting to investigate DC. Sounds very exciting so far....

          1. DC is small relative to most cities and easy to get around by METRO and cab. I'd recommend that you get a hotel that is close to a METRO stop and not worry about it. In terms of there being things to do near the hotel in the evenings, you would probably want to stay in the DuPont Circle area or Foggy Bottom. For chow, Cleveland Park, DuPont Circle, Gallery Place, and U Street, as well as Georgetown are hot spots. There are hotels near DuPont Circle that are reasonable and nice. Georgetown gets expensive and there is no METRO close by (Foggy Bottom is the closest I think). U Street is not exactly a place for hotels, Woodley Park has several big hotels and is only a mild walk or one METRO stop from Cleveland Park. There are several hotels in the Gallery Place neighborhood (Chinatown) and that area is getting very built up with restaurants and bars.

            I'm not sure how much you want to spend on a hotel, but at that time of year you should be able to get some good deals.