After an eventful year for the Washington, D.C. food scene, with the closure of one of its first Michelin-starred restaurants and several restaurants being ranked in the inaugural 50 Best Restaurants list for North America, we’re happy to report that one of the District’s newest eateries just earned the top spot as America’s most beautiful new restaurant from 2025!
The ranking, which was done by the leading global luxury publication Robb Report, consisted of all the nation’s hottest new dining destinations across the country that served their first patrons this past year.
Which Washington, D.C. restaurant was ranked America’s most beautiful new restaurant of 2025?
According to Robb Report, the most beautiful new restaurant in the nation of 2025 was none other than the District’s very own Marcus DC!
Marcus DC is the most recent space opened by world-renowned Chef and restaurateur, Marcus Samuelsson, in the greater Union Market neighborhood; according to the restaurant’s bio, it “blends modern American cooking with Black culinary traditions from D.C. to Ethiopia, and beyond.”
Here you’ll find dishes that pay homage to Chef Samuelsson’s background, as well as recipes with a local touch prepared by the Maryland-native Executive Chef, Anthony Jones.
A few popular dishes include:
- Mel’s Crab Rice
- Blue Cornbread
- Swediopian – a dish of cured salmon, goldenberry broth, fennel, and a teff crisp.
- Mambo-sauced roast chicken
- Grilled whole bass
- Dry-aged tomahawk steak
What made Marcus DC the most beautiful new restaurant in the nation this past year?
Robb Report summed up the beauty of Marcus DC’s interior by acknowledging its attention to detail and perfectly executed design, which is ostensibly an ode to the African Diaspora.
Designed by Kamille Glenn, the founder of dsgnrswrkshp, around 20 artists were commissioned to add works around the restaurant to bring the space to life; a goal that was certainly accomplished.