The Best New Restaurants In Washington DC - Washington DC - The Infatuation

"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 Afro-Caribbean menu starts at very good and dips into incredible. While there are a few traditional Caribbean and Pan-African dishes, nothing is quite what you might expect. The Hoe Crab? Delightful silver-dollar-sized plantain hoe cakes with delicately seasoned crab meat in a crab shell. It all feels playful, and it all goes down very, very well. Reservations are tough to secure, even weeks in advance, but you can score a walk-in seat and full menu service at the compact bar for up to two guests in a party. Get there early to have a fighting chance." - omnia saed, madeline weinfield, jonathan smith, mekita rivas, allison robicelli, omnia saed, kym backer