8.5Food
8Ambience
8.5Value
The Room
Shamim Popal opened Lapis on Columbia Road in 2014 — Washington's longest-running serious-Afghan dining room. The Popal family is the senior Afghan-American restaurant family in DC.
Eater DC has held Lapis on its top-Adams-Morgan rankings every year of operation.
The Food
The Afghan kitchen runs the family's traditional preparations — the kabob, the seasonal-rotating Afghan stews, the rice-and-bread programme.
Wine programme is short. Cocktails are short.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: The bar at Lapis is a casual Adams Morgan first-date alternative.
Team Dinner: Lapis handles team dinners better than most Adams Morgan counters.
Birthday: Birthdays at Lapis are warm, family-Afghan affairs the Popal family has hosted for over a decade.