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Washington DC · Open Monday · 2026 Edition

Best Restaurants Open on Monday in Washington DC 2026

Photo: Google Places. Hero: the dining room at Le Diplomate, Logan Circle Washington DC.

Monday is the quietest night on Washington’s dining calendar, and most of its Michelin stars take it off. Fiola goes dark on Monday, the tasting counters at Minibar and Jônt keep a Sunday-Monday shutdown, and the chef’s-menu rooms follow suit. So a lobbyist or a visitor who lands on a Monday and wants a serious table needs to know where the lights stay on. The answer is the power-dining city: the K Street brasseries, the Georgetown steakhouses and the Penn Quarter Indian room that trade Monday because Monday is a working night in Washington. Six of them confirm Monday hours below, ranked by what each is for, in US dollars.

Why a Monday list matters in Washington DC

Washington has held a Michelin Guide since 2016, and its stars set the city’s ceiling: Jônt and Minibar at two, Bresca, Gravitas, Rasika and Fiola among the ones. The catch for a Monday diner is that the tasting-menu rooms keep the longest weekly closures. Fiola, Fabio Trabocchi’s one-star flagship, is dark Monday; the counters at Minibar and Jônt take Sunday and Monday both. A diner who books the best tasting menu in town for a Monday night will reach a closed door. This is the single most useful thing to know about eating well here at the start of the week.

The rooms that stay open are the ones built for Washington’s real business, which happens Monday to Thursday over lunch and dinner. The brasseries on 14th Street, the steakhouses near the Hill and in Georgetown, and the Italian and Indian rooms that have hosted more deals than most lobbyists trade every Monday. The order below leads with the waterfront and the brasserie and runs through the steak rooms. A note on timing: Monday is the easiest reservation of the week in DC, so a prime table that is impossible on Friday is often a same-day call on Monday. Hours are checked against each restaurant’s published schedule. For the wider week, start with the Washington DC dining guide.

The Monday list

1

Fiola Mare

Italian seafood · Georgetown, Washington DC · $90–160 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 15:00–21:30

Fiola Mare is Fabio Trabocchi’s waterfront room on the Georgetown harbour, the grandest Monday table on this list, with the Potomac and the Kennedy Center filling the glass. The crudo, the whole-fish preparations and the seafood towers are the order, and a meal lands around ninety to a hundred and sixty dollars a head. While Trabocchi’s flagship Fiola closes Monday, the Mare stays open from three in the afternoon to half past nine. Book a terrace table at sunset for the prettiest Monday dinner in the city, and start with the oysters and a cold seafood plateau.

2

Le Diplomate

French brasserie · Logan Circle, Washington DC · $55–95 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–23:00

Le Diplomate is Stephen Starr’s Parisian brasserie at 1601 14th Street in Logan Circle, the city’s most reliable see-and-be-seen room, modelled down to the zinc bar and the bread basket. The steak frites, the onion soup and the raw bar are the order, with a meal around fifty-five to ninety-five dollars a head. It runs an unusually long Monday, 11:30 in the morning to eleven at night, so it covers an early business lunch and a late dinner alike. Book a banquette, or take a bar seat for the easiest Monday walk-in in the city.

3

Rasika

Modern Indian · Penn Quarter, Washington DC · $55–90 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–14:30 and 17:00–22:00

Rasika at 633 D Street in Penn Quarter is the modern Indian room that changed how Washington eats, and Vikram Sunderam’s James Beard award sits behind a menu built on the tandoor and the griddle. The palak chaat, the black cod and the lamb are the order, with a meal landing around fifty-five to ninety dollars a head. It opens Monday for both lunch and dinner, one of the few destination rooms near the theatres that does. Book ahead even on a Monday, order the crisp-spinach palak chaat to start, and let the kitchen send a thali for the table.

4

Bourbon Steak

Steakhouse · Georgetown, Washington DC · $90–170 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–22:00

Bourbon Steak is Michael Mina’s steakhouse inside the Four Seasons at 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, the Georgetown power room where Washington closes its deals. The butter-poached, wood-grilled steaks and the famous trio of duck-fat fries are the order, with a full dinner running ninety to a hundred and seventy dollars a head. It opens Monday from 11:30 to ten, so it works for a lunch meeting and a late dinner both. Book a corner booth for a quiet conversation, and start with the fries and a martini from one of the best hotel bars in the city.

5

The Capital Grille

Steakhouse · Penn Quarter, Washington DC · $80–140 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–21:00

The Capital Grille at 601 Pennsylvania Avenue sits between the Capitol and the White House, which is why it has hosted more legislators than most committee rooms. The dry-aged steaks, the bone-in ribeye and the deep wine list are the order, with a meal around eighty to a hundred and forty dollars a head. It opens Monday from 11:30 to nine, dependable and clubby. Book a booth for a discreet Monday dinner near the Hill, and order a steak dry-aged in-house with the Sam Adams onion rings.

6

Café Milano

Italian · Georgetown, Washington DC · $70–120 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–22:30

Café Milano at 3251 Prospect Street is the Georgetown Italian room where ambassadors, senators and the occasional head of state turn up on an ordinary Monday. The pastas, the veal and the whole branzino are the order, with a meal landing around seventy to a hundred and twenty dollars a head. It opens Monday from 11:30 to half past ten, one of the latest upscale Monday kitchens in town. Book the main room for the people-watching, the garden in warm weather, and arrive ready to recognise a face or two.

How to book a Monday table in Washington DC

The first rule of a Washington Monday is that the tasting menus are closed, so book a power room instead. The good news is that Monday is the easiest reservation of the week in DC, so tables that are impossible on a Friday open up. Le Diplomate and Café Milano both take walk-ins at the bar and are the easiest upscale Monday seats in the city. Fiola Mare and Bourbon Steak reward a day’s notice for a window or a corner booth, the prime seats for a quiet conversation. Rasika books up even on a Monday near the theatres, so reserve ahead. The Capital Grille holds booths for last-minute Hill dinners. For a solo Monday, the bars at Le Diplomate and Bourbon Steak are the friendliest perches and a fine solo-dining move. Closing a deal at the start of the week? The corner booths at Bourbon Steak and The Capital Grille are built for it; see more options for closing a deal in Washington DC.

Frequently asked questions

Are any Michelin restaurants open on Monday in Washington DC?

Few of the marquee ones. Fiola closes Monday, and the tasting counters at Minibar and Jônt keep a Sunday-Monday shutdown, so the city’s starred rooms are largely dark at the start of the week. The exceptions worth booking are Rasika, a Michelin-listed modern Indian room that opens Monday for lunch and dinner, and the power-dining brasseries and steakhouses on this list, several of which cook a notch below a star.

Is Le Diplomate open on Monday in Washington DC?

Yes. Le Diplomate at 1601 14th Street in Logan Circle opens Monday from 11:30am to 11pm, one of the longest Monday hours in the city. Stephen Starr’s Parisian brasserie covers an early business lunch and a late dinner alike, with steak frites and a raw bar around fifty-five to ninety-five dollars a head. A bar seat is the easiest upscale Monday walk-in in Washington.

Where can I take a client to dinner on a Monday in Washington DC?

Bourbon Steak in the Georgetown Four Seasons and The Capital Grille near the Hill are the two best Monday rooms for closing a deal, both clubby, both with corner booths and deep wine lists. For something less formal, Café Milano in Georgetown trades on its power-scene crowd, and Fiola Mare offers a waterfront table at sunset. All four open Monday and all four reward a reservation a day or two ahead.

What is the easiest upscale reservation on a Monday in Washington DC?

Monday is the easiest dining night of the week in DC, so tables that vanish by Tuesday for the weekend are open. Le Diplomate and Café Milano both hold bar space for walk-ins, and Bourbon Steak and The Capital Grille can usually seat a last-minute Monday booth. The harder Monday booking is Rasika, which fills near the theatres even at the start of the week, so reserve that one ahead.

Do Washington DC restaurants close on Monday?

Many of the best tasting-menu rooms do. The Michelin-starred and chef-driven kitchens overwhelmingly take Monday off, often alongside Sunday, to rest their teams after the weekend, which is why a Monday visitor needs a list like this one. The rooms that stay open are the brasseries, steakhouses and hotel restaurants built around Washington’s Monday-to-Thursday business calendar.

Keep reading

Plan the rest of the week with the full Washington DC dining guide, or by occasion: close a deal in Washington DC, impress a client in Washington DC, and solo dining at the counter. By cuisine, see the best steakhouses worldwide, the best Italian restaurants worldwide and the best Indian restaurants worldwide. Travelling the corridor? Compare with the Baltimore dining guide and the Philadelphia dining guide. For the global view on closing nights, read where to eat well on a Sunday or Monday.

Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of May 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.