Best Restaurants Open Sunday in Washington DC 2026

Why a Sunday list matters in Washington DC

The Michelin guide reached Washington in 2016, and its starred rooms keep European hours: a closed Sunday and Monday to rest the team. That leaves a predictable gap. The kitchens that hold a Sunday service are mostly hotel dining rooms and the waterfront, where weekend brunch is a business in its own right. Bourbon Steak runs out of the Four Seasons in Georgetown, Café Riggs out of the Riggs hotel in Penn Quarter, and Fiola Mare commands the Georgetown waterfront on K Street, all open Sunday by design.

The order below leads with the lone Michelin star open on Sunday and the marquee Italian rooms, then closes with the steakhouses that anchor a weekend dinner. A note on the city's rhythm: DC eats early, prime tables run 6 to 8, and Sunday brunch reservations on the waterfront are gone by Thursday in spring. Hours are checked against each restaurant's published schedule. Every name links to its full review with the score and booking mechanics. For the wider week, start with the Washington DC dining guide.

The Sunday list

Imperfecto

Mediterranean · West End, Washington DC · $145–225 tasting

Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:00–21:00 (dinner)

Enrique Limardo, the Venezuelan chef behind the city's Seven Reasons, cooks a Mediterranean-Latin menu at 1124 23rd Street NW in the West End, and the chef's-table room holds a Michelin star. The octopus and the hand-rolled pastas are the markers; the tasting runs roughly $145 to $225. It is the only Michelin-starred room in DC that keeps a Sunday dinner, five to nine, which makes it the answer to the hardest question on this page: where to eat starred food on a Sunday night.

Fiola Mare

Italian seafood · Georgetown, Washington DC · $90–180 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 11:00–21:30

Fabio Trabocchi's Italian seafood room sits on the Georgetown waterfront at 3050 K Street NW, with the Potomac and Key Bridge filling the glass. The crudo platter and the lobster ravioli are the order, and a meal lands between $90 and $180 a head before wine. The Michelin guide lists it. Sunday runs all day from eleven, so the late-morning brunch with a river view and the early Sunday dinner are both live; book the terrace for the view and the room for the quiet.

Bourbon Steak

Steakhouse · Georgetown, Washington DC · $110–220 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, from 15:00 (afternoon and dinner)

Michael Mina's steakhouse runs out of the Four Seasons at 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, where lobbyists and lobbyists' clients have closed deals for years. The butter-poached prime cuts and the trio of duck-fat fries are the calling cards; a steak dinner lands around $110 to $220 a head. Sunday service starts mid-afternoon and runs into the evening. The clubby, low-lit room and the Four Seasons address make it the Sunday pick for a discreet business dinner.

Cafe Milano

Italian · Georgetown, Washington DC · $80–160 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 11:30–22:30

Franco Nuschese's Georgetown room at 3251 Prospect Street NW is the city's see-and-be-seen Italian, where senators and ambassadors fill the banquettes any night of the week. The veal Milanese and the branzino are the order, and a meal runs about $80 to $160 a head. It keeps a long Sunday, 11:30 to 10:30, longer than almost anything in town. Sunday is the night to watch official Washington at the next table, so ask for the main room rather than the side terrace.

Café Riggs

American brasserie · Penn Quarter, Washington DC · $60–110 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 07:00–23:00

Café Riggs occupies the marble banking hall of the Riggs hotel at 900 F Street NW in Penn Quarter, and the Michelin guide lists it. The steak frites and the weekend brunch board are the order, with most meals between $60 and $110 a head. It runs the longest Sunday on this list, seven in the morning to eleven at night, covering breakfast, brunch, dinner and a late table. The soaring room and the all-day hours make it the most flexible Sunday booking downtown.

The Capital Grille

Steakhouse · Penn Quarter, Washington DC · $90–170 per head

Sunday hours: Sunday, 16:00–21:00 (dinner)

The Capital Grille on Pennsylvania Avenue NW sits between the Capitol and the White House, which is why it has hosted more off-the-record dinners than any room in town. The dry-aged bone-in ribeye and the lobster bisque are the markers; a dinner lands around $90 to $170 a head. Sunday is dinner only, four to nine. The dark-wood booths and the location make it the reliable Sunday steak for a table that wants privacy more than fireworks.

How to book a Sunday table in Washington DC

In Washington the prime Sunday tables run early, six to eight, and the waterfront brunch slots vanish first. Fiola Mare's Sunday brunch is gone by Thursday in spring, so book the moment your date is set; the same goes for the Café Riggs banking hall. Imperfecto's Sunday dinner is the scarcest seat on this list because it is the only starred room open, so reserve a week or more ahead through its booking platform. Bourbon Steak and The Capital Grille both clear Sunday dinner more easily, which makes either the safe choice to impress a client in Washington DC on short notice. For a solo Sunday, the bar at Café Riggs or the counter at Fiola Mare are the easiest seats and a strong solo-dining move. Entertaining a group? Cafe Milano seats large parties latest, to 10:30, for a Washington team dinner.

Frequently asked questions

Which Michelin restaurants are open on Sunday in Washington DC?

Imperfecto's chef's-table room is the only Michelin-starred kitchen in DC that keeps a regular Sunday dinner, five to nine in the West End. Several Michelin-guide-listed but unstarred rooms also open Sunday, including Fiola Mare on the Georgetown waterfront and Café Riggs in Penn Quarter. Most starred rooms, such as Albi and the flagship Fiola, close on Sunday and Monday.

Is Fiola Mare open on Sunday?

Yes. Fiola Mare opens Sunday from 11am to 9:30pm at 3050 K Street NW on the Georgetown waterfront, covering brunch, lunch and an early dinner. Fabio Trabocchi's Italian seafood menu runs about $90 to $180 a head. The Sunday brunch with a Potomac view is the most-requested slot and books out roughly a week ahead in spring, so reserve early and ask for the terrace.

Where can I get Sunday brunch in a fine-dining room in Washington DC?

Fiola Mare runs the marquee Sunday brunch on the Georgetown waterfront from 11am, and Café Riggs serves brunch in the Riggs hotel banking hall from late morning. Cafe Milano in Georgetown opens at 11:30 for a long Sunday that starts brunch-adjacent and runs to 10:30pm. All three take bookings and all three fill their best Sunday slots first, so reserve several days out.

Are most fine-dining restaurants in DC closed on Sunday?

Many of the city's tasting-menu rooms close Sunday and Monday to rest their teams, including the flagship Fiola, Albi and Reverie. The rooms that stay open are mostly hotel dining rooms and the Georgetown waterfront, where weekend service is a core part of the business. That is why a confirmed Sunday list matters, led here by the lone open star, Imperfecto.

What is the best upscale steak open on Sunday in Washington DC?

Two steakhouses keep a Sunday dinner. Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons in Georgetown opens mid-afternoon for Michael Mina's butter-poached prime cuts, around $110 to $220 a head. The Capital Grille on Pennsylvania Avenue serves its dry-aged bone-in ribeye from 4 to 9, around $90 to $170. Bourbon Steak is the more discreet room for a deal; The Capital Grille the more central for privacy.

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.