D.C. Ward 1 Neighborhood Guides

Adams Morgan

Eat:

• Bagel breakfast sandwich at So’s Your Mom, a family-owned bagel shop for over 45 years. 
• Baklava from Sharbat, a family-owned Azerbaijani bakery that makes sweet and savory pastries and cakes.
• Dumplings from Lapis, an award-winning Afghan restaurant highlighted in Padma Lakshmi’s “Taste the Nation.” 
• Honey cake from Yerevan Cafe, an Armenian cafe with cozy corners.
• Kebabs from Namak, a Mediterranean restaurant with a Turkish chef and Palestinian wine on the menu.
• Udon carbonara at Perry’s Restaurant, home to the city’s longest-running drag brunch. 
• Ramen at Sakuramen Ramen Bar, a popular basement ramen shop.

Drink:

• Cocktails at The Green Zone, the city’s only Middle Eastern cocktail bar. 
• Latte from Potter’s House, a 1960 non-profit cafe and bookstore that serves the community. 
• Whiskey at Jack Rose Dining Saloon, a bar with the largest whiskey collection in the Western Hemisphere.

Do:

• Buy fresh produce at the Adams Morgan Farmers Market Saturdays June-December from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Unity Park. 
• Browse rare books at Lost City Books, a veteran-owned bookstore that hosts regular events. 
• Picnic at Kalorama Park, a spacious green space with two playgrounds, a community garden, and Underground Railroad ties. 
• Shop at Miss Pixie’s, a vintage home furnishings store that gets new items every Wednesday.
• Walk AdMo BID‘s mural tour with the map on their website.

See:

• Art Deco architecture at 1631 Kalorama Rd NW, once the site of an indoor roller skate rink. 
• Art wall down the alley by 1812 Adams Mill Rd NW with murals by Aniekan Udofia.
• “Carry the Rainbow on Your Shoulders” sculpture by Jerome Meadows in Unity Park.
• City skyline from Marie H Reed Recreation Center, a recreation center and green space. ‘
• Installation outside of the Polish Embassy inside a 1909 mansion near other embassies. 
• Washington Family Church National Cathedral, a 1933 cathedral made from Utah marble.

Columbia Heights

Eat:

• Changing menu at Rooster & Owl, a Michelin star restaurant with a five-course dinner menu for $95 per person.
• Laab from Thip Kao, an award-winning Laotian restaurant.
• Pho from Pho 14, one of the most popular pho restaurants in the city. Another popular Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood is Pho Viet Restaurant.
• Pupusas from Gloria’s Restaurant, one of many pupuserias in the neighborhood.
• Roasted chicken from Spicebird, an Asian savory spice-rubbed chicken takeout spot inside Malaysian restaurant Makan.
• Street corn at El Chucho, a Mexican restaurant that’s been around since 2012.
• Tibs at Chercher Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar, a top-rated Ethiopian restaurant.

Drink:

• Bubble tea at DC Boba, a small shop on a street of local businesses.
• Matcha latte from Little Hat Coffee, a cafe inside Streets Market.

Do:

• Attend an event at the Spanish Cultural Center, an organization promoting Spanish culture inside the former Spanish Embassy.
• Dance at the drum circle, a long-standing tradition, every Sunday afternoon in Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park. There are several statues in the park, including one of the city’s few statues honoring a woman.
• Donate books at Shera and Heru’s Little Free Library, a Little Free Library trying to spread love in the community.
• Learn history by stopping by the Josephine Butler Parks Center, a 1927 mansion built for the widow of the senator who introduced the 13th Amendment to Congress giving African Americans the right to vote.
• Listen to live music at BloomBars, an arts center in the community for over 15 years.
• Master acting at the Studio Acting Conservatory, D.C.’s premier actor training program that discovered a “Black Last Supper” painting behind a wall.
• Sign up for a dance workshop at The Dance Institute of Washington, a dance company for underserved youth.
• Sit at the Colombia Heights Civic Plaza, a community space with regular events and a year-round farmers market Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Swap seeds at the Euclid Street Community Garden, a 2012 community garden that hosts public events. Another urban farm is at Columbia Heights Green.
• Take your kids to the enclosed playground at Powell Recreation Center. There’s another enclosed playground at Girard Street Park.

See:

• Art on the street by Rosy Sunshine Galvan at the corner of 14th Street and Meridian Place NW.
• Call box restored by youth along the 1500 block of Meridian Place NW.
• Cueva del Río’s murals at the Mexican Cultural Institute inside a 1910 mansion designed by the man who also did the White House’s West Wing.
• DC USA, the site of J. Willard Marriott’s first A&W stand before he started Marriott Hotels.
• Detail on early 20th century rowhouses along Otis Place NW in between 13th and 14th Streets NW.
• Grand churches along 16th Street NW.
• Italian Renaissance Revival and Mediterranean Revival architecture at GALA Hispanic Theatre inside a 1924 theater.
• Latin American Youth Center inside a 1910 building with murals across the street.
• MasPaz‘s mural at 14th Street and Spring Road NW.
• Mosaics inside the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, a 1920s parish that often has food stands outside. There’s also mosaic art outside of Harriet Tubman Elementary School.
• Mural of Ethiopia’s country flower by Kaliq Crosby on the side of Addis Park Market and a piece by MISS CHELOVE on the 3000 block of 14th Street NW.
• V Street Studio, an underutilized building at the Harrison Recreation Center that’s now an artist studio and gallery with the city’s first full building mural wrap by Hiba Alyawer.
• View of the city skyline from Cardozo Education Campus, known as the “Castle on the Hill.”

Howard University

Eat:

• Campfire Smores ice cream from Here’s the Scoop, a Black woman-owned shop across from Howard University. 
• Chicken tikka from Salt and Pepper Grill, a family-owned Indian restaurant. 
• Wings and mambo sauce from Howard China, a small Chinese takeout restaurant.

Drink:

• Coffee from nearby Harrar Coffee Roastery, a family-owned, Ethiopian cafe and roastery. 
• Smoothies from NuVegan Cafe, a vegan restaurant and cafe on campus.

Do:

• Enjoy art at the Gallery of Art, a small gallery on campus. 
• Browse books at Sankofa Video Books & Cafe, a Black-owned cafe and bookstore with regular events. 
• Read a book at The Yard, a central green space with public art from alumni and Howard’s Greek life.

See:

• Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, a historic chapel built in 1894. 
• Art Deco architecture at the Howard University Power Plant, one of the country’s first Public Works Administration projects coming out of the Great Depression. 
• Georgian style architecture at the Founders Library, a 1939 library designed by Black architect Albert Irvin Cassell and the site of research that went into the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case.
• -Shows at the Ira Aldridge Theater, Howard Theatre Arts’ theater with a neon sign.

Lanier Heights

Eat:

• Breakfast burrito from Pica Taco, a small shop off of Rabaut Park. 
• Miso mushroom poutine from French-Canadian restaurant Le Mont Royal, a restaurant with a disco light and purple fluorescent lights.
• Salt roasted sunchoke at Tail Up Goat, a Michelin-star restaurant that opened in 2016.

Drink:

• Coffee from Soleluna, a small cafe with popular pastries. 
• Wine from Reveler’s Hour, a pasta and wine restaurant from the owners of Tail Up Goat.

Do:

• Bike along Rock Creek Trail, one of the longest trails in the city. 
• Find a Juan Pineda D.C. license plate and Chelsea Ritter-Soronen garage murals in the alley by Kogibow Bakery. 
• Jog up and down the stairs where Quarry Road & Lanier Place NW meet. 
• Run across the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge to see views of Rock Creek Park. 
• Take your kids to Walter Pierce Park, a public park with a playground, dog park, benches, and murals. 
• Walk past Engine 21, a 1908 Spanish Colonial Revival fire station.

See:

• Aniekan Udofia mural in the alley by 1747 Columbia Rd NW. 
• “Family Circle” sculpture by Herbert House in the triangle park at Harvard Street NW & 18th Street NW. 
• Mural of U.S. Presidents by Karlisima on the side of Mama Ayesha’s Restaurant, a family-owned, long-standing Middle Eastern restaurant. 
• “Mural Un Pueblo Sin Murales,” the oldest mural in the area painted by Latino immigrant artists, first created in 1977 on the side of Kogibow Bakery. The mural was renovated by Juan Pineda.
• Sculptures outside of Christ House, a 1985 non-profit working with men experiencing homelessness.

LeDroit Park

Eat:

• Mac n’ cheese skillet at HalfSmoke, a Black-owned restaurant with a bottomless mimosa brunch. 
• True blue Maryland crab burger at FishScale, small fish burger spot open Wednesday-Saturday.

Drink:

• Cocktails at The Royal, a family-owned all-day cafe and cocktail bar open every day. 
• Drip coffee at LeDroit Market, a popular bodega that sells salads, sandwiches, wine, and more. 

Do:

• Buy fresh produce every Wednesday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Common Good City Farm‘s Farm Market at the Park at LeDroit. 
• Get a tattoo at Electric Cat Scratch Tattoos, a tattoo shop inside an 1890 rowhouse. 
• Honor civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell at her historic home at 326 T Street NW. 
• Learn about the neighborhood’s history by reading the Cultural Tourism DC signs throughout the area. 
• Smell herbs at the Tricia Lynn McCauley Public Herb Garden inside Common Good City Farm, a 2011 community garden at the Park at LeDroit. 
• Take your kids to the playground at The Park at LeDroit, a 2011 park with a dog park, gardens, and a splash area that hosts community events. 
• Visit the home of Black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar at 321 U Street NW.

See:

• Activist Anna Julia Hayword Cooper ‘s grand house at 201 T Street NW. 
• Alley mural by Pakistani truck artist Haider Ali within Ernest Everett Just Court NW. 
• Howard University Hospital, the old site of Griffith Stadium, the city’s major sports stadium from 1911 to 1965. 
• Little Free Library boxes along 2nd Street NW in between T and W Streets NW. 
• Mural of a black rail bird by Yulia Avgustinovich at 286 V Street NW. 
• “This Is How We Live” mural by Garin Baker at The Park at LeDroit. 
• Victorian homes around Anna J. Cooper Circle Park, the city’s only traffic circle named after a woman. 

Mount Pleasant

Eat:

• Breakfast tacos in homemade flour tortillas at La Tejana, a small taco shop open at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday-Sunday. 
• Chicken adobo at Purple Patch, a woman-owned Filipino restaurant. 
• Fajitas from Haydee’s Restaurant, a 1990 restaurant with El Salvadoran owners. 
• Guava turnover from Elle, an all-day cafe and restaurant inside the former building of a 1928 German bakery. 
• Ice cream from Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, a Maine-born shop named “one of the best ice cream parlors in America” with unique flavors like blueberry sour cream.
• Pizza from Martha Dear, a small restaurant that makes popular pies with sourdough crust using seasonal ingredients.
• Smash burger with a wagyu patty, Filipino slaw, and “secret sauce” from Joia Burger, a woman-owned spot with a kids box.

Drink:

• Beer for cheap at the Raven Grill, a 1935 cash-only bar that’s one of the last remaining dive bars in D.C. 
• Craft cocktails at O.K.P.B., a top-rated cocktail bar above a dentist’s office with half price martinis, Manhattans, mules, and Fitzgerald’s from 5-7 p.m. weekdays. 
• Draft beer at Marx Cafe, a revolutionary-themed restaurant and bar with live music.

Do:

• Browse second hand clothing at Frugalista, a store that first opened in 2001. 
• Buy a cookbook at Bold Fork Books, a bookstore devoted to books about food. 
• Hike the trail behind Bancroft Elementary School. 
• Learn the neighborhood’s history through the sculptures found inside restored call boxes throughout the area.
• Pick up spices from BestWorld Supermarket, a local grocery store that neighbors fight to preserve. 
• Search for alley murals using the map on local yoga studio Past Tense Studio‘s website. 
• Shop local produce at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market (@MTPFM) Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Lamont Plaza.

See:

• 1934 murals by a man who became a Disney animator inside the children’s area of the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library. 
• Guglielmo Marconi Memorial, one of the city’s few gilded statues. 
• Long mural designed by Jorge Somarriba and painted by the Latin American Youth Center along Klingle Road NW. 
• Movies at Suns Cinema, an independent theater with a bar inside a rowhouse.
• Photo exhibit by Exposed DC in the Lost Origins Gallery Outside space in the alley by Sambar Market.

Park View

Eat:

• Crab cakes from NuVegan Cafe, a 100% vegan restaurant on a mission to provide the city with better-for-you food.
• Ethiopian style breakfast at Heat Da Spot, a family-owned corner restaurant that People Magazine named “best breakfast in D.C.” 
• Khachapuri (cheese pie) from Tabla, a popular mural-filled Georgian restaurant.
• Peach cobbler from Fish in the Neighborhood, a long-standing, cash-only seafood spot with popular sides.
• Pupusas from El Salvadoreño Restaurant, a small El Salvadoran restaurant with $2.50 pupusas.
• Sandwiches from Aurora Market, a mural-decorated corner store with a deli inside.
• “Sun City” bagel sandwich with pastrami and spicy honey from the original location of Call Your Mother Deli, a beloved bagel shop with 15 locations in the D.C. area and Denver.

Drink:

• Beer from The Midlands Beer Garden, a spacious, dog-friendly beer garden that shows Michigan games, or Hook Hall, an event space with pop-ups and garden seating.
• Coffee from Harrar Coffee & Roastery, a family-owned coffee shop brewing Ethiopian coffee.
• Craft cocktails at Reliable Tavern, a bar with half off cocktails every day from 5-7:30 p.m.
• Latte from Doubles, a cafe open every day at 8 a.m. with ping pong tables on its second floor.
• Red sangria from Sangria Bar and Grill, a Black-owned bar with a friendly owner.
• Wine from St. Vincent Wine, a wine bar with regular live music and half off cheese and chocolate fondue every Monday.

Do:

• Attend Trivia Night at Looking Glass Lounge, a popular bar with open-mic nights, happy hour, and stained-glass windows.
• Harvest herbs at the public gardens at Wangari Gardens, a 2012 community garden that hosts open houses for the community.
• Learn how to salsa dance at The Salsa With Silvia Dance Studio, the largest Latin dance studio in the D.C. area.
• Pick up produce from La Herradura Supermarket, a family-owned, pet-friendly international grocery store.
• Read a book on a bench at Hobart Twins Park, two small parks flanking each other sandwiched by rowhouses.
• Shop for antiques at Mom N’ Pop Antiques, a corner shop just off of Georgia Ave NW.
• Take your kids to the enclosed playground at the Park View Recreation Center. Don’t miss the murals on its outside.

See:

• City skyline from Bruce Monroe Community Park, a green space with a community garden. Find Joel Artista‘s mural by the community garden.
• Collegiate Gothic architecture at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School at Park View, built in 1916 by the same man who did Eastern Market, Eastern High School, and other city landmarks.
• Fisherman of Men Church, a congregation inside a 1919 theater.
• Murals along Georgia Ave NW starting at Black woman-owned Here’s the Scoop and heading north to Reliable Tavern.
• Old church building at 625 Park Rd NW, originally built in 1920 on a site used for a church since 1877. Another old church building designed by prominent Black William Sidney Pittman in 1905 is at 777 Morton Street NW.
• Tenth Precinct Station House, a 1905 building that was built for the D.C. Police Department.

Pleasant Plains

Eat:

• Biryani from Salt and Pepper Grill, a family-owned Indian restaurant. 
• Bolognese at Capa Tosta, a popular neighborhood Italian spot.
• Ice cream from Here’s the Scoop, a Black woman-owned ice cream shop in a rowhouse’s basement. 
• Wings and mambo sauce at Howard China, a Chinese takeout spot. 

Drink:

• Coffee at Sankofa Video Books & Cafe, a long-standing, Black-owned cafe and bookstore that hosts regular events. 

Do:

• Browse books at the Howard University Barnes & Noble Bookstore, one of the few Barnes & Nobles in D.C. 
• Read about the origin of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, a historically Black sorority, at The Lovers’ Stroll historical marker. 
• Run the track at Maury Wills Field, part of the Banneker Recreation Center. 

See:

• Colorful rowhouses along the 700 block of Gresham Place NW.
• Grand architecture at the Bryant Street Pumping Station, built in 1905 when the Washington Aqueduct couldn’t solely provide water to a growing Washington. 
• The Helicopter Factory, the site of the country’s first successful helicopter flight.
• Mural by Juan Pineda honoring Howard University on the 700 block of Fairmont Street NW. 
• Painting of the original D.C. by Adonay on Fairmont Liquor & Grocery. 
• “Welcome to Pleasant Plains” mural by Miiiz on the 700 block of Girard Street NW. 

U Street

Eat:

• Charred cabbage from Maydan, a woman-owned, Michelin star restaurant with an open fire.
• Half-smoke at the original Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Black woman-owned institution frequented by tourists and locals alike. Find the famous murals of Black heroes on the outside of its building.
• Soul food from Black-owned Oohh’s & Aahh’s, a 2003 tiny restaurant once featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”
• “Tour of the World” brunch at Compass Rose, a woman-owned restaurant inspired by the world’s street food.
• Trini-Chinese chicken at St. James, a Black-owned modern Caribbean restaurant.

Drink:

• $7 cocktails during happy hour Monday-Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Service Bar, a popular bar that sells fried chicken.
• Coffee from nearby ThreeFifty Bakery and Coffee Bar, a small bakery with a variety of homemade pastries every morning.
• Craft cocktail at nearby All Souls Bar, a BYO food bar with an outdoor patio.
• Iced oat chai from others coffee, a coffee and craft pop-up open weekends with more days opening coming soon.
• Latte from The Coffee Bar, its original location inside an 1880 building.
• Wine at Lulu’s Wine Garden, a restaurant with 50 different bottles of wine.

Do:

• Browse books at Solid State Books, a large independent bookstore that hosts events.
• Buy flowers from Lee’s Flower and Card Shop, a Black family-owned local business that first opened in 1945. Don’t miss Jay Coleman‘s colorful mural on the outside.
• Hear stories of the Civil War’s U.S. Colored Troops at the African American Civil War Museum, a museum open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Don’t miss the African American Civil War Memorial outside.
• Listen to music at Black Cat, a small music venue that hosts independent music concerts.
• Shop at Hana Market, a small market that sells all types of Japanese food from shiitake mushrooms to pickled plums.
• Show at the Lincoln Theatre, a restored 1921 Black theater that influenced Harlem’s renaissance.
• Take your kids to nearby Westminster Park, a playground with a large mural in between two rowhouses.
• Walk east down U Street NW starting at 15th Street toward 9th Street finding the old and new murals on buildings and down alleys. Use Mural DC’s U Street Corridor Walking Tour mural map.

See:

• Art at Hamiltonian Artists, an exhibition space for emerging artists.
• Duke Ellington mural by G. Byron Peck on the side of the Reformer Building, one of the oldest murals in the city.
• Grand architecture at St Augustine Church, an 1858 parish and one of the city’s oldest churches.
• “Kindred” mural by Sabek at 1212 V Street NW.
• RBG Mural by Rose Jaffe near 15th and U Street NW.
• Temperance Alley Garden, an alley community garden that hosts events and workshops.
• Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage inside a 19th century building once known as the country’s first Black YMCA.