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Start a Top 5 for Soul FoodEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in The Infatuation and Washingtonian. Updated August 2026.
The World Famous Florida Avenue Grill · Columbia Heights
Open since 1944 and widely called DC's oldest Black-owned restaurant, this diner is known for light, fluffy hot cakes dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, alongside BBQ pork spare ribs, chitterlings, and salmon cakes. Service moves slowly, but the payoff is a menu that has stayed remarkably consistent across eight decades of vinyl booths.
Oohh's & Aahh's · U Street
A U Street carryout-turned-sit-down spot known for lemon-pepper fried chicken wings, fried livers smothered in gravy, and catfish either blackened or fried. Hot-sauce-spiked collard greens and sweet yams round out the sides, and the mac and cheese has drawn repeat Washingtonian recognition. Open late on weekends for post-bar soul food.