This Is the Finest New U.S. Restaurant of 2025, In response to Yelp

Yelp, the go-to digital information for locating and reviewing native spots, simply launched its 2025 checklist of the “25 Finest New Eating places within the U.S.”

Primarily based on Yelp’s knowledge and group evaluations, the checklist presents a mouthwatering tour of the nation’s most enjoyable eating places, from a Bangkok-style avenue meals spot in Los Angeles to a comfy neighborhood bistro in New York. This yr’s picks additionally replicate as we speak’s prime culinary developments, with cooks embracing open-fire cooking, signature tasting menus, and refined takes on international consolation meals.

Coming in at No. 1 is Dōgon in Washington, D.C., the place James Beard Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi channels his Afro-Caribbean roots into an unforgettable fine-dining expertise. Situated inside Salamander DC, this celestial-themed restaurant is impressed by 18th-century astronomer and surveyor Benjamin Banneker, who helped chart Washington, D.C.’s authentic borders and traced his ancestry to the Dōgon folks of West Africa, famend for his or her deep information of the celebs.

Having dined there with my household, I can completely see why this restaurant topped the charts. From the second you enter, the restaurant’s grand lobby instantly grabs your consideration with its smooth geometric strains and metallic chain accents that nod to Benjamin Banneker’s mapping devices. The area glows with moody lighting, moonlit domes, and blue-tinted mirrored glass, creating an environment that appears like eating beneath the evening sky. Comfortable hues of mauve and purple prolong the celestial theme into the eating room’s futuristic design.

The restaurant’s menu is a fusion of Onwuachi’s Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Creole roots, whereas additionally paying tribute to Washington, D.C.’s massive Asian and Ethiopian populations.

Each dish transported us someplace throughout the African Diaspora. We loved the hoe crab with plantain hoe cake, the Berbere roasted rooster with jollof rice, the curry branzino with crispy zucchini and callaloo, and the barbecue greens with candied cipollini and beef bacon. We additionally tried two of the three dessert choices, together with the rum cake with vanilla whip and charred fruit and the Cherries & Cream, which my daughter described as distinctive and scrumptious.

The drinks checklist, designed by award-winning mixologist Derek Brown, includes a collection of Black-owned spirits, zero-proof choices, and ingenious cocktails, such because the Astronomer, crafted with Bayab African Gin, house-made chai, lemon, orgeat, aquafaba, and lavender.

Rounding out Yelp’s prime 5 eating places are Celeste in Narragansett, Rhode Island; Theodora in New York Metropolis; Fee Row in Indianapolis; and Sgrizzi by Chef Marc in Las Vegas.

To see a whole checklist of eating places and study extra concerning the report, go to yelp.com.