Washington, DC has nine Spanish restaurants in our directory. Five are Downtown, and the rest are spread across Penn Quarter, Logan Circle, Cathedral Heights and Glover Park. The range is wide: a tapas bar that first opened in 1993, a jamón counter, an open-fire grill, two branches of a wine-bar group and a tasting-menu restaurant with a Michelin star.
This guide goes neighbourhood by neighbourhood and sticks to what each restaurant's own record says. You can see every listing on the Washington, DC city page.
Penn Quarter: Jaleo
Jaleo by José Andrés (480 7th St NW) is the only DC listing whose record gives an opening year. It says Jaleo first opened in downtown Washington in 1993 and later added locations in Maryland, Virginia and Las Vegas. The menu is built around the regional variety of Spanish cooking, with traditional dishes next to more modern ones, in a setting the record calls festive and casual. It also says Jaleo won a Bib Gourmand in the 2017 and 2018 Michelin Guide to Washington, DC.
If you only have one evening and want a broad tapas menu, this is the straightforward pick.
Downtown: five listings within a few blocks
Three Downtown listings share one address, 919 19th St NW, and each does something different.
- Casa Teresa: founded by Rubén as a tribute to his grandmother Teresa and to the home cooks behind Spanish cuisine.
- Jamon Jamon: describes itself as DC's first jamonería, with jamón, cheeses and fresh bread.
- Brasa: open-fire cooking, to eat in or take home. Its record names butifarra with mongetes (white beans) and alioli, plus roasted vegetables.
Boqueria Spanish Tapas (1837 M St NW) takes its cue from the tapas around La Boquería market in Barcelona. Its record says some plates are not strictly traditional and gives one example: Iberian devils on horseback with a hint of Cabrales cheese. Expect traditional flavours alongside dishes of the kitchen's own invention.
Taberna del Alabardero (1776 I St NW) has a record that describes refined Spanish cooking, an extensive wine list, an opulent dining room and an outdoor patio.
Logan Circle and Cathedral Heights: Barcelona Wine Bar
Barcelona Wine Bar has two DC listings. The 14th Street branch (1622 14th St NW, Logan Circle) serves Spanish small plates and wine and has a courtyard with an outdoor fireplace. The Cathedral Heights branch (3310 Wisconsin Ave NW) serves small plates, sangria and wine, with a sidewalk patio. Both records describe the rooms as rustic but elegant.
Pick by neighbourhood: they cover the same ground, and the outdoor space is the main difference between them.
Glover Park: Xiquet
Xiquet by Danny Lledó (2404 Wisconsin Ave NW) is the special-occasion listing. Its record says it holds a Michelin star and won the Guide's Sommelier of the Year Award for 2022. The tasting menu runs to 22 courses based on the traditional cooking of Valencia, cooked in a wood-fire kitchen. The meal moves through the building: canapés and aperitivos at the chef's counter on the first level, dinner in the top-floor dining room, and after-dinner drinks in the mezzanine lounge. The record mentions the red prawn of Dénia as one of the products that often appears.
We covered it in more detail in our Xiquet spotlight.
How to choose
- For a broad tapas menu: Jaleo or Boqueria.
- For jamón: Jamon Jamon. For open-fire cooking: Brasa.
- For wine with small plates and outdoor seating: either Barcelona Wine Bar.
- For a tasting menu: Xiquet. For refined Spanish cooking with an extensive wine list: Taberna del Alabardero.
Opening hours and menus change, so check each listing before you go.
