How Two Highly Anticipated DC Steak Spots Stack Up

"In 2024, DC got a slew of thrilling, genre-busting restaurants, from Dōgon to Pascual to La' Shukran to Moon Rabbit. This past year was different: more safe, less boundary-pushing. Major openings included copies and spinoffs of existing restaurants (Chai Pani, Lucky Danger) and Stephen Starr's revamp of the century-old Occidental. And 2025 closed out with two flashy new steak spots from big restaurant groups. Not exactly groundbreaking."

"California restaurateur Michael Mina was one of the first celebrity chefs to open a steakhouse here-Bourbon Steak, in Georgetown-and he's certainly been the most enduring. (Let's pour one out for J&G and Rural Society.) His nearly four-month-old Italian restaurant, Acqua Bistecca, which celebrates both steak and seafood, is in a more incongruous place: upper Northwest's suburban-feeling City Ridge development. Sip your $19 Manhattan with a view of . . . Wegmans."

"In the big, conventionally plush dining room, a gorgeous backlit tower of a bar looks plucked from a West Hollywood hotel. Competing for attention, on a recent Saturday night, was the glow of several kids' iPads. Learn from my mistakes and avoid the front tables by the service station or your evening's vibe will be punctured by clattering silverware and stressed-out servers. (Sample quote: "Where the f- are the children's menus?")"

"A happier note: slices of thin focaccia prettily presented in a wire rack alongside an array of spreads, such as a vivid, grandmotherly caponata and a lush ricotta. Take the hint and lean into the more rustic Italian side of executive chef (and Fiola Mare alum) Colin Clark's menu. A spiral of lasagna is another hit-and the menu's biggest draw. Yes, it's cool-looking, but its construction has a payoff when it comes to flavor."

Washington, D.C.'s recent restaurant year favored safer, less boundary-pushing openings, including spinoffs and revamps rather than bold new concepts. Michael Mina's Acqua Bistecca opened in City Ridge, blending steak and seafood in an upper Northwest suburban setting, with a plush dining room and a dramatic backlit bar. Service station seating can create noise and interrupted vibes; families with children and device glow can compete with the room's atmosphere. The bread service includes thin focaccia with spreads like caponata and ricotta. Executive chef Colin Clark's menu emphasizes rustic Italian dishes, notably a spiral lasagna with crisped edges, Swiss chard béchamel, fennel-pollen ricotta, and a spicy Italian-sausage ragu.

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