Foodies from across the region gathered at The Anthem on Thursday, July 23, for Washingtonian’s highly anticipated annual Best of Washington tasting event. This year, The Anthem was electrified with rock roll energy, complete with showstopping photo ops, exciting themed experiences, craft cocktai ls, endless bites, and a high-energy DJ set from DJ Little Rock/Mixing Maryland. A record-breaking lineup of more than 85 of DC’s top restaurants, the most in the event’s history, served signature dishes throughout the evening. From beloved local gems to acclaimed dining destinations, the unprecedented selection gave guests the perfect opportunity to discover new culinary favorites. Guests voted live throughout the evening for their favorite restaurant, and this year’s People’s Choice Award went to Canton Disco. Washingtonian’s food critics were also in attendance, secretly sampling bites throughout the night before naming The Dabney as the Critics’ Choice Award recipient. Between savoring bites and sips, guests explored immersive sponsor lounges and interactive activations. Highlights included custom license plates and photo ops with the latest Cadillac LYRIQ-V, sketchbot pictures with United Bank, complimentary leather stamping and foiling by Right Place Studio on various giveaways in MGM’s lounge, aura photography with Soulshine Aura, unique temporary temporary tattoos provided by Jinx Proof Tattoos, and even an interactive passport activity and raffle for first class flights courtesy of United Airlines. A heartfelt thank you to our generous event sponsors who made this remarkable night possible: The Embassy of the State of Qatar in the United States, American Beverage Association, Cadillac, MGM National Harbor, United Airlines, and United Bank. We are also grateful to our beverage sponsors—Blossom Beverages, Conniption Gin, Decoy Wines, El Tequileno, Krave, Modelo, Pacifico, and  Titos—for keeping the drinks flowing all night. Thank you to all of our participating restaurants: 2Fifty BBQ, Agora Restaurant, All-Purpose, AP Pizza Shop, Anju, ArTeA, Baan Mae, Bar Angie, Bar Chinois, Barbouzard, Beteseb, Brasero Atlántico, Bully Spanish Steakhouse, Canton Disco, Caruso’s Grocery, Casa Teresa, Casamara, Causa, Chai Pani, China Chilcano, Chop Shop, Compliments Only, Daru, Tapori, DC Vegan, Dirty Habit, Duke’s Grocery and Duke’s Burgers, El Sol, Mariscos 1133, El Viejo Central American Kitchen, Elfegne Ethiopian Cuisine, Ellie Bird, Rooster Owl, Side Chick, Fantasticks, Fava Pot, Haute Dog, Henceforth, ISLA Restaurant DC, Joia Burger, Joon, KAPOW BUDDY, Karravaan, Pappe, Kayu, Morena Cafe, Kema by KENAKI, Kyojin Sushi, L’Ardente, Laos in Town, Lapis, Le Diplomate, Love, Makoto, Lucky Buns, Mama Chang, Marcus DC, Maru San, Maydan, MITA, Nina May, Opal, Northwest Chinese Food, NUE Elegantly Vietnamese, Okonomi Asian Grill, Oyamel, Pascual, Lutèce, Preserve, Rania, RASA, The Red Hen, Aventino, Royal Restaurant, RUTA, Sampannee Thai, Silver and Sons BBQ, SomTam, Sura, Tabard Inn, Taqueria Habanero, The Dabney, The Duck The Peach, The Majestic, Uchi DC, Vagabond, and Willowsong Our design partner, Design Foundry, helped bring this vision to life and our logistics team, Stratus Firm, kept everything on track. A portion of the proceeds from this event benefitted World Central Kitchen. This event also wouldn’t be possible without our team of incredible vendors and partners: Occasions Catering , Snap Entertainment, ArtStella Productions, Constellation Brands, Molecular Food Cocktails, MJ Valet, Entertainment Avenue, Washington Talent Agency, Blithe Embroidery. Photographs by Dan Swartz/Revamp, Stacey Salter, Doug Van Sant, SideQuest Visuals, and Nina Palazzolo. 2000 guests gathered for an electric night at The Anthem. Photograph by Stacey Salter. Attendees loved the cassette tape photo op. Photograph by Stacey Salter. The luxurious cadillac Visti-Q was on display for guests to explore. Photograph by Dan Swartz. The Embassy of the State of Qatar’s Legend Brumbaugh, Washingtonian’s Susan Farkas and Cathy Merrill, The Embassy of the State of Qatar’s Hamad Al Muftah, Medal of Honor Recipient Will Swenson, and Green River Public Affairs’ Graham Miller. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Guests could play guitar hero during the event – the winner walked away with a trophy and Pacifico swag! Photograph by Stacey Salter. Noelia Vargas, GM’s Omar Vargas, and Todd Newnam. Photograph by Dan Swartz. The NFL’s Roslyne Turner and her husband Derrick. Photograph by Dan Swartz. PwC’s Jeanelle Johnson and her husband Russ. Photograph by Dan Swartz. The Bar Angie team provided tasty bites to our private reception guests. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s Shawn Townsend, The Alpine Group’s Keenan Austin Reed, and Andreessen Horowitz’ Michael Reed. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Noted Media’s Patrick Mellody, Punch Bowl’s Anna Palmer, Story Partners’ Gloria Dittus, Cynthia Stinger. Photograph by Dan Swartz. IWMF’s Charlotte Fox, The British Embassy’s James Harris, and USTR’s Christina Sevilla. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Tito’s had the perfect accessories to elevate guests’ looks. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. Blossom’s David Jack, Moki Media’s Dannia Hakki, Ronny Kitmetou, Moki Media’s Maha Hakki, and The Ned’s Joiwind Rosen. Photography by Dan Swartz. MGM’s moody lounge featured custom leather stamping and gold foiling on keychains, card holders, and more. Photograph by Dan Swartz. The Embassy of the State of Qatar’s Hamad Al Muftah, Washingtonian CEO Cathy Merrill, and Capitol Investment Corp’s Mark Ein. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Attendees could pick custom designs to have placed on a free tote bag. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. Austin Stahle rocked out alongside DJ Little Rock. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. The Marcus DC team. Photograph by SideQuest Visuals. Futurific Institute’s Rachel Goslins and the Embassy of the State of Qatar’s Legend Brumbaugh and Abdulaziz Al Khater. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Guests got to enjoy a fun night out in DC. Photograph by SideQuest Visuals. The Royal Restaurant team with their signature dish. Photograph by Nina Palazzolo. Guests got a passport keepsake that they could get stamped and take home with them. Photograph by Stacey Salter. The United Airlines team. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. Canton Disco won the People’s Choice Award. Photograph by Stacey Salter. An attendee getting her aura photo taken. Photograph by Stacey Salter. United Bank provided partygoers with individualized portraits drawn by sketchbots. Photograph by Stacey Salter. The American Beverage Association provided guests with refreshments throughout the night at their Innovation Bar. Photograph by Stacey Salter. Piper was taking guests pics all night. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. Ticketbuyers could customize their own Cadillac license plates. Photograph by Stacey Salter. C-SPAN’s Sam Feist and his wife Danielle. Photograph by Dan Swartz DJ Little Rock kept the vibes high and kept the crowd on the dance floor. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. The Atlantic’s Shane Harris and Joe de Feo. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Temporary tattoos were a popular activity. Photograph by Stacey Salter. United States Representative Nicole Malliotakis and American Beverage Association’s Kevin Keane. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Fantastiks provided guests with a sweet treat at the event. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. Aver’s Lindsey Richardson, Siemens Healthineers’ Catherine Nabavi, FanDuel’s Jonathan Nabavi, National Association of Realtors’ Bennett Richardson, and NCA’s Christopher Gindlesperger. Photograph by Dan Swartz. El Tequileno tequila and Conniption Gin gave guests a sample of the different flavors. Photograph by Nina Palazzolo. The Dabney won our Critic’s Choice Award of the evening. Photograph by Nina Palazzolo. The Causa team with their dish. Photograph by Nina Palazzolo. Versus’ Nikki Braden, Moki Media’s Dannia Haki, and Oritain’s Ben Tomkins. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Hines’ Tim Lowery and Fauquier Chamber of Commerce’s Benjamin Musser. Photograph by Dan Swartz. Somenek + Pittman’s Michael Somenek and Michelle Wendt. Photograph by Dan Swartz. DC Vegan had an amazing spread of food. Photograph by Dan Swartz. JPMorgan’s Joe Koltz Keymari Johnson, Valon Tahiruka, and Zeshan Tahir. Photograph by Doug Van Sant. Michael Moroney, USA Today’s Francesca Chambers, Erica Anaya, and Coupang’s Bill Anaya. Photograph by Dan Swartz. GW’s Amir Afkhami, Hastie Afkhami, Punchbowl’s Anna Palmer. Photograph by Dan Swartz. BluestoneLogic’s Davey Ahearn, National Association of Realtors’ Bennett Richardson, Washingtonian’s Susan Farkas, Advanced Advocacy’s Andrew Kovalcin, NCA’s Christopher Gindlesperger. Photograph by Dan Swartz.The post Photos from Best of Washington 2026 first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less