Dining With Kids in Washington, D.C.

Downtown Restaurants

• Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th St. NW, www.ebbitt.com, tel. 202-347-4800; M. Metro Center: Old Ebbitt has been a favorite of presidents and political movers and shakers since it opened as a saloon in 1856. Today is has expanded into a large restaurant popular with both Washingtonians and tourists. Good food, great ambiance, friendly staff and lots of noise making it a perfect spot for our family and yours. We’ve arrived at peak times but never waited for long, thanks to a seemingly endless maze of dining rooms.

• The Bread Line, 1751 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, www.breadlinedc.com, tel. 202-822-8900; M. Farragut West-Orange and Blue line: A Washingtonian favorite but worth the lunchtime hassle for excellent, innovative soup and sandwiches to go.

Woodley Park Dining

Woodley Park offers a wide selection of inexpensive authentic ethnic restaurants on Connecticut Avenue. Pick a spot on the globe, chances are there’s a restaurant representing its cuisine in this neighborhood.

• Lebanese Taverna, 2641 Connecticut Ave. NW, www.lebanesetaverna.com, tel. 202-265-8681: A Washingtonian favorite serving mezze and entrées. Our young kids actually prefer the hummus and a plate of lamb sausages but there is also a kids menu with popular favorites such as pizza and chicken fingers. Can’t decide? Most of the time, neither can I, so I usually order one of the two excellent sampler platters which offer a taste of the restaurant’s many classic favorites.
  

• A teen dips into a platter at Duken, an Ethiopian restaurant in D.C.
• EvinDC

• Afghan Grill: 2309 Calvert St. NW, tel. 202-234-5095: Small pleasant dining room serving large portions of kabobs, rice and interesting entrées. I expanded my horizons with the excellent pumpkin dish, Kadu Buranee: sweet pieces of pumpkin sautéed then complemented by a savory meat sauce and topped with a garlic yogurt sauce. It doesn’t look good and frankly it doesn’t sound good but it is surprisingly satisfying and has become a local neighborhood favorite.

• Dino, 3435 Connecticut Ave. NW, www.dino-dc.com, tel. 202-686-2966: Friendly Italian restaurant with a wide variety of homemade pastas and a comprehensive wine “list” with more than 250 bottles for every budget, including some top producers. On Sunday, Monday and Wednesday bottles over $50 are 33 percent off. 

• Vace, 3315 Connecticut Ave., tel. 202-363-1999:  In the mood for Italian but need something cheap and fast? Vace, in same plaza as Dino, is an authentic Italian deli with a loyal local following and is a great spot to grab a slice of pizza and a soda.