The entry point to DC's greatest culinary empire — José Andrés's original DC restaurant (Penn Quarter, 1993), the tapas institution that made Spanish small plates mainstream in America, still the most fun and least expensive way to eat in the Andrés universe alongside Zaytinya (MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, Greek-Turkish-Lebanese mezze) and Oyamel (Bib Gourmand, Mexican).
Why It Belongs on the List
José Andrés arrived in Washington in 1993 as a 23-year-old Spanish chef hired to run the kitchen at Jaleo, a new tapas restaurant in Penn Quarter. Over the next 30 years he transformed DC's restaurant culture, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2025), and built a culinary empire that now spans 30+ restaurants across America and internationally. Jaleo is the original — still in its Penn Quarter location, still serving the patatas bravas, jamón Ibérico de bellota, and pan con tomate that Andrés introduced to mainstream American dining. The Andrés DC universe also includes Zaytinya (Greek-Turkish-Lebanese mezze in the same block, MICHELIN Bib Gourmand for exceptional cooking at moderate prices) and Oyamel (Mexican, Bib Gourmand, excellent mole). These three form the most accessible entry into the Andrés kitchen philosophy — the full minibar experience in small plates form, at one-fifth the price. If minibar is Andrés's laboratory, Jaleo is his Spanish grandmother's kitchen: abundant, generous, wine-soaked, and entirely devoted to the idea that Spanish food is among the world's finest.
What Stands Out
- Jaleo (1993): the restaurant that introduced small plates dining to mainstream America — still the most generous tapas table in DC
- José Andrés Presidential Medal of Freedom 2025: the chef who fed disaster victims with World Central Kitchen while running DC's best restaurants
- Zaytinya (Bib Gourmand): Greek-Turkish-Lebanese mezze in the same Penn Quarter block — exceptional cooking at moderate prices
- Oyamel (Bib Gourmand): the best mole in DC, the most accessible point of Andrés's Mexican expertise
- The full Andrés philosophy in small plates: the most entertaining way to eat in Washington for a fraction of minibar's cost