Washington's most exciting contemporary tasting experience — a 14-seat counter above the bistro Bresca in Logan Circle where Two-Michelin-Star chef Ryan Ratino serves progressive American cuisine layering A5 wagyu, sea urchin, and Chesapeake produce with Japanese precision, in what the MICHELIN Guide has recognized as one of the most accomplished cooking programs in America.
Why It Belongs on the List
Jônt opened in 2019 above Bresca (chef Ratino's one-star bistro immediately below) and rapidly earned two Michelin stars for a style of cooking that combines the luxury product vocabulary of high-end contemporary cuisine (A5 wagyu, sea urchin, white truffle, premium roe) with the Japanese precision and Chesapeake mid-Atlantic produce sources that give the menu its distinctive American identity. The 14-seat counter format creates the same intimate performance atmosphere as minibar, but Ratino's cooking operates in a different register — where Andrés is theatrical and conceptual, Ratino is precise and sensory, focused on the interaction between luxury ingredients and the Mid-Atlantic terroir. The Logan Circle location places Jônt in the city's most creative restaurant neighborhood, steps from other ambitious cooking at Bresca below and Maydan nearby. Two Michelin two-star restaurants in a single American city outside New York is significant; that both are in Washington marks a maturation of the DC dining scene that would have seemed improbable 20 years ago.
What Stands Out
- Two Michelin stars: shared with minibar as DC's highest dining accolade — Jônt and minibar are the only two-star restaurants in the city
- Chef Ryan Ratino: the most technically accomplished tasting menu chef working in Washington outside José Andrés
- 14-seat counter format: the intimate performance atmosphere that makes tasting menus worth their considerable expense
- A5 wagyu + Chesapeake produce: the luxury-meets-local mid-Atlantic identity that distinguishes Jônt's menu from its New York contemporaries
- Bresca below (one Michelin star): the same kitchen's more accessible expression — book Bresca when Jônt is sold out