Monday, July 6, 2026
The 44th annual RAMMYS Awards and Gala, presented by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, took place at Arena Stage’s Mead Center for American Theater on Monday, June 29. The Anthem, at the Wharf on the Southwest D.C. waterfront, hosted a watch party and after-party.
Named “Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year” was Michael Rafidi’s Michelin-starred, James Beard Award-winning restaurant Albi — “my heart” in Arabic — in Navy Yard.
Reimagined and reopened by Stephen Starr, the landmark Occidental, a short walk from the White House, was 2026’s New Restaurant of the Year.
The winners in the 13 other categories listed next were likewise chosen by an anonymous panel of judges.
- Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year: Perry’s
- Chef of the Year (award sponsored by S.Pellegrino): Matt Conroy and Isabel Coss, The Popal Group
- Restaurateur of the Year: Fernando González, 2fifty Texas BBQ
- Wine Program of the Year: Fiola
- Fast Casual Restaurant of the Year: Andy’s Pizza
- Pastry Chef or Baker of the Year: Rose Nguyen, Rose Ave Bakery
- Service Program of the Year (award sponsored by Ecolab): Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
- Manager of the Year: Juan Ramirez, Bastille Brasserie & Bar
- Employee of the Year: Jose Luis Salgado, Zinnia
- Beer Program of the Year: Pizzeria Paradiso
- Rising Culinary Star of the Year (award sponsored by OpenTable): Martel Stone, Dogon by Kwame Onwuachi
- Cocktail Program of the Year: Amazonia
- Casual Restaurant of the Year: Tsehay Ethiopian
This year’s winners in the five publicly voted categories (announced in June) were: Joia Burger, in Mount Pleasant and Glover Park, as Hottest Sandwich Spot of the Year; Clyde’s Restaurant Group’s Old Ebbitt Grill as Favorite Gathering Place of the Year; Unconventional Diner in Shaw for Best Brunch of the Year; Service Bar on U Street as Best Bar of the Year (award sponsored by Maison Perrier); and DCFoodGod, run by Tessa Alimahmoodi and Jason Fisher, as Content Creator of the Year.
Events DC won as Joan Hisaoka Allied Member of the Year, one of the three RAMMY Honors, “selected by RAMW’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors for their lasting contributions to the Washington metropolitan area’s restaurant and hospitality community,” presented in May. The two others: Mayor Muriel Bowser received the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award and Stratus Firm the Honorary RAMMYS Award.
Finally, Honorary Milestone Awards went to: the Diner and Mezè Restaurant, both in Adams Morgan (25 years); Dupont’s Kramerbooks and All Day Café, L’Auberge Chez François in Great Falls, Virginia, and Georgetown’s La Chaumière (50 years); Giant Food (90 years); and the St. Regis Washington, D.C. (100 years).