Yelp has just published its list of “2025’s Best Local Spots”25 Best New Restaurants in the U.S.”
Based on Yelp reviews and data, this list offers a tour of the best restaurants across the country, from a Bangkok style street food place in Los Angeles, to a cozy New York neighborhood bistro. The selections for this year reflect the top culinary trends of today, including chefs who are embracing open fire cooking, signature tastings menus, refined versions of global comfort food, and more.
Coming in at number 1 Coming in at No. Dōgon James Beard Award winners are on display in Washington, D.C. chef Kwame Onwuachi Channels his Afro-Caribbean origins into an unforgettable fine-dining event. Located within Salamander DC, this celestial-themed restaurant is inspired by 18th-century astronomer and surveyor Benjamin Banneker, who helped chart Washington, D.C.’s original borders and traced his ancestry to the Dōgon people of West Africa, renowned for their deep knowledge of the stars.
After dining there with my entire family, I understand why this restaurant is so popular. The restaurant’s grand entrance immediately catches the eye, with its sleek geometric shapes and metallic chains that resemble Benjamin Banneker’s map instruments. The moody lighting, the moonlit domes and the blue-tinted glass create an atmosphere of dining beneath a night sky. Mauve and lavender soften the futuristic theme of the dining room.
Menu of the restaurant is a fusion between Onwuachi’s Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, Creole, and Trinidadian roots, paying homage to Washington, D.C.’s large Asian, and Ethiopian population.
Each dish took us to a different part of the African Diaspora. We loved the hoe crustacean with plantain cake, the Berbere chicken with jollof, the curry branzino, with crispy zucchini, callaloo, and barbecue greens, with candied bacon and cipollini. We also tried two of the three dessert offerings, including the rum cake with vanilla whip and charred fruit and the Cherries & Cream, which my daughter described as unique and delicious.
The award-winning Derek Brown designed the drinks list. It features Black-owned spirits and zero-proof options. Also, it includes inventive cocktails such as Astronomer. This cocktail is made with Bayab African Gin and house-made Chai.
The final five restaurants on Yelp’s list are Celeste Narragansett is a town in Rhode Island. Theodora New York City Commission Row Indianapolis Sgrizzi by Chef Marc Las Vegas is a great place to visit.
Visit the website to see the complete list of restaurants, and for more information about this report. yelp.com.
