Annabelle

Annabelle

Damn Good
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My Take
Our Take

Annabelle sits in Cleveland Park, and it has spent years being the kind of restaurant a neighborhood doesn't have to make a show of loving. Michelin has selected it three years running, in 2021, 2024, and 2025 — not a single splashy nod but a sustained one, the kind that comes from a kitchen that keeps its standard up when nobody's checking twice.

Washingtonian hasn't let go of it either, returning to list Annabelle across multiple years and multiple writers, which is its own kind of evidence. That's not a single critic's enthusiasm. That's a publication's staff, revisiting and still finding it worth the ink.

None of this reads as a place chasing trend. It reads as a restaurant that built something durable enough to survive scrutiny year after year, in a neighborhood that isn't handed hype by default. That's the case for it, and it's a solid one.

Go see what's kept them coming back.

The Spot
Annabelle occupies a Kalorama townhouse under owner Ashok Bajaj, spread across the intimate Garden Room and the art-filled Gallery Room upstairs, complete with a baby grand piano. The 10-seat Bar Barlowe, named for the poet Joel Barlow, pours craft cocktails and wine ahead of dinner.

Executive Chef Michael Fusano runs an a la carte Modern American menu built on nationally and locally sourced ingredients. Crudo and fish preparations have developed a following among regulars, alongside dishes like swordfish and roast chicken. Wine Director Alison Sachs oversees a list built for exploration, and Pastry Chef Bella Paul handles dessert.

Diners consistently point to the room's atmosphere and to service under General Manager Dina Martire as running smoothly night to night. Michelin has selected Annabelle for its Washington DC guide in 2021, 2024, and 2025, and Washingtonian named it among its best restaurants of 2025.
THE FACTS
Damn Good
AWARDMichelin Guide Selected2021–2025
RATINGS4.4 stars across 343 reviews2 sources
The Regulars
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Your Rating
City

Washington DC

Neighborhood

Cleveland Park

Price

$$$$

Cuisine

American

Chef

Owner

Michelin Selected 2025
Recognition