Sababa serves modern Israeli food on Connecticut Avenue NW in Cleveland Park, with a small plates and large plates menu meant to move guests through the range of cultural influences in Israeli cuisine — Bulgarian, Romanian, North African, Yemeni, Ethiopian, Georgian, Balkan, Lebanese, Syrian, Cypriot, and Turkish among them. Lamb shank, hummus, kebab, smoked trout, and rice are dishes that keep coming up.
Chef Ryan Moore, a graduate of L'Académie de Cuisine, started his career as a sous chef at Zola before joining José Andrés's team at minibar and helping open The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. He later cooked at Zaytinya, developed rotating tasting courses at Rogue 24, and served as chef de cuisine under Ris Lacoste at Ris before coming to Sababa.
The room is built to evoke the port of Tel Aviv, with Mediterranean floor tiles, sails overhead, and a lounge area styled as a Bedouin-style tent with community tables. A full wine bar pours bottles from Israel, Lebanon, and the wider Mediterranean.
Service leans warm and attentive, and desserts have developed a following of their own. Michelin awarded Sababa a Bib Gourmand in its Washington DC guide in 2022, 2024, and 2025.
Chef Ryan Moore, a graduate of L'Académie de Cuisine, started his career as a sous chef at Zola before joining José Andrés's team at minibar and helping open The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. He later cooked at Zaytinya, developed rotating tasting courses at Rogue 24, and served as chef de cuisine under Ris Lacoste at Ris before coming to Sababa.
The room is built to evoke the port of Tel Aviv, with Mediterranean floor tiles, sails overhead, and a lounge area styled as a Bedouin-style tent with community tables. A full wine bar pours bottles from Israel, Lebanon, and the wider Mediterranean.
Service leans warm and attentive, and desserts have developed a following of their own. Michelin awarded Sababa a Bib Gourmand in its Washington DC guide in 2022, 2024, and 2025.