Yelp is unveiling its 11th annual Top 100 Places to Eat in 2024 list on Tuesday.
And wouldn’t you know it? The list includes three restaurants from the D.C. area!
Coming in at No. 48 is Sabores Tapas Bar in Arlington, Virginia, located at 2401 Columbia Pike in the Arlington Village neighborhood across from Bob & Edith’s Diner. The Spanish and Latin American tapas restaurant serves such favorite dishes as patatas bravas, churrasco, la maceta and croquetas de pollo.
“We’re really thrilled that hard work pays off,” Sabores managing partner Carlos Olarte told WTOP. “We had to keep it close to the chest for a couple weeks. It was really difficult, believe it or not, with all of the excitement.”
The tapas joint is actually coming up on its one-year anniversary, having opened in February 2023.
“It’s a small business — just three guys who have been in the restaurant business for many, many years and decided to finally jump on it in search of that dream that we always had in owning a restaurant,” Olarte said. “I’m originally from Venezuela. I came here and fell in love with the area and ended up staying, and made the Virginia area my home. I came directly to the states to Virginia and have been living here for the past 29 years.”
The menu provides diners with a variety of flavors from all over the Latin world.
“We are a tapas restaurant, so small-plated items,” Olarte said. “We love the tapas concept in the sense that people can try little bits of everything. Instead of getting stuck with an entrée, people get different things … like little bites of heaven. … We try to put little things that are fun and enjoyable in every bite, so you can share them.”
Ranking No. 59 is Menya Hosaki in the Petworth neighborhood of D.C. Located at 845 Upshur St. NW, the restaurant serves ramen noodles with such menu items as the “Triple Threat Ramen,” spicy tonkotsu and truffle shoyu ramen.
Finally, at No. 82 is M&N’s Pizza in Bethesda, Maryland. Located at 4914 Del Ray Ave in Woodmont Triangle, the beloved restaurant serves spicy chicken curry pizza, kadhai paneer pizza and spicy Thai chicken pizza.
“[I’m] really very excited and emotional at the same time,” M&N’s Pizza owner Manoj Mehta told WTOP. “I wish you could see my face right now, just grinning from one molar to the next molar. It was definitely overwhelming and emotional and a great feeling that after all these years of hard work, which will be 18 years this March, getting recognition. It’s a feeling that’s very hard to describe, but so excited and thankful to God.”
Born in India, Manoj moved to the United States in 2001 and settled in the D.C. area in 2004. He founded the pizza place in 2006 with his wife Nazaneen, who’s the “N” to his “M” in the restaurant’s name.
“From the beginning, it was like we just want to have a business together,” Mehta said. “We try to do pizzas really well, even regular pizzas. … The real spin started in 2011 when we started experimenting. One of our customers kept pushing, ‘You’re from India, you should do some curry.’ … I was a little skeptical, but my wife is the one who always pushes me and said, ‘Let’s experiment and see how it turns out.’ The first was spicy chicken curry pizza.”
Topping Yelp’s list is the Latin American vegetarian restaurant Tumerico in Tucson, Arizona; the ramen joint Menya Rui in St. Louis, Missouri; and the sandwich, coffee and tea shop Sunny Side Kitchen in Escondido, California.
“From New York City to Houston and Florida to California, Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat list celebrates the must-visit local restaurants across the United States,” Yelp trend expert Tara Lewis said. “This year’s list embraces the unique tastes of our users and spotlights the beloved hidden gems across local communities.”
Every year, Yelp analyzes millions of reviews and suggestions from its community of users to name the best local eateries for its Top 100 Places to Eat list. The annual list covers a wide range of places to eat, from white tablecloth to food trucks and hot dog carts, from hidden gems in strip malls to upscale dining establishments.
“The experts took a look at the menus, the reviews and they actually sent somebody to dine, so they did their homework,” Olarte said. “I thought in the beginning when it came out that it was going to be a silly thing where they send you a sticker or something … but we started reading it and there was a little more into it. Somebody came and even took pictures and then they came back again, so they took different things into consideration.”
See the full Yelp Top 100 list here.
Listen to our full conversation with Sabores Tapas here.
Listen to our full conversation with M&N’s Pizza here.
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