The Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. has exploded with growth over the past 20 years, with restaurants springing up alongside shops, high-end condos and arts venues. While there are no purely vegetarian restaurants in this part of town, a variety of quality establishments have several dining options for those avoiding meat.
Tapas restaurants are characterized by their "small plates" offerings, allowing diners to sample diminished portions of many different dishes. Zaytinya (zaytinya.com) brings this concept to Turkish, Greek and Lebanese cuisine, with such offerings as Ottoman-style roasted eggplant stuffed with onions and tomatoes and veggie classics like spanakopita and fattoush. There are enough vegetarian options here to satisfy any palate. The establishment is owned by celebrity Chef Jose Andres, who also owns Jaleo (jaleo.com), just up the street.
Jaleo serves up Spanish tapas, with small plates such as endives with goat cheese, oranges and almonds and sautéed spinach, pine nuts, raisins and apples. Both restaurants get very crowded during happy hour, and both get very noisy. Reservations are recommended for dinner.
Penn Quarter neighbors Chinatown, and Asian-influenced food dominates this section of the city. Rasika (rasikarestaurant.com) is a central-Asian/Indian restaurant, decorated sumptuously and featuring pieces of original Indian-inspired art. Vegetarian options here are plentiful, including items like eggplant with diced potato, olive oil and peanut sauce and cauliflower with mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilies and lemon juice. A wine sommelier is available to offer pairings with any dish.
Absolute Thai (absolutethaidc.com) breaks its menu into different categories with the "healthy" section full of vegetarian options. Spring rolls include taro, cabbage, cellophane noodles, dried mushroom and celery and tofu is offered in many different varieties and with various seasonings.
Quick casual options allow diners to grab and go with their food without much wait, but offer healthier and higher-quality food than traditional "fast" food. Merzi (merzi.com) is an Indian restaurant that allows diners to build their platter of food one menu at a time. Guests choose a base of rice, naan, salad or chaat, and then add other ingredients like sauces and vegetables. The samosas here at the end of the line should not be looked over, and the "Mango Fantango" beverage is very similar to a traditional mango lassi.
Chop't (choptsalad.com) takes the Merzi idea and applies it to salads. As guests move down an assembly line, they first choose the lettuce and then any assortment of vegetables and toppings, which are then chopped up into little bits and tossed with dressing.
Niche restaurants focus on serving one particular thing and serving it very well. Teaism (teaism.com) has a wide variety of teas -- both hot and cold -- and serves simple, but high-quality, Asian-inspired meals. Veggie options include tofu noodle salad and seitan stir fry.
Hot Potato Café (hotpotatodc.com) proves that a restaurant can exist by serving only potatoes, so long as the potatoes are massive and diners can pile them high with many different ingredients. Be prepared to take your order to go -- this restaurant has very limited seating.
Kaho, Mason. "Vegetarian Restaurants in Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C." Travel Tips - USA Today, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/vegetarian-restaurants-penn-quarter-washington-dc-56572.html. Accessed 21 April 2019.