Restaurants in Vienna

Through an entrance marked by natural woods and a screen of latticed rice paper, the interior of Cafe Ima opens up into an expansive dining space replete with a sushi bar and rows of hibachi tables where chefs deftly manipulate fresh, sizzling ingredients on steel tableside grills. Crafting an extensive menu, highly trained chefs slice, dice, and flip succulent morsels of steak, seafood, and veggies on flat-topped hibachis to create a culinary experience more entertaining than Penn and Teller's famous cooking show in Vegas. Meanwhile, Café Ima's experts behind the sushi bar slice slabs of fatty tuna and freshwater eel into sushi and sashimi, and craft specialty maki rolls filled with deep-fried shrimp, smoked salmon, and broiled eel.

In French, sur la place translates to "on the square," and it's also an evocation of a popular song of the same name by Belgian musician Jacques Brel. To further remind diners of their eatery's Belgian roots, owners Loren and Peter Gomes display pictures of the famous Grand Plaza of Brussels on their wall, as well as a replica of the plaza's iconic Manneken Pis statue and a framed lock of Jean-Claude Van Damme's mullet.

Executive chef Samuel Encarnacion helms the duo's kitchen, infusing complex flavor profiles into a menu brimming with more than 20 varieties of mussels and classic Belgian dishes such as steak frites and flemish stew. These authentic entrees populate tables in a dining room studded with exposed-brick walls, tomato-red drapes, yellow accents, and shelves hoisting up more than 30 varieties of Belgian beer.

While most restaurants have made some memorable deliveries, not many can say they sent doggie bags full of chicken wings to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President George Bush and his Secret Service agents ordered up a mess of wings and chowed down on the spicy flavor that first made Wingos famous back when it opened in 1983. Today, the small Georgetown storefront still serves up its original recipes in varieties such as teriyaki, lemon-pepper, and nuclear-spicy hot wings alongside a selection of half-pound Angus burgers, hot dogs, cheesesteaks, and cold-cut sandwiches. During the summer, they open up a Coney Island–style ice-cream window and dole out scoops in pints, floats, milkshakes, or carved into the face of your favorite Mount Rushmore president.

Taste of Morocco’s vibrant character spans from the flavorful cuisine that tops the dining room's linen-covered tables to the belly dancers who swivel and sashay around guests seated in turquoise chairs. In the kitchen of the cozy neighborhood eatery, chefs dress morsels of chicken, lamb, and veggies in tagines and couscous dishes. Multicourse feasts are also available, conveniently portioned for two. The belly dancers add extra spice to the dining experience on weekends, displaying feats of abdominal coordination while diners' stomachs contentedly perform the digestion fox trot.

Hidden away about a mile from the White House in Blagden Alley, Back Alley Waffles is more than just a waffle house—it's also a gallery where proprietors Sherman Davis and Craig Nelsen showcase their original mosaics and oil paintings. As visitors admire the work on the walls, they fill up on orders from a simple menu with one selection—waffles glistening with melted butter and real maple syrup. Fruit smoothies, coffee, and chai tea balance out the solid sustenance.

Ethiopian owner Meaza Zemedu's Meaza Ethiopian Restaurant, which has been featured in such press outlets as the Washingtonian and the Washington Post, was born of humble roots. Zemedu started her business by supplying local Ethiopian stores with her home-baked injera bread, a crepelike staple of Ethiopian cuisine. Demand for the tangy bread grew, allowing her to open her majestic restaurant, which welcomes guests to dine on traditional Ethiopian fare. Northern Virginia Magazine heaped praise upon the menu, including the doro wat stew—the national dish of Ethiopia—which includes chicken, red pepper, garlic, and hard-boiled eggs. Many of Meaza’s dishes are flavored with purified, spiced Ethiopian butter, from the ye beg kikil—lamb stew in spicy sauce—to the kifto—ground beef traditionally served raw or rare and mixed with cardamom and a mitmita spice blend. The chefs still bake Zemedu's injera from teff grain as an ubiquitous side and utensil alongside the fare.

The complex Ethiopian spice blends enchant guests throughout the 7,000-square-foot space—which comprises a dining room, grocery store, and banquet hall—as they admire portraits of Ethiopian emperors painted on lambskins along one wall. Throughout three elevated tiers, white and red cloths coat each table and patrons recline into patterned cushioned chairs. Sweeping bands of color swirl and draw eyes toward the ceiling, enhancing the dining room’s air of spaciousness.