DC’s James Beard Award Finalists for 2025

The James Beard Foundation announced finalists yesterday for the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards. The Beards are considered one of the biggest honors in the restaurant industry — and making the final cut is a pretty big deal — especially in this 35th anniversary of the awards.

The announcement included nominees for Outstanding Restaurateur, Best New Restaurant, and the regional Best Chef awards, as well as three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

D.C. chefs and restaurants did well, as usual.

Here are DC’s James Beard Finalists for the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards:

Best New Restaurant

• Mita

Outstanding Restaurateur

• Scott Drewno and Danny Lee, The Fried Rice Collective (Anju, Chiko, and I Egg You)

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA)

• Henji Cheung, Queen’s English
• Carlos Delgado, Causa and Amazonia

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

• Susan Bae, Moon Rabbit

Winners will be announced June 16, in a ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.