Warren Rojas

Washington, D.C., United States

Local Dining Reporter at The Washington Post

Now: local dining reporter for @washingtonpost. Then: @the24sight, @BusinessInsider, @Eater_DC, @rollcall I'm all ears: [email protected]

Articles

‘It’s just not sustainable’: D.C. restaurants pushed to the brink

1 week ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas |Emily Heil

‘It’s just not sustainable’: D.C. restaurants pushed to the brink (washingtonpost.com) ‘It’s just not sustainable’: D.C. restaurants pushed to the brink By Warren Rojas; Tim Carman; Emily Heil 2025041416003300 "What you created here was really special," a father stops to tell Brookland's Finest co-owner Tony Tomelden while herding his two school-age kids out the restaurant's door on a bustling Friday night.
9 of the best restaurants in Shaw

1 month ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Picking a place to eat in Shaw can feel a bit overwhelming. More of a “Which rabbit hole shall we tumble down?” conundrum than a “Know anywhere good around here?” scenario. When you’ve got nationally recognized Peruvian chefs, multiple Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurants and buzzy Panamanian coffee shops around every corner, the world really is your oyster.
Looking for the best bowl of soup in D.C.? Here are 8 of our favorites.

1 month ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Chef Brian Rowe learned the hard way how serious soup lovers are about their must-have bowls of steaming sustenance. He once tried to rotate French onion soup off the menu of local restaurant Junction Bistro, Bar & Bakery. The backlash was swift and severe. “There was a riot,” he recalls. Sorry, chef, but we’re with your customers on this one. There is nothing more comforting than a perfectly executed bowl of soup.
Restaurateur Stephen Starr’s newest D.C. hot spot is already a landmark

1 month ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Stephen Starr, the Philadelphia native who has invigorated Washington’s fine-dining scene with a string of transporting restaurants — lush, stylized sanctuaries that reflect a Wonka-like ability to build worlds of pure imagination — is almost ready to dazzle diners with his grandest project yet. It’s 119 years old, half a block from the White House and already a historic landmark. But of course Starr thinks the dining room attached to the famed Willard Hotel could benefit from his touch.
4 D.C. restaurant openings we’re excited about this February

2 months ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Shake off that bitter cold by warming up to some of the ambitious new arrivals joining the D.C. dining scene this month. Return to menuWinter blues have you wishing you were sipping Mediterranean-style margaritas at sunset in Santorini? Seasoned restaurateur Hakan Ilhan says he’s got just the thing. His new restaurant Alara is designed to transport locals to a “very rustic, beachy Mediterranean town” — albeit one with a Georgetown address.
The best bagels in D.C., according to Washington Post readers and judges

2 months ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Turns out, D.C. diners are very passionate about bagels. Practically the moment we published the results of our 2024 bagel taste test — which crowned Shaw bakery Pearl’s Bagels as the DMV champ — the hot takes started pouring in. Some readers chose to roast the entire process online (530 comments and counting).
10 of the best restaurants around Dupont Circle

2 months ago | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Talk about an embarrassment of riches. Dupont Circle hosts blocks and blocks of award-winning restaurants and chefs, many of whom are classically trained but also inclined to put their own delicious stamp on D.C.’s culinary landscape. And with menus as diverse as the United Nations — feast on Sichuan, Tuscan and Korean cuisines as well as unconventional gourmet pizzas, all within walking distance — there’s no reason to fret when hunger pangs strike.
Travel around the world — and the Beltway — with D.C.’s best hand pies

Jan 15, 2025 | msn.com | Warren Rojas |Gabe Hiatt

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Travel around the world

Jan 15, 2025 | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas |Gabe Hiatt

It's such a perfect fit. Luscious fillings wrapped in golden-brown dough. A warm pastry nestled in the palm of your hand. Anextra-flaky shell that reveals its baked-in secrets bite after delicious bite. Savory hand pies are pocket-size panaceas that quash hunger like it's their job.
4 restaurants we're excited to see open in the D.C. area this January

Jan 2, 2025 | washingtonpost.com | Warren Rojas

Return to menu co-founders Dante Datta and Suresh Sundas are focusing on Indian street food at their highly anticipated second restaurant. The sophomore effort, which is aiming to open by late January (but could slip into early February), is replacing shuttered vegetarian restaurant Fancy Radish.