This is the first in a new series that will look at various dining establishments that could make H Street, already a great dining scene, even better.
In the past few years, H Street has seen a wide variety of restaurants featuring different ethnic cuisines open up: Ethiopian, Japanese (sushi), Mexican, Lebanese, Indian, Mongolian, French, Italian, and even British. The diversity and uniqueness of H Street’s restaurants is part of what makes the area such a popular dining destination in D.C.. Despite all of this diversity, the corridor lacks one fairly common cuisine for neighborhoods throughout the area–a Thai restaurant. Ideally, such a Thai restaurant would have a fairly large dining room area, a bar (but the bar would not be the focus of the establishment), and would offer both takeout and delivery service.
Why does H Street need such a Thai restaurant? Thai cuisine is very popular for its spice and also the diversity of different ingredients and dishes that can be served. It would add to H Street’s already diverse dining scene in an area that is currently lacking. Such a restaurant would also fullfil a neighborhood demand for more carryout options and delivery service. Additionally, while the neighborhood has several restaurants and bars that serve great food, the neighborhood could use a few more places that focus more on their food instead of their alcohol service. A quality Thai restaurant would (hopefully) provide another option on the H Street strip that focused more on food and less on alcohol. Furthermore, a Thai restaurant would give the neighborhood a go to place for food that–while not standard American cuisine–is familiar to most people and could thus be good for larger group outings. Hopefully the Thai restaurant would be a good place to go out for dinner and a drink either on a weeknight or before going out to other H Street bars on the weekend.
H Street residents currently have several Thai options for delivery from other nearby neighborhoods. Be it one of the Thai restaurants in Chinatown or tasty San Phan over in Eastern Market, these restaurants help fill the void when needed. However, a Thai restaurant on H Street could replace the need to order delivery from the other Thai restaurants and provide the neighborhood with another quality restaurant that adds to the diversity of the already diverse dining scene. Such a restaurant would be an important improvement for the area.
Agree? Disagree? What else does H Street need? Let us know in the comment section.
District Cuisine 
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