The Riggsby is back, and Dupont Circle picked up right where it left off

The Riggsby is back, and Dupont Circle picked up right where it left off

Seven years is a long time to miss a pork chop. But that's roughly how long regulars of the original Riggsby have been waiting, and the room that opened this summer inside the Royal Sonesta at 2121 P Street NW is a fair argument that the wait was worth it.

Chef Michael Schlow closed the original Riggsby in 2019 when its hotel home in Dupont Circle was sold, and plans to relocate to Bethesda collapsed when the pandemic arrived. In the years between, Schlow's once-substantial DC footprint shrank with the closures of Prima, Casolare, Alta Strada, and Nama Ko. Plenty of Washingtonians wrote him off. He didn't write Washington off.

Schlow has called the Riggsby one of his "favorite restaurant concepts ever," and the new address makes that plain. The revival comes with a $6 million buildout inside the Royal Sonesta in Dupont Circle. The hotel itself went through its own renovation, and the two projects finished together: a new chapter at the property, with a redesigned lobby and the opening of The Riggsby arriving at the same time.

The original Riggsby was built to feel timeless, as if "this would have been my grandparents' Saturday night place," Schlow explains. The new version, designed by Edit at Streetsense, similarly aims to feel like a throwback, but a little classier and more plush, with an elevated continental menu. "It feels like you've been invited to a great cocktail party," he says.

The art deco design aims to feel like a small European hotel lobby, complete with a cozy fireplace, plush seating, and a swanky bar. A newly refreshed lobby and Parlor draw inspiration from Washington's storied Embassy Row, with rich textures, layered details and thoughtfully curated pieces. Edit at Streetsense, it's worth noting, also did the original room at the old Carlyle Hotel location, so there's institutional memory baked into the bones of this one too.

Old friends and new tricks

The menu is the real story. Schlow kept the anchors that made regulars proprietary about the place. Coming back are "Jimmy's chopped" salad, steak au poivre, and Ned's Most Favorite Pork Chop, the latter named after Schlow's father, who was from DC, with sauce and potatoes spooned tableside.

But this is not a reprint. About 70 percent of the menu is new or "evolved." The Schnitzel alla Holstein, for instance, was a dish Schlow loved but admits "was the ugliest dish." Now he cuts it into a perfect circle, cooks the egg in a ring mold, and replaces scattered anchovies and capers with a dotted emulsion of those ingredients.

Schlow has also been drawing inspiration from old James Beard and Betty Crocker cookbooks. That research produced Swedish meatballs paired with a mushroom sauce and shaved black truffle. For the bar, expect tuna tartare and caviar crisps made of pani puri, toasted sourdough with Cantabrian anchovies, and a smoky-spicy-salty-sweet snack mix that comes complimentary at the bar.

The menu draws from mid-century European and American supper clubs, with handmade pastas, prime cuts, shareable starters, a thoughtful wine list, and signature cocktails. The Riggsby is inspired by the timeless glamour of old supper clubs, European hotel lounges, and the energy of a great cocktail party, blending genuine, classic hospitality with a modern point of view. It's a destination for lingering dinners, late-night martinis, spontaneous celebrations, and the kind of conversations that deserve a second round.

The Dupont angle

The neighborhood context matters here. Dupont Circle has always been Washington's most European-feeling block, dense with embassies, brownstones, and the particular mix of diplomat and journalist and academic that keeps a place from feeling too self-conscious. The original Riggsby fit that DNA instinctively. So does this one.

Schlow put it plainly to Axios: "I always try to be a positive person. D.C., like any city, has its ups and downs. What I love about our industry is perseverance." That reads less like a press quote and more like a man who genuinely wants his room back.

The Royal Sonesta has completed the redesign and opening of the new lobby and arrival experience alongside The Riggsby, created by James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schlow. The hotel sits just steps from the Dupont Circle Metro, surrounded by more than 100 restaurants, shops, and cultural attractions. The Riggsby is the reason to actually stop rather than pass through.

What you need to know

Breakfast runs Monday through Friday, 7 to 10:30 a.m., with weekend breakfast from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Sunday brunch goes from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., lunch Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and supper daily from 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations are recommended, though walk-ins are welcome at the bar.

A recent Washingtonian review noted that despite the $6 million build-out, the room doesn't quite match the organic charm of the original, and the wine and dessert menus are still printed on office paper. That said, fans of the original will find a lot to like, starting with the wonderfully personable, attentive service.

Ned's pork chop, spooned tableside. That detail alone probably moves the needle for half of Dupont.

Sources

• Washingtonian: "Chef Michael Schlow Is Bringing The Riggsby Back to DC" (April 6, 2026)
• Washingtonian: "Two New Restaurants Conjure Bygone Eras: The Oak Room and The Riggsby" (August 2026)
• Axios DC: "The Riggsby restaurant reopens in Dupont Circle" (June 3, 2026)
• Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle (official hotel site)
• The Riggsby on OpenTable (hours, reservations, menu overview)
• Washington.org listing: Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle