Washingtonians really love good food. We practically specialize in it and you can find almost every type of food and every type of restaurant here. We have searched all over DC taste-testing as many restaurants as we can have. You have many options for great food but we might have found the most delicious home-cooked food at an iconic restaurant in DC. Florida Avenue Grill might be the best mom and pop restaurant in Washington DC.
Lacey Wilson and his wife Bertha opened up the Florida Avenue Grill in 1944 on the corner of Florida Avenue and 11th Street.
"The Grill," as it was called, started out from humble beginnings. It was just a tiny shop that only had space for two bar stools and the Wilsons cooked the meals in the basement.
The story goes that in the beginning, money was tight so that Lacey would send Bertha to the supermarket to buy two chickens and when those two chickens were fried and sold, Bertha would take the money they earned and go back to buy two more chickens! That’s why it’s said The Grill was built "two chickens at a time."
In 1968, when the riots hit DC, The Grill managed to survive being firebombed and is one of the few businesses in the area that survived those dark days.
Florida Avenue Grill is the place you come for good old fashioned, home cooked soul food in the district. You can enjoy the very best breakfasts, fried food, collard greens, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and homemade pies in the entire city. And you can enjoy breakfast all day here!
The food is out of this world. It’s delicious comfort food that will warm you up and satisfy your tastebuds. It’s the place you can come and relax with your friends, joke with the staff and enjoy the overall feeling of the restaurant.
But it’s also the feeling of Florida Avenue Grill that has kept it in business for over 70 years. It’s a perfect example of the community spirit and strength of the district.
Florida Avenue Grill is located at 1100 Florida Ave NW. It’s open from 8:00am to 9:00pm Monday through Saturday and on Sundays, it’s open from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
