Shabbat in Washington, DC

Eruv: yes

The Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz Memorial Eruv (Kesher Israel) covers most of DC within walking distance of Kesher: all of downtown, the National Mall, White House, Capitol, Smithsonian museums and National Gallery; since 2023 also much of Arlington VA (Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery) via the Memorial and Key Bridges. Supervised by Rabbi Hyim Shafner and Rabbi Haim Jachter; status is posted at the top of the eruv page ('UP' when read 1 Nov 2026), no hotline is published (shul office 202-333-2337). Silver Spring/Kemp Mill and Shepherd Park are not listed on Kesher's eruv page; Kemp Mill has its own 'very large' eruv per kmsynagogue.org/about-the-kemp-mill-community.html (maintainer and status page not found online as of Nov 2026; ask Kemp Mill Synagogue on 301-593-0996). Shepherd Park: not found online as of Nov 2026 (checked kesher.org/eruv and Google); ask Kesher on 202-333-2337. Weekly status ↗

Char Bar

Closed Fri and Sat; no Shabbat package on its site, so buy ahead. Catering delivery/takeout via Toast: catering@charbardc.com or 202-240-8526; hotel delivery not mentioned, ask

Hours: Sun-Thu 12:00-20:15 (last seating 20:00); closed Fri and Sat · 202-785-4314 · charbardc.com

Oh Mama Grill (Adams Morgan)

Israeli shawarma/falafel; DC branch closed Fri and Sat; catering offered but no Shabbat package listed. Its Rockville branch (188 Rollins Ave, 301-770-3003) is open Fri 11:30-14:30 for Friday pickup. Online pickup ordering via Clover (links on its site). About 2 miles from the Georgetown shuls

Hours: Sun-Tue 11:30-20:00, Wed-Thu 11:30-21:30, closed Fri and Sat (ohmamagrill.com) · 202-885-9728 · ohmamagrill.com

Baked By Yael (Woodley Park)

Bagels, challah and gluten-free items are pareve, other baked goods dairy (DC Kosher). Google shows it open Saturday too, so it is not clearly Shabbat-observant; buy Friday morning

Hours: Daily 8:00-16:00 (Google) · 202-234-9235

Pow Pow Franklin Square (vegan)

Vegan Asian counter; open Fri and Sat per Google (not Shabbat-observant), so no Shabbat meals. Kosher Bubbie's burgers can be ordered for delivery through Pow Pow per DC Kosher

Hours: Daily 11:00-21:00 (Google) · 202-629-4548

Zingers at GW Hillel (listed on Google as HaMakom)

Opened 2023, run by GW dining, open to the public during the academic year only; sandwiches and bowls. Chabad East DC's visitor page lists it as OU-supervised, Mon-Thu 11-8; Fri-Sun hours: call

Hours: Mon-Thu 11:00-20:00 (Google and Chabad East DC); academic year only · 833-426-2566 (Google)

PopUp Bagels (Georgetown)

Listed by Kesher Israel as a kosher dairy bakery, but no agency is named and Google shows it open Saturday; ask for the certificate before relying on it

Hours: Daily 7:00-16:00 (Google) · 855-747-6347

Safeway Georgetown

Kesher Israel's list: chicken, beef, cheese, a large kosher aisle and packaged deli; no prepared Shabbat meals. About 1 mile from Kesher

Hours: Open 24 hours (Google) · 202-333-3223

Trader Joe's Foggy Bottom

Kesher Israel's list: chicken, beef, wines, cheese and more; check each package for a hechsher. Whole Foods at 2201 I St NW (202-296-1660) is on the same list

Hours: Daily 9:00-21:00 (Google) · 202-296-1921

The Kosher Kitchen / Medina Cuisine (catering, Rockville)

Online ordering at orders.thekosherkitchen.com (link from the Vaad's page); a Google reviewer says Medina and The Kosher Kitchen sent a full weekend of food including Shabbat meals, delivered. Order days ahead, ask about delivery to your DC hotel and prices. Closed Sat

Hours: Tue-Wed 8:00-17:00, Thu 8:00-19:00, Fri 8:00-15:00, Sun 9:00-15:00, closed Mon and Sat (Google) · 888-400-7087 · orders.thekosherkitchen.com · medinacuisine.com

Moti's Market (Rockville)

Kosher market with prepared foods; now run by Char Bar's owner (Jewish Insider). Catering by Moti's Market: 301-822-4010, cateringbymotis.com (Vaad caterers list); Shabbat takeout not confirmed (its site would not load). Chabad East DC says it delivers groceries. About 25 minutes' drive from the hub

Hours: Sun-Thu 7:30-20:00, Fri 7:00-16:00, closed Sat (Google) · 301-468-0400 · catering 301-822-4010

Ben Yehuda Cafe and Pizzeria (Silver Spring)

Dairy pizza near Kemp Mill; Vaad notes carryout only 7:00-7:30 PM; Friday close 2 PM in winter, 3 PM in summer; Saturday hours vary (Vaad), Google shows it reopening Saturday night after Shabbat (about 7:45-11:30 PM), confirm

Hours: Sun-Thu 11:30-19:30, Fri 11:30-14:00 (winter), Sat night only (Vaad and Google) · 301-681-8900

Kosher Pastry Oven Cafe (Lamberton Dr, Silver Spring/Wheaton)

Cafe and bakery for challah, babka and pastries, next to Ben Yehuda; no Shabbat meals listed. Vaad lists Fri 7:30-14:00 (bakery to 14:30), closed Sat

Hours: Sun-Thu 7:30-21:00 per Vaad (Google shows 8:00-17:00), Fri 7:30-14:00, closed Sat · 301-592-8844

National Capital Mikvah (not affiliated with Kesher Israel)

Booking: 202-780-6799 (Google) · info@dcmikvah.org · dcmikvah.wordpress.com

Kesher Israel keilim mikvah (utensils)

Booking: 202-333-2337 (shul office, for access)

• Shabbat 6-7 Nov: candles 4:44 PM, ends 5:43 PM (Hebcal, Georgetown; clocks went back 1 Nov). Kesher's Friday-night davening has started at about candle lighting in every dated listing found (so about 4:45 PM, unconfirmed) and Shabbat Shacharit ran 7:30 and 9:00 AM in 2025-26 calendars; Jewish Insider (Jun 2024) reported a renovation with a temporary space, so confirm the location. Kesher Israel hosts visitors: email hospitality@kesher.org before 5:30 PM on the Sunday of that week; placement is not guaranteed, groups of 5+ and families with children cannot be placed (have a backup), and groups of 10+ contact Laura@kesher.org or 202-333-2337. Chabad at GW lists a Friday dinner (6:30 PM on its site, 7:30 PM on GW's page; confirm).
• Stay in Georgetown (N St, M St, Pennsylvania Ave), 5-15 minutes' walk from Kesher and inside the eruv. Kesher's hotel list gives codes: Watergate (KESHER; helps guests on the stairs), Poppy Georgetown ('Duber'), Westin Georgetown. Booking.com tags most hotels as key-card, so ask for a physical key and a low floor when booking.
• Eruv: downtown, the Mall, Smithsonian museums, White House and Capitol are covered, plus Arlington since 2023. Check kesher.org/eruv before Shabbat (status is at the top; no hotline). The museums are free but 2-3 miles from Georgetown, so plan a long walk; Metro is not an option on Shabbat.
• Shabbat food: Char Bar (Vaad/Capitol-K) and Oh Mama Grill's DC branch are closed Fri and Sat and neither shows a Shabbat package, so buy ahead. Safeway Georgetown, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Foggy Bottom are on Kesher's list; Baked By Yael (DC Kosher) is open to 16:00 Fri. The Kosher Kitchen/Medina (Rockville) reportedly ships whole weekends of Shabbat food (order at orders.thekosherkitchen.com, days ahead). Jewish Insider (Aug 2026) says nearly all kosher restaurants are in Silver Spring and Rockville.
• Hechsherim: Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Washington (Capitol-K, 301-770-0078) and DC Kosher (dckosher.org). Airports: DCA is about 20 minutes by taxi (Metro Blue Line to Foggy Bottom); IAD is about 45 minutes. I found no kosher outlet at either, so carry food. Visitor pages state no security rules, so call ahead and carry photo ID, especially for Ohev Sholom and TheSHUL.
• For fuller infrastructure, stay in Kemp Mill/Silver Spring (about 10 miles, 30-minute drive, outside the DC eruv; Kemp Mill has its own eruv per kmsynagogue.org, but its maintainer and status page were not found, so ask the shul): Kemp Mill Synagogue (301-593-0996, hospitality form at kmsynagogue.org), Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (1132 Arcola Ave, 301-593-4465), Ben Yehuda, Kosher Pastry Oven (1372 Lamberton Dr, 301-592-8844). Friday closing per the Vaad list: Ben Yehuda 14:00 (winter), Kosher Pastry Oven 14:00 (bakery 14:30), Oh Mama Grill Rockville 14:30, Nut House Pizza (Wheaton) 15:00 winter; Nut House and Siena's Pizzeria (Rockville) reopen after Shabbat. Sephardic option: Magen David Sephardic, 11215 Woodglen Dr, North Bethesda, 301-770-6818 (times not confirmed).
• Chabad meals and services: TheSHUL (Leroy Pl) has Kabbalat Shabbat at 6:00 PM in winter and Shabbat morning at 9:30 AM with Kiddush (RSVP by Thursday 10 AM); Shabbat meals are not offered every week, so register at dcshabbat.com or text 202-744-3119. Chabad East DC serves a Shabbat dinner every Friday night (register at chabadeastdc.com; its Shabbat morning service runs only on the second Shabbat of the month). Chabad East DC also says STREETS Market, Giant, Trader Joe's, Shalom Kosher and Moti's deliver kosher groceries.
• Not listed because unconfirmed (not because closed): Soupergirl (1829 M St NW, 202-733-4401) is a vegan soup shop that reviewers call kosher, but it is not on the DC Kosher or Vaad lists read and no hechsher was found. Four Seasons Georgetown and Rosewood are not on Kesher's hotel list and Google, TripAdvisor and Booking.com checks (Nov 2026) show no Shabbat information. Avenue Suites (2500 Pennsylvania Ave NW, 202-333-8060) and The Melrose (2430 Pennsylvania Ave NW, 202-955-6400) are open per Google; Kesher lists them with no notes, TotallyJewishTravel tags Avenue Suites 'non-kosher, observant friendly' about 9 minutes from Kesher, and guests report in-suite kitchens there; they are not added as hotels (the list is at 8). DC Minyan and other lay-led partnership minyanim are left out of the Orthodox list.
• Times not found online as of Nov 2026 (checked kesher.org, nationalsynagogue.org (robots-blocked), ostns.org, Google reviews, TotallyJewishTravel, jconnect and search): Kesher's current Friday and Shabbat clock times (its Davening Times and calendar pages are not readable, so times above come from older event and holiday-calendar pages and the November Friday time is a pattern, not posted), Ohev Sholom winter times (ostns.org shows only a July 2025 schedule), Chabad GW Shabbat morning, and Kemp Mill and Young Israel Shomrai Emunah Shabbat times. Call Kesher on 202-333-2337. Websites: chabaddc.org is now a parked domain, not Chabad DC's site (TheSHUL's own site is jewishwashington.com, readable 1 Nov 2026); chabadcapitolhill.org is Chabad of Seattle's Capitol Hill, not Chabad East DC (chabadeastdc.com).

Seen in older guides, checked Nov 2026: Shouk (Israeli chain, DC and Rockville): Jewish Insider (Aug 2026) says its last two locations closed in 2025 · Oro Nami kosher sushi (2512 Pennsylvania Ave NW): opened 2025 and closed May 2026 per Jewish Insider, but still on the Vaad's restaurant page · Kimpton Palomar (2121 P St NW) is now The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle, and Embassy Row Hotel is now The Ven at Embassy Row (Booking.com)