Beyond the museums and monuments, Washington, DC, is a remarkably international city with one of the USA’s most exciting dining scenes.

At a glance: the restaurants you don’t want to miss

• Maketto: At the eastern end of H Street, this Taiwanese-Cambodian fusion restaurant dishes up rich scallop curries and fluffy spring onion pancakes, but the undisputed standout is the fried chicken. Chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s signature dish is marinated in Thai basil and kroeung curry paste, then double-fried in light Taiwanese batter and drizzled with five-spice caramel sauce to create a flavour explosion.
• Yellow: “This way habibis," beckons a sign in front of this modern Levantine cafe with an outpost in Georgetown. Expect fluffy housemade pitas stuffed with flavourful grilled meats, creamy labneh soft serve and moreish hummus spiked with flavours like date molasses and spring onion. Grab a baklava mocha with rose and orange blossom water to go, then join the crowds of shoppers on the cobblestoned streets outside.
• Ben’s Chili Bowl: Perhaps the most beloved venue in DC, this classic diner has been serving juicy burgers, thick hand-spun shakes and the famous half smoke since 1958. The beef and pork sausage with a secret blend of Caribbean spices is topped with the signature homemade chili, and Obama famously ate here in his first public appearance as president-elect; his photo is just one of dozens that adorn the walls.

A smooth-voiced crooner serenades me with mellow bossa nova tunes as a beanie-clad waiter straight out of a Wes Anderson movie takes my order from a drinks list offering 60 types of cachaça. Green corduroy booths, burnt-orange upholstery and tan vinyl stools evoke a glamorous 1970s Brazil aesthetic, but the thoroughly modern share plates include coxinha (croquettes) filled with rendered duck leg, ravioli-like pastel de palmito, and slices of hamachi crudo with charred mango, coconut leche de tigre and togarashi farofa.

I can almost smell the ocean inside Bar Cana, but the moment I step outside I’m back in the hip Adams Morgan neighbourhood among the Ethiopian, Korean and Italian restaurants that share the street with tarot readers and weed dispensaries. This is Washington, DC, where the dining scene never fails to surprise.

I’ve been a regular visitor since my dad moved to the US capital 20 years ago, and my first trips were dominated by the city’s instantly recognisable monuments and sprawling museums. But I soon learned that the fast-moving dining scene is every bit as interesting. Global diplomatic connections, large diaspora communities and a constant stream of new arrivals have turned the city into a food mecca. And because an excellent Metro system makes DC one of the few US cities where you can comfortably live without a car, it’s easy to explore as a visitor.

The impact of international diplomacy

Despite a population of 700,000, DC boasts more than 180 embassies and is home to people from every corner of the globe. The connection between those embassies and the food scene is longstanding and stretches across every price point. Beloved neighbourhood institution Mama Ayesha’s was founded by the former cook for the Syrian Embassy in 1960, while two Michelin-starred Jônt sources some hard-to-find specialty ingredients directly through the Japanese Embassy.

But even in DC, “there’s not a market for a pure Finnish restaurant," admits Mikko Kosonen. After serving as executive chef to four Finnish ambassadors over 16 years, he decided to open his own venue on a leafy residential street in Dupont Circle. At Mikko, he cures his own gravlax in the more savoury Finnish style but fleshes out the menu with Swedish staples like skagen shrimp salad and a salted licorice ice cream that distils the quintessentially Nordic flavour into an unforgettable dessert.

For sensory dining

“The thing that makes DC different is that it’s smaller but people are more willing to try things," says Haitian-born chef Sebastien Salomon, who has worked at both the White House and the Haitian Embassy. “A lot of people are living here in passing for a few years, and we have a very big immigrant population… I call it New York’s younger cousin." That made it the natural location for the soon-to-open Itiyah. This Haitian fine diner will foreground open fires, traditional spices and storytelling that honours the food’s French, Spanish, African and Native American influences.

At El Cielo, the Experience tasting menu is a full sensory journey. The DC outpost of the Michelin-starred Colombian restaurant draws inspiration and ingredients from the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, Andean mountains and the Amazon jungle. But the most memorable moment arrives when waiters bathe my hands in cherry-flavoured chocolate and invite me to lick it off before exfoliating with a coffee scrub, while a fruity pour-over coffee is served alongside replica golden Muisca ornaments bathed in dry ice fog to evoke a misty mountain morning.

For seafood lovers

For Aussie Fiona Lewis, one major advantage of being in a smaller city is the access to produce from surrounding regions. Lewis runs The District Fishwife in the Union Market food hall, and sources much of her catch from Chesapeake Bay and the mid-Atlantic. She raves about the quality of the sweet, fatty Maryland blue crabs (“the best blue crab in the world"), buttery rockfish and creamy Chesapeake oysters, and the store reflects DC’s multicultural background with shrimp pupusas and bahn mi alongside poke bowls and classic Aussie fish and chips.

A few kilometres to the south, Fish Shop in the revitalised Wharf development lets diners look out over the Potomac River from a large outdoor patio. An offshoot of the Scottish restaurant that counts King Charles and Camilla as fans, it puts a local spin on snacks like Maryland crab crumpets and tater tots crowned with tuna tartare, while the crispy whole snapper coated in zingy jerk seasoning is a standout.

For the cuisine curious

DC’s internationalism extends well beyond Embassy Row, and some of the city’s most exciting food comes from communities that have lived in the capital for generations. The largest diaspora population outside of Ethiopia means, “Ethiopian food has been in DC since the 70s and people are used to it; it’s like going out for pizza," says Ethiopic owner Meseret Bekele. But even DC diners familiar with spongy injera bread, finely spiced stews and seriously strong coffee will find something new at Mita Cafe, where traditional Ethiopian dishes are served alongside sushi and gyudon bowls prepared by a couple who worked together at the Japanese embassy in Ethiopia.

Grilled pupusas stuffed with cheese, beans and pork are a legacy of the large Salvadoran population, but plenty of smaller communities are also well-represented. At Cane, dangerously smooth rum cocktails accompany Trinidadian street plates humming with spices. The juicy ground beef that fills golden-fried Trini pies is so well seasoned you can see it in every bite, while the tiffin tins come with sauces ranging from sweet mango chutney and cooling culantro (a more pungent relative of coriander) to a ferocious pepper sauce.

Step outside onto buzzy H Street NE and you’ll find Nepalese, Jamaican and Cambodian-Taiwanese fusion restaurants sharing space with sushi joints and taquerias, all packed with young, curious diners making the most of their time in the city. It’s all part of a typical night out in DC, where you can cross continents on the Metro and there’s always somewhere new to discover.