Find made-in-DC baked goods, fresh seafood, international cuisines and boutique shopping – all within walking distance.
It’s a Sunday afternoon at NoMa’s Union Market. A couple downs dumplings from Laoban Dumplings while, nearby, a tween struggles to eat a taco while walking. There’s a line forming for confections from District Doughnut.
Welcome to DC’s hippest feasting ground, a revived mid-century produce- and meat-selling bazaar that holds food stalls, informal restaurants and kitchenware boutiques.
Chowing Down
Since it was restored and reopened in 2012, the industrial-cool space has grown to include 40-plus vendors, from pop-up dumpling stands to permanent fixtures like Buffalo & Bergen, a throwback, Brooklyn diner-inspired spot where you can munch bagels and slurp egg creams at a long bar. Other businesses offer takeout to eat at indoor or outdoor tables; try TaKorean for addictive bulgogi beef tacos and Puddin' for decadent shrimp ‘n' grits.
Stocking Up
This is also a place to stock your kitchen pantry and browse unique goods. Salt & Sundry offers artisanal cocktail mixers, crafty tableware, eccentric greeting cards and more; District Cutlery, DC's only high-performance knife shop, sharpens the local culinary scene; while Jungle & Loom blooms with houseplants, related accessories and vintage glassware.
Mercado, Arte & Cultura
Across from the Union Market building is La Cosecha, a contemporary Latin American marketplace. Open daily, the market is home to all sorts of merchants and culinary experiences, from made-to-order Salvadoran pupusas and Panamanian coffee roasters to Mexican fine dining and vegan Bolivian fare.
Keep an eye on the events calendar for live music, social dancing and more.
Other Attractions Near Union Market
Also in the market’s orbit is Dock5, a top-floor event space that hosts periodic events like American-made clothing festivals. Outside of the market is a heart-filled mural that LA-based graffiti artist Mr. Brainwash created for International Women’s Day in 2015. The mural has quickly become one of the neighborhood’s most Instagrammable images (even First Lady Michelle Obama had her photo taken there). There's also a text-based mural from Yoko Ono, designed specifically for the market in a partnership with the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum.
Adjacent to the market, other similarly taste-obsessed businesses thrive. Slick, dinner-only Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Masseria plates fixed-price menus dreamed up by star chef Nicholas Stefanelli – think porcini mushroom and parmigiano risotto or a caviar-accented burrata appetizer. The Puglia-inspired digs include a buzzy outdoor patio area with firepits and colorful tiled floors and a glowing indoor dining room with a wall of wine. Savor traditional sushi and sophisticated small plates at O-Ku, which also features a quaint rooftop and omakase experience.
Cotton & Reed
Nearby, DC diners can feast on the finest grilled dishes at St. Anselm. There's also Cotton & Reed – one of many local distilleries you should know about – where two former NASA employees are producing rum in a creatively outfitted former ice warehouse.
Once you’re through making your Union Market discoveries, explore the rest of the NoMa neighborhood.
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