Where to Order a Not-So-Home-Cooked Meal in D.C. for Rosh Hashanah + Yom Kippur

Skip the kitchen and order juicy brisket, festive honey and apple dishes and other high holiday favorites.

The high holidays are approaching quickly and whether or not you’ve figured out where you’ll attend services, the next critical move is to figure out where you’re getting food. A proper Jewish brisket, perfectly soft challah and indescribably comforting matzoh ball soup are all wonderful when home cooked, but they’re just as delicious and makes life so much easier when made by someone else. 

From ordering a meal full of apples, honey and kugel for Rosh Hashanah — which starts on the evening of Friday, September 15 and goes through Sunday, September 17 — to making sure you’re ready for a proper break fast on September 25 after the day of atonement and fasting of Yom Kippur, here are five restaurants preparing high holiday meals. 

SABABA

Cleveland Park’s own modern Israeli restaurant and Michelin Bib Gourmand winner SABABA is offering menus for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The festive Rosh Hashanah menu will include roasted haloumi with honey and apple marmalade; golden beet and pomegranate salad over a citrus labneh; salmon braised with chraimeh sauce and olives; and braised beef brisket with carrot, sweet potato and walnut tzimmes. 

For those looking for a big meal before the Yom Kippur fast or as a break fast meal, Executive Chef Ryan Moore is serving special dishes including Israeli couscous salad, heirloom carrots al’heash, sumac-crusted salmon and schmaltz-braised lamb roulade.

3311 Connecticut Ave. NW, DC; sababauptown.com // @sababadc

Call Your Mother

Everyone’s favorite Jew-ish bagel spot is back with menus for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year. For the Jewish New Year, you can order a brisket dinner box with braised brisket; pastrami fried rice; honey-sesame roasted carrots; cucumber, tomato, and peach salad; and house-baked round challah. Add on a latke platter, apple cake and wildflower honey gelato for the perfect Rosh Hashanah meal. 

Yom Kippur is, of course, the time to order from a bagel shop. CYM has several bagel platters to choose from with spreads including whitefish salad and candied salmon cream cheese. Don’t miss their za’atar bagel, and tack on a pastry platter to get your fill of babka muffins, macaroons and black and white cookies.

Various locations; callyourmotherdeli.com // @callyourmotherdeli

Joe’s Stone Crab

This D.C. institution is a long-time favorite of those ordering classic Jewish holiday meals, and this year their Rosh Hashanah menu includes all of the traditional dishes you remember from your grandparents’ holiday table.There’s gefilte fish with red beet horseradish, chopped liver and Suzy Friedman’s vegetarian chopped liver and matzoh ball soup, in addition to mains including herb-roasted chicken and braised short rib.

750 15th St. NW, DC; joes.net // @joesseafood

Teddy & The Bully Bar

The Rosh Hashanah menu at Teddy & The Bully Bar is full of all the classic dishes, but with an updated spin. There are golden and red beet tzimmes, matzoh ball soup, gelfite fish, chopped chicken liver and potato and butternut squash latkes. You can get savory brisket, brook trout with butternut squash and brown butter flavors, chicken or salmon, and, of course, there’s honey cake to usher in the sweetness of the new year.

1200 19th St. NW, DC; teddyandthebullybar.com // @teddyandthebullybar

Schlow Restaurant Group

Prefer the sweeter side of things? Schlow Restaurant Group‘s Pastry Chef Alex Levin is crafting mouth-watering desserts for Rosh Hashanah pick-up, including honey challah, hazelnut chocolate crunch rugelach, apple butter honey cake, and caramelized banana bread. These artisanal and festive baked goods will be available for pick-up at Nama Ko (1926 14th St. NW) or Alta Strada Mosaic (2911 District Ave. Fairfax, VA) between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. on September 14 and 15. 

schlowrg.com // @schlowrg

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Heather Bien