Queen’s English

The Verdict

If you have already been to Queen's English once, you already know whether to go back; and the answer is almost certainly yes. What changes on a return visit is your confidence ordering from the more adventurous end of the menu, your understanding of when to arrive. Chef Henji Cheung's Columbia Heights room is one of the more considered modern Hong Kong dining experiences in Washington, D.C. and at the $$ price point (roughly $40–$65 for a typical two-course dinner before drinks), it holds its position with very little competition at this tier. A Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024 and a ranking of #845 in Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list the same year (climbing to #861 in 2025) confirm what regular guests have known for some time: this is a serious kitchen operating at a price point well below what the cooking warrants.

The Room

The first thing you register walking into Queen's English is the yellow neon sign at the entrance; a deliberate visual contrast to the restrained interior behind it. White floors, blue banquettes, sleek metal stools create a room that reads calm rather than stark. The counter is intricately decorated and worth requesting if you are dining solo or as a pair; it puts you in direct view of the kitchen's rhythm. Geometric screens frame several nooks throughout the space, which are the closest thing Queen's English has to a private or semi-private dining configuration. For a special occasion where you want some separation from the main room, one of these nooks is worth requesting at booking, they provide a noticeably different experience from the open counter or central tables, with enough visual privacy to make a celebration dinner feel considered without the formality of a dedicated private room. This is not a venue with a formal private dining programme, so groups expecting a dedicated buyout or separate room should look elsewhere. But for two to four people marking something worth marking, the screened nooks do the work.

The Food and Drink

The menu runs through modern Hong Kong cooking with high-heat wok technique as its backbone. Dishes on the current menu include a lotus root salad with anchovy dust and charred tomato vinaigrette, cured hamachi with cumin and seaweed oil over watermelon, Wagyu rosettes poached in mala broth, finished with duck egg yolk and soy foam. These are not approximations of Cantonese classics; they are their own compositions using the logic of Hong Kong cooking as a starting framework. For reference points in other cities, the approach has some kinship with what Mister Jiu's does in San Francisco and what Restaurant Tim Raue does in Berlin, Chinese technique reframed through a fine-dining sensibility without abandoning its roots. In D.C. specifically, Tiger Fork covers some adjacent Hong Kong-style ground, but Queen's English operates with more technical ambition.

Wine list is handled by Wine Director Fahd Alaoui and runs to around 450 selections with an inventory of approximately 3,000 bottles. Strengths are California, Burgundy, Bordeaux. Pricing is mid-range ($$ on OAD's scale), meaning there is a spread of accessible bottles alongside the higher-end options. Corkage is $35 if you prefer to bring your own. For a $$ dinner, the list is more developed than you would typically expect, it rewards those who engage with it rather than defaulting to the wine-by-the-glass options.

Booking and Timing

Queen's English is open Tuesday through Friday evenings, with slightly extended hours on Friday and Saturday (5–9:30 pm) compared to Tuesday through Thursday (5:30–8:30 pm). It is closed Sunday and Monday. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, which means you are unlikely to need weeks of lead time for a midweek table, though Friday and Saturday slots will fill faster. For a special occasion, a Friday or Saturday reservation in one of the screened nooks gives you the leading version of the room, more time, a more animated service pace, the full kitchen range. Midweek is the right call if you want a quieter table and more attentive pacing. The restaurant seats a limited number of covers given its size, so booking ahead rather than walking in is always the right approach.

For more dining options nearby, see our full Washington, D.C. restaurants guide. You can also explore D.C. bars, D.C. hotels, D.C. wineries, and D.C. experiences.

Traditional Cantonese in the city is handled well by Peking Gourmet Inn, which sits at a different register entirely, more about classic preparation than modern reinterpretation. If your interest is specifically in the Hong Kong-style wok cooking that Queen's English does, there is no direct equivalent in D.C. at this price point.

Quick reference: Dinner only, Tue–Sat; $$ per head; Bib Gourmand 2024; OAD Casual North America #861 (2025); wine list 450 selections, corkage $35; booking easy; screened nooks available for semi-private seating.