Critics declared this quirky little labor of love in Barracks Row one of D.C.’s best restaurants almost as soon as it opened in October 2013. America’s “best new restaurant” (Bon Appétit magazine 2014), and “Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic” (2016 James Beard Foundation Award) are among the many accolades both the restaurant and its chef/owner Aaron Silverman have received. Its success comes down to endearing service, an eclectic decor of antiques and pretty fabrics and china, and a simple menu of unexpected taste combinations. Though the menu changes frequently, it almost always includes a pork sausage, habañero, and lychee salad among its small plates, and at least one family-style dish intended for two to four diners to share. Rose’s does not accept reservations for parties of fewer than six people, a policy a lot of people really hate. The thing to do is to arrive an hour in advance of the time you’d like to eat, get on the list and give the receptionist your cellphone number, then head upstairs to the cute bar for a drink, or wander 8th Street until the restaurant calls to say your table is ready. Rose’s siblings, the luxe Pineapple and Pearls right next door, and the precious and affordable Little Pearl one street over, do accept reservations.