Tucked inside the Four Seasons Hotel, Seasons is graced frequently by VIPs. While lunch and dinner are popular, it's first thing in the morning when the room is filled with the whispers of tomorrow's headlines. Look for regulars like Mayor Adrien Fenty, Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice. They come for oatmeal and berries and chef Doug Anderson's four-part breakfast "sampler."

For more information: Four Seasons Hotel

The Willard Room sets the gold standard for formality and discretion in the nation's capital. A few feet away from the hotel lobby that inspired the term "lobbyist," the Willard Room boasts a classical American menu and an inspired wine list assembled by one of the city's best sommeliers, Caterina Abbruzzetti. She works in concert with chef Nicolas Legret to pair unexpected but poetic matches, but don't go back to K Street in a hurry. Here, the refinement begs for time and company, and power brokers have no choice but to succumb to pleasure.

For more information: Willard Intercontinental

While much has diversified on the D.C. dining scene in the last few years, the Prime Rib remains a dimly lit pantheon to red meat and whispered deals. While the house rule of jackets and ties for men remains intact after 5:30 p.m., the restrictions have loosened at lunchtime. This is classic D.C. power dining, with oak-lined walls, live piano music and dry martinis that are pure American supper club. The eponymous entree is a whopping piece of aged grass-fed beef that, like the power lunch itself, is not for weaklings.

For more information: The Prime Rib

For more than 35 years Tommy Jacomo has been serving lobsters to lobbyists—and then some—at the Palm. If the Hill is one ring of the federal circus, and media and law are the others: Jacomo is the Barnum. His crackle and wit keep the show going on. Ask for his recommendations when making your reservation. If it's pure business, he'll advise you sit in the back; if it's a celebration, he'll save you a window seat. It is rumored more than 200,000 lawyers call greater Washington D.C. their home. If so, Jacomo must have seated each one at least once.

For more information: The Palm

After 8 p.m., Washington drops all formalities and loosens its ties at Franco Nuschese's Italian trattoria where across-the-aisle diners from Newt Gingrich to Michelle Obama indulge in antipasti, light pastas and grilled fish. Incidentally, the Georgetown restaurant also serves as the celebrity hub when films are being shot on location, or stars with political causes exchange the Hollywood Hills for Capitol Hill.

For more information: Cafe Milano

Want face time with your senator? Chances are he or she will stop by the Hill's most popular power spot when the House is in session. Since 2003, Charlie Palmer's eponymous steakhouse, and its cellar of 10,000 exclusively American wines, have been the toast of Capitol Hill. The restaurant hosts the majority of signature fundraisers on their rooftop terrace, where the mini-burger is the suits' choice of canapé.

For more information: Charlie Palmer

The name of Laurent Tourendel's sleek spot on I Street promises a beefy evening. Still, icy platters laden with shellfish are a popular draw for K Street's master spinners. Those in the know look to the blackboard and cherry-pick a selection of cold seafood and one of the signature steaks thereafter. The combination of American casual and Continental bistro draws an attractive crowd who dig the spare look. Despite the updates, this is a steakhouse unafraid of the classics. So chill the oysters, sear the steak and keep the spinach creamed.

For more information: BLT Steak

French classics and Chesapeake favorites blend seamlessly at chef Eric Ripert's new outpost in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in midtown. There are no two ways about it: Here, the crab cakes are king. The Westend Bistro is surprisingly intimate. This is the place to toss a tie over your shoulder and bite into a burger. You won't be alone. Senator Harry Reid is a frequent guest, as is Matt Lauer when he's in town.

For more information: The Westend Bistro

Chef Wolfgang Puck is serious about serving the nation's movers-and-shakers. To wit, his brother Klaus is in charge of operations. Find young power brokers enjoying Puck's signature pizzas at the bar and look for the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid enjoying refined pan-Asian in the formal dining rooms upstairs. Fittingly for newsmakers, the restaurant hovers inside the Newseum, a museum for the history of news.

For more information: Wolfgang Puck

Restaurateur and journalist Carol Joynt welcomes bold-faced names at Nathan's for a power lunch with a twist. Once every few weeks in September through June, Joynt hosts the Q&A Café; with past guests such as Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw, it might also be called "Eat the Press." Reserve in advance for a $30 lunch where insiders answer questions from Joynt and the audience.

For more information: Nathan's