This Southern-leaning bistro in family-friendly Chevy Chase is walking distance to the Avalon movie theater. The three-course “Pre-Theater and Pre-Homework” menu ($35 per person) runs from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with options including French onion soup, mushroom risotto, and a chocolate chip cookie with bourbon milk.

Snag some high-quality Indian food with a$37 menu,服務until 6:30 p.m. Choices include their famous palak chaat (fried spinach) along with tandoori salmon, chicken makhani, and desserts like black rice pudding with cardamom ice cream. The menu is also available at the original Penn Quarter location.

This little Georgetown charmer serves a “Sunset Menu” from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Monday through Thursday). For a reasonable $25, guests select from a large menu of familiar Italian primi and main dishes like chicken Parm and spaghetti carbonara, followed by tiramisu for dessert.

This elegant Georgetown waterfront restaurant from Fabbio Trabocchi may be best known as a watering hole for District power brokers and see-and-be-seen types. But the restaurant also offers a $45 pre-theater menu from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Dig into some pasta, then catch a movie at neighboring AMC, or a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Sleek Kingbird in the Watergate hotel is walkable to the Kennedy Center. The restaurant offers a $56 pre-theater menu between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., with a wine pairing for additional $35. The three-course menu features sophisticated, French-influenced American food like tuna carpaccio and lamb shoulder confit.

The Willard Intercontinental’s Café du Parc is within a block of the Warner and National Theaters. The classic French brasserie offers a three-course pre-theater menu ($52) full of familiar favorites. Current dishes include French onion soup, boeuf bourguignon, roast chicken, and sesame-crusted yellowfin. There is a nice patio in good weather.

Diners at the former Poste space at Hotel Monaco can order a $39 three-course pre-theater menu before heading to a show at nearby Ford’s Theater, Woolly Mammoth, Shakespeare Theatre Company, movie theaters, and Capital One Arena. Served daily between 5 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., the seasonal, Asian-influenced menu always includes a variety of appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

José Andrés’s Jaleo is still one of D.C.'s go-to spots for Spanish tapas. The $30 pre-show menu includes three tapas like shrimp, scallops, and sausage, as well as a dessert. It's available Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Head to the Southwest Waterfront before 6:30 p.m. to take advantage of this Indian restaurant's special for $35. Try the makrut lime and basil chicken tikka or the baby eggplant and jalapeno in peanut and sesame sauce. Round it out with a choice of Indian dessert. As a bonus, all bottles of wine are half price with the pre-theater menu.