The Most Beloved Restaurants Of Former US Presidents

No matter how hectic life gets, presidents need to eat. The when, where, and how of it has varied, but restaurants have always been part of the conversation. Midnight huddles in Revolutionary-era America didn't happen at home — they took place inside taverns over food and drink. Some of our presidents loved the casual comfort of a Chinese restaurant while others preferred to rub shoulders with the glitterati at high-profile establishments. We're almost onto our 47th president, so perhaps it's time to reflect on the dining out habits of presidents from the past. 

Not all presidents were keen on dining out. Franklin D. Roosevelt was content to eat grilled cheese at his desk and James Buchanan was a lover of sauerkraut and dinner parties (perhaps at the same time). The presidents who did embrace restaurant culture made a point to dine at restaurants they enjoyed. In several instances, presidents favored certain restaurants because the food reminded them of home. In contrast, some presidential haunts reflect the worldly palates of our globe-trotting commanders-in-chief. 

Having the president as a repeat customer has given many restaurants a major legacy boost. In an age where the internet has steered our opinions about a restaurant's reputation and the dining industry in general, it's interesting to learn more about the places our nation's leaders looked to when they wanted to eat and drink out. These are some of the most beloved restaurants that fed our former presidents.

You won't hear the pounding of horse hooves outside Fraunces Tavern anymore, but you can step back in time if you drop by for a visit. The historic institution, which still stands in lower Manhattan, was built in 1719 — before America even existed. It also set the scene for some epic Revolutionary-era moments. In 1774, the Sons of Liberty, an angsty secret society of colonists that included future President John Adams, brewery icon Samuel Adams, and midnight rider Paul Revere, plotted the New York Tea Party within Fraunces Tavern's walls. A year later, a British warship sent an 18-pound cannonball through the tavern's roof.

Fraunces Tavern was owned by Samuel Fraunces, who bought the building in 1762 and originally operated under the name Queen's Head Tavern. During the British occupation of New York in the mid-1770s, Fraunces was forced to cook for British generals who enjoyed the tavern's hospitality, no matter how strained. When British troops finally evacuated in November 1783, Governor George Clinton marked the occasion with a soirée at Fraunces Tavern. During the festivities, George Washington bid farewell to his fellow officers in a mic-drop-worthy speech that brought war-hardened soldiers to tears. Today, the building is part tavern, part museum.

frauncestavern.com

212-968-1776

54 Pearl St, New York, NY 10004

First President George Washington was all about the tavern life, and not just with his soldier friends, he dined there with his wife Martha, too. Gadsby's Tavern in his hometown of Alexandria, Virginia was a favorite. English-born John Gadsby operated the tavern and hotel beginning in 1796. It was a din of activity centered around Alexandria's port-based economy and relied on a workforce of enslaved people to keep its hospitality at a high standard. The five presidents who succeeded Washington (Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Quincy Adams), all dined at Gadsby's.

Gasdby's biggest night of the year was its annual Birthnight Ball, thrown in honor of Washington's birthday in February. Since Washington was busy being president when the tradition began, he didn't actually attend one at Gadsby's until 1798 and again in 1799, 10 months before his death. The dress-to-impress event was filled with food, late-night dancing, and lots of attendees. Historical accounts suggest that Washington had some killer dance moves.

Today, Gadsby's is a museum and a registered National Historic Landmark. The museum offers guided tours and you can stay for a meal at the colonial-inspired Gadsby's Tavern restaurant. The museum still hosts a  Birthnight Ball every February, and it's a hot-ticket event.

alexandriava.gov/GadsbysTavern

703-746-4242

134 N Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314

If it's a historic tavern on the East Coast, George Washington has probably been there. Philadelphia's City Tavern was one of Washington's go-to places. It opened in 1773 and was a well-known meet up spot for America's earliest politicians, who headed in to talk business before and after congressional meetings. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Philly's native son Benjamin Franklin all ate and drank at City Tavern, which closed in 2021.

One night in 1787, City Tavern hosted a party for soon-to-be president Washington and the founding fathers really let their wigs down. The bar tab for the event (which was attended by Washington and 54 guests) still exists, and it's no joke. The men drank 54 bottles of Madeira wine, 60 bottles of Claret, eight bottles of whiskey, eight bottles of cider, 12 bottles of beer, and seven bowls of alcoholic punch. Dinner was also served that night, but the bar tab alone totaled 89 pounds, four shillings, and two pence. That would be around $15,400 in today's currency.

Founding Father and third President Thomas Jefferson was a man of refined and at times extravagant tastes. When he served as an American diplomat to France in the 1780s, Jefferson took to the Parisian food scene like a duck to water. Sampling fine French wines and tasting the nouvelle cuisine that was burgeoning in France at the time promptly turned Jefferson into a Francophile. Among the many places he visited and foods he tried was Champ d'Oiseau, generally considered to be the world's first restaurant.

Champ d'Oiseau opened in 1765 on Rue des Poulies, or what is now known as Rue du Louvre. It wasn't a fancy place; it specialized in dishes meant to restore and replenish those who consumed them. Champ d'Oiseau prepared items like eggs, pasta, and semolina cakes. Its signature dish was poultry with chicken sauce.

Jefferson brought his love affair with French gastronomy back home. That, and 680 bottles of wine. He installed a stove in his Monticello kitchen like the ones he'd seen in France. He had olive oil, mustard, cheese, anchovies, and a pasta maker shipped from overseas and sent his enslaved cook, James Hemings, on apprenticeships to finesse his culinary skills. Jefferson's White House dinners were steeped in French influence and accented with the finest wines — he did have quite the collection after all.

Until very recently, 22nd and 24th President Grover Cleveland was the only U.S. president to win two non-consecutive presidential elections. The first time he did it was in 1884. After heading to the polls on Election Day that year, Cleveland had breakfast at one of his favorite local eateries, Gerot's French Restaurant in Buffalo, New York. Cleveland moved to Buffalo in the 1850s before it was the bustling city it became. In his decades spent there, he was a regular of the restaurants downtown.

Gerot's French Restaurant was demolished, but it used to be on the corner of Swan and Washington Streets. The restaurant's signage boasted poultry, game, and oysters and in August 1884, it advertised a lunch counter that sold sandwiches, salads, and cold cuts in the afternoon to accommodate businessmen in the area — men like Cleveland. Before assuming the presidency, Cleveland served as mayor of Buffalo and the governor of New York.

Cleveland's fondness for restaurants had a lot to do with him being one of our first urbanite presidents. In his lawyer days, he worked and lived in downtown Buffalo, dwelling in an apartment building and frequenting nearby restaurants in favor of cooking at home. Gerot's French Restaurant was one of the premier places Cleveland went to satisfy his robust appetite.

Chinese-American dishes like chop suey and chow mein have been around since the 1890s when Chinese restaurants were gaining their foothold in America. It was also the decade in which 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born. Eisenhower likely discovered his love for Chinese-American fare while serving in the military, where chop suey was a popular mess hall dish. As an army major stationed in Washington, D.C., he fell in love with a restaurant on Columbia Road called Sun Chop Suey Restaurant.

Eisenhower was a regular at Sun Chop Suey Restaurant, and came in to eat with his wife Mamie and their young son. His favorite menu item was the chicken chop suey and it didn't deviate from it. In fact, the only reason Eisenhower deviated from Sun Chop Suey at all was to fight in World War II.

While residing at the White House, Eisenhower remained a devotee of Sun Chop Suey. The F.B.I. were aware of how much he adored the food there so they took the liberty of investigating all of the restaurant's employees. No harm ever came to President Eisenhower at his beloved restaurant.

President John F. Kennedy's affinity for Union Oyster House has become the stuff of legends. While representing Massachusetts in the House and later the Senate, Kennedy made a habit of popping into Union Oyster House on weekend afternoons. The owners always gave him his favorite booth on the restaurant's second floor where he could read the newspaper and feast on lobster stew in private. A plaque designating it the "Kennedy Booth" hangs there in his memory.

Kennedy was Union Oyster House's top-tier VIP guest, but he was one of several presidents to dine there. Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama have all sampled the fare of the legendary seafood restaurant. Union Oyster House was established in 1826 and is one of the nation's oldest continually operating restaurants. Be it the restaurant's age, the lore of Kennedy in the upstairs booth or a mix of the two, some believe that he might still be at Union Oyster House in spirit. Sightings of Kennedy's ghost have been reported in the dining room and the bathrooms of the venerable restaurant.

The smoked meats coming out of Cooper's Pit Bar-B-Q in Llano Texas could inspire a yee-haw out of just about anybody. The vintage barbeque joint is Texan through and through, specializing in smothered ribs, brisket, and chops fit for even the most discerning cowboy. And since real recognizes real, former presidents from the Lone Star State have been ready and willing to feast on what Cooper's Pit was serving up.

In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson rolled up to Cooper's in his Lincoln, hungry for some coal-fired barbecue, and he was onto something. When George W. Bush won the presidential election in 2000, he asked Cooper's to cater his party at Crawford Ranch, which brought a lot of publicity the restaurant's way. Cooper's Original Pit Bar-B-Q opened as a stand in Mason, Texas in 1953. In addition to the one in Llano, there are Cooper's Pit locations in Austin, College Station, Fort Worth, and New Braunfels.

coopersbbqllano.com

325-247-5713

L604 W Young St, Llano, TX 78643

He didn't feel comfortable in a lot of places, but Tricky Dick could loosen up at Trader Vic's. The tiki-style restaurant & bar located in the basement of the Hilton Hotel from 1961 to 1995 served countless politicians, with Nixon's visits being some of the most notorious. Things started out innocently enough. Nixon first dined there for a Valentine's Day family dinner in 1973 and gorged on Polynesian-inspired fare while sipping mai tais and Chinese tea.

Nixon hadn't told his family he was hiding a secret. By 1974, his involvement in the Watergate Scandal two years earlier was unraveling his presidency and his future political career. When he felt he had no one to turn to, he would head over to Trader Vic's in the presidential limo for some late night drinks. The Secret Service would alert Trader Vic's owners of Nixon's impending visit so they could clear customers out. Over a couple of Navy Grogs, Nixon would ponder morosely and the bartender would listen.

Jimmy Carter was a big fan of his late wife Rosalynn's cooking and relished in the simple pleasure of consuming a sleeve of saltines with butter before dinner. The former president is a country boy at heart who isn't as big on restaurant dining as other presidents. Unless someone suggests grabbing food from Bonita's Restaurant in Carter's lifelong home of Plains, Georgia. Then he's interested.

Carter has been known to go crazy for a plate of fried catfish and thinks Bonita's is unmatched. Bonita's is primarily a carry-out joint and has a truly devoted customer in Carter, who is officially a centenarian. When Carter puts in an order for fried catfish, the restaurant delivers it to his home, which in Plains — a town of roughly 575 residents, isn't too far away.

Chef Bonita Hightower is a home cook extraordinaire who makes every customer's order on her own, from scratch. With encouragement from her husband, Hightower opened the soul food restaurant in February 2020, meaning times got tough for the business almost immediately. Hightower doesn't know how Carter found out about her restaurant, but he did — and he loves it. 

facebook.com/bonitahightowet

229-938-7208

203 E Church St, Plains, GA 317780

Obama absorbs the spotlight in the foodie presidents conversation (Chester A. Arthur's refined palette gets the odd shoutout), but we're forgetting someone. George H.W. Bush was a fully-realized gourmand in his own right, and like Obama's good-natured approach to dining out, Bush was gracious and friendly to those he encountered in restaurants. Bush frequented Maine eateries while summering in Kennebunkport and was a fan of steakhouse hotspots like The Palm. Yet the restaurant he loved above all others was Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church, Virginia.

It's not often that a Secret Service detail rolls into a strip mall, unless of course that strip mall is the one that's home to Peking Gourmet Inn. During his tenure as the 41st president, Bush dined at Peking Gourmet Inn more than any other restaurant. After his first visit in 1985, Bush wrote a letter to the owner's father to let him know the food and service were exceptional. His favorite was the combination meal with Peking duck, spicy shredded beef, lamb chops, and jumbo shrimp. It became known as the Bush Standard Menu.

Owner George Tsui says Bush has eaten at Peking Gourmet Inn over 100 times. Bush and wife Barbara became close friends with the owner. After Bush's death in 2018, Tsui told KHOU11, "Not only was he a great president, but also, I lost a good friend."

pekinggourmet.com

703-671-8088

6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041

Barack Obama is our only president to hail from Hawaii, and his favorite restaurant, Alan Wong's in Honolulu, was uniquely Hawaiian. The restaurant was masterful as fusing fine dining techniques with the island's authentic sensibilities on cuisine. If anyone knows Hawaiian food it's Obama, and as one of our greatest foodie presidents, we are in no position to challenge his love for Alan Wong's.

While he was president, Obama ate at Alan Wong's more than any other restaurant, often visiting with his wife Michelle, family members still living on the island, and friends. Chef Alan Wong cooked for President Obama many times, but still managed to feel a little starstruck every time. According to Wong, health-conscious Michelle typically opted for a lighter meal, whereas the former president always went for the multi-course chef's menu.

Items from the chef's menu included Wong's seafood cake, tomato with li hing mui dressing, and foie gras grilled cheese with a two-color Big Island tomato soup to start, followed by lobster lasagna, ginger-crusted onaga (a ruby snapper native to Hawaiian waters), soy-braised short ribs, and coconut ice cream with dark chocolate and tropical fruits for dessert. Chef Wong said the short ribs were Obama's favorite. Sadly, after 25 years in business, Alan Wong's closed.

Dress code, check. Celebrity elite, check. For Trump, a good old boy of N.Y.C. with the retro paparazzi snaps to prove it, 21 Club was the spot. He held his wedding reception there in 1977 when he married first wife Ivana. In 1984, Trump even expressed interest in buying the Manhattan speakeasy-turned restaurant, but that venture never panned out. In March 2021, after prolonged closures related to renovation and the COVID-19 pandemic, 21 Club closed for good. Prior to that, Trump had his own table — number 11. His favorite menu item was a $36 cheeseburger.

Celebrity-studded 21 Club has played host to every U.S. president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the exception of George W. Bush (who steers clear of speakeasies these days). Presidents John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford (who also kicked back at table 11), and Richard Nixon stashed personal wine collections in the restaurant's basement. One of Trump's most publicized visits to 21 Club was one of his last. He dined there with wife Melania and his children shortly after becoming President-elect in 2016. For Trump, dining at 21 Club started as a family tradition. Growing up, his father Fred often took the family there for Sunday dinners.