Image: Red Light Dining
Last Updated: August 2026
Overview:
Lucky Danger started as a covid-era pivot that revived and refined the American version of Chinese. Chefs Tim Ma and Andrew Chiou referred back to the original cuisine of take-out at a time when take-out was king. They did dishes like a rich, addictive crab Rangoon. That version of Lucky Danger, orange chicken and all, can still be found out of the location they opened in Virginia. In 2025, Ma brought the concept back to D.C., but it is more a fraternal than identical twin.
The D.C. version is still a hearty, homey yet skillful take, but more designed for sit-down than take-out, what Chef Tim Ma calls “updated Chinese food.” For example, the classic crab Rangoon is now a bit chewier and topped with little lumps of orange roe. Some of the dishes are layered with multiple sauces. The blistered squash comes with gooseberry, pistachio, maple syrup, and Crying Tiger sauce. It is constructed more for a ceramic bowl than a cardboard container. The Mr. Crab fried rice is bountiful in crab, but lighter than you might expect. The allium pancake, on the other hand, is hardly a simple slab. It comes with a salad of pork, pickles and whipped tofu to pile on as you see fit. Some dishes, like some of the noodle dishes, are closer to the comfort model. Some are closer to Chef Ma’s creative dishes from the fine dining spot Kyirisan years ago. The overall result is occasionally surprising, more interesting, and no less filling.
Drinks, especially cocktails, are a key component here. There are two large bars, one as you walk in and another in the back. Then like a 70’s-era station wagon there is a way-back room that is set up as a mahjong parlor (classes for beginners on Wednesday).
Other Guidance: Located at street level in a modern building. GF can do well, with a few good vegetarian dishes. It is casual enough for getting the gang together, but cool enough for a date night.
Summary:
Cuisine: Chinese
Neighborhood: Chinatown/City Center
Address: 709 D St NW, Washington, DC 20004
Website: https://www.luckydanger.co/
Reservations: Opentable
Other Critics/Voices:
Washington Post: Take-out era: Tom mostly approved.
Washingtonian: New location preview. Original version made list of 12 New Restaurants and Creative Pop-Ups to Start 2021
Original Version Pics from 2021:
