Danny Lee
Anju - Washington, D.C.
Danny Lee was born in Washington, DC, and still calls the region home. In 2006, Lee and his mother, Yesoon, decided to open Mandu, DC’s first full service Korean restaurant, near Dupont Circle. Five years later, the family opened a second location in DC’s Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood.
In 2017, Lee started a new restaurant group with Chef Scott Drewno called The Fried Rice Collective. The group’s first restaurant, CHIKO, opened in July of 2017 on Barrack’s Row in Washington, DC. CHIKO serves modern Chinese and Korean cuisine in a fun and casual environment. During the first opening year, CHIKO was nominated for Best New Restaurant in the country by the James Beard Awards.
The original Mandu location suffered a fire in the summer of 2017. Due to his family’s history in the building, Lee wanted to stay and rebuild, but open as a new concept. In the summer of 2019, Anju opened, serving eclectic Korean cuisine in a vibrant atmosphere, paying homage to both traditional and modern aspects of Korean culture. Since opening, Anju was named the #1 restaurant in the region by Washingtonian Magazine, and has been nominated for various local and national awards.
Lee was nominated as a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in the Spring of 2020. In the fall of 2021, Lee was listed on the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100, being recognized for the anti-racism initiatives he had taken part of or started. In 2022, Lee and his business partner Scott Drewno were recognized as Restaurateurs of the Year for the 2022 RAMMY Awards. In 2025, along with Drewno, Lee was nominated as a finalist for the James Beard Award’s Outstanding Restaurateur, and again as semi-finalists in 2026.
Danny Lee has been featured in several national and local publications and media outlets, such as HBO, Netflix, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, Food Network, Men’s Health, Washington Post, Washingtonian, and many more. On multiple occasions, Lee has cooked for sitting US Presidents and Vice Presidents. In the summer of 2025, Lee was asked to represent Korean chefs in the United States by speaking directly to the President of Korea about the rise of Korean food outside of Korea. The non-profit organization EmbraceRace has also brought on Lee as their Culinary Ambassador, as he helps produce events both locally and nationally to fundraise for the organization.
