Washington, DC Area Restaurants

Red Mei Fresh Asian Cafe, Old Down Alexandria

NEW: Download Online Menus-- Pasara Thai Menu - Miu Kee Menu

Here are a few of our favorites (arranged by location):

Ft. Belvoir, Alexandria VA - Springfield VA vicinity

Landstowne Center, Beulah St (view map) - this strip mall has several Asian restaurants:

-Pho Bowl - quick service Vietnamese restaurant, lunch for about $8  Good enough for a quick lunch, but if you want a more robust menu and better tasting food, take the trip to Eden Center at Seven Corners
-Matsui Sushi - official website
-Rice & Spice Thai Cuisine - decent lunch menu, average food, but nowhere near as good as Pasara Thai in Kingstowne
-Samrat Indian Cuisine - Indian lunch buffet every day for $9.50, ala carte entrees run $10-17 each

Kingstowne Towne Center, Kingstowne Blvd (view map) - a new commercial area with a lot of stores and tons of restaurants including:

-Chipotle - franchise lunch counter style, large fresh burritos
-Pasara Thai Restaurant - excellent Thai cuisine, very tasty authentic dishes.  The Pad Thai was very flavorful; you must try the Roasted Duck Curry - it was rich in flavor (and spice) and the duck was very tender.  View Pasara Thai online menu.  Great service and very reasonable prices (lunch $7-$10)  (view map).
-Panera Bread - franchise sandwich shop (also serves breakfast) with free wireless internet
-Noodles & Company - franchise noodle-themed restaurant with Asian, Italian, and other themed noodle dishes, tasty - but not authentic.
-Romano's Macaroni Grill - franchise Italian restaurant
-Firehouse Subs - franchise heated and cold sub sandwiches
-Moby Dick House of Kabob - Aromatic authentic Iranian restaurant with beef gyros, fresh lamb and chicken kabobs offered with rice or flat bread baked fresh in the tandoor.  Try their falafel and humus.  Lunch for about $10 (official website)

Springfield Mall, Springfield VA (view map) - Believe it or not, there is a great authentic Kabob place right in the food court at Springfield Mall.  Grill Kabob - offers the full assortment of beef, chicken, lamb kabobs, cooked on a grill right in front of you with fresh flat bread coming right out of the Tandoori oven.  (703) 627-0010.  They are a franchise also located at Tysons Corner Mall, and Dulles Town Center Mall.

Fort Myers, Arlington VA vicinity

-Quarterdeck - fantastic seafood restaurant (view map) with all-you-can-eat blue crabs (during crab season), outdoor patio casual dining

Route 50, Falls Church VA

Seven Corners (view map) is home to dozens of authentic Asian restaurants

-Miu Kee Restaurant - Authentic Chinese food, fresh noodle dishes, roast duck.  View Miu Kee online menu.  Located on Route 50, near Seven Corners (view map)
-Fortune - fabulous restaurant well-known for its authentic Dim Sum (Cantonese dishes) every day from 11:00AM until 3:00PM, complete with the push carts.  Service is excellent and the carts run with great frequency, so you never have to wait on more food.  This is the best Dim Sum restaurant in the area.  Check out our Washington DC Dim Sum Guide for more information.  Located on Route 50, Seven Corners (view map)

Eden Center, Falls Church VA
Eden Center is a famous strip mall with authentic Vietnamese restaurants and grocery stores located on Wilson Blvd in Arlington (view map)

- Huong Viet - Excellent Vietnamese restaurant with the best cha gio (spring rolls) and their soups are topped with authentic fried shrimp fritter.  Read our full restaurant review of Huong Viet. #6785 wilson Blvd, Falls Church VA, (703)538-7110
- Huong Que (Four Sisters) - Another excellent Vietnamese restaurant
- Viet Royale - One of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants, with tasty, cheap Vietnamese cuisine (view map)
- Cho Cu Saigon - We've been eating here for years.  They specialize in the egg noodle (Mi) soup - you can order it so many different ways.  Try their Mi soup with roast duck, roast pork, and wontons
- Ngoc Anh Vietnamese Restaurant - Many pre-cooked traditional Vietnamese dishes ready for take-out. #6795 Wilson Blvd #25, Falls Church VA, (703)237-5712

Read more about Eden Center

Crystal City, Arlington VA vicinity

Crystal City is home to many bars and restaurants

-Urban Thai - Very tasty Thai restaurant with a deep menu and very reasonable prices.  Make sure you try the spicy Tom Yum Talay soup.  561 South 23rd St, Arlington, VA (703) 979-0777.

Clarendon, Arlington VA vicinity

The Clarendon area (view map) is the home to many bars and restaurants

-Mister Days - Great sports bar, awesome atmosphere with monstrous TVs and a weekend brunch menu (and great bar food) to enjoy before the game (view map)
-Little Viet Garden - Authentic Vietnamese restaurant with indoor and outdoor patio seating, their seasonal all-you-can-eat crab dishes are delicious (view map)
-Clarendon Ballroom - Upscale bar with a young professionals crowd that serves food and features live music (view map)

Chantilly VA vicinity

-Thai Basil - excellent Thai restaurant.  The owner of the restaurant also offers cooking classes and has published several books.  Overall awesome menu and the food was very tasty and prices reasonable.  Make sure you try the Kuay Tiew soup (item #31 on the menu) and the Pad Khii Mao (item #33 on the menu). View map.
-Minerva Indian Restaurant - Authentic Indian restaurant with a very deep menu.  The food was exceptional and we really enjoyed their selection of South Indian food (Masala Dosa, etc.)  View map.

Old Town Alexandria and vicinity

-Red Mei - fresh Pan-Asian cuisine cooked-to-order in iron woks over an open flame right in front of you (view map).  Cheap prices, tasty Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese cuisine - dinner for about $8.
-Taj Palace - Indian cuisine, tasty authentic dishes with bread fresh from the Tandoor oven.  Try the Lamb Vindaloo, the Bharta Bhuna Huwa (Tandoor roasted eggplant sautéed with onions), Aloo Paratha (potato-stuffed flat bread), and the garlic nan bread.  Prices are moderate with main courses averaging $18.  View map.
-Asian Bistro - a wide variety of Pan-Asian dining and a tasty sushi bar.  We really enjoyed the sushi, but the Asian dishes we had (Drunken Noodles, and special Buffalo Stir Fry) were small portioned and meat was slightly overcooked.  Try the Special Scallop Roll - it was amazing!  View map.

Chinatown Washington, DC

-Chinatown Express - despite the cliché name, this is an authentic Chinese restaurant located in the touristy DC Chinatown.  The freshness is evident by the cooks preparing hand-made dumplings and fresh noodles right in the window.  Cheap prices, tasty food - dinner for about $12.  Try the Mixed Bar-B-Que dish (not listed on the menu) which consists of Chinese Bar-B-Que roast duck, roast pork, soyu chicken, and squid - also try the Beef with Black Bean Sauce Chow Fun noodle dish.  Located at the corner of 6th St and H St (view map)

Fresh Noodles being made at Chinatown Express

Waterfront Washington, DC

-Phillips Flagship - This venerable restaurant has been a fixture on Water Street, Washington DC for many years.  It offers a seafood buffet for lunch ($15) and dinner ($25).  The restaurant is right on the water and grants you waterfront views, and outdoor patio dining in warm weather.  Our favorite dishes on the buffet include the garlic mussels, steamed giant crawfish, steamed clams, and spiced peel-n-eat shrimp (view map).

Other Restaurant Reviews
For additional guides and reviews, check out the Washington Post website.  If you prefer the epicurean point of view, check out the Zagat DC website

How do we define "authentic" cuisine? 
With more than two decades of traveling Asia, we have the credentials to judge authentic Asian cuisine such as Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indian.  Authentic Chinese menus should go beyond the trite carry-out dishes.  The restaurant should offer freshly made noodle dishes (not frozen or dehydrated) and succulent dishes such as roast duck, roast pork (Xa Xiu), hot pot, and popular Cantonese dishes such as Dim Sum.  Authentic Vietnamese cuisine should also offer fresh noodles, stir fry and pan fried favorites such as Mi Xao and Hu Tieu Xao, and cha gio (spring rolls) made with real rice paper fried on the spot.  Include Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancakes) and you have a real winner!  Authentic Thai cuisine should offer a variety of noodle dishes beyond the ubiquitous Pad Thai (e.g. Lad Nar).  Fresh Thai beef salad and the exquisite Kway Tiao soup are a bonus.

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