Chef Chris Morgan grew up in McLean. “I wanted to prove myself in DC, but I’ve always had my sights on Northern Virginia,” he says. Morgan did that in spades, earning a Michelin star for his work at Maydan.
The chef grew up going to “fun, primarily ethnic restaurants” in the region with his parents. These included Viet Garden, Peking Gourmet Inn, and Chef Geoff’s, where he recalls tagging along with his mom for truffle popcorn at the bar.
Chef Geoff’s, his mother’s favorite, closed its chic Tysons location in 2019, leaving a hole in Fairfax Square, a plaza that’s known for high-end destinations like Tiffany & Co. and Equinox gym. This past summer, it was filled by Joon, a collaboration between Morgan and his mentor and “second mother” Najmieh Batmanglij. Pairing chefs this way could be a battle of egos, but here, it’s a recipe for success.
Famed cookbook author Batmanglij first came to the U.S. to attend college in 1967, but returned to Iran until the revolution forced her to leave her home country. “For 40 years, I’ve been writing cookbooks, teaching cooking, and raising my children. I was waiting for [co-founder] Reza Farahani with a vision to facilitate fulfilling my dream restaurant. Once Chris Morgan, who had been a friend and fan of my cooking, accepted to come on board, I was ready to move forward,” Batmanglij says in an email.
The goal for the restaurant, Morgan says, is to create a beautiful environment that’s an approachable gateway for guests to go beyond the kebabs that define Persian cuisine for many diners. The result looks and feels every bit like it belongs to the woman recognized as the Persian Martha Stewart. The food, on the whole, follows suit.
Varying shades of blue, from the tiled bar to the banquettes to an avian-themed mural, create a relaxed tone that serves as a background for food that leans on saffron and barberries for its colors. It’s a shame, in this environment, that the service is amateur. Mostly very young, inexperienced wait staff appear to struggle with the basic demands of their jobs, such as filling water glasses and handing out the proper menus. But this can be fixed, and the cuisine warrants return visits nonetheless.
Meals begin with what Batmanglij told me is her favorite dish: warm, stretchy flatbread served with crumbles of goat cheese, herb butter, and Zeytoon Parvardeh, a pomegranate-inflected Persian equivalent to olive tapenade.
What’s on plates is uniformly a collaboration between the two chefs. Though Morgan is the one in the kitchen from day-to-day, he says that recipes are “a healthy mix” of dishes that the pair had already cooked together and his own discoveries, peppered with Batmanglij’s advice and knowledge.
I like to begin a Persian repast with a sampling of dips, which can get very expensive at Joon, where options like rose petal–topped mast-o musir and spinach borani go for $12 or $13 apiece. If you must order just one, I recommend the mirza ghasemi. The eggplant dip is dotted with Sungold tomatoes and finished with a poached egg with a showstopping soft yolk.
The lamb and pistachio meatballs is one of the most popular non-kebab dishes on the menu, says Morgan. The perfect orbs, once bisected, are as much herb as they are meat, a very good thing when it comes to creating big flavor. Not that this is a problem when dressed in pomegranate molasses, fresh arils, and a fine dusting of pistachio.
Pomegranate also dominates Morgan and Batmanglij’s version of fesenjoon, a traditional Persian dish believed to have originated in Iran’s Gilan province. The elder chef calls the stew one of her signature dishes. At Joon, the local duck is cooked until the moment before it falls apart completely. This is the dish, with its walnut-thickened sauce, crispy onion topping, and deep braise, that will connect with people from any culture who had a grandmother presiding over the stove for long hours. It reminded me of my own Jewish grandmother’s brisket, despite the only common ingredient being love.
But is it my favorite at Joon? Nope. That honor falls to the qaliyeh mahi, another Batmanglij classic. A sizable square of crisp-skinned barramundi is submerged into a thick sauce made from blended cilantro, sweet-and-sour tamarind, garlic, and a bit of chile. Served with the crispy rice known as tahdig, the convergence of varied textures and flavors is something worth celebrating.
But for a real party, Morgan has designed a series of large shareable platters, including dry-aged duck for four to six people and lamb shoulder for six to eight. I tried the chicken, which ended up feeding me at home for a week. The crispy rotisserie bird is accompanied by cubes of apples, prunes, and apricots. It all comes to the table in a pool of dark chicken jus informed by the flavors of saffron, turmeric, and honey. If it sounds sweet, it is, but never excessively so, though I would have appreciated some rice to soak up the flavor more.
Given all the care taken with the dinner menu, dessert feels like an afterthought. The best option is the Persian Love Cake, an almond pound cake dressed in a pistachio-and-rose-studded glaze.
Joon is part of the new guard of Tysons and Falls Church restaurants from Michelin-proven DC talent that is elevating NoVA’s dining scene. But Batmanglij is Joon’s X factor. Go on a Sunday to meet her as she greets guests. Service and lackluster sweets will improve with time. The chef’s legacy — and Morgan’s impressive chops — are forever.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
See This: Tastefully decorated dining rooms conjure high Tehran style.
Eat This: Lamb and pistachio meatballs, qaliyeh mahi, duck fesenjoon
Appetizers: $12–$150
Entrées: $24–$190
Dessert: $14–$16
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
8045 Leesburg Pk., Ste. 120, Vienna, eatjoon.com
Feature image by Michael Butcher
This story originally ran in our October issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
