Alexandria isn’t just your go-to destination for shopping, it’s also a dining hot spot. From our 50 Best Restaurants, find five eateries serving up modern takes on classic dishes — located right in the heart of Alexandria.
By Alice Levitt, Olga Boikess, Dawn Klavon, and Alyssa Langer
Ada’s On The River
Alexandria | Modern American | $$$
Location, location, location — Ada’s prime waterfront address nails it when it comes to ambience and vibe, but does the food live up to the views? Thankfully, yes.
The wood-burning stove is the star of the show, lending a complex charred quality to not only steaks and fish, but to unexpected applications like the grilled kale-and-citrus salad, which boasts a complex smoky-sweet flavor. Seared scallops are caramelized and served atop corn soubise and coal-roasted corn. Lobster mac and cheese features sizable shellfish chunks and a velvety, Old Bay–scented sauce. If you’ve managed to save room, the Valrhona chocolate soufflé is a must; the steaming, caramel-drenched treat is worth the wait and great for sharing.
Attentive, hospitable servers and managers are diligent in checking that customers are satisfied. Whether you’re seated on the spacious outdoor patio or enjoying the river views indoors through floor-to-ceiling windows, it may be difficult to tear your gaze away, but dishes here are worth the distraction.
Eat This:
Lobster mac and cheese, seared scallops, Valrhona chocolate soufflé
Kismet Modern Indian
Alexandria | Modern Indian | $$$
No one ever truly gets tired of chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. But what if that pillowy bread was instead stuffed with herbed blobs of goat cheese?
At this sequel to DC’s Michelin-recognized Karma Modern Indian, basics are elevated, but the real reason to dine here is for regional dishes diners won’t find anywhere else without making a pan-Indian food trip.
Case in point? Branzino pollichathu, a take on a Keralan dish that features a meaty, skin-on fish filet that’s fried, then coated with spices and finished in a banana leaf. Scooped up with the aforementioned bread, the heavily spiced fish is a passe-partout dish that’s as memorable a part of a casual lunch as of a special dinner.
Yes, you can order your garlic naan and your tikka masala here, but you’ll be rewarded handsomely for expanding your horizons.
Eat This:
Amritsari snapper, herb-and-goat-cheese naan, branzino pollichathu
The Study
Alexandria | Mesoamerican Fusion | $$$
You won’t find Costa Rican cuisine anywhere else in NoVA. Blend it with American, Korean, and even the Indonesian flavors of chicken satay, and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind restaurant worth a trip from just about anywhere.
Three years into his tenure at The Study, executive chef Tomas Chavarria continues to innovate. Take, for example, the chocolate sampler. The name may be the same, but each year, the dessert is a completely different presentation of a series of chocolate preparations, all featuring a mix of percentages and provenances. On a recent visit, it was a layered, pudding-like delicacy that flit from fruity to earthy with each bite. Suitably, it was topped with gold.
It’s a dish for the sophisticated chocolate lover, just as The Study is a place for diners eager to taste something unique.
Eat This:
Hamachi tiradito, steak & onions, The Study chocolate sampler
Thompson Italian
Alexandria & Falls Church | Italian | $$$
What swam in the ocean hours ago is now memorialized in a sea of garlic. Onyx-colored tendrils of linguine twist and curl around scallops that taste of a briny sweetness that tells you one thing: Thompson Italian is a restaurant more obsessed with fresh, seasonal ingredients than it is with the dogma of classic cuisine.
Leave it to chef-owners Gabe and Katherine Thompson to upgrade tried-and-true recipes with Virginia’s bounty. The fritto misto centers around meltingly tooth-friendly calamari but also zucchini and chunky peppadew peppers. The coating is tempura-light with nary a hint of grease.
Seasonality extends to desserts, where coconut tapioca pudding is bathed in blueberries or tiramisu is flavored not with coffee, but with bright, bursting berries. With every bite, the Thompsons pay tribute to tradition, but best it with their of-the-moment flavors.
Eat This:
Fritto misto, squid ink linguine, berry tiramisu
Virginia’s Darling
Arlington | American | $$$
The casual charm of this woman-owned wine bar comes as a lovely surprise as its relaxed hospitality belies the sterile office complex in which it resides.
It doesn’t take long for appetizers to blanket each table. Deviled eggs are jazzed up with wasabi, while the equally classic clams and chorizo is accompanied by a grilled baguette. Smoked white fish atop crunchy croutons is neither too salty nor too fishy and quickly disappears.
Craving a heartier meal? You’ll be happy to make it a steak night with a beautifully grilled New York strip, but save room for an amazingly smooth panna cotta. Not all of us have stellar chefs for friends. When you dine at Virginia’s Darling, you’ll feel like you do.
Eat This:
Deviled eggs, New York strip, panna cotta
Feature image courtesy Thompson Italian
This story originally ran in our November issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
