Arlington offers a rich dining scene that’s hard to beat. As part of our 50 Best Restaurants list, these 10 spots stand out for their exceptional food, innovative concepts, and memorable atmospheres. Whether it’s all-you-can-eat feasts or artistic presentations, these eateries promise dining experiences worth savoring.
By Alice Levitt, Olga Boikess, Dawn Klavon, and Alyssa Langer
Price Key: Entrées = $ 15 and under | $$ 16–25 | $$$ 26–40 | $$$$ 41 and over | * = prix fixe only
Ambar
Arlington | Balkan | $$$$*
All-you-can-eat buffets are not for everyone — but what if you could have all the benefits of a buffet without the inconvenient shortcomings? Ambar is the perfect hybrid, where diners can order as many dishes as they desire, while remaining seated.
The $54.99 all-you-can-eat dinner (or $42.99 brunch) starts with a bounty of spreads, mezze, charcuterie, and breads. Small plates is the name of the game here; some are very small, while others are shareable.
Beef short rib goulash — tender meat, rich broth, and orzo — is a rustic, stick-to-your-ribs dish not to miss. On the lighter side, grilled shrimp are complemented by a delicate corn purée. Flash-fried cauliflower with spinach tahini pesto is another favorite. The abundance of plates arriving at your table is an impressive sight.
The stylish, floral space is well-suited for larger parties — just make sure everyone arrives hungry. They’re about to have a buffet delivered straight to the table, after all.
Eat This:
Beef short rib goulash, cauliflower, grilled shrimp
Café Colline
Arlington | French | $$$
Time-honored Gallic favorites are crafted here with precision and panache. But this Parisian-style bistro isn’t all business; diners are treated as welcome guests.
They’ll find themselves compulsively spreading a classic chicken liver mousse on one crouton after another, savoring each creamy, crunchy bite. Another French staple — tuna Niçoise — is just as compelling. It’s offered in a stacked presentation that literally elevates each mouthful.
Roast chicken is a bistro standby that the kitchen nails. Moist and flavorful, it falls off the bone. What’s more, the burger and fries are crafted with the same concern for top-level sourcing and cooking as the rest of the menu.
Don’t even think about just eating a spoonful or two of dessert, such as the pots de crème or Basque cheesecake. The staff takes its mission of offering a French fantasy seriously — it’s just up to you to indulge.
Eat This:
Foie de volaille, tuna Niçoise, pots de crème
Carbonara
Arlington | Italian | $$
The Rat Pack fills the room at this new Italian restaurant with their music — and their spirits. Frank, Dino, and Sammy would all feel right at home in the always packed dining room here, watching a server set a cheese wheel ablaze to add salty Parmesan to the restaurant’s namesake bucatini.
The show doesn’t end there. Watch the team roll out everything from pappardelle to gnocchi in the open kitchen. For a sampling of their efforts, order the prime short rib lasagna, so packed with melting meat that the cheeses and even pasta piled within are almost an afterthought. Watch a server slide a layer of mozzarella cheese onto the chicken parmigiana tableside.
Just like the souls on the stereo, Carbonara knows that all the world’s a stage.
Eat This:
Italian long hot peppers, famous chicken parmigiana alla vodka, prime short rib lasagna
Padaek
Arlington & Falls Church | Thai-Lao | $$
It wasn’t so long ago that dishes like khao soi and naem khao were considered exotic even to Southeast Asian food obsessives in our region. Since opening the original Padaek in 2010 in Falls Church, Laotian chef Seng Luangrath has raised the profile of her native dishes exponentially among NoVA’s diners.
With her new Arlington Ridge location, Luangrath, now Michelin-recognized for her DC restaurants, is upping her game even further. Order the naem khao thadaeu, crispy coconut rice salad with tangy pork sausage, to taste her origin story, then try the gaeng hang lay, a satiny Burmese-inflected curry, to experience the way she continues to break new ground.
Yes, a bowl of crispy noodles in the form of khao soi has probably become your comfort food in the past decade. Now it’s time to see what else Luangrath has up her sleeve.
Eat This:
Naem khao thadaeu, paa tawd, gaeng hang lay
Ruthie’s All-Day
Arlington | Southern | $$$
Located in a former chocolate factory, this family-friendly comfort food destination succeeds at being all things to all people. Chef Matt Hill serves everything from morning coffee and locally sourced breakfast to craft cocktails and seasonally focused dinner.
Ruthie’s considerable strengths include mouthwatering smoked brisket, lovingly prepared on a custom-built, wood-burning hearth. It’s dabbed with succulent barbecue sauce with a hint of mustard and delivered with loads of options for satisfying sides. Diners sit inside the bright and cheerful eatery or plant themselves on the pleasant, umbrella-shaded patio on sunny days.
And those sides? Nora Mill stone-ground grits impress, as do the buttermilk biscuits. For those eager to experience a down-home meal among friends, Ruthie’s universal dining appeal sets a high bar — morning, noon, or night.
Eat This:
Smoked brisket, crispy Brussels with fish sauce vinaigrette, buttermilk biscuits
Sabores Tapas Bar
Arlington | Tapas | $$
Going bottomless for a meal sounds like the stuff of nightmares, but at this merry tapas purveyor, it’s a brunchtime delight — and you can keep your pants on. For $32.99, diners are treated to everything on the broad menu of Spanish and Latin American small plates.
It’s easy to graze through a dozen or more without even taking notice. There’s no shame in ordering both versions of the Spanish pan con tomate — tomato-topped bread with either Manchego cheese or Serrano ham. Chilaquiles, tortilla chips sautéed in guajillo chile sauce, are served with scrambled eggs and earn their place on the Chef’s Favorites section of the menu.
Lunch and dinner are à la carte and well worth your attention, but there are times that even the most conservative among us just has to try every bite.
Eat This:
Pan con tomate y queso Manchego, Chuleton Vasco, la maceta de chocolate
The Salt Line
Arlington | Seafood | $$$
Consistently fresh New England style seafood in a relaxed, fun setting reels diners in here. If the weather is right, ask for an outside table at this bustling urban outpost with an enticing bar and plenty of great people-watching opportunities.
Go casual with a classic lobster roll, accompanied by crave-worthy fries. The plump, meaty shellfish is best coated in butter, Connecticut-style.
Have fun ordering from the oodles of oyster varieties, perhaps paired with a massive shrimp cocktail and delicate snow crab claws. Raw bar selections arrive elegantly on an ice-filled platter, complete with every accoutrement diners might fancy.
For seafood fans, ordering up an indelible meal at The Salt Line is, well, like shooting fish in a barrel.
Eat This:
Oysters, Maine Peekytoe crab roll, lobster roll
SER
Arlington | Spanish | $$$
The joys of crispy rice, from bibimbap to arancini, know no national borders. And when Spanish gastronomy is among the most sought-after on the planet (just look at the Barcelona location of the current World’s Best Restaurant, Disfrutar), there are no crunchy grains with a following as devoted as paella.
The giant pans at SER are intended to sear as much rice as possible. They come to the table sizzling, sized for at least two to three diners. Options include seafood, vegetarian, and meaty iterations. The last of those might include crisp-skinned chicken legs, bites of rabbit, and sausage melded with a mix of vegetables that includes green beans and chunks of artichoke.
One might call the one-pot dish simple, but the collection of flavors here is anything but. Score one more point for the crispy rice dishes of the world.
Eat This:
Paella, croquetas, goxua
Sfoglina
Arlington | Italian | $$$
Food lovers hail chef and restaurateur Fabio Trabocchi as a gastronomic alchemist turning flour and water into satisfying pasta dishes. At his Rosslyn paean to the noodle, this magic is on full display.
A flexible menu that invites sampling and sharing offers a range of regional recipes. Whether it’s goat cheese–filled ravioli or spaghetti with zucchini, the thinly rolled noodles have a bit of a bite. The sauces blossom with flavor. Zucchini coins entwined in spaghetti are a testament to a less-is-more approach to fine dining. Roman-style rigatoni with pecorino cheese and black pepper is another minimalist winner.
Edgy art, unusual light fixtures, marble-topped tables, and café-style chairs establish a chic atmosphere that adds a further dimension to an outstanding meal. But the true magic is on each plate that features an unforgettable bite of pasta.
Eat This:
Fabio’s ravioli San Leo, spaghetti alla Nerano, parmigiana di melanzane
Yume Sushi
Arlington | Japanese | $$$
“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” Thanks, Mae West, but sometimes, too much can simply be too much. At Yume Sushi, chef Saran Kannasute is well aware of this. He serves his excess-embracing fare in artfully austere presentations that make his version of “too much” exactly enough.
Yes, there’s more sweet Hokkaido sea urchin than you can likely force into your anticipating maw atop the thin noodles in a slick of garlic butter. But the uni pasta somehow still feels clean.
Thank the modern interior for some of this. It’s best to dine at the sushi counter, facing not only the action at hand, but also the eye-appealing graffiti mural.
Even when guests sup on A5 wagyu, monkfish liver, and French caviar, they’ll leave Yume Sushi feeling light and inspired.
Eat This:
The Winner, uni pasta, create-your-own roll
Feature image of Ambar by Ardent Vibe
This story originally ran in our November issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
