A tasting menu dinner is great way to celebrate a special occasion. And while many Northern Virginia restaurants offer creative and seasonal tasting menus, not all offer vegetarian options. So for those of you looking for delicious meat alternatives, we’ve rounded up five of the best vegetarian tasting menus to try.
2941
Consistently rated on Northern Virginia Magazine‘s 50 best restaurants list, 2941 offers a five-course tasting menu with one non-vegetarian and one vegetarian option for each course. The dishes change with the season, and a wine pairing is optional, but highly recommended based on the excellent selections. Their current menu features gems like caramelized endive doused in a Marcona almond vinaigrette and a vadouvan risotto with mushrooms, butternut squash and Sapore del Piave, a nutty Italian cheese similar to Parmesan. 2941 Fairview Park Dr., Falls Church
Alias
For a farm-to-table vegetarian tasting menu experience, head to Alias, which just celebrated their two-year anniversary late this summer. Their current menu is oh-so-tempting. It offers a mushroom wellington with truffle-mushroom cream, freshly grated black truffles, grilled beech, oyster, and king trumpet mushrooms, and a Dijon persillade and a vegetable terrine with heritage gold lentils, and a house-made tomato curry. 7150 Farm Station Rd., Warrenton
Cork and Table
Cork and Table offers a six-course vegetarian tasting menu. So you are bound to go home stuffed and satisfied from your dinner at this elegant Fredericksburg restaurant. The menu changes with the seasons. And this fall you can expect roasted spaghetti squash with sweet potatoes, fall vegetables, and romesco, a portobello mushroom salad, and potato gnocchi with a sweet onion jam, with artichokes, baby peas, and shiitake mushrooms. The wine pairing is a must at this wine-centric spot. 909 Caroline St., Fredericksburg
Elyse
This charming space only seats 30. Elyse offer both a vegetarian and vegan five course tasting menu option nightly. Highlights on their menu right now include a roasted delicata squash stuffed with a spaghetti squash and served in a pool of creamy sweet potato infused sauce, alongside wild black Italian rice and a vibrant whole roasted green tomato filled with celery root and burgundy black truffle and adorned with local cherry tomatoes. Choose from a wine pairing or a synthesis pairing which offers two courses with alcoholic beverages and the rest with nonalcoholic drinks. There’s also a spirits-free pairing for those who don’t imbibe. 10822 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax
Maple Ave Restaurant
For just $59, guests can indulge in a four-course vegetarian or plant-based tasting menu at Maple Ave, which has rated as a Northern Virginia Magazine 50 best restaurant. Vegetarian options include fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and a local peach salad with Manchego. The plant-based version has exciting selections like a tartine with salt roasted beets and a yuzu gastrique, a Lithuanian empanada braised purple cabbage, caramelized onion, Spanish paprika sauce, and wild mushroom risotto. 147 Maple Ave W, Vienna
Feature image courtesy Alias
