Nothing in Reston on ‘Top 50’ NoVa Restaurants List

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by Karen Goff — November 24, 2014 at 11:00 am 15 Comments

Northern Virginia Magazine’s 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia list is out — and not one Reston restaurant is on it.

While Reston, particularly Reston Town Center, is a hub for food and drink in this part of Fairfax County, apparently it’s not the spot with the best food and drink.

To be fair, Northern Virginia covers a large area, with picks from Arlington’s Liberty Tavern to Loudoun’s farm-to-table The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm making the cut.

There are fine dining stalwarts like Trummer’s on Main, 2941, L’Auberge Chez Francois and The Ashby Inn on the list. There are quirky locally owned places too, like Vienna’s Maple Avenue Restaurant and Pazzo Pomodoro mentioned.

Reston, however, comes up empty. No Passionfish. No Ariake. Nothing at Reston Town Center.

Do you think that is an oversight or a correct assessment? Do you have a Reston spot that should be among the top 50? Tell us in the comments.

Thomas

Unfortunately for us Restonians, I think this is a fair assessment. Tavern64 probably has a couple dishes that could compete, and might be the closest Reston has to making this list. But, we’ve long lacked inspiring, original dining options here. Nothing in Reston can compete with any of these 50 restaurants (I’ve dined at probably 35+ of them). Here’s hoping Red’s Table and/or Barcelona coming soon will change this. Bartaco could also be pretty awesome, for the fast casual options in NOVA. I’m probably unrealistically hyped and excited for Red’s Table… I really hope they take advantage of the opportunity and fill the farm-to-table (is it farm-to-table?) and microbrewery void well.
Dexter Scott

It has been all downhill since Baja Fresh left Plaza America.
- bobfv1
  
  Ain’t that the truth. Chipotle does not hold a candle to Baja Fresh – I really miss that place.
- Cluster Tycoon
  
  Nobody had a better all you can eat buffet, no wonder the place went broke.
Yummy!

. . . and there must be at least 50 (mediocre) restaurants in Town Center alone!
east297

Bosh! Apparently appetites more discerning than mine. We have lots of favs at towne center. Notably MonAmi Gabi, Passion Fish, American Tap Room to name a few. Try ’em!
- Rational Reston
  
  Of those Passion Fish is the only restaurant which is only found in Reston, ATR and MonAmi Gabi have multiple locations, and ATR anther NOVA location. But by and large the food in Reston is very generic.
- bobfv1
  
  American Tap Room has a really poor beer selection – calling that place a “Tap Room” is a real stretch.
Agnes Nutter

I agree with Thomas. But for Ariake, I can’t think of a single restaurant in Reston that I’d put on a top 50 list. Including PassionFish, which I really do like. And, I too, have very high hopes for Red’s Table.
- OpenReston
  
  Go Red’s Table, please delight us!
JBuckley

No oversight. When we moved to Reston, the one drawback that came to mind was the lack of top-notch non-chain restaurants compared areas, like Arlington, Alexandria, and Bethesda (over the river), for example. That’s not to say some aren’t good – we like Busara for Thai food, for example. Jasmine Cafe used to be really good, other than sometimes slow-as-mud or oddball service, but of course it’s gone.
- OpenReston
  
  Yes, Jasmine was original and very good, had a 4 star chef. A lot of people commented when it was gone-like good riddance but look at all the plain vanilla chains you have left.
RestonLyons

Villa Mozart Restaurant (http://villamozartrestaurant.c…) is on the top 50 list. It was located at the Lake Anne Village Center where Kalpso’s is now when we moved here in 2003. Chef Andrea Pace was the chef there as he is now. It is an excellent Italian restaurant. It is on the list most year, perhaps every year.
The vast majority of the restaurants at the RTC are chain restaurants for the masses that are very noisy. It is unfortunate that it doesn’t chose to attract one fine dining restaurant that isn’t a chain.
RestonLyons

Villa Mozart Restaurant (http://villamozartrestaurant.c…) is on the top 50 list. It was located at the Lake Anne Village Center where Kalpso’s is now when we moved here in 2003. Chef Andrea Pace was the chef there as he is now. It is an excellent Italian restaurant. It is on the list most year, perhaps every year.
The vast majority of the restaurants at the RTC are chain restaurants for the masses that are very noisy. It is unfortunate that it doesn’t chose to attract one fine dining restaurant that isn’t a chain.
RestonLyons

Villa Mozart and its Chef Andrea Pace in Fairfax City have been on the top 50 Best Restaurants in Northern Virginia or many years. Villa Mozart was first located at La Anne Plaza in Reston. We much preferred the drive or walk to Lake Anne compared to going to Fairfax City. http://villamozartrestaurant.com When Villa Mozart became Chef owned Pace didn’t chose to return to Reston. Reston Town Center restaurant are generally very noisy catering to the masses, not bad, but definitely not the top 50 caliber.

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