Hungry for something new? Here are a few Northern Virginia restaurants opening soon that we can’t wait to try.
Xi’an Famous Foods
A New York native known for its Chinese hand-pulled noodles will open its first Northern Virginia storefront Aug. 7 at The Crossing Clarendon. A family-owned chain with a James Beard Award-nominated chef, the Clarendon spot will be the biggest one yet. That means you’ll have plenty of space to slurp Stewed Pork Hand-Ripped or Cold-Skin noodles and pop Spicy & Sour Spinach Dumplings. 2800 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington (Clarendon)
Eataly
Rumors (and hopes?) have been swirling for a while, but now it’s official: The popular Italian marketplace will open its first D.C.-area spot at Tysons Corner Center in 2027. The two-story location, formerly occupied by American Girl, will have Eataly’s signature seated restaurants and quick-service counters. Plus, there will be retailers selling Italian food and other products. This will be the brand’s 70th location globally and 21st in North America. 1961 Chain Bridge Road, Tysons
and toum
Tariq Alaeddin, founder of NAJA Mediterranean at Mosaic District, will add this broasted chicken concept in the early fall. Broasted chicken is made using a pressure-frying technique common in the Mideast and Mediterranean and served with toum, a traditional Lebanese whipped garlic sauce. The spot will offer takeout and delivery out of NAJA Mediterranean. 2911 District Ave., Fairfax (Mosaic District)
Ember
National Landing will welcome later this summer a new high-end restaurant. Dry-aged meats will be on the menu, and the atmosphere will shift from dining to live music and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights, “offering an elevated and lively nightlife experience,” according to the website. 1301 S. Joyce St., Arlington (National Landing)
Five Iron Golf
Already home to Perch Putt, an outdoor mini golf course, the Capital One Center will next year welcome an indoor golf center and restaurant. Guests can use high-tech golf simulators that can also analyze swings. What’s more, Five Iron offers professional instruction, club fittings, competitive leagues and the Five Iron Tournaments platform, which connects players for real-money competition. The food menu will feature bar fare wood-fired pizzas. Happy hour will be weekdays, 3-6 p.m., with $5 bottomless boneless wings, $5 dips (guac, hummus and cheese), and $5 beers and cocktails. 1803 Capital One Drive S., Tysons
PopUp Bagels
One of several bagel spots opening soon, this Connecticut native is known for its “rip and dip” approach. You get a whole bagel with a cup of schmear and then rip pieces off to dip in the cream cheese. It prides itself on making only five bagel flavors and making them well. That means you can rip a plain, everything, poppy seed, salt or sesame bagel and dip it in plain or scallion cream cheese or salted butter. There are weekly schmears, too, such as cake batter cream cheese. 4300 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Ballston)
Buffalo & Bergen
As we noted last year, chef Gina Chersevani is (still) working on opening her fourth location of this soda counter-meets-deli-meets-cocktail-bar. Inspired by a Brooklyn soda shop at the intersection of Buffalo Avenue and Bergen Street that conjured happy childhood memories for the chef’s mother, the D.C.-based chainlet pays tribute with a menu centering on New York water bagels, brisket Reubens, knishes and other comfort foods, plus an ingenious roster of classic and creative cocktails. 1028 N. Garfield St., Arlington (Clarendon)
Cup of Bliss
For the first time since Starbucks left Arlington’s Lee Harrison Shopping Center in 2019, coffee will flow here again. This particular purveyor of caffeine will take cues from Vietnamese culture when it starts filling mugs. 2439 N. Harrison St., Arlington (Yorktown)
Electric Bull
Taco Bamba founder Victor Albisu is cooking up a new concept that will open in Vienna, and his menu items are already making waves. On Feb. 21, he won the chefs’ choice award for his charred honey lamb ribs with chimi-chermoula and smoked oyster barbecue sauce at Masters of Fire, a national grill competition at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami. Those ribs will be on the menu at Electric Bull, a South American-style steakhouse and butcher shop to be led by chef Justin Severino, co-founder of Morcilla in Pittsburgh, and Adam Hoffa, a Best of Arlington 2025 winner who was most recently the executive chef at Arlington’s Pirouette Cafe and Wine Bar. 176 Maple Ave. W., Vienna
La Omri
The team behind Georgetown’s Villa Yara is bringing a Mediterranean eatery to Capital One Center in Tysons. The name, which means “to the love of my life,” pays homage to the flavors and hospitality of Mediterranean living, according to a press release. Along those lines, the chef-driven menu will feature modern interpretations of regional classics, with an emphasis on premium sourcing. A 24-seat bar will be the restaurant’s focal point and home base for handcrafting signature and classic cocktails. Stop in on a weekend to enjoy entertainment-driven programming. 7775 Capital One Drive, Tysons
Scapegoat Beer Garden
We teased it last year, but this Asian-street-fair-meets-beer-garden spot is still aiming to open in Crystal City. Owner Kendrick Wu is building the outdoor concept in the former Athena Pallas space behind Crystal City’s 23rd Street “Restaurant Row.” The menu will feature pan-Asian comfort foods and classic bar fare, such as crackling pork belly rice bowls, wok-fried garlic noodles and bo la lot, a traditional Vietnamese grilled beef skewer wrapped in betel leaves. 556 22nd St. S., Arlington (Crystal City)
Surfside
Dreaming of fun in the sun after a brutal winter. That’s the vibe this beach-themed eatery hopes to bring to McLean’s Chesterbrook Shopping Center. The D.C.-based fast-casual chainlet is planning its first Virginia location. If the menus for the District spots are any indication, expect nachos, queso, tacos, fajitas and salads, plus happy hour deals on frozen passion fruit margs. 6220 Old Dominion Drive, McLean
Name TBD
A yet-to-be-named café is in the works from Fabio Trabocchi, the James Beard Award winning chef behind Sfoglina in Rosslyn and D.C.’s Fiola, which earned a Michelin star. When it opens in the former spot AHRA Café space in Rosslyn, it will feature counter ordering. 1100 Wilson Blvd., Arlington (Rosslyn)
