Best Lunch Spots in Fairfax, MD

Whether you’re stepping out of the office to chat with coworkers or catching up with a friend, Fairfax offers a variety of cuisines and atmospheres for lunchtime dining. With delicious dishes featuring a fusion of cultural flavors and classic American cafe fare, there’s a place for every palate. Find your new favorite spot from our list of great restaurants below. 

Sisters Living Room Cafe

Savor a Thai-inspired lunch among quaint furnishings and colorful bookshelves filled with volumes at Sisters Living Room Cafe. This unique lunch spot offers diners a full menu of Thai flavors in a setting that feels like you’re sharing a meal in a friend’s home. Enjoy tastes from noodles to street food in a comfortable atmosphere, then try one of their signature elevated desserts. Choose from starters like fried chive dumplings and garden rolls then move on to a main dish of traditional or re-imagined Thai cuisine. 

It’s hard to pick a favorite from the street food menu with tempting plates like Moo Grob Basil (pork belly with basil and chili) and Suki Yaki Talay (clear noodles with seafood and house special sauce). Desserts at Sisters Living Room Cafe look like something out of a Paris pastry shop with distinctly Thai tastes. Try the Thai Tea Soft Cake for a take on the classic beverage or indulge in the Matcha Green Tea Chocolate Cake. Sisters Cafe opens at 11 a.m. for dining Monday through Friday and at noon on weekends. 

Location: 4004 University Drive

Phone number: 703-267-9618

Bollywood Bistro

Serving contemporary Indian cuisine, Bollywood Bistro offers a fresh take on classic dishes like tandoori, biryani, and tikka masala. Start your lunch with a tasty appetizer like crispy fried pakoras, Mulligatawny soup, or Bombay Shrimp. Vegetarians can choose from an entire menu section devoted to spiced and curried fresh veggies. Standouts include Lamb Shank Vindaloo, a spicy Goanese curry with potatoes, and Adraki Jingha, jumbo prawns in a gingery tomato sauce. 

For meatless options, try mushrooms simmered in gravy with green peas (Mushroom Mutter), or Dal Tadka, a yellow lentil dish simmered with Kashmiri red chilies. Soak up the curry with one of the Bistro’s freshly baked breads. We love the garlic naan with cilantro. Bollywood Bistro opens for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 3 p.m. on weekends. 

Location: 3955 Chain Bridge Road

Phone number: 703-273-0031

Lost Dog Cafe

If you want choices for your lunch, Lost Dog Cafe is the place to go. You may want to study the menu before leaving the office for this American bistro bar serving more chilis, soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, and pizzas than a food court. Try the signature Lost Dog Chili (vegetarian or traditional), or start with a savory chicken tortilla soup. The Classy Lassie salad features grilled chicken, avocado, and baby spinach, but the Lucky Clucker elevates Lucky Dog’s original chicken salad with the addition of dried cranberries, pine nuts, and avocado served on a bed of fresh greens. 

Lost Dog Cafe also offers plenty of seafood dishes, and that includes their pizza. Try the Old Bay Retriever with crab meat, mozzarella, and a sprinkling of Old Bay seasoning. Their Polynesian pizza adds shrimp to the classic ham and pineapple version. If you can, save room for desserts like the Good Dog A La Mode, a chocolate chip brownie topped with mint chocolate ice cream, or the Dalmatian, a float that swirls vanilla ice cream with their own Lost Dog Root Beer. Lost Dog opens at 11 a.m. every day for dining. 

Location: 2729A Merrilee Drive

Phone number: 703-205-9001

Chloez Cafe

Get lunch or breakfast any time from Chloez Cafe. Chefs Joe and Caroline Herrera call their eatery “a neighborhood restaurant with real home cooking.” The local lunch spot features a gourmet burger menu with choices like the Bleu with blue cheese crumbles, bacon, and homemade blue cheese dressing or the Bronx Burger topped with grilled pastrami, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese. For lighter fare, choose from their salad menu with options like the chicken berry salad, a twist on the classic Greek with dried organic cranberries, Feta, black olives, and raspberry walnut vinaigrette.

Hungry for breakfast instead? Chloez serves only cage-free eggs in their dishes. Try the perfectly poached Eggs Benedict with house-made hollandaise sauce. You can also grab a smoothie packed with fresh fruits and vegetables. Choose a signature creation and add your own mix-ins like kale and ginger. Chloez Cafe opens at 9 am for dining Monday through Friday and at 8 a.m. on weekends. 

Location: 5622 Oxford Road, Unit F

Phone number: 703-272-3029

Dolce Vita Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar

With a vibrant fresco of a face with a mouth opening as a pizza oven visible to diners, you can expect a distinct lunch experience at Dolce Vita. Try their brick oven baked pizzas with mouthwatering flavors like Fig and Pig with house-made fig jam, prosciutto, and shaved red onion, or the Mediteranio with garlic ricotta, marinated tomatoes, grilled artichokes, and balsamic glaze. Choose from classic Italian lunch entrees like fettuccine carbonara or penne alla vodka or pick a tasty sub with a side salad or shoestring fries. Dolce Vita opens at 11:30 am for dining every day. 

Location: 10824 Fairfax Blvd.

Phone number: 703-385-1530

Bebop Korean Mexican Grill

For a quick and casual lunch with plenty of flavor, try Bebop Korean-Mexican Grill featuring burgers, burritos, and bulgogi. The traditional marinade for Korean barbecue, bulgogi is a tangy, soy-based sauce infused with sweet fruit juice that’s used for grilled meats. At Bebop, you can enjoy this Korean classic in a burger piled with lettuce, shaved onion, and mayonnaise or in a burrito, taco, or rice bowl. Try this unique lunch spot for a tasty culture combination you won’t find at other venues. Bebop opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday. 

Location: 10730 Fairfax Blvd.

Phone number: 703-424-5514

We love bold flavors and lots of unique choices. With all the cultural influences in Fairfax and the surrounding areas, it’s easy to sample tastes from around the world on a lunch break. Did we miss one of your local favorites? Contact us at Koons Woodbridge Buick GMC so we can add your suggestions to our list. 

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Image via Flickr by Toby Oxborrow  | Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0

Tags: Fairfax, Lunch
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