Best Restaurants in Washington DC Area 2026: Truong Tien Ranks No. 10

Best Restaurants in Washington DC Area 2026 have been named in a new ranking from The Washington Post. Food critic Elazar Sontag dined at 189 restaurants to compile a list of the top 40. No Arlington restaurant made the list. In Falls Church, the Eden Center's Truong Tien ranked at No. 10.

Best Restaurants in Washington DC Area 2026: Truong Tien Stands Out

Sontag moved to D.C. in late 2025 to replace longtime critic Tom Sietsema. He praised the bun bo Hue at Truong Tien. The dish is a beef and pork soup with a sweet lemongrass broth. He also singled out the banh beo, steamed rice cakes with dried shrimp.

The critic described the Eden Center as a maze of Vietnamese restaurants, bakeries and flower shops. He said naming one best restaurant there closes you off to new discoveries. This makes it a standout among Eden Center Vietnamese restaurants in Northern Virginia.

Truong Tien opened in fall 2023. It has earned critical praise ever since. Its first review in The Washington Post was glowing. It also holds a regular spot in Washingtonian's ranking of the top 100 restaurants in the region.

Washington DC Food Scene Dominates the Top 40

Sontag tended to favour spots on the D.C. side of the Potomac. At least 31 of the top 40 restaurants are inside D.C. Four are in Fairfax, with three in the county and one in the city. Another four are in Maryland. None are in Alexandria.

The Arlington result marks a change from recent years. Last October, Ruthie's All-Day and Our Mom Eugenia made the list. The year before, Padaek, a Lao and Thai restaurant in the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center, earned a place.

Arlington Restaurant Week Continues

Arlington Restaurant Week remains in full swing through Monday. More than 70 local restaurants are taking part. Kate Bates, president and CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, said she has heard encouraging feedback from restaurants this week. She credited good visibility on social media.

Bates said the event introduces diners to places they might not otherwise try. It gives restaurants a chance to turn first time visitors into returning guests. She urged diners to use the weekend to discover a new favourite.

Readers can find more details about the venue on the official Eden Center website.

For more updates from the industry, read the latest restaurant news on Hospitality Career Profile. Stay tuned for more announcements on rankings, openings and dining trends across the hospitality sector.