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Several restaurants in Fairfax County and Fairfax City earned places on Washingtonian’s fully ranked 2025 list of the D.C. region’s “100 Very Best Restaurants,” with a high-end Persian destination in Tysons leading the local field.

Joon ranked No. 24, slipping one position from its showing on the 2024 list. Chefs Najmieh Batmanglij and Christopher Morgan opened the restaurant in 2023 at 8045 Leesburg Pike, Suite 120, in Fairfax Square.

The Persian fine-dining restaurant features dishes such as elaborate kebab platters, rice with sour cherries or fava beans, saffron-scented Negronis and pistachio “love cake.” Dinner for two can exceed $200 after taxes and tip, though the lunch menu includes a $20 prix-fixe option.

Chay was the only other Fairfax County restaurant to land in the ranking’s top half. The fully vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant opened in late 2023 at Barcroft Plaza, 6351 Columbia Pike, Suite 201, in Lincolnia.

Chef Lan Tran owns Chay with her husband, Thi Le, who works at The Washington Post’s printing plant in Springfield. The menu includes pho, papaya salad and a signature dip that substitutes soy protein for clams.

The other Fairfax-area restaurants recognized were:

  • No. 53: Mama Chang, 3251 Blenheim Blvd., Suite 101, Fairfax City
  • No. 60: A&J Restaurant, 4316 Markham St., Annandale, with another location in Rockville
  • No. 67: Fava Pot, 7393-D Route 29, West Falls Church
  • No. 70: Elyse, 10822 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax City
  • No. 73: Aracosia, 1381 Beverly Road, McLean
  • No. 80: Southeast Impression, 9530 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax City
  • No. 86: Ingle Korean Steakhouse, 8369 Leesburg Pike, Suite A, Tysons
  • No. 89: L’Auberge Chez François and Jacques’ Brasserie, 332 Springvale Road, Great Falls
  • No. 98: Honest Grill, 14215H Centreville Square, Centreville
  • No. 99: Marib, 6981 Hechinger Drive, Springfield

Together, the selections span Korean barbecue, French cuisine and Egyptian and Yemeni cooking. Most are clustered in northeastern and central Fairfax County. Aside from L’Auberge, Honest Grill and Marib, the ranking omitted restaurants in the Reston and Herndon area and southern Fairfax.

Another ranked restaurant is headed to the county. Ruthie’s All Day, which placed No. 95, plans to open at Fairfax Corner in the fall. The Arlington restaurant, established in 2020, is known for Southern comfort food.