The best restaurants in Clarendon & Courthouse, Arlington, VA.

Balkan Small Plates in Clarendon

Corn ribs are the dish people photograph here, a reworked take on corn on the cob that shows up in nearly every writeup. The mixed grill and the bottomless brunch format are the draw for groups, and the kitchen handles dietary requests well enough that it gets mentioned unprompted. Reservations help on weekends; this Eastern European room in Clarendon fills fast for brunch and holiday specials.

Steamed crabs come hot and well spiced, with meat worth the mess according to the regulars who keep coming back. It is a casual, hands-on room built for groups working through a table of shells, not a quiet date spot. Service is inconsistent by the record; go for the seafood and the volume, not for polish, and expect a wait on weekends.

The pho is the entire pitch, and the Rosslyn location has a reputation that reaches the West Coast by word of mouth. It is cash only, counter-adjacent in spirit even with table service, and the staff's brisk manner is part of the deal regulars have made peace with. Banh mi and spring rolls round out a short, focused menu built around one bowl.

Beignets and a latte are the Sunday order, and the counter gets busy before church lets out and before brunch reservations elsewhere. It runs a New Orleans-leaning bakery program with croissants alongside the beignets, ordering on one side and pickup on the other. Service is uneven by the record; the location on the Clarendon strip and the pastry case are the reasons to go.

Mimosas in multiple flavors anchor Sunday brunch, and the burger and wings carry it the rest of the week. Happy hour pricing runs at the bar only, which matters for groups planning a visit. Reservations are worth making for weekend brunch even when the room turns out not to need one; it holds parties of ten comfortably and stays cool when Wilson Boulevard does not.

Ceviche and a pisco sour are the opening move at this Peruvian room, and aji de gallina shows up as the dish regulars return for. The menu covers vegetarian eaters without treating it as an afterthought. It reads as a room built for a table of friends working through small plates and drinks rather than a formal sit-down dinner.

Happy hour here runs every day, with six-dollar rolls, seven-dollar cocktails, and tacos and sliders at nine dollars for two, a lineup that keeps the patio full after work. The rolls and the taco-and-slider format cover both sushi cravings and bar food in one order. To-go orders work fine too, though the patio with a cold beer is the better use of the room.

Prime kalbi short rib and bibimbap draw comparisons to other Korean barbecue rooms in the area and mostly hold up, per the regulars who rank this bibimbap among Arlington's best. It is built for grilling at the table in a group, which makes it a natural pick for a birthday or a work outing. Gyutan rounds out the order for anyone splitting a large spread.

Kaleh Pacheh, the traditional Persian dish built on slow-cooked sheep's head, draws people who come for that one plate and nothing else. Kabob and tahdig cover the more everyday order, and the room has stayed a neighborhood fixture for years on the strength of both. It is a family-friendly, unfussy room, and the welcome gets mentioned as often as the food.