Review: Viet Royale

6767 Wilson Boulevard (Eden Center)
Falls Church, VA 22044

Slightly less well-known than some of its Eden Center neighbors like Four Sisters, my brother and I never the less had an outstanding lunch at Viet Royale and recommend it wholeheartedly for folks looking for good Vietnamese food beyond the staples of pho and banh mi.

The Menu:

• Grilled beef with lime
• Stir fried beef with mixed vegetables
• Caramel fish

Before I begin even talking about the food, let me just say this, and say this loudly. This place is CASH ONLY. This is just to prevent you from having to sprint across the parking lot to the BP station’s ATM like my brother did once we’d already sat down at a table.

Okay, public service message over – back to what we ate. I love the grilled beef with lime or Neua Nam Tok as it’s called. It’s easily one of my five or 10 favorite dishes on earth. Viet Royale’s is good, and comes with a nice portion, but it’s not quite as good as I’ve had elsewhere like at Four Sisters. That’s said, it’s still pretty good.

The stir fried beef was quite good if uncomplicated. The caramel fish on the otherhand was simply outstanding. I love that caramel pot preparation you often see at Vietnamese places, but because it’s most often done with pork, I don’t get it that often. This fish version is wonderful. The fish was flaky, tender and flavorful and the Sam and I kept going back for the sauce to put over rice and pretty much anything else we could get our hands on. He and I agreed that we’d be happy going back.

Overall, if you’re up for an authentic Vietnamese meal, surrounded by Vietnamese families noisily enjoying the same, Viet Royale is a great place.

I’ll give it **** stars.