Washington Post: 7 of the Best Restaurants Around Tysons

“Every course contains a whiff of smoke,” Sietsema writes in his 2024 Fall Dining Guide of the wood-fired cooking that seasoned chef and restaurateur David Guas is turning out at his charming neighborhood restaurant. An alum of D.C.’s fine dining scene who also owns Cajun-themed Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Guas is having fun with comfort foods like a tumbleweed of crispy fried onion strings that rolls up to the table with a zesty buttermilk ranch dipping sauce and an impressive smash burger featuring gooey melted cheese, juicy beef patties and plucky pickle chips tucked inside a potato bun.

Sietsema hails career callbacks like Guas’s addictive pimento cheese (Bayou Bakery) and a “lovely ahi tuna tartare (tossed in a coconut milk sauce lit with serrano chiles, lime and cilantro)” last enjoyed by the expense account holders who used to woo clients at the late DC Coast. Modern favorites include a house pasta combining fresh noodles, cream sauce and seasonally inspired accents (crawfish, English peas, ramp pesto). Not to mention dessert — which is right in Guas’s wheelhouse as a trained pastry chef and cookbook author. “Get the Pavlova, served with whatever fruit is in season,” Sietsema urges sweets lovers. He also praises crème caramel flanked by cinnamon-capped pastry (“a marvel coaxed from eggs, vanilla and burnt sugar”) as well as a gourmet candy bar (“a little crisp, a little mousse-y”) that carried over from Guas’s tenure on K Street NW. (Entrées $22 to $58.)

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