8 Delicious Restaurants in Alexandria, VA, That You Don’t Want to Miss

Table of Contents

Dining out is always fun, but it’s a special treat in Alexandria, VA. It’s the home of the famous Beachcombers Restaurant, which opened in 1946 to offer diners a great dining experience overlooking the Potomac River. Beachcombers is gone, but many terrific restaurants of every type have filled the void. 

Historic Alexandria is perfect for visitors and locals because of its abundance of fascinating landmarks alongside modern attractions. It’s not surprising that there are so many extraordinary places to eat. Dining out is a great way to relax and destress after a hard day at work or a long day of sightseeing. It doesn’t matter if you’re visiting or living here, these restaurants will have you making plans for a return trip.

Waterfront Dining in Alexandria, VA

The locals hold a special place in their hearts for waterfront dining and the view of the beloved Potomac River. It’s a unique experience for visitors also, with the many birds, marine life, and watercraft to observe. Here are a few places where you can experience the magic for yourself.

Want to find out what your home is worth?
Get an instant market report sent straight to your inbox in seconds.

Barca Pier and Wine Bar

2 Pioneer Mill Way, Alexandria, VA 22314
703-638-1100

Dine with the nation’s capital as a backdrop at the shipyard-chic Barca Pier and Wine Bar. They serve Spanish-Mediterranean small plates, sangria, cocktails, and wine. Dock and dine if you’re out on the water, or walk up the pier and enjoy some time on the river. The menu offers delights such as tzatziki, octopus salad, serrano ham, and confit tuna. This is the place to be when you’re craving that fresh island flavor. 

Ada’s on the River

3 Pioneer Mill Way, Alexandria, VA 22314
703-638-1400

Ada’s on the River is the namesake of Augusta Ada King, countess of Lovelace, daughter of poet Lord Byron, and one of the greatest mathematicians of the 19th century. The restaurant is built around a custom-made wood-burning oven and features spectacular views of the Potomac River. Ada’s offers a menu dominated by fresh seafood, wood-fired prime steaks, and vegetarian fare, with a wide variety of beer, wine, and cocktails. Specialty dishes include such delicacies as seared tuna, grilled octopus, and moules frites. It’s an excellent place for a date night or to impress an important client.

Chart House

1 Cameron St. Alexandria, VA 22314
703-684-5080

Chart House is a show-stopping seafood restaurant with gorgeous waterfront panoramic views. It offers a private dining experience for special occasions and a catering service designed to impress your guests. Steaks, seafood, and elaborate cocktails and desserts are on the menu, so look for local favorites like New England clam chowder, calamari, king crab, and a whole slew of premium steak cuts. Anyone in the mood for traditional Virginia fare with a global touch will find that this is where they want to be.

Waterfront dining is a spectacular experience perfect for a special occasion – but it can be pricey. There are also several moderately priced eateries in the area for those days when you want a great meal without the frills.

family dinner in Alexandria

Family Style Restaurants in Alexandria, VA

There is nothing like sitting down with friends and family for some comfort food and conversation. Alexandria is chock full of fun family restaurants and cozy colloquial cafes that fill up your stomach without taking too much out of your wallet. 

Wooboi Hot Chicken

531 Montgomery St., Alexandria, VA 22314
540-455-8303

Wooboi is your place if hot chicken is your thing. They use only white meat in an array of spicy sauces. This is the chicken joint to top them all, from sandwiches and tenders to crispy okra and fries. The eatery uses only free-range birds that are antibiotic-free and don’t weigh over 4 pounds to minimize food waste and maximize the use of eco-friendly and recycled goods. 

Chop Shop Taco

1008 Madison St., Alexandria, VA 22314
571-970-6438

Those wanting an elegant riff on Mexican food and cocktails needn’t look any further. The building was once an auto body garage, leaving a funky, industrial feel to the trendy restaurant. This spot offers a limited menu of only the finest-quality dishes that showcase hand-pressed masa tortillas topped with richly prepared meats. The fried rice balls stuffed with huitlacoche are exceptional.

Bun Papa

1512 Belle View Blvd., Alexandria, VA 22307
703-347-7711

There is nothing more American than burgers and hot dogs, unless it’s waffle fries and chocolate chip cookies – and Bun Papa has mastered them all. Their fresh-made, fluffy buns and wide variety of toppings earn high praise among locals, so expect to hear their name when you ask for a great burger joint. 

Table Talk Restaurant

1623 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 
703-548-3989

Beloved eatery Table Talk has been a go-to for delicious and inexpensive eats since 1976. They serve hearty, home-cooked favorites for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Omelets, turkey and dressing, and roast beef are some local favorites you won’t want to miss. They are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., so you can wander in anytime you’re hungry.

Green Olive Buffet and Grill

7405 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306
703-765-5899

Anyone craving a specific type of seafood just might find it at the Green Olive Buffet and Grill. Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and American favorites adorn the beautiful buffet. Steaks, chops, and chicken cuts are grilled to your specifications if you’re not in the mood for seafood. Green Olive Buffet and Grill has been a staple in Alexandria since the 1990s, so you can’t go wrong. They’re open until midnight and perfect for late-night cravings. 

It doesn’t matter what you’re craving. You’ll find a great meal at a price point you can handle in Alexandria. 

Get Ready to Experience Alexandria

There are numerous entertaining and delectable restaurants in Alexandria, VA, which is just one element that makes it a great place to live. Nomadic Real Estate can help with property management, DC Area renting and leasing, and sales service for both homeowners and investors who have decided it’s where they want to be. 

We provide an all-in-one, no-hassle approach to property management that gives landlords the peace of mind they deserve. Contact our office today to see what we can do for you.

Share via Email
Share on Facebook
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Twitter
Get help from DC's top real estate team.
Founded in 2005, Nomadic is the go-to full service real estate firm in the DMV. We've helped thousands of landlords, investors, and residents and we would love to connect with you next.

Check out more of our blog posts below!

Or search for a different topic:

Scroll to Top

Thinking of selling? Get an instant property value report:

Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.