About DC Restaurant Openings
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Tam Tam Brunch and Dinner. 6767 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church.
Eden Center in Falls Church, the region’s hub for Vietnamese food, is overwhelmingly made up of casual mom-and-pop eateries. Restaurateur couple Thao Tran and Tin Truong want to add a slightly more upscale date-night spot to the mix. Their new restaurant, Tam Tam Brunch and Dinner, has a trendy bistro vibe, with a menu spanning from a citrusy salmon crudo to abalone soup to a variety of hot pots.
“[People] never think that they can look nice to go to Eden Center. So, that’s what we want,” Tran says. “Let’s at least have some nice restaurants and have some different kind of food, not just pho. We have a very huge variety of Vietnamese food, but it’s hard to get all that food in America.”
Tran and Truong—both 32—started their restaurant business with more casual Vietnamese spots, including Pho 7 in Vienna, which they’ve since sold, and Gao in Fairfax. They also own Emiline Nail and Spa in Reston, and are preparing to open a fast-casual pho and banh mi spot in Tysons Corner Center called the Clay Bowl. But at Eden Center, they’re aiming to do something a bit different. In early 2025, the couple opened a specialty market called Viet Gourmet—it adjoins Tam Tam—where they sell products imported from Vietnam and made in-house, from dried dragonfruit blooms to shrimp paste with lemongrass to yogurt.
Tran moved to the US from Saigon in eighth grade, and Tam Tam’s offerings draw primarily from southern and central Vietnam. The still-evolving soft-opening menu includes familiar staples such as garden rolls and chicken (or vegetarian) pho, but also lemongrass steamed clams; grilled corn ribs with a tangy garlic fish sauce; and crispy rice pancakes with a sweet-savory caramelized pork belly dip and steamed vegetables.
Another specialty, and one of Tran’s favorite dishes, is com tấm or broken rice. “If you eat it, you will see the difference. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, it’s just like the taste of Saigon,'” Tran says. She says a big differentiator is the quality of their fish sauce, which isn’t fishy or too salty. One of the brands comes from her dad’s family, who’ve been making fish sauce for multiple generations.
Hot pot is another highlight of the menu. While very popular in Vietnam, it’s not as well represented in the DC area, especially beyond all-you-can-eat options, Tran says. In particular, Tran recommends the green chili chicken hot pot; The spicy herbal broth is cooked for 10 to 11 hours with lotus root, jujube, and other aromatics. Vegetarians will find a light, vegan mushroom hot pot, and seafood and fermented fish options are also available.
Tran says she hopes to make Tam Tam a destination for Vietnamese drip coffee as well. The restaurant directly imports robusta beans grown in Vietnam, which are also available to take home from the neighboring market. And instead of ubiquitous bubble teas, the restaurant offers specialty drinks such as kumquat rock sugar tea or passionfruit honey tea with palm seeds. Vietnamese-inspired cocktails are coming soon. For dessert, find a variety of flan cakes with matcha foam, coconut cream, and more.
“When people think about Eden Center, it’s ‘Hey, let’s go for traditional Vietnamese food,'” Tran says. “They don’t think that they can have a nice cup of coffee here or just have a dessert. A nice place to talk. That’s what we want.”
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind DC’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
