Falls Church

The nearest and most convenient airport is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington. Long-haul flights are available to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

WMATA, which operates the DC Metrorail, has stops at West Falls Church (Orange Line) and East Falls Church (Orange and Silver Lines). These stops, however, are designed for commuters, and there is little nearby except for swaths of parking. A long walk or a transfer to Metrobus is required; bus riders should check options from Ballston in Arlington County, which is served by more routes.

At Seven Corners Transit Center, you can transfer between all the most useful bus routes. It is just across the street from the Eden Center.

Metrobus routes 1A, 1B, and 1E all run from the Ballston Metro stop down Wilson Blvd to the Eden Center (just before Seven Corners, past Roosevelt), taking roughly 20 minutes.

Metrobuses 4A and 4H are the only options for US-50/Arlington Blvd, and depart from the Rosslyn Metro stop. You can pick them up from the Seven Corners Transit Center, though, across the street from Eden Center, where you can also connect up with the Wilson Blvd buses.

Metrobus 28A runs the length of VA-7/Leesburg Pike between West Falls Church and King St/Alexandria Metrorail stations, with a stop at the Seven Corners Transit Center.

The intersection known as Seven Corners no longer has seven corners, after decades of traffic engineering, but the roads that form it remain the same. Pay close attention to the signs--the main roads have at least two names a piece, which further complicates things: US-50/Arlington Blvd, VA-7/Leesburg Pike/Broad St, and US-29/Lee Hwy/Washington St. Wilson Blvd is the other main road, where you will find Eden Center immediately northeast of Seven Corners on the way up to Arlington.

I-66 runs east-west just to the north of the City of Falls Church; I-495, the Capital Beltway, runs along West Falls Church's western border, with the US-50 exit being the most useful.

Avoid driving during morning rush hour (7:30AM-10:30AM) towards D.C., and vice versa in the afternoon (4PM-7PM). On weekdays, eastbound I-66 is HOV-2 only from 6:30AM-9AM, and westbound is HOV-2 only 4PM-6:30PM.

• 2941 Restaurant, 2941 Fairview Park Dr, ☏ +1 703 270-1500. M-F 11:30AM-2PM, 5-9:30PM; Sa 5-10PM. Chef Bertrand Chemel's 2941 is one of the top destination restaurants in Northern Virginia, with a large, beautiful dining room eclipsed only by the beautiful views over the lake. Cuisine is contemporary American, prepared with exclusively local ingredients. $30-65. 
• Mike's Deli, 112 N West St, ☏ +1 703-532-5299. 7:30AM-9PM. An old-fashioned sandwich shop and ice cream parlor serving homemade ice cream. They also offer breakfast and lunch delivery. (updated Jul 2017)

• Haandi Indian Cuisine, 1222 W. Broad St., ☏ +1 703 533-3501. Daily 11:30AM-2PM, 5-9PM. Classic Indian dishes. Buffet lunch, A la carte dinner $13-21. (updated Mar 2022)
• Saffron Indian Cuisine, 1077 W Broad St, ☏ +1 703 992-0077. M-F 11:30AM–2:30PM, 5–10PM; Sa Su noon–3PM, 5–10PM. An authentic Indian restaurant in an area with many ethnic food options. (updated Jul 2017)

• Four Provinces, 105 W Broad St, ☏ +1 703 534-8999. Offers a modernized version of an Irish pub with authentic Irish food. 

• Ba Le Bakery, 2822 Graham Rd, ☏ +1 703 876-9062. 24 hours daily. If perhaps not the best in the D.C. area for banh mi, Ba Le in Falls Church is right up there in the top echelon, and is open 24/7. The ramshackle seating is available in limited quantity inside and out on the strip mall parking lot patio (where they even seem to have one of those winterized outdoor seating heat lamps?). If it's 3AM, and you find yourself here eating head cheese sandwiches and washing them down with mung bean smoothies, you are clearly doing something right. Incidentally, you'll note that the Ba Le logo has an Eiffel Tower in it; Ba Le is Vietnamese for Paris—a nod to the French colonial past that gave birth to this magnificent sandwich! $3.50-4.50/banh mi. 
• Banh Mi DC, 3103 Graham Rd, ☏ +1 703 205-9300. 8AM-8PM daily. The banh mi here are absolutely in the top echeleon, and the menu has some hard-to-find variants, perhaps most notably the smoked (not fried crispy) bacon banh mi. The bubble tea is fantastic here, as are the many other baked goods. No seating, so plan to eat on your car's trunk. $3.50-4.50/banh mi. 

• Hong Kong Palace, 6387 Leesburg Pike, ☏ +1 703 532-0940. Su-Th 11AM-10PM, F Sa 11AM-11AM. Make sure you get the right menu, and order properly here, as the standout dishes are the spicy Szechuan entrees (like the delicious lamb cumin), rather than the Cantonese, or even worse, American dishes. Unless you are willing to drive to Rockville in Maryland (too far), you won't find better Szechuan cuisine around. Dim sum available Sa Su mornings. $9-22. 
• Miu Kee, 6653 Arlington Blvd, ☏ +1 703 237-8884. Su-Th 11AM-2AM, F Sa 11AM-3AM. Notable particularly for those late night hours, this is a really solid bet regardless of the time of day for authentic Cantonese. $8-22. 
• Peking Gourmet Inn, 6029 Leesburg Pike, ☏ +1 703 671-8088. Su-Th 11AM-10:30PM, F Sa 11AM-11PM. Ever famous for popularity with the Bush family, who never minded the long trek out to this unassuming strip mall (is all great food in Northern Virginia in strip malls?). Peking duck, naturally, is the star attraction, and you'd be crazy to come here without trying it. $10-25. 

Eden Center is ground zero for South Vietnamese cuisine (and culture—the constant South Vietnamese freedom fighter festivals are an interesting look back to the past of this immigrant community). It's an aesthetically unappealing strip mall, but the culinary delights are outstanding, and while you may not recognize them, you'll often be waiting in lines with D.C.'s top gourmet shops.

• Banh Mi So 1, 6779 Wilson Blvd (on the east end of the building right next to the arch on the street), ☏ +1 703 534-1950. 10AM-10PM daily. So 1 is probably popular choice number two for best banh mi in Eden Center. Expect much bigger baguettes and a much longer menu than you would find at, say, Nhu Lan below. $3.50/banh mi. 
• Nhu Lan, 6763 Wilson Blvd (inside the mall), ☏ +1 703 532-9009. 10AM-8PM daily. There is not a consensus regarding the D.C. metro area's top banh mi purveyor, but if there is one, this is it. It's a tiny little bakery with only four tiny tables and a smaller menu than just about anywhere else, but the baguettes are absolutely second to none. Buy four and get one free. $3.50/banh mi. 
• Cha Kim Phung Bakery, 6771 Wilson Blvd, ☏ +1 703 534-4525. 9AM-8PM daily. This little bakery is as of yet overlooked by the white folks, but the service is probably the friendliest in the mall, and the banh mi are right up there with the best. They also have a more extensive selection of other Vietnamese baked treats than most of the other delis at Eden Center. Lastly, ginger fans should make sure to grab some delicious unfiltered ginger ale out of the fridge. $3/banh mi. 

The following all have traditional table service and full bar.

• Huong Viet, 6785 Wilson Blvd, ☏ +1 703 538-7110. Su-Th 10AM-10PM, F Sa 10AM-11PM. Virtually everything on the gargantuan menu is great, although the more adventurous in the delicacies/specials section are the most rewarding. The most famous dish here is the crispy quail wings appetizer. This is also the oldest restaurant in the mall. $10-22. 
• Phung Hoang, 6795 Wilson Blvd (hiding inside Saigon West—the southwesternmost corner of the parking lot), ☏ +1 703 538-6732. 9AM-8PM daily. The restaurants inside the mall are harder to find, and attract a more exclusively Vietnamese clientèle. The standout dish here is bún bò huế, a richer vermicelli soup than pho, with a reddish, chili-heavy broth, some congealed pig's blood, a strong taste of lemongrass, and some optional fish sauce on the side, in addition to the same fresh veggies associated with pho. Full bar. $7-18. 
• Thanh Van, 6795 Wilson Blvd (inside the mall), ☏ +1 703 639-0901. 9AM-9PM daily. Vegetarians rejoice, Eden Center has a Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant! There is a full menu, but the biggest draw may be the vegan pho with really convincing imitation meat. $6-18. 
• Viet Taste, 6763 Wilson Blvd (inside the mall), ☏ +1 703 531-0011. 10AM-10PM daily. Another great, traditional full-service restaurant with a long menu to rival Huong Viet's, but an especially fun choice in the evenings, with frequent live music. The hot pots are a specialty. $8-20.