TNR Cafe — Restaurant in Arlington

I had an extremely unpleasant experience at this restaurant. One of our orders was chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, after waiting about 10 min, this "manager looking like" lady came to our table and instantly asked us if we were Chinese ??? There was no greetings, no smiling, she just popped that question bluntly. That surely was pretty odd, somewhat I felt uncomfortable. Do they not welcome anyone except for chinese ? Then she told us they were out of chinese broccoli but wanted to substitute with something else instead. In that case, we just wanted to cancel it but they brought it out anyway. Maybe miscommunication ? That's fine. But not to mention a fish with spicy chili sauce was way too sugary but we finished most of it, we were starving ! THIS IS THE WHOLE REASON WE ARE NEVER COMING BACK AND RECOMMEND OTHERS TO BE AWARE ( SCAM ALERT !) Okay. we got the final bill, and as I was going over it , I noticed the price of each item was added with extra amount. Could've been some kind of mistake or thier POS had been set to charge more ? I tried to find out by asking one of the male servers, not to mention, he was extremely rude, but his response was " I have no idea, I don't know, maybe the machine charged you more". He was extremely unprofessional, was not trying to help resolved the issue but absolutely has no idea what to do. Remember, he serves tables, and bings checks to the customers. At that point, I demanded for him to talk to his manger, I wanted to find our why I was getting ripped off. So he hands the check to the lady who asked me my ethnicity took forever to fix whatever they needed to fix. Finally he brings back the bill but still no apology, no words from the manager but all he said was "everything has been fixed." What makes more upset is that who know how many customers before me have been charged more and still don't know about it. And more messed up thing is we got laughed at when we are leaving, but yet still no apology of course. Clearly, they do not feel responsible for the whole situation, and this is what I call SCAMMING. Because of this I left no tips left it blank and I am now worried they could've wrote tips...

I've been to TNR a few times and I will say, the food never taste bad but they are never exactly what you expect (aka, if you know authentic Chinese dishes and have particular dishes in mind, TNR always tends to make them slightly differently). So while I never have any complaints about the taste of their food, I think I'm always slightly disappointed when I come here for a particular Chinese dish I'm craving and they make it differently than what I have in mind.

That said, this past visit was interesting. My husband and I ordered their Spicy Chinese Cabbage. What ended up coming out was--let's be real--kimchi. I don't know why they didn't just put kimchi on the menu but even their Chinese translation mentioned nothing about kimchi so it felt a bit deceiving. What was more odd was that it took a VERY long time for that appetizer to come out (actually, the whole meal took a while to come out and the place was not even close to packed. Maybe they had a lot of take out orders to take care of?) Anyways, for how long it took that dish to come out, seeing kimchi was definitely a surprise because that should take only a few seconds to put onto a plate.

We also got the Pan Fried Crispy Noodles and the Black Pepper Steak. I almost never send dishes back but I came here craving pan fried crispy noodles this time and what came out was basically a soup with noodles. When I raised it to the waiter, he seemed to immediately understand where I was coming from and they fixed it and I think the manager there brought out the dish I actually had in mind/ordered. I think they immediately realized the dish was not properly made. I appreciated them fixing it. And the Black Pepper Steak is made a bit differently than what we are used to but it tasted delicious.

From previous experiences, I'd also suggest avoiding getting Sichuan style food here because they are not really authentic. They taste fine if you are not particular about them but I'd suggest going to an actual Sichuan restaurant for Sichuan...

This place is amazing. It started out as a small hole in the wall and has now, deservedly so, expanded double. Newly remodeled, the ambiance has greatly improved with full bar and some good beer prices, but who cares, it's about the food, and this Chinese can't be matched.

ATTN: Foodies

Yes, they have the traditional American Chinese selections, but executed so much better. They also have a traditional Chinese menu which tells you this place has an real Chinese chef and it does. Best of all, like some places who treat you rudely for modifying or asking for something off menu, everything here is freshly made and the servers are happy to accommodate your requests. The server Rui is an absolute delight and will make you feel like you've known her forever.

You want a special treat? Trust the waiters.

We were guilty of ordering the same thing every time. We had a favorite waiter, Wei, who has since moved on, but he took us on a culinary tour of China I never knew existed in the DMV. We told him to surprise us. He did.

One night, he brought "Cauliflower in dry [iron] pot." Cooked at high heat with fresh ginger, garlic, onion, herbs and spices, this dish turned a cauliflower indifferent to a super fan. The cauliflower Hera ever so slightly charred on top of this slightly spicy sauce.

Next visit, he brought "spicy beef broth." Again, similar herbs and spices, but in a delicious brown broth with thin-sliced beef. Epic.

Next, it was "cumin lamb." OMG. Spicy, thin-sliced lamb with fresh garlic, ginger spring onions, cilantro, hot peppers, and, yes, plenty of fresh cumin brought to you in a sizzling iron pot.

Finally, "shrimp casserole." No, not your grandma's casserole, but another hot pot with lots of fresh garlic, onion, and herbs with mushrooms in a slightly sweet sauce over lightly breaded jumbo shrimp.

Of course, we also still order out two standbys: Szechuan green beans and Kung-Pao tofu without green peppers but added snow...