Charga Grill — Restaurant in Falls Church

Charga Grill is a WONDERFUL hidden gem on Lee Highway in Arlington, right near Virginia Hospital Center (how I discovered it). As other reviews have mentioned, it's a small storefront in somewhat small strip mall with lots of other ethnic restaurants surrounding it. It is not to be missed! I ate lunch there 3x in five days, and left absolutely STUFFED each time, and taking photos of my meals and describing how amazing they were to friends and family. From 2-6 PM Monday-Friday, they have a "linner" special of 1/2 chicken plus two sides (and if the owner likes you, a small serving of their fantastic daily soup) for $7.99 + tax. If you're not a Man v. Food contestant (unlike myself), it could easily feed two people, or leftovers saved for dinner. My first visit, I tried the Peruvian 1/2 chicken, which, having had Peruvian chicken numerous times at other establishments in the area and being a big fan of the dish, I knew I would enjoy. It was quite delicious, and of course very filling. As previously mentioned, it came with two sides, I selected the yellow rice smothered with red beans and chickpeas (per the owner's recommendation), and fried yucca. If I had any criticism at all, the fried yucca (albeit delicious) was VERY heavy and filling (that's what I get for ordering two carbs as side dishes though, I suppose). For my second lunch visit, I ordered the house specialty Charga chicken, per the recommendation of the owner (as an aside, the owner is super friendly, hospitable, and very proud of his restaurant and its product and happy to provide samples of items if a customer is undecided as to what to order; he'll make you feel right at home and a friend immediately). The Charga chicken, although not quite life-changing, is pretty damn close. The chicken is rubbed in a mixture of Pakistani herbs and spices, and then flash fried for 30 seconds. I was kind of fearful of the frying part at first because I knew it would be a big serving of food and can only handle so much "fried food," but there's no breading on the chicken to weigh it down/make it heavier, and it was fried to perfection. The chicken came out moist, tender, and full of flavor. The lemon wedge served with the chicken is a perfect touch, adding the perfect acidity and citrus to complement the symphony of flavors already present. My sides on the second visit were a repeat of the yellow rice with red beans and chickpeas (again, per the owner recommendation), and a serving of roasted potatoes. The roasted potatoes were a very good choice, and not nearly as heavy as the fried yucca. For my third (and sadly, last, for the foreseeable future) I ordered the "better than Popeyes" (per the owner) fried chicken sandwich. And yes he was exactly right - bigger, better, bad a**ier than anything ever came up (please see the photo attached). The two medium sized patties topped with shredded lettuce and three pickle slices, and a spicy mayo. The breading was definitely abundant, but not so much so that it overpowered and took over the chicken itself. The chicken was warm, juicy, and full of flavor. It was the definition of a perfect fried chicken sandwich (and a bargain at $7.99 with two sides). Per the owner's recommendation, I ordered the masala fries, which are french fries covered in traditional masala spices. Another excellent side recommendation from the owner. If I had ANY other criticism at all (and it's really hard to find one), I'd suggest to the employees to order larger water cups (the ones currently in stock are tiny 4 or 6 ounce clear plastic cups), that I needed to refill at least a half dozen times each time I was there to eliminate the need to do that. If you're in the Arlington area, or visiting loved ones at the Virginia Hospital Center like myself, do yourself a favor and enjoy a meal at Charga Meal, your stomach (and your wallet)...

Came here on the recommendation of the Washington Post, after all, anyplace that keeps winning the top casual restaurant can't be bad.

Wow.

Certainly an eclectic mix of food, with rotisserie chicken (with a mix of different spice rubs), a variety of kebabs and cooked sandwiches (from catfish to burgers and cheese steaks). The sides were all flavorful as well (the chickpeas had just enough cinnamon to give it a distinctive taste, the pickled beets actually tasted of beets, and not just pickle). Assuming you are bothering to read the reviews, take the time to look at the menu.

My only recommendation to them would be to add a "snacky" appetizer to tide people over for the wait (think the moral equivalent of chips and salsa at tex-mex places). Would be an easy upsell.

We came by late on a Friday night (about 8:00) and the place was full. Not full to the point of people standing around waiting, but every table was in use. There were probably 10 orders stacked up at any given time, as well as 2-4 made delivery service orders waiting for pickup, so the two people behind the counter and (and however many were in the kitchen) were all busy, it probably took 30 minutes to make our order, which is appropriate for the circumstances and the make to order menu. The main staffer was helpful and friendly, and he worked well with the (what appeared to be) trainee without losing his patience in a relatively stressful situation. Give him definite credit.

The building itself is anti-ambiance, if anything. Cafeteria vibe with all the associated noise level. Don't expect to hold close, intimate conversations here. But you're here for the food anyway.

We'll be back....

I ordered from Papa's Curry (AKA Charga Grill?) at 12:31 PM via Grubhub and was told not only did the restaurant handle its own delivery (no tracker) but the estimated time of delivery was between 1:30 pm to 1:40 PM. I didn't check before ordering but the location of the restaurant is at least 20 minutes by car. If I had known that I would likely ordered from someplace else - I was REALLY hungry. I had woken up late and my stomach was grumbling. And now I would have wait an hour? Ugh. But, like I said, I should have checked so it's my fault. Without a Tracker to entertain me I spent the time reading and trying to guess when the driver would show up. Early? Late? On Time? Never? Or were they just being overly cautious? I got a text that it was on its way at 1:03 PM. It arrived at 1:23 PM. The driver was polite and the food was warm. I had ordered Chicken Curry, which came with rice, and Chocolate Cake. The chicken is not boneless so just don't bite on a piece without checking. It seems like chicken wings were used to make the dish. Like they were using the small chicken wings they used for appetizers. But they were being used for their dishes. IT would have been nice to have breast meat. The rice was good. And the Chocolate Cake was one of those 'no-bake' recipes that taste like pudding. And has the self-forming crust. Cake that was not really cake. And it seemed to be a small slice. Not impressed. While I did get a Promo discount from Grubhub it wasn't enough to make the order 'cheap' and I was kind of expecting better quality for the amount I still ended up paying. At least the driver delivered on time. So they get a three...