Chill Zone Cafe — Restaurant in Falls Church

We are so lucky to live less than a mile away from this amazing little Vietnamese cafe and eatery—however it’s also problematic bc Chill Zone is SO good and has such an awesome vibe that we are always popping in for snacks, tea, coffee and their delicious pho, which blows my restaurant budget for the week. The prices are a little high. But they do have a rewards program which is a nice bonus for us regulars!

The storefront doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the second you walk in you’re greeted with a calm and zen atmosphere with spa-like music, relaxing woody picnic garden vibe and decor, colorful origami fluttering over the ceiling, plants for sale, and old retro cameras positioned around to admire. We love to sit on elevated platform floors (shoes off!) to sit back and chill even more. They have live music some evenings which is a bonus. So relaxing!

Then there’s the food and drinks. Hands down the best Vietnamese cafe in the area, including the nearby Eden Center! We have tried them all (delivery and in person) and keep coming right back to Chill Zone. The Pho is perfectly balanced and the broth is light and not overly salty or heavily seasoned. You can add flavor as desired but the base itself is delicious and simple. Others we have tried have a weird aftertaste or are too heavy on bone broth or oxtail flavors. We also love that they have a keto option with zucchini noodles. The summer and egg rolls are delicious as well. The lemongrass chicken also delicious. The shrimp are huge in the seafood ramen. We have not had a bad meal here yet!

The cafe drinks are also worth a stop and are more unique and flavorful. Many “boba tea” cafes around here have typical sugary cookie-cutter options that are basic artificial and overly sweet. Chill zone cafe drinks are more exotic and complex. We can’t find them elsewhere. There is a pink raspberry tea made with fresh puree, that’s a favorite, as well as a toffee milk tea that’s also a fave and not too sweet.

We also appreciate that small family-owned businesses like Chill Zone should continue to have a place in Arlington and we try to support them over the large chains as much as possible. We have seen the owner of chill zone hanging out and chilling along with...

my friend tell me this place is a hidden gem so I go try out the food. but there is a lot of problem. I dont usually rates stuff, only if it is very good or very bad, so this is my experience with this shop

I bring a small drink with me from the market and when I stand to order. the cashier tell me next time come dont buy outside, buy their drink because they have everything. so I thought that the rules there is to not bring stuff outside. so I asked her if I have to pay any fee for bringing a drink and she tell me "no no you can bring drink from outside, just that you should get our drink, who would charge fee for that ha ha"... so it is not a rules and she make me feel uncomfortable because the way she was saying it in Vietnamese is very straight and not thoughtful

next is I order fried rice for my food and I make sure I clarify it twice. my boyfriend was there too saying "fried rice" they give us a white steam rice so I tell my boyfriend to go ask them to fried it. instead of saying "oh okay I'll make u fried rice but there is $5 fee", she stand there and blame us saying that we say to get steam rice. umm I tell my boyfriend to just pay the $5 and dont argue with her.

I was supper uncomfortable already but still stay there to finish my food because I feel that the food is kinda expensive because the view of the store. but it was not really that good too because the pillow chair is stained with watermark (from whatever food or drink idk) and the table was sticky. I see a employee wipe it but I dont know if there is some special liquid for cleaning that they use make it sticky like that.

I pay 41$ for 2 dish bo luc lac and bot chien. it equals to eating steak but I dont feel full. i dont think it was really worth the money I spend.

-I live very far away so I dont think I will come back but I hope they will train employee better, and clean the wrap of...

This cafe spot is okay at best. If you're going there for authentic pho, I would choose another spot than this. I ordered a few refreshing drinks which were subpar to say the least. I then also ordered pho, and I tipped 20% in advance -- only to find out they don't even bring the food to your table. You're forced to pick up your order and listen to them call your number out, but that can be an inconvenience when the ambiance can be so loud. When I picked up my order, I asked the guy making drinks if they had any chili oil. He responded with the rudest comments and attitude I've ever had from someone who's working in a cafe/restaurant. He could've politely just said "no" they didn't have chili oil. Instead, he turned up his nose and made a face when he said that. I then asked him if he had any soy sauce for the pho, and he again insulted me with, "soy sauce doesn't go with pho." I just told him that I am Laotian and Vietnamese. I would be the judge of that and I'm the paying customer. It was very insulting. He didn't apologize for his behavior. I shouldn't have even tipped.

The atmosphere has a chill low-key cheap hello kitty vibe. It's super quaint. The aesthetic is cute. I see what they were going for, but the customer service and the food alone weren't it.

I highly recommend you don't waste your time or money...