Peking Pavilion — Restaurant in Falls Church

UPDATE 01-29-25: A Once-Great Restaurant in Decline

I regret to inform you that I can no longer recommend this restaurant. The new ownership has significantly diminished the quality of both the food and customer service. What was once a gem of a Chinese restaurant has sadly lost its luster.

The General Tso's Chicken, which I previously praised, is now inconsistent. On a recent visit, it tasted more like Orange Chicken. The duck, which used to be a highlight, lacked flavor and crispy skin. The accompanying duck sauce was overly vinegary, and to my surprise, no hot sauce was provided.

The customer service has also deteriorated. The front desk representative was rude and unhelpful, both over the phone and in person. This decline in quality has been echoed by friends and family who were also once loyal customers.

It's disheartening to witness the downfall of a once-great establishment. I hope the new ownership takes heed of this feedback and makes the necessary changes to restore this restaurant to its former glory. Until then, I sadly cannot recommend this restaurant.

(Original Review)

If you want the best General Tso Chicken in Northern Virginia you need to visit this restaurant. I’ve been a customer since high school when I used to come after school to eat General Tso Chicken with friends. Fast forward to present and I continue eating here as I haven’t found another location with as delicious General Tso Chicken as this place. Come place an order and enjoy the delicious experience...

Support family-owned businesses… this is as Mom & Pop as it gets. Unfortunately, there is a certain reality to running a one-off brick and mortat in the post-pandemic world. The prices are a little high for classic Chinese-American (i.e. the word Peking is all over the menu so gauge your expectations) food, but I find this to be a less pretentious and more well-prepared sleeper over Peter Chang's which is modern and consistently underperforms for what it is. The two restaurants aren’t really that comparable, but I grew up with homemade Chinese food, and this is the kind of food that is more common on a regular basisa long with a lot fo Chinese American mainstays – you can get the General Tso’s and Crab Rangoon, but there are other gems if you explore the menus a bit.

The House Special Chicken has a Korean fried chicken vibe... think soy-garlic flavor, that’s crispy and hot. I also love their Peking Eggplant, which is cooked fresh and hot, and is basicalkt Yu-shiang Eggplant on other menus. The guy in the back knows what he's doing, and you can hear his vocal joy of cooking. No apparent online vehicles to order ahead... they're old school, so you just have to go there or call in your order. Yes, it would be nice if they had...

I ordered takeout on Friday based on all the glowing reviews, but my experience didn’t live up to the hype. I ordered General Tso’s Chicken, Peking Gourmet Shrimp, and Beef and Scallops. When I arrived to pick up my order, the atmosphere was dull and lifeless — it honestly felt more like a nursing home than a restaurant. I’m in my 50s and felt out of place in the nearly empty dining room with a handful of elderly patrons scattered quietly throughout.

The shrimp was clearly frozen and likely freezer-burned — limp, flavorless, and coated in a spicy sauce that had an odd chemical aftertaste. The General Tso’s Chicken was chewy, with lots of tendons, making it difficult to enjoy. The beef in the beef and scallops dish had decent flavor, but the texture was so tough. As for the scallops, they were definitely not fresh — either canned or old, and they lacked any real seafood quality.

Given how long Peking Pavilion has been in business, I expected a much higher standard. Sadly, this was a one-and-done for me. Arlington has no shortage of excellent Chinese restaurants, and I’d suggest...