Lil Bowl, Thai and Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Manassas Park

Service: 4 Food: 3.5 Cleanliness: 5 Ambiance: 5

Lil' Bowl is not new to us, as we used to frequent them when they had a small store front inside Fresh World. However having them move into the vacant Manassas Park strip is super exciting! The interior is lovely and welcoming. The young staff are doing their best and I'm confident that with time they will get the hang of handling the dinner rush crowd. The food.. well.. see below.

Chicken Satay: you get 3 skewers with peanut sauce and pickled chilies and cucumbers. The flavor was tasty, but could have used a bit more of the peanut sauce. :)

Papaya Salad: the serving was generous and salad refreshing. However, I felt like the flavor was missing something.. maybe more lime juice or rock sugar?

Lil Bowl Spicy Wings: these were delicious! The wings were very crispy with a nice kick! They were a bit on the smaller size, but otherwise tasty.

Chicken Pad Thai: the flavors were on point! Enough sauce to cover the noodles and keep them sticky. Portion size was good.

Beef Drunken Noodles: the flavors were right, but zero spice. Guess we need to tell them "Thai spicy" next time?

Crispy Pork Belly & Basil: salt and crispy served with a bowl of rice. Well seasoned and just enough sauce to drizzle over the rice!

Miso Ramen: I would not order this again. It wasn't bad, but I don't think it was worth the price. The broth flavor was ok, good portion of charsu, but the "muffin tin" cooked egg was really not appealing.

Missing: Surprised that a Thai restaurant did not have a spice rack option to add more heat to your dish. Please, please offer this to your guests! I'm sure many would appreciate this.

Overall - not a bad Thai option and I'm thrilled to have this near by in...

Did you ever go to Fresh World Supermarket on Liberia in Manassas Park, VA, and eat at Lil' Bowl? If you did, you probably remember the delicious Thai dishes and fresh sushi that Nid served up. She started in a small space inside the supermarket and quickly became a local favorite. Now, Lil' Bowl has moved to its own spot in downtown Manassas Park, and the experience is even more enjoyable! The new location is a breath of fresh air, free from the supermarket hustle and bustle. The atmosphere is cozy, and Nid still delivers that same friendly service that made her popular. On my recent visit, I had the Crying Tiger, which is typically an entrée but is offered as an appetizer here. This dish features perfectly grilled steak served with a spicy dipping sauce that packs a punch. The flavors are bold and delicious—definitely a must-try! The food remains top-notch overall. You’ll find generous portions of everything from Pad Thai to Pineapple Fried Rice, all bursting with flavor. The sushi rolls are fresh, and many regulars rave about the Boat Noodle Soup as one of the best around. If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth stopping by Lil' Bowl for a meal. You’ll be supporting a hardworking local gem while enjoying some...

Latest location review:

We've been fans of Lil Bowl for many years since they were in Fresh World. Today was our first time at the new location (Congrats its beautiful!!) TLDR: Wait time to get our food was soooo long. Food was delicious as always.

More details: The food was to our expectations and super delicious. LOVE the Bento Thai + Japanese boxes. The spicy tuna has WAY too much sriracha on it though, tone it down a bit please.

The service staff are really friendly and professional. Unfortunately, the wait time to get the food is where it fell apart. We were there for a very long time waiting for our food. If you want something faster, get sushi. But hopefully they get more help in the kitchen to cook the Thai food. Or train someone on the staff to cook. It felt like the employees at the bar were being under-utilized.

We'll avoid coming here with any family members that have a hard time waiting a while for food, until they work out those issues. Maybe don't take Online orders anymore until there's more help?

We look forward to coming back (ourselves without family) and trying more delicious food and drinks! Congrats again on the new shop! You picked a...