Local Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Washington

Local Asian Bistro has big ideas. It sets it's sights high and the moment you walk in the door you can tell there is a lot of promise there. I love the thought that has been put into the dining room, the solid, modern, yet simple furniture, the natural colors, even the drink menu is aspiring to be something different than your average Asian joint.

My friend gets the Pad Thai, because he is not particularly adventurous, but it's also true that culinary castles can rise and fall on a good Pad Thai. Well I try it and I start to get excited. It's a little different than I'm used to, but it's good. A little sweet, good noodle separation, some solid points... even the presentation is above average, the plating is a burnt orange wonder.

The salad rolls are perfect, I can hardly wait for my Pho.The fixins are right, the basil fresh. There is no condiment tray, a choice I come to regret a bit as the meal progresses. It's a clear broth, the noodle have good lift and are not all clogged up at the bottom of the bowl. The broth itself is ok. Just ok. I would have liked to add a little heat to it and maybe a touch of sweetness. I mean I can respect if the broth is perfect deferring to the chef's decision not to put out a condiment try, but this is just ok.

But then we come to the beef. I ask my lunch companion what he thinks the meat is and he looks at it and says chicken. The beef is blanched white, tasteless and chewy. It is in fact just this side of disgusting. No mouth feel, no umami, not even a nice texture. This is the moment I begin to regret not having the condiment tray. Disappointment begins to creep into my consciousness like a small roof leak in a beautiful house.

I am willing to think that this is the one place where Local Asian misses the mark. But Pho is my grail. If you can't do broth, then are are a ton of other places that can and do. It's like biting into a welcoming apple only to realize it's a red delicious.

I might give Local Asian Bistro a second chance, my wife loves Pad Thai (In fact, like my friend, it's all she ever gets) and anything that makes her happy, makes me happy. but I won't be ordering the Pho, which feels weird to me. like going into a hot dog place and...

I tried this place a couple years ago and it’s slowly become my favorite Asian food in the area. I have been here a probably 10 times in the last 6 months. Maybe once, in all the times I’ve eaten here, i thought to myself “I remember this being better”. Chalked it up to an off day. We’ve ordered an array of noodle dishes, all fantastic. Soups, Orange chicken, pineapple fried rice, mushroom fritters, spring rolls, salad rolls, crab Rangoon, a pork special, I can’t name them all but def have had enough to say this place is very good. The service is good but it seems like it’s usually one person in the afternoon or 2 waiting staff in the evening and if it’s slightly busy, then the service might not be extraordinary. But I’ve never had a bad experience or been disappointed, or felt ignored. Always been happy with the overall experience. Great price, portions and food. Anyone I’ve brought with me has also had a good experience. I’d chalk the negative reviews up to an off day....

A lovely restaurant in a new commercial development. The decor is quite nice and the staff were really friendly and helpful. I can HIGHLY recommend the fish sauce chicken wings. Make sure to spoon the sauce over the wings before eating. Tofu salad rolls with peanut sauce equally good. Pad Kee Mao, Pad See Ew, and Basil Eggplant were all excellent. They seriously need to recalibrate the spiciness index here. I ordered a 4 out of 5 and the spice was barely discernible. The waitress told us they used "American" spiciness scale but it seemed more like a small-town, Midwest scale. If you like some kick in your food ask them to ramp it up a bit. We felt like the bbq pork as a meat choice in our dishes was a little disappointing. It was dry and the flavor detracted from the otherwise excellent dishes. Overall though, it is a surprising and really enjoyable restaurant and we will...