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A Taste of the World
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
13 reviews for A Taste of the World
I have been here several times, and I do agree with some reviews that the menu is all over the place, but based on the name I think that is the point. I think if they focused on the Philippine side of the menu it would be much better, anytime I venture into the mexican or chinese dishes I am a little dissapointed.
The location is as bad as it gets, located in the back of a industrial strip mall type place, no signs, just use the force to find it... Hint, all the way in the back...
As far as service, it has been good and never any issues. I like this place, but don't stray from the Philippine cuisine.
Oh boy, I don't even know where to start...
This place is located in the worst place possible for a restaurant. It's in the side of a back building of a multi-unit-storage-type-building. I would expect to find an auto detailer in a place like this.
Came here for lunch - good news is that there's not many people. Had pad thai and tom yum kung soup, both were not very authentic. It's "ok", not good or great.
Probably won't come again.
A co-worker and I went here since we need to meet our quotas for the Delta Skydining promotion for the month. It was in the area so I checked the Yelp reviews and off we went.
Two words for this place: utterly unimpressive.
The food here was so-so - I mean, if you're hungry and you're looking to try cuisine that is a tad "watered down", this is the place. They try to give you the ability to select from a spectrum of ethnic dishes as broad as a football field. But alas, their attempt to satisfy any craving is what causes them to be rather unsatisfactory. What a dichotomy.
My assessment is that there are too many items on the menu. Our appetizers gave me suspicion that they were patronizing the Asian/Indian foodstores in the plaza next door and buying up frozen samosas, lumpia, and other items. Everything was entirely too uniform and symmetrical to be made there.
The actual dishes were filling - but again, nothing out of the ordinary. The Singapore noodles are better from some of the local Chinese restaurants and while it's been some time since I've had pancit, this stuff today just wasn't what I remembered from an old Filipino mom and pop joint I used to frequent.
Personally, I'd skip the joint if I had a choice. But at least I got some airline miles out of the mix.
So i went here for dinner with girlfriends last night, and I must say it was pretty good. I got two different appetizers for dinner. one was fresh vegetable rolls, and the other was Fresh Lumpia: A Philippine specialty. Mixture of vegetables wrapped in a pastry and topped with sweet and sour sauce.
Both were very very good.
The restaurant is small but not so small that you walk in and feel weird. There were only a few other people dining in there, but the phone was ringing off the hook with pickups. I had a great experience.
They have a scale of 1-4 for the hot level. My friend got a two, she could barely handle it, but I thought it was average. A two is a good way to go if your not sure, and kinda like hot.
The on line menu doesn't show it but they DO have alcohol. I got two apps and a mini bottle of sparkling wine for 15 bucks. Not bad.
Too bad its so far, I'd definitely go back!
I went to this restaurant last week with one of my friend's from work. This is a small hole in the wall place where you can get many different types of food from all around the world. They offer Asian, American, Middle Eastern, and Far East cuisine.
We got there around 11:45 and the place was packed by 12:00. There were only two waitstaff in the whole place. One taking orders and one running food, giving refills, etc. I guess they made it work but we did have to motion them over to take our order and to bring us our check, so service was a tad bit slow.
The food was acceptable. We had chicken sate as an appetizer, it is grilled chicken skewers served with peanut sauce. It wasn't anything extraordinary.
For lunch I had the chicken enchiladas. There were two and they were pretty big. More than enough for $7.95 and the entree came with beans and rice which I declined. The chicken enchiladas were pretty good.
I'd probably go back to this restaurant again, but the thought of it doesn't excite me all that much. It seems like a popular place for local noontime lunchers during the week.
I'm sure there are people out there who swear by this place.
I had lunch and split an appetizer and with tip my bill was only $12.50.
This place definitely sounds like a good idea in theory. Food of all different ethnicities in one restaurant... You and your friends don't have to decide whether you want Asian food or Mexican because you can get either/or at thsi one restaurant.
HOWEVER - they need to be able to cook food from each ethnic background well, which I'm sorry to say they are unable to do.
If you want a "taste of the world," you're better off hitting up the food court at the mall.
Everything is nine dollars for lunch; not too bad. I recommend the basil sauce dishes.
I really dig A Taste Of The World. To be fair, I'm probably a little biased because I prefer fusion/eclectic cuisines to pretty much any other kind, so keep that in mind during the review.
ATOTW is located in an office business park, just west of Fairfax County Parkway off of Sunset Hills Road. It's set back a few hundred meters from the main road, but keep heading through the parking area, it is back there. Next to a good pho place, as well.
Parking is easy, there are a fair number of spaces, and not a lot of competition for them. There are about a dozen or so tables inside the restaurant itself, so it's not large. This may sound a little silly, but the first thing I noticed on my first visit (I've been back a half dozen times since then) was that the restaurant just seemed friendly. Lots of open space, large windows, nice decor. It has a very clean, happy feel to it. This place will fill up during lunch, you've been warned.
The food itself is decent. I wouldn't rave about the quality, but I definitely think you get more than your money's worth. One exception is the Chicken In Green Curry, where you get far more than your money's worth in terms of quality. Sweet mother of french fries is that stuff good! I'd have to say the Chicken Bulkogi is right up there as well - that will clear your sinuses right up with its tasty hotness.
So if you don't want either of those (and I'm sure there are other gems I haven't tried yet), it's still worth going just for the variety of choices. Being able to combine items from South America, the Carribean, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Latin America, etc is very much worth not having purely authentic versions of the dishes.
If you are ordering something hot (ie spicy), you can order between 1-4, with #4 being the most spicy. I think these numbers have been dulled down for the average American palate. I'd rate a #4 (the most spicy they make) at about 70% of the spiciness that you would expect when you order the most spicy version. Keep that in mind and bump the number up one from whatever you'd normally choose.
The portions aren't large, but that's fine. Restaurant portions are already far too large in general. The average dish is very healthy in the respect - a decent size portion that doesn't approach gluttony, usually with a fair number of vegetables incorporated into the dish.
The prices are very reasonable. I'd like to give it a 1.5 $ symbol, because you can often get away with paying under $10, and when you pay above that, it generally doesn't break $20. I'd say that on average a per person cost is probably around $12-15.
My standard order here is the Chicken in Green Curry mentioned above (#4, of course), with a side order of Batura (the puffy bread you see in Indian restaurants). Sooo good! I keep wanting to order the Chicken Avocado sandwich, but something else always trumps it!
Being Filipino, being new in town, having a diverse set of friends - I expected this place to be awesome! And don't get me wrong it kinda is - to have all kinds of dishes from all over the world literally. BUT a lot of it wasn't as "authentic" as I'd hope - such as the pancit isn't what I'm used to. For example, Lumpia for $5.95 and you only get like 9 halves - thin ones!!! Most dishes are about $11.95 which is cool because for some dishes the portion sizes are huge. However I wish they could be a little cheaper as this is a place I'd want to go to often. I'd prefer a more "Hole in the wall" type of Filipino restaurant (otherwise I might as well cook for myself) and as for the other cultures, I think I can find some cheaper more authentic places out there. But overall it wasn't bad!! WOuld go back again for sure :) I love the Bugolgi (korean bbq), my hubby loves the Biryani.
The restaurant is in a location that is very easy to miss. I was there during lunch and we ordered a variety of appetizers ( Lots of choice for Vegetarians) and some food as well. The portions are definitely not big , but I thought the quality was pretty good though not very genuine. It is definitely a different place that warrants a visit at least to see what is out there.
My kingdom for.... oh, I guess you'll have to wait.
The fact that this obscure, recessed from the street location always seems to have a crowd has always interested me. It's in a complex of single-story industrial-looking buildings. I'm now trying to decide if it's better for my greedy self-interest that they're hidden (not crowded all the time) or that they are able to pack folks in (keeping the business going for me to enjoy)? Hmm.
We usually come prior to the performances around the corner (less than 1 min walk) at Elden Street Players, which are sometimes a madhouse, as others have the same idea.
The menu ranges from Asian (Thai, Singapore) to Indian, and back to Mexican. It's really so wide-ranging that sometimes I'm tempted to say "just bring me one of EVERYTHING!", but even if not, it's varied enough to be impossible not to find something interesting. To pick a single "I order this at this restaurant" selection is to be boring and avoid the adventure possible here.
My (current) favorite: Singapore noodles.
They are somewhat variable on the application of spicy-ness. They have a 1-4 scale but the other day a 3 was mild enough for everyone I was with to try without ill effects.
On a whim, I decided to give this place a shot for dinner. At first, I was a little suspicious because it wasn't busy, but the interior looked nice and inviting, so I decided to stay. I had a very tasty hummas appetizer to start with and followed it up with an asian-style fish entree special, which was also quite good. The meal came out very quick and was a nice portion. I'll definitely try to make it back here again sometime soon so I can try some of the other items on the menu.
Food is decent, but for me I would prefer a little bit more for the price they are selling it for. Good for those who like a large variety across many different countries (hence the name taste of the world). I got the rice noodles Singapore style with a spice level of 3 (out of 4) which was hot, but not uncomfortable. For those who need a little bit extra to keep them through the work day, an appetizer would be recommended.
