Idylwood Grill & Wine Bar is a gem located in the shopping center behind the Subway off Pimmit Drive. Though largely hidden from view, if you can find the Subway, you can find what Tunisian-born owner Hedi Ben-Abdallah calls “a grade A restaurant in a grade B location” which specializes in Italian cuisine.
When you walk in the door, the friendly owner greets most diners with a smile and a handshake. When you walk out the door, he is there again with a flashy smile and outstretched hand. Customer service is their hallmark, politeness is their creed.
The walls are heavily decorated with art work, including a giant painted map of Italy over the wine bar. No wall is left bare; the few areas that are not decorated by art show off the restaurant’s more than 100 wine selections. The dimmed lights and soft music set an intimate, yet lively atmosphere.
The menu includes a healthy selection of specials, each presented with a complementary wine suggestion. Among the daily specials are fresh Chilean sea bass, salmon and tilapia, each served with one of the many home made sauces on which the Idylwood Grill prides itself. As they should; they have a wide range of many fantastic dishes that include, but are not limited to, the half-pound Idylwood burger ($14.95) served on a toasted sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and pickles, and lobster ravioli ($25.95) sautéed with rock shrimp and served with a nantua pernod cream sauce.
The entrees run the gamut, from dinner salads, poultry, beef and a good selection of pastas and seafood. For the lighter appetite, the Idylwood Grill also offers pasta bowls and sandwiches during their lunch hours.
Appetizers should not go unaccounted for. The lamb sausage merguez ($7.95) is served over navy beans in a tomato harissa sauce that will leave you licking your plate. The Idylwood calamari ($8.95) is sauteed with herbs, garlic and shallots with a tomato beurre blanc sauce that delights the taste buds.
A particularly fine dish is the fresh-caught Chilean sea bass ($27.95), served with crusted potato buds, tri-colored peppers and hearts of palm in a light vinaigrette. Another must-try is the pork loin ($19.95), which is topped with caramelized apples and accompanied by mashed potatoes, onions and a tomato ragout sauce.
Good food, of course, is best with good drink, and the Idylwood Grill has a plethora of wines to choose from. The wine list includes 44 white wines and nearly 70 red wines, with origins hailing from California, Oregon and Washington among the U.S. wines, as well as international wines from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Italy and Spain.
For wine lovers, the restaurant has a cozy wine bar that welcomes any person of age at any time within the restaurant hours.
At Idylwood Grill & Wine Bar, the only sauciness you will experience will be in the food. For fine flavor, fun and fermentation, Idylwood Grill & Bar is an excellent choice.
Idylwood Grill & Wine Bar
2190 Pimmit Dr. #B, Falls Church, VA
703-992-0915
Hours:
Lunch served Monday – Friday; Dinner served Monday – Saturday; Closed Sunday
Lunch 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Dinner 5 – 9:30 p.m.
