Best Food Near Cherrydale, Arlington VA

Cherrydale is one of Arlington County's most established neighborhoods, stretching along Lee Highway (Route 29) in the northern part of the county between Ballston and East Falls Church. The neighborhood takes its name from a cherry orchard that once occupied the area and has maintained a distinctive small-town feel despite being surrounded by the rapid development of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Cherrydale's commercial strip along Lee Highway includes local shops, a hardware store, restaurants, and the historic Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department -- one of the few volunteer fire companies still operating in Arlington.

The dining scene along Lee Highway in Cherrydale is relatively limited compared to the density of restaurants in Clarendon and Ballston a few blocks south. Options tend toward American casual fare and a handful of ethnic restaurants. What the immediate Cherrydale area lacks is a dedicated Mediterranean and Middle Eastern kitchen that executes the fundamentals with proper technique: shawarma made on a vertical rotisserie rather than a flat grill, falafel formed from raw chickpea batter and fried to order rather than pulled from a freezer, manaeesh and meat pies baked in a working oven, and a fully halal menu that extends across the entire menu without exception.

Taza Shawarma & Falafel fills that position. Located at 5820 Seminary Road (Bailey's Crossroads) in Falls Church, Virginia, the restaurant is approximately 4.5 miles southwest of Cherrydale. The most direct route follows Lee Highway (Route 29) west toward Falls Church, connecting to Route 7 South (Leesburg Pike) at the Seven Corners intersection. From Seven Corners, continue south on Route 7 through Baileys Crossroads and turn left onto Seminary Road. Taza is on the right in Bailey's Crossroads with free parking. The drive takes about ten minutes in normal traffic.

The centerpiece of Taza's kitchen is the vertical rotisserie. Every shawarma order is carved straight off the vertical spit, the classic Levantine way. The marinated meat is stacked in tight layers on the vertical spit with ribbons of fat between each layer. As the spit rotates against open flame, the exterior develops a caramelized crust while the fat renders downward, basting everything beneath it. When you order, the meat is carved directly off the spit into your pita, shrak wrap, or bowl. Nothing sits in a warming tray.

Beyond shawarma, the menu spans falafel (made from chickpeas, herbs, and spices, fried to order), oven manaeesh (za'atar, cheese, spinach, and lahm bil ajin), specialty pies starting at $2.95 each, creamy hummus and smoky fire-roasted baba ghanouj, fresh-blended smoothies and juices, and desserts -- rice pudding with pistachio and harissa semolina cake, and rice pudding perfumed with cinnamon. At Taza the flatbreads and pies are baked in the oven as orders come in.

For Cherrydale residents, the connection via Lee Highway makes Taza a practical option for lunch, dinner, or late-night meals. The route passes through Seven Corners -- itself a major intersection connecting Arlington, Falls Church, and Fairfax County -- and arrives at Seminary Road without requiring any highway ramps or complicated navigation. In the store, you choose from 14 free toppings and the crew builds it at the counter.

Pricing at Taza stands out against the Arlington dining market. A Chicken Shawarma Pita is $9.95. A full Chicken Shawarma Bowl is $12.45. Za'atar Manaeesh from the oven is $6.95. Specialty pies are $2.95 each. These are not token portions -- they are full-sized, made-to-order items from a kitchen with a vertical rotisserie, an oven, and a commitment to preparing everything fresh that day. Open from 11 AM to midnight, seven days a week.