8413 Old Courthouse Rd
Vienna, VA
(703) 394-5205
*** CLOSED ***
Koi Asian Bistro
occupies the old Ega Restaurant space in the back of a small strip mall near
the corner of Chain Bridge Rd and Old Courthouse Dr. in Vienna. We’re starting this entry with the location
of this Tyson’s Corner gem because if you don’t know it’s there, you’ll never
find it. Once you’ve found the place,
you’ll soon discover that the food, the service, and the price make the search
worth it for some really good Asian cuisine.
We’ve been to Koi for lunch twice and had the
buffet. Although tucked away in a far
corner of the restaurant, the buffet was fully stocked with a cross-section of
treats from various Asian cultures. There
are few surprises on the buffet: A rich
pumpkin broth, some typical wonton soup, samples of tempuras, fried rices,
dishes that were plentiful, fresh and tasty.
The trays of sushi were also plentiful; if a bit typical with avocado
and crab stick California maki rolls, and nigiri pieces (salmon, yellowtail, ebi,
and tuna) that were all fresh and served with the standard staples of pickled
ginger and wasabe.
The serving staff was the real draw to Koi. An attentive, knowledgeable, and pleasant
minded staff seemed to take a few steps beyond what would be considered normal
service. Water glasses were kept full;
plates bearing the remnants of a previous trip were bussed immediately before
the new plate of goodness arrived from the buffet. They checked on us during
the meal and her sense of pride was evident as she talked about the genesis of
her restaurant.
Koi does a great job making a rather large space seem
personal and intimate. Several private
dining rooms that hold about 8 – 10 diners line three larger rooms with open
tables and booths. Each table is
equipped with a Gogigui grill (Gogigui literally means "meat +
roasting"), the Korean style built-in grill for roasting meats. A fourth larger room in the back of the
restaurant is reserved for large parties that can hold about 80 – 100. This room even comes with a karaoke machine
for guest’s entertainment. Bathrooms are
very clean.
We have not yet ordered directly from the menu, but some friends
recently visited Koi for a first account of some menu items. Here are their comments:
“We ate there with our bridge club on
Friday night and were all very pleasantly surprised at how nice it
was. And the food is good, too. Our dinners included
decaffeinated green tea, miso broth, a small salad, entrée, and a sample of
their “ice cream with rice skin”. Wow! We ordered
the honey/butter sweet potato appetizer and it was wonderful and had the
blackened cod which we enjoyed. We also had the chicken with
vegies, but the sauce contained shell fish. So she took it away and
brought us the dish without the sauce. We were very pleased with
the place.”
The next time you have a yearning for some good Asian food
and can’t decide on the rich variety of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai
cuisines in the Northern Virginia area head out to Koi and get some of the best
from all the Asian cuisines.
