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Virginia Kitchen
Official Website

450 Elden Street
(Kmart Shopping Center)
703-471-0808
Google Map

Credit Cards: Yes
Smoking: No
Alcohol:
No
Delivery: Yes, catering only

Best known in Herndon for their great breakfast, Virginia Kitchen is your standard American hometown diner open for breakfast and lunch. (7am-3pm.) Dozens of photos of employees and regular Herndon customers are printed on the menu, adding a warm, down-to-earth touch to your dining experience. One of the few restaurants left in Herndon where the waitress might call you "Hon."

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User Reviews:


This place is a treasure! What a find! The owners and staff are so nice
and the food is wonderful. It is like stepping back in time to a true family owned
restaurant. If there is a wait at the door, it won't take long and it is worth it.
There seems to be a large group of regulars there, and I now know why. Very
reasonably priced. I look to be a repeat customer!
Cam Middleton, Reston
Likes : Silver Diner
Dislikes: Anitas
Reviewed: 6/24/12

Excellent service, wonderful food, great family atmosphere. Loved the food but felt appreciated and were treated very cordially. The place was pretty full but
everyone was served quite efficiently. We even got a choice of where we were seated! We actually went back the next morning (Sunday) and there was a bit of a wait, but had a great breakfast before we hit the road to go back home.
Sami Martinez, Collinsville, CT
Likes: Mom and Pop places like this one.
Dislikes: chain stores
Reviewed: 10/30/10

Been going here for years. The breakfast is always very good. Their sausage is almost as good as my grandfather used to make from scratch many years ago. All in all a very good meal, and child friendly.
jeff, reston
Likes : Mortons leastfav
Dislikes : Red Robin
Reviewed : 04/18/10

This is our first visit to Virginia Kitchen and we really loved it. It was a welcome change from the other breakfast chain options. I had the chocolate chip waffle (looks simple but the taste was wonderful!) and my husband had the Country boy which had delicious saugage gravy and biscuits and homefries. Believe me my husband is hard to please with sausage gravy and he absolutely loved it so from a real country boy that should say something good :) We will definitely be back again soon. Oh and even though went Sunday morning at 11am and there was a crowd the line moved well and we were seated in 10 minutes, can't say that about most chains these days.
Parisa and Ben, Reston
Age: 18-28
Likes: Cheesecake facotry
Reviewed: July 2009


Virginia Kitchen is an institution. It is one of the few places left in the area that has not caved in to the mass marketed national chains. It's full and character and run by wonderfully friendly people who are devoted providing a good American meal. I usually have breakfast there every other week. And the atmosphere is great! It is a one of kind aspect of Americana that is fast fading away. The food is very good. I have never had a bad meal there yet (after about 15 years of dining) The food is not haute cuisine and people who come through the door expecting that type of food obviously don't understand much about the cullinary arts. It is what it is and a great bargain and congenial atmosphere.
Jim Anderson, Reston
Likes: Clydes in Reston
Dislikes: Any TGIFridays
Reviewed: 04/09


I'm in Herndon/Reston on business, and the hotel I'm staying in has NO restaurant at all. After a couple mornings eating Egg McMuffins, I was dying for a nice sit-down breakfast. Virginia Kitchen was GREAT! I loved being greeted by a wonderful blue-haired lady who must have worked here forever. My waitress was equally as "experienced." From reading the other reviews, they must have other people who work the weekends, because on this Wednesday morning the service was great, perhaps due to the fact there WASN'T a line out the door. The food was OK. Nothing to write home about as far as quality or originality, but it was just what this weary traveler wanted/needed. The menu is, however, quite extensive and I'm sure anyone this side of Califruity will find something they'll like. The country ham was a bit salty (the menu hinted that it is salt-cured, and was right on). Scrambled eggs were just a bit dry. The hash browns were golden brown on the outside, and quite tasty. Honest-to-goodness fresh-squeezed OJ was terrific. I only wish I'd ordered the bigger size. The plain 'ol coffee was a welcome change from Starbucks (charbucks), and the ladies kept my mug full the whole time I was there.
Steve, Massachusetts
Dislikes: most all "chain" restaurants (Chili's, Bob Evans', etc...)
restaurantreviewed: Virginia Kitchen
Reviewed: 11/19/2008

I've been going here forever and can't say enough good things about this old fashioned family-run diner, the type of place that hardly exists anymore in the Reston/Herndon area. There's still a smoking section, so expect the smell and the patina going in. They haven't redecorated in the 20 years I've been going, from the kitschy hand drawn cartoons, to the long-faded pictures and wallpaper. It's distinctly out of style, but that's part of the charm. The staff is mostly made up of loyal lifers, another thing that you won't find much around the area. Sure the food is a little greasy, and not terribly creative, but its authentic and better than any chain diner. Beware weekend mornings if you don't want the wait. Cheddar Sunrise FTW.
Tom, Reston
Age: 18-28
Likes: Tortilla Factory,
Dislikes: TGI Fridays
Reviewed: 10/08

I absolutly love the place. My family and I went Sunday brunch. There was a short wait, but it was lot less of a wait than most places on the weekend. The food was great and fast. My kids loved the mickey mouse shaped pancakes. I enjoyed the pictures on the menu. In this day and age it's hard to find a good family owned restaurants anymore.
Andrew, Herndon
Likes: tortilla factory
Dislikes: pizza hut
Reviewed: September 14, 2008

After reading the reviews here my wife and I decided to try this place for Sunday brunch. It was extremely disappointing. She ordered eggs benedict and the canadian bacon was rubbery and the english muffins were cold and soggy. We both got corned beef hash which essentially looked and tasted like the cheap canned stuff only they burned it. I had biscuits with sausage gravy and the biscuits were dry and cold under gravy that was very bland. To top all that off, there was a wait to get in! I'm baffled honestly. We were hoping for some really good food based on the reviews and the fact that there were people waiting to get in. In the end the only positive thing I can say about the place was that the staff was very friendly.
Michael, Herndon
Likes: Mark's Duck House
Dislikes: McDonald's
Reviewed: 12/16/2007

I reviewed this restaurant back last fall and unfortunately the restaurant managers must now read these postings.Although I've found breakfast to be pretty darn good (on most occasions) I have not seen any indication that this place has received any deep-down cleaning of any kind and it desperately needs it.Sometimes there are jars of homemade jam on the tables and they don't look like they're ever wiped off nor the other condiments. Also, there are a couple waitresses there that shouldn't be working there as they're always down-right rude. I guess they think they add to the charm of the place - who knows.Yes, this place is very popular for breakfast but I'd sure like to see them take a day and close down for some very much needed improvements in the restaurant in terms of ambience plus give it a very thorough cleaning from top to bottom (including the walls and window sills).I'll check back later and see if there's any improvement. Stay tuned.
Mellie, Herndon, VA
Likes: Amphoras Diner (for breakfast)
Dislikes: Spice Town
Reviewed: 04/28/08

I was looking for a decent breakfast place after work (Night Shift) a quick vicinity search pulled up Virginia Kitchen, Fresh squeezed OJ was great, Steak was cooked a little more then i requested but still close enough, it was a little bland and lacking, eggs were cooked well and home fries are decent, my wife had the country fried steak which was rather good (samn sides as mine) Overall the service was good, but you could find better food at a local IHOP which isn't saying much. 5 out of 10.
Anthony N., Herndon, VA
Age: 18-28
Likes: Oriental Regency, Smith and Clarksons, Blue Ocean
Dislikes: McDonalds.
Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2006

I've been going to Virginia Kitchen for the past 5 years. I had out of town guests in January and I raved to them about the food and the restaurant. We went there for breakfast and were sadly disappointed. The freshly squeezed OJ is always so good, but the breakfast of creamed chip beef was sout, my guest's eggs, omelts etc were tasteless and stale. My guest ponted out to me that the above ceiling fans were filthy, full of grease and dirt. I was horrified and embarrasses. I truly hope this all changes because I have really enjoyed going there up to this point.
Sherri, Herndon, VA
Likes: Zeffirelli's
Dislikes: all fast food
January 2006


My favorite breakfast place. I can go for a huge breakfast of waffles, eggs, hasbrowns, bacon or a simple breakfast of egg, fruit and banana nut bread. I can stick to the regular breakfast of eggs, meat, and hashbrown or be adventurous and go with one of the fancy specials. My last visit I went with my regular of two eggs, bacon, toast, and hashbrown. Bacon is crisp and the orange juice is fresh squeezed. The service is fantastic.
Greg, Herndon, VA
Also Likes: Euro Bistro
Date Reviewed: 8/29/2005