Cafe Tirolo - Arlington

Fantastic Austrian style food. While hard to find, you will find it is really worth the looking. It's mostly known for it's lunch specials, and not all that large or comfortable but trust me, the chicken dishes with mushrooms are out of this world! Family run, and with self buss tables it really is like being in the Alps in the Triol area. BRING YOUR APPETITE! Note: The original owners sold to an Asian family, and thus far they are sticking to the menu and the recipes as it was run before. However, if the quality suffers they will be gone in a New York minute.

Saw the Yelp reviews... so I thought I'd give this place a try. Paid my street parking (a pet peeve) and marched on in. At first glance, I was a little shocked.... it looked like your typical Korean run Deli you know the type, sandwiches, and a few variations of bulgogi dishes. This place had those, and went a step further to have pasta, and a couple German/Austrian entrees (schintzel and Goulash). Honestly, I was confused by the menu boards all over the place. There was multiple signs, entrees written at a 45 degree angle on some, multiple standalone whiteboards with various specials. More specials on whiteboards behind the register. A little organization would be appreciated. There were probably more menu boards hidden that I didn't see. I wanted to try the Goulash, but saw that it was $13.... pretty expensive. I thought hey, if I'm going to pay that much, I might as well get the schnitzel... but when that rang out to be over $16, I thought again to myself let's try to keep this in the realm of lunch budget and backed it off and got the Goulash, even though it was more than I would normally pay for soup especially at a little unfamiliar Deli. Well, the goulash came out in short order (picture attached), it was basically 3 hunks of really tough beef in about a cup of Goulash broth, and a mound of spaetzle and a slice of french bread.... The beef was super tough and hard to cut with a fork or spoon. Forget trying to do it with a plastic spoon, at least they had metal spoons too. I finished the broth before anything else because there was a really skimpy amount, which meant I had to finish the bread with lame refrigerated and hard butter (which I had to request), as well as the tough beef which was even more lame without any goulash broth. I also happened to notice they also had a goulash side on the menu for $5. I can't imagine how small that portion must be... she said it didn't come with spaetzle. Either that means I paid $8 extra for spaetzle... or I got ripped off with the portion I got. Either way, I felt ripped off and won't be back. Disappointing because I had my hopes up for a hole in the wall place that could dish out good German or Austrian food.... Guess I'll just keep looking. Sorry Cafe Tirolo... you got my money this time. Good luck to you, and think about giving the customers a bit more soup for a $13 entree. At least fill the shallow bowl you serve it in. SMH.

This place is a great hole in the wall family run restaurant. walking in, you don't expect much, but you'll find some of the best Italian fare you'll have had in a while. The decor is pretty bare, and tables are a bit rickety, but the food is home grown, no frills, cooked with love type that you'll enjoy and come back for more. Started off with the fried zucchini. Not a bad dish. First off, they give you a TON of fried zucchini, so no complaints there. Not enough marinara sauce in my opinion, as they bread the hell out of the zucchini. Still not bad for an app. Had the Capellini and the Rigatoni. Capellini was cooked nicely, with wonderful light tomato sauce and finished with fresh basil. The rigatoni was the star in my opinion. The meat sauce was nice and rich, with a hearty feel to it that just got me addicted. Nice large rigatoni that soaked up all the oils and meat sauce, and a little bit of cheese to finish it all off and bind it together. Even though at this point I was already full from eating too much zucchini, I couldn't stop eating the rigatoni. Overall, a great place, and definitely a place that will satisfy your family food itch. LEGIT!

If you want a foodie gourmet feast on the quasi-cheap, look no further. Ignore the fact that you order at a counter and get appetizers, salads, entrees, wine, and maybe even dessert. The history is the Austrian owners of Tirolo used to run Cafe Monti on Duke St in Alexandria. It was my favorite dinner spot as a teenager and should maybe get some credit for the evolution of my fine pallet. For some reason the owners sold Monti and opened up Tirolo, which was the exact same thing in terms of concept and menu in a space that is cleaner much nicer. The menu is austrian/european fare like schnitzel but most of it is stuff widely consumed in America- chicken, fish, pasta- something for everyone. I recommend to go off the specials board- the little dry erase deal by the register. I 've always loved the chicken special which is grilled chicken with some awesome sauce of the day, often smothered in melted cheese, served with delicious potatoes and buttery green beans and a hearty slice of crusty but soft bread. The last time I was here I had an outstanding trout special- the fish was deliciously prepared with cream, onions, mushroom, and breadcrumbs with their signature potatoes and green beans. Not exactly health food, accept that this is food is laden with fat. I also recommend their salads which perfectly open up to the heavier fare of the mains. Their green salad is basic but delicious. On the specials board you 'll find more creative offerings like goat cheese and tomato or crab and avocado. Wine is a good deal here. There 's no wine list, it 's more like White or red and comes in a water glass but it 's a generous amount. It 's not that hard to find if you know that it 's on the backside of Tara Thai. Parking is bitch though. P.S. Have no idea why this place is categorized as a deli .

Notice that the good reviews were written years ago. The place is obviously under new ownership, and they 're living off of the old rep. The food is cheap (as in poor quality), the atmosphere is cheap. This only Austrian thing in the entire store is the name. I love eating out and this is the only restaurant I 've eaten at in years that I 've actually given a poor rating.