present

this place will rip you off !!!. i went to this restaurant the night before mothers day, i was asked to wait 30 to 40 minutes. that is no problem, since most places are busy on a a saturday night. my group of 4 were sat in just 20 minutes, great! the restaurant has a very traditionalvietnameselook, very pleasant. i was disappointed when i saw the menu though. very expensive for the little bit of food they bring you. i ordered fried fish off of the menu that was $29.95, yet the waiter said "sorry, we only have the $50.00 version tonight", wtf?? bait and switch at it's best, so my guest and i split this and two other smaller entres and one pot of tea. the food was bland, i have had much better food at other places, there was no salt, no pepper, no sugar and the waiter did not refill our tea or anything. when we got the bill some of the things we ordered were much more expensive than reflected on the menu...warning......check your bill... !!!! i was very very upset, for 1 pot of tea, i main course and two appetizers it cost $119.00 for 4 people and there was not enough to go around. very very expensive, misleading menu and staff, poor food quality, and very little portions. the only good thing i can say about 'present' is i will not be going back there.......

wow!. from the outside it's a little questionably, but once inside the experience changes completely. the staff are extremely friendly and the atmosphere is comfortable and reminded me a little of being in asia (a little). i don't knowvietnamesefood well so i had the waiter make a few suggestions. i appreciated that he didn't immediately go for all the most expensive items. he brought me the imperial autumn rolls, which i downed in seconds. they come with what i thought was just garnish, but when the waiter saw i was almost done suggested wrapping them in the lettuce and mint leaves and dipping them in the sauce. holy @$%# were those good! for the main course he directed me to something called "cow in the open field." i could have eaten three more plates.

i'm not sure how the place stacks up against othervietnameserestaurants, but this was the best food in general that i've had in some time. every time i visit falls church i'm going here again.

our impression was one of fine-tuned technique and big, bold tastes. the decor, the demeanor of the waiters and the overall attention to detail sent a clear message: present aspires to represent high-endvietnamesein a way that many of its competitors don’t. color us impressed.

fact: between falls church, annandale and the eden center there are morevietnameserestaurants than there are people. this was something we had to consider when looking to expand our palates for global cuisine, as the district has about four and a half v

enjoy the present.. *highly recommended*

i'm half-vietnamese. i've eaten in just about everyvietnameserestaurant in nova over the last 15 years. present is one of the best, if not the best, by far. great atmosphere, very comfortable, and fantastic service unlike mostvietnameseplaces. you don't get your app and entree at the same time or, worse yet, your app after your entree. the food is delicious. clean, simple, fresh, and presented nicely. again, unlike most othervietnamesejoints, your food isn't all crammed onto a plate or bowl without any room to dig in or even see what you're eating.

the exterior will fool you. you really have no idea that the interior would as nice as it is. the parking lot can get a little jammed at night, but it's not a real problem. all in all, definitely a good date spot.

because of present and one othervietnameserestaurant in the area, i will never eat at eden shopping center again. eden is a nightmare anyway, and that's why the best restaurant moved out of there 2 years ago.

i've enjoyed everything i've had at present, but if i have to recommend one thing to convert anyone... autumn rolls. you have to try the autumn rolls. their grilled pork (every variation i've had) is also outstanding.

you can check out their menu at www.presentcuisine.com

bad experience. i don't know why there are so many excellent reviews for present. we lovevietnamesefood, but present does not live up to our expectations or taste buds.
we had early saturday evening reservations. we were rushed through our meal - had barely had a bite of the spring rolls and the crispy fish was plopped on our table. when we asked the waiter why he was hurrying us through our meal, he said they had a large party of 40 coming at 6:30. why should that force him to hurry us through our meal?
the crispy fish was very small, not fresh (very fishy smelling), and was soggy.
we will never return and will tell our friends to not try the restaurant.