Chay Restaurant opens Chantilly location after Lincolnia success

Chay Restaurant has opened a second location in the Sully District at 5005A Westone Plaza in Chantilly, beginning with a soft opening on October 28, 2026. The restaurant, which operates a popular vegetarian Vietnamese outpost in Lincolnia, aims to serve office workers and diners from western Fairfax County and Loudoun County who previously faced long waits at its original Barcroft Plaza location.

Owner Thi Le, who co-runs the business with chef-wife Lan Tran, said the original restaurant's weekend crowds and limited convenience for customers in western Fairfax and Loudoun drove the expansion. The new spot capitalizes on its position between Chantilly and Centreville and proximity to office parks.

The Chantilly restaurant seats roughly 85 people and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with no reservations accepted. The menu features numerous vegan and vegetarian dishes, including new items created for this location. Le highlighted the vegan "clam" dip as the restaurant's top seller, alongside the spicy Huế noodle soup, crispy fried noodles, heavenly fried rice, and shaky beef.

Chay's original Lincolnia location opened at Barcroft Plaza in 2023 and won recognition from former Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema as one of 26 best new restaurants in the D.C. metro area. Washingtonian magazine named it one of the region's "100 Very Best Restaurants" in both 2025 and 2026, and its meatless bun bo hue appeared on WETA's "Signature Dish" show.

First reported by FFXnow.