73. BlackSalt ★★½

4883 MacArthur Blvd., NW; 202-342-9101

Cuisine: Of all the restaurants in Jeff and Barbara Black’s local empire, this fishhouse is the most polished and most expensive. But the premise is wonderfully simple: an ever-changing roster of often rustic dishes built around well-sourced seafood and fish, from Maryland rockfish to Japanese hamachi.

Mood: A tidy fish market fronts the restaurant: A stainless-steel-accented bar/cafe is the casual counterpart to the bistro next to the glass-walled kitchen in back. The spaces share tight quarters, a menu, and—when the place is full—lots of energy.

Best for: Seafood lovers who don’t want precious preparations of raw fish.

Best dishes: Sweet Nantucket bay scallops atop a zesty puttanesca; a many-splendored salad of bitter escarole, sweet candied almonds, salty bacon, and tart apples; creamy chowder with crisp fried clams; steamed mussels with chorizo and tomato sauce; tart Key-lime pie; butterscotch pudding with a Scotch milkshake.

Insider tips: You can easily make a meal from a couple of happy-hour-menu small plates and $5 Champagne cocktails, available daily from 4 to 7 in the bar and cafe. You can order one of pastry chef Susan Wallace’s seasonal fruit streusels from the market up front.

Service: ••

Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, Sunday for brunch and dinner. Expensive.

11960 Democracy Dr., Reston; 703-230-3474

Cuisine: It’s easy to look at this slick, bustling operation as a corporate seafood house in a Reston shopping center, but chef/owner Jeff Tunks’s kitchen makes a genuine effort to stock local produce and sustainable fishes for executive chef Chris Clime’s globally inspired dishes—from a simple bucket of fried clams to Peruvian ceviche.

Mood: The raw-bar items laid out on ice near the kitchen set a tone of authenticity, and the room has the buzz of a fishmonger’s stall. Because the space expands vertically, there’s not a bad seat in the house—all diners can enjoy views of the first-floor action, though things are slightly more subdued in the upstairs gallery.

Best for: A night of downtown sophistication for Virginians—without the traffic or the long drive home from DC.

Best dishes: Clams casino; fried clams; hamachi crudo with grapefruit and jalapeño; eight-piece “kamikaze roll” of tempura prawns, avocado, and spicy tuna; red Thai curry lobster; honest, lightly bound crabcakes; whole-roasted branzino; freshly fried doughnut holes.

Insider tips: A special kids’ menu is a welcome departure from the usual chicken-fingers kind of offering. Servers here know their wines—one of the chefs lives on a nearby vineyard—and will bring samples.

Service: •••

Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Expensive.

71. Present ★★½

6678 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church; 703-531-1881

Cuisine: The New Age–sounding names of many of the dishes, together with the over-the-top presentations (fried shrimp dangling in an elegantly carved pineapple boat), suggests an operation founded on kitsch. But there’s plenty of steak to go with the sizzle: This energetic restaurant has emerged as one of the leaders of Vietnamese cooking, turning out dishes of complexity and refinement—dishes that, at their best, rival the efforts of non-family-style places that typically cost three times as much.

Mood: From the tinkling fountain to the lodge-like surround of wood, a serenity belies the expectation of most ethnic family-run restaurants, which tend to emphasize a stark efficiency and a minimum of atmosphere. Present aims to dazzle you, and not just on the plate.

Best for: Special occasions on the cheap.

Best dishes: A mouthwatering hash of clams served in a giant sesame shell; a spot-on preparation of bun, with grilled pork and shrimp, a nest of veggies and a twirl of vermicelli; any of the masterful soups, including the Sour Spicy Seafood; a tenderer-than-usual rendition of “shaky” beef called Cow on the Open Field, tossed in a complex and zingy sauce; the best banh xeo, or stuffed crepe, in the area.

Insider tips: Many of the dishes are large and best suited for sharing.

Service: ••½

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Inexpensive to moderate.