Best Restaurants in Downtown Bethesda?

[Anonymous]

Olazzo and Alatri Bros. Owned by the same people.

[Anonymous]

We like Trattoria Sorrento on Cordell for Italian. Their food is delicious!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite and my go-to is Jaleo. Also, Jose Andres is an incredible person

Jaleo has closed unfortunately

Do you know if Jaleo is permanently closed? I thought they were temporarily “hibernating”. I hope this is the case. Jaleo and Faryab are the two places that I visit with guests and small groups — where everyone ends up happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Our favorite is Satsuma, not because one dish stands out, but because most are decent and we each have a preferred dish there. Also the decor reminds me of so many comfy old Japanese restaurants. Not too noisy either.

That’s one restaurant I haven’t tried yet. I see the signs for $1 sushi! I’ll have to try that out. Thanks

Actually we don't eat their sushi. Dishes we order nearly every time:
1. I like the Nabe yaki udon (fat noodles in broth).
2. DS likes the Tonkatsu (pork cutlets).
3. DD likes the spicy Curry tonkotsu lamen.
4. DH likes the barbecued meat that you grill yourself at the table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try Guardados https://www.guardados.com/

Understated, delicious

disagree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Our favorite is Satsuma, not because one dish stands out, but because most are decent and we each have a preferred dish there. Also the decor reminds me of so many comfy old Japanese restaurants. Not too noisy either.

That’s one restaurant I haven’t tried yet. I see the signs for $1 sushi! I’ll have to try that out. Thanks

Actually we don't eat their sushi. Dishes we order nearly every time:
1. I like the Nabe yaki udon (fat noodles in broth).
2. DS likes the Tonkatsu (pork cutlets).
3. DD likes the spicy Curry tonkotsu lamen.
4. DH likes the barbecued meat that you grill yourself at the table.

Me again. I also love Passage to India, particularly their goat curry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Faryab is probably my favorite
Kadhai is good too

Was looking forward to trying Cubanos but haven’t since I think it opened right around the start of the pandemic.

Some people swear by Bangkok Garden but we fell into Sala Thai and haven’t tried it

I will have to check out Faryab.

I did not care for Kadhai. I was told they keep the spice levels down so it’s more Americanized so people will like the taste. I may have to give it another shot with a different dish and ask for more spicy.

I did not enjoy Thai food options in Bethesda at all. The pad Thai dishes I had at birth sala & Bangkok garden tastes like they threw a bunch of soy sauce in there and called it a day. They were lacking the sweet peanut sauce flavor with a kick of fish oil. The good places are in Wheaton and Rockville (Nava Thai, Kiin Imm, and Amina).

Kadhai has flavor but no spice. It’s the only Indian restaurant my kids eat. Another family favorite (good for kids and adults) is Pizzeria da Marco.

[Anonymous]

We like Lotus Grill for Indian on Elm Street. Great food and very nice owners.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, a few of the restaurants in downtown Bethesda are pretty good, but none are great.

I once had a truly delicious lunch at Passionfish, but I haven’t been there since so I can’t vouch for it. We like to order delivery from Momo.

[Anonymous]

Cal tort

[Anonymous]

Duck Duck Goose -- everything we've tried there has been delicious. We've only done takeout since the pandemic, but in before times, service was quite good and noise level allowed conversation -- fancy that!

[Anonymous]

Big Greek Cafe
Moby Dick

Both for fast/casual----delicious

[Anonymous]

Okay no really - are there any actually good restaurants in Bethesda? Because the list so far is terrible. Passion fish only decent one mentioned so far

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, a few of the restaurants in downtown Bethesda are pretty good, but none are great.

I once had a truly delicious lunch at Passionfish, but I haven’t been there since so I can’t vouch for it. We like to order delivery from Momo.

We have had a number of great meals at Passion Fish. I was surprised not to see it mentioned so far. I could eat that spread they give you with the bread ALL day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay no really - are there any actually good restaurants in Bethesda? Because the list so far is terrible. Passion fish only decent one mentioned so far

Agree. Bethesda has such a lack of good restaurants. It’s even hard to find a decent place for a burger. PassionFish is always good. I hope they survive.