This story, originally published at 2:39 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2024, was updated at 4:42 p.m. to add comments from Stephanie Coppula, director of marketing and communications for Bethesda Urban Partnership.
Sweet desserts, rich seafood, fresh cocktails, tasty burgers and more will be available at local eateries during this year’s Savor Bethesda Restaurant Week, which runs Friday through Feb. 25 and features more than 30 restaurants.
Bethesda Urban Partnership is hosting the week-long event during which restaurants will offer $10, $20 and $35 deals for dine-in and take-out.
Bethesda Urban Partnership began Savor Bethesda in 2020 to promote restaurants doing take-out during the pandemic, Stephanie Coppula, director of marketing and communications for Bethesda Urban Partnership told MoCo360.
It has continued since then, and Coppula said that it has been a very popular event.
“We want to continue to support the restaurants where people enjoy eating in Downtown Bethesda,” Coppula said.
She also said that one of her favorite features of the event is that it includes less expensive as well as upscale dining options.
“It’s not just a high-end dining program like some other restaurant weeks. We’ve got the 10-, 20- and 35-dollar price points because we want people to try a new baked good, try a new cafe, or try lunch somewhere, so it doesn’t just have to be an expensive meal, but it certainly can be,” Coppula said.
Bethesda Magazine restaurant critic David Hagedorn has raved about many of the participating restaurants over the last several years:
Cubano’s, a Cuban restaurant that opened in 2020 at 4907 Cordell Ave., will offer a $20 lunch deal, which includes two croquetas, one arepa, one flan; and a $35 dinner deal, which features one empanada, one lechón and a Four Leches Cake.
Hagedorn describes Cubano’s cuisine as comfort food that feels like a “long-lost friend’s hug,” and praises the “perfectly cooked rice and seafood.”
Planta, a vegan eatery that opened in 2022 at 4910 Elm St., will serve a $20 lunch and $35 dinner, both with three-course prix fixe menus.
In his review, Hagedorn said Planta’s spinach-and-shiitake dumplings “burst with flavor.” He complimented the crab dip’s “richness and flavor” and noted the spaghetti carbonara’s “perfectly al dente noodles.”
The $20 lunch deal at The Salt Line, a seafood restaurant that opened in 2023 at 7284 Woodmont Ave., includes the choice of a burger and a roast beef or fish sandwich; potato chips and a cup of soup or salad. The $35 dinner deal features a lobster roll (dressed or buttered), potato chips, and a cup of soup or salad.
According to Hagedorn, The Salt Line “makes a respectable lobster roll with 4½ ounces of chunky meat” and says the restaurant serves a “kick-ass double patty smashburger.”
Other restaurants participating include:
- Alatri Bros.
- Caddies on Cordell
- CHIKO
- Delhi Spice
- Dog Haus Biergarten
- Fialova
- Guardado’s
- Jetties
- Kusshi Bethesda (Hanaro)
- La Catrina
- Levain Bakery
- Lilit Cafe
- Luke’s Lobster
- Maman
- Moby Dick House of Kabob
- Mon Ami Gabi
- Nothing Bundt Cakes Bethesda
- Pho Viet
- Pizzeria da Marco
- Poke Dojo
- Puree Juice Bar
- Red Bandana Bakery
- Seventh State
- Silver
- Smoke BBQ
- Spanish Diner
- Tacombi
- Tikka Masala Indian Cuisine
- Tout de Sweet Pastry Shop
- World of Beer
- ZAO Stamina Ramen