Mussel Bar - Bethesda, MD

Even before Mussel Bar had opened in Bethesda, there was a lot of talk about it online. I definitely wanted to try it because I love mussels as it reminds me of my childhood. Located on Woodmont Avenue, there is metered street parking and a metered garage 1/2 a block away. The closest metro station is Bethesda on the red line. They offer some outdoor seating, but it's way too cold for that right now.

Aside from their mussel selection, they offer over 90 different types of beer, which they put on display in the middle of the room. Their bar takes up about 1/2 of the space in the center of the room with dining room seating around it. We ended up sitting at the back of the restaurant, which has a comfy/contemporary-rustic feel. It's a little loud in there, so it's more of a fun, laid-back environment.
They do not take reservations, but our party of 2 was seated in about 15 minutes on a week night for dinner.

My friend and I came specifically for the mussels, which are “Blue Bay” Prince Edward Island mussels. They are served in a big, covered saucepan that the staff opens for you. My friend ordered the 'Spicy Thai (Green Curry)' for $17. All of the mussel dishes are served with frites (fries). She liked the flavor and it was recommended by our server as being one of their more popular flavors.

I ordered the 'Wild Shroom (Pancetta, Parmesan, Truffle Cream)' for $17. I love everything with truffle, so this dish was good, creamy and rich. The mussels were big, opened and cooked perfectly.

Bread was served for dipping into the sauce.

The fries were good because they were crispy and thin with herbs sprinkled on top. Served with mayonnaise, you can also request a bottle of ketchup.

I had a nice dinner with my friend, and our server was nice and helpful. We found the mussels to be good and came with plenty of food. As you can see from the pictures, our dishes look similar and had a similar creamy sauce. I think if I were to come back I would get the classic flavor because it can be hard to eat a large, creamy dish like that without feeling stuffed.

7262 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-215-7817
www.musselbar.com


Monday-Thursday 11:30am-11:30pm
Friday 11:30am-1:00am
Saturday 11:00am-1:00am
Sunday 11:00am-11:30pm
Breakfast served Saturday & Sunday 11am-4pm