Your mission this entire week is to work up an appetite to do some serious eating this weekend.
The 31st annual Taste of Bethesda returns to Bethesda, Maryland, this Saturday, Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We haven’t been able to have Taste of Bethesda since 2019, so we are incredibly excited to be back bringing food, drinks and entertainment,” Stephanie Coppula, director of marketing and communications, told WTOP. “We’ve had so many new restaurants come to Bethesda in the last few years. At least half the restaurants are brand new to Downtown Bethesda, so come to Taste of Bethesda, see your old favorites, but there’s so many new ones to try.”
The walkable outdoor festival will take over multiple streets in the bustling foodie hub of Woodmont Triangle, including Norfolk, Fairmont, St. Elmo, Cordell and Del Ray avenues where food tents will line the streets.
Just to be clear, this is no Restaurant Week serving up menu specials indoors. This is fully outside.
“We also do a Restaurant Week in Downtown Bethesda, but this is different, you’re not going into the restaurant to get your deal or special — this is a street festival, so all of the participating restaurants have tents outside,” Coppula said. “You will come to the event site, you will stop at a ticket tent to purchase tickets, which you will then exchange for food, wine or beer at any of the restaurant tents … and just taste as much as you can taste.”
Roughly 40 restaurants are participating, but don’t expect their tents to be located in front of their storefronts.
“We will have Mexican food, sushi, Japanese cuisine, lots of desserts, great coffee places,” Coppula said. “Casa Oaxaca will be there, World of Beer, Rock Bottom for those who want to taste some new beers and fall pours, the new Marriott Hotel has some great restaurants participating, new bakeries, Levain, Maman, then some tried and true folks who’ve been here a while like Benihana, Medium Rare, Spanish Diner, Luke’s Lobster, Mamma Lucia.”
Tickets will be sold on-site in bundles of four tickets for $5. Food servings cost one to four tickets. Cash or credit is accepted at the check-in tent. Ticket sales stop at 3:30 p.m. because the event closes at 4 p.m.
“We’ll have four stages of entertainment sprinkled throughout the event site,” Coppula said. “We have a special area dedicated to kids as well, so it’s a great opportunity to just walk through Bethesda.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
