Rock Creek Bethesda

Their crab cakes are still awesome. I was so happy the manager still recognized me… he remembered because I was taking pictures of food.
I had the steak that night… it wasn’t mind blowing, but it hit the spot. I really did enjoy the scallops. For the price and the amount, it really was a quality dish.
They make amazing food and really care about all the ingredients used. I appreciate the effort… I can definitely taste all the care that goes into each dish.

Reason #1 why I like Unilocal– restaurants actually read what you write.
I just received a call from the manager at Rock Creek, who tracked down my phone number from my reservation. I was a bit taken aback at first, but he calmly explained to me that they were understaffed that night, primarily because the power had gone out in a large area of downtown Bethesda, and Rock Creek found itself as one of the few places to still have power. Hence they received a flood of patrons, which was certainly the case. As he stated on the phone, they should have been up front about this, and he apologizes for the slow service.
I have a lot of respect for someone who can admit to a place’s shortcomings and takes the time to make sure its customers are satisfied. So for that, I’m happy to give Rock Creek the extra star that kind of customer service deserves.
And I stand by my first review on one thing– the food was delicious.

Mindful dining is how Rock Creek describes it’s menu selections, which is quite appropriate. Well prepared, tasty, healthy, and moderately priced for Bethesda. Servers are attentive and well trained. On site owner-​manager. Try their chicken, salmon, scallops. Soups are always delicious. Sorbet desserts are a treat.

Great restaurant in downtown Bethesda! Also, I like the fact that they value health and have all the calories/​fat content/​etc. listed in the back of the menu as well as online. If you or one of your friends is on a special diet, you can check that out before going in. The food and the dessert were great.
Also, my friend and I had a rather awesome opportunity pop up. We were a party of two next to an empty table for two and a party of four was coming in. They asked us if we would move, which we didn’t mind at all really. My friend is on crutches due to knee surgery but they didn’t move us too far away. When the realized my friend was on crutches as we moved, they felt awful for asking us to move and gave us each a $ 30 gift certificate to come back for dinner again. It was really generous and we were pleasantly surprised.
For the food, service, and classy ambiance, I give Rock Creek five stars.
Also, as an fyi, the Rock Creek branch in D.C. is Friendship Heights is closed. We found out when we went to try that branch with our gift certificates so we just went back to Bethesda.

If you’re looking for a romantic place in Bethesda with amazing food, I’d recommend this place. Ambiance is wonderful, not too noisy. I had a broiled white tuna steak special and my husband had a broiled salmon with bok choy and dijon mustard. Both were cooked to perfection, the fish melted in your mouth. Not that I pay attention to calories or nutritional information, but for those who are concerned about that, they have a nutritional info on their dishes on the back of the menu.
Service was amazing. Our waiter and his trainee were so nice, they kept checking on us time to time.

I’d say this was a 2.5 stars lunch experience.
I decided to treat myself to lunch today at Rock Creek and take advantage of their 2 courses for $ 12.50 special. I had the gazpacho and the turkey burger with the celeriac-​apple slaw as the side. It was strange that on a gorgeous Friday lunch-​hour, I was one of only two tables in the restaurant. The gazpacho had good flavor, but was watery. The turkey burger was cooked perfectly; however, it was overwhelmed but too many additions (avocado, a cranberry-​mustard spread, butter lettuce, and tomato). The cranberry-​mustard spread alone (and more of it!) would have been the perfect accompaniment to the burger. The waiter hovered a little, but what can you expect when you’re one of two tables.
Finally, a word about the décor and Rock Creek. I LOVE this restaurant’s concept and their old Mazza location was our go-​to restaurant for special occasions and health-​conscious company. The Bethesda location needs to be brightened up inside. There are lots of times when the restaurant looks closed just because it appears so dark from the exterior. In comparison to other Bethesda haunts like Café Deluxe, Jaleo, etc, it can come off as dull and drab. This might explain why they are less than full on most nights.
My advice, set the dull interior aside and hit this place up for dinner when it’s livelier and service is spot on.

What to do in downtown Bethesda when your preteen is attending an evening at the spa with girlfriends and you’re left alone at the door??? Why, you turn to Unilocal,look for something nearby that it would be a crime to not patronize, and take a leap of faith and jump in.
That’s pretty much how ended up here. It also didn’t hurt that I happened to find a parking space at the front door either.
Nick at the bar recommended the soft shell crab, which was pretty spectacular. I’ll admit I don’t have a lot of experience in this arena, but based on my pleasurable and quite yummy experience with this creature, I’m sold! I’ll be sure to seek out another opportunity to devour a little soft shell crab in the near future.
I topped it off with a gazpacho, which in these temperatures never fails to satisfy the palette, or be an ultimate refresher. I rounded my entire meal out with grain bread and a fluffy hummus spread.
I stand with my fellow Unilocalers on this one. I really enjoyed my quite spot by the window in the bar area. The staff was very attentive and unobtrusive. I sit slightly stuffed, and very satisfied.
I think I’m looking forward to being abandoned in Bethesda again, and to be honest, I don’t really need an excuse to come here again. Next time I’ll bring the hubby.

We went there last night and were blown away as this was our first time there. We started

This is one of my family’s favorite go-​to restaurants — we’ve celebrated Christmas Eve, Valentine’s Day, two birthdays and Father’s Day in the past year alone. Not to mention several times when we’ve just gone because we love it there
The staff is wonderful and attentive; the food is delicious and presented beautifully; you can never go wrong with their three-​course set menu; and their chocolate cake is simply to die for. It’s great to eat a sustainably-​responsible meal, without feeling like you’re being denied anything whatsoever.
There’s a reason my family and I keep going back to Rock Creek; I sincerely hope you will, too!

2.5 stars
The experience was initially promising — nice atmosphere and I liked their bread and hummus dip. For appetizers we had the crab soup and the agnolotti. The soup didn’t have much crab and just fell a little flat — the agnolotti was quite good.
For entrees, we had the scallops and the venison. The scallops were ok (though they did have a little grit) and while the venison with red cabbage looked appetizing, it really didn’t have much flavor. Service was a little slow — we ordered fairly quickly but didn’t see our entrees for about an hour.
Certainly not a bad meal, but nothing too impressive either. Probably would not return.