I've heard a lot of good things about Chef Geoff and his collection of restaurants. This week is Bethesda Restaurant Week and Lia's Restaurant by Chef Geoff was on the list! That made the decision amongst my girlfriends easy. We went last night for happy hour before our dinner reservations. The happy hour is a great deal! They offer wine by the glass and peach sangria for $5.95 with burgers for the same price. Pizzas are only $8.95. The amazing thing is that these deals are good all day Monday and Tuesdays. I will be back for a burger for lunch next week! Side note: Definitely go for the peach sangria, very refreshing and the wild mushroom pizza.
The Restaurant Week menu included one appetizer, one entree and one dessert for $30. A deal that can't be beat. I ordered the lemon gnocchi with pancetta and peas. So good! It was very lemony, summery and not heavy like some gnocchi dishes can be. A girlfriend got the beet salad and the other got the heirloom tomato panzanella which was big enough for all 3 of us! Now onto entrees. I ordered the lobster and corn risotto. This was the STAR of the night! Very creamy, cheesy, comfort-food like and everyone took forkfuls. Even after 3 people were nibbling, I still have leftovers for lunch today! The portion sizes were pretty big and we all walked away with boxes. Our desserts were also boxed up to go because there literally was no room for chocolate cake!
I love the ambiance as well. The typical patron at happy hour seemed to be an older, business crowd. The bartenders and servers were all very welcoming and informative. I will be coming back here for lunch soon as my office isn't far away. I will also try out the other Chef Geoff restaurants in the area.
Not a single complaint here!
Pros: diverse menu, good happy hour, patio
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