6 Best Restaurants in Bethesda, Montgomery County

The lamb dishes and appetizers ("mezze") are excellent at this Lebanese restaurant. Try the fatte bel lahm (lamb cooked in sizzling butter on a bed of pita chips and smothered in yogurt sauce, garlic, and pine nuts). The lamb is so tender the meat comes apart at the slightest touch of your fork. Outdoor seating is available in a pretty courtyard with a stone fountain in the corner. Both vegetarians and meat eaters will find good options on the creative menu.

Friendly, quick service helps make this counter-service restaurant—which describes itself as "darned spunky"—a local favorite. The blackened chicken Caesar burrito is one of the top three sellers in the joint. Add spice to your meal with a dash or two from 75 hot sauces lined up on the wall, and grab a seat inside or out. On Monday nights, spin the Mystery Prize Burrito Wheel for discounts and freebies. Patrons can also subscribe to the restaurant's "Taco Talk" newsletter, which is read worldwide.

Blue walls and paintings of sea life reflect the owner's childhood home in Thailand; so does the extensive menu at this branch of a busy chain, whose many seafood dishes include fresh flounder and rockfish. Favorites include the mild and traditional pad thai, the spicy goong phuket (grilled black tiger shrimp topped with crabmeat and chicken sauce), and chicken satay. Service is quick and friendly, making Tara Thai an excellent place to stop and rest while shopping in nearby stores.

The Tastees are part of the culinary past in the Washington area, with a handful still left in Silver Spring, Laurel, and Bethesda, the flagship location. These 24-hour diners are sentimental favorites among many area residents, who value them for their hand-formed hamburgers, the tastiness of which is subjective. Students and others on low budgets (or little sleep) ignore the dust and relish the coffee, which flows endlessly. Breakfast is served around the clock.