Mussel Bar

Last night we ventured to the hip new Bethesda joint Mussel Bar to see what all the hype is about. We got there at 7pm on a Thursday and there was an hour wait, which luckily we had expected and planned for, having told our third dining companion to meet us there at 8pm. We put our names in and went next door to the new American Tap Room for a drink. This isn't a review of that place, but I'll just say that while the decor and live piano music are really cool, I'm skeptical of the food. I mean, light-up menus and check holders?? Cheese-tastic. Anywho, after a beverage (one Stella and one house Sauvignon Blanc), we went back to Mussel Bar to check on our reservation. Our table was ready and only 40 minutes of the hour had passed! Woot!

The Mussel Bar owners did a great job of transforming the former Levantes into a dark, woody, Belgian tavern. The only way to recognize that it was once the light and airy Levantes is by the location of the bar and kitchen. Everything else is completely different. We were nestled in a table next to the open-air kitchen and behind a giant refrigerator-wall of beers that separates the main dining area from a separate little enclave of tables. It was very loud due to the bar crowd, but that didn't prevent us from being able to hear each other. In fact, I forgot about the noise as soon as I got my menu.

Our waiter was incredibly well-versed in the beer selection, which is Belgian-heavy but not Belgian-exclusive. He suggested beers for all three of us based on a brief description of our tastes. All three of us loved what we got, so he did a great job! I had the De Koninck (Belgian Amber Ale), Don had the Green Flash Hop Head Red (hoppy!!), and my brother-in-law had an Imperial Stout. All are highly recommended.

My brother-in-law ordered a Spinach Salad to start and I got a side salad, which is not on the menu but available if you ask. Instead of the Spinach Salad, he accidentally got the Belgian Endive Salad, but was not disappointed after taking a bite. He said it was the best salad he had in a long time, with a perfect balance of greens, walnuts, bitey stilton cheese, and vinaigrette. My side salad was great as well. To eat, we ordered three meals and shared 'em all because we wanted to try everything! For mussels, we tried the Tikka Masala which had chicken and Indian spices. Fabulous! My only complaint was that it wasn't spicy enough and could have used a tad more salt, but the Indian flavors were great with the big fat mussels. The mussels came with frites (yum) and crusty bread for sopping up all that delicious sauce. We also tried one of their wood-fired tarts, which is essentially flatbread pizza. Ours had wild mushrooms, bacon, gruyere, arugula, and an "essence of truffle." Can't say I tasted the truffle but I didn't care. It was a blend of woody, salty, and cheesy that had a party in my mouth. Finally, we ordered the spinach tortilla (a wrap) with all sorts of veggies in it, served with sweet potato fries. Add spicy pork for $3 (we added the pork but it didn't show up in the wrap). The wrap was good but probably our least favorite of all the entrees. The spinach wasn't properly drained so it was pretty soggy. However, the sweet potato fries were excellent! This, coming from someone who doesn't normally like sweet potato fries, is a good thing.

After eating the last morsel of french fry and sopping up the last of the mussel broth, we were too full for dessert - maybe next time!

Overall I would absolutely recommend Mussel Bar. My only (small) grievances were that it was a tad loud, and that two of our orders were messed up. My B-I-L got the wrong salad, and we didn't get the pork we asked for in the wrap. If this were another restaurant I may be more annoyed about the order screw-ups, but in this case what we received was delicious anyway so we quickly forgot that there had been a mistake. I can't wait to go back and try their other mussel broths!

Mussel Bar
7262 Woodmont Ave
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 215-7817