Dinner @ City Perch

It has been ages since I’ve gone out for dinner, so recently I made it a mission to treat myself to something nice. City Perch Kitchen + Bar has been on my radar for a while, so it was the ideal spot for dinner. Especially, since it is located in Bethesda and my sister and I didn’t want to deal with DC traffic(Btw this is the first Maryland restaurant I’m reviewing so yaaay!). City Perch is located in the same building as the iPic theater, which makes it really convenient to grab dinner then a movie (even thou the iPic Theater offers dining inside the theater).

Location and Parking: City Perch is located in North Bethesda, which is pretty close to Bethesda Row. Parking is the bane of my existence, so the fact that a parking garage is located right beside the restaurant and parking is free for the first 2 hours Monday – Sunday made me a very happy girl.

Food and Experience: City Perch is tastefully decorated and has a lot of wood element. The lighting inside is very dim and creates an intimate atmosphere. Personally, i prefer restaurants that have bright lighting so that was a caveat for me, but they do offer outdoor seating on their balcony. They have fire pits strategically located on the outside, which makes dining on the balcony on a summer night very ideal. There isn’t much of a view because you are looking directly at two restaurants (Summer House and Stella Barra Pizariea ), but that didn’t dispel from the dining experience.

We started off with the lobster bisque, which had the perfect balance of bisque and lobster. I opted to get the braised beef short ribs, which came with creamed spinach and potato pancake and my sister got the roasted long island duck. I’m a visual eater, so I definitely appreciated that the presentation on both dish was on point. The roasted duck was delicious and had a caramelized flavor to it. We shared the banana split tart, but that was my least favorite thing we had. I have a sweet tooth, but that dessert was too sweet even for me.

Honestly, dinner there isn’t the most budget friendly, but they do offer a pretty nice brunch menu. They have a brunch box that includes any entrée with a choice of 1 hot beverage, juice or alcoholic beverage for $19, which is a pretty good offer considering the area. Also, their happy hour menu is priced reasonable, so I see myself doing happy hour there in my future. I will definitely be back at City Perch and that generally area sooner rather than later.