Permanently Closed - 202 Next Door

There are reasons to be skeptical about a tapas place that's spun off the donut shop next door. Sadly, 202 Next Door delivers precisely what you'd expect. The tapas are at best indifferent -- the tuna was draped in a sweet sauce that overpowered the tuna itself. The gazpacho, blended with cream and served in an Old Fashioned glass, delivered none of the texture or details that make a great gazpacho. Even the hard-to-do-wrong avocado toast with smoked salmon somehow seemed...off.

The service was earnest but inattentive, though to be fair the food came out quickly. One had the impression the tapas were pre-made in the kitchen, waiting only to be brought out to the tables.

The hip-for-Bethesda bistro vibe is pretty nice, though loud. It has a full bar and perhaps 10 bar seats. This place may be okay if you come in with the low expectations of happy hour.

202 Next Door has taken over the dining room from a former ... wait for it ... tapas place. That went out of business. You can almost hear the folks at the 202 donut shop: "Hey, we can take that over and make a go of it."

Alas.

Great little neighborhood place. We were welcomed and the owners gave us personal service. I tried the gazpacho and it was excellent, delicious and garlicky. Had a salad with cuban seasoned chicken and would have loved to try the Cubano sandwich. My friend enjoyed her lunch as well. We came because she loves their coffee and doughnut holes. We had a few for dessert! We will definitely come back with more people so we can try some of the other interesting looking tapas and more.

Great meal. Excellent service.

No guest in the restaurant yet impossible to get service at 11:30 am on a Tuesday.

The food was outstanding (esp. the masitas, the hanger steak, the mac & cheese, and the brussels), and the waitstaff was incredibly attentive on a busy Friday night. We will definitely be going back.

Maybe the tapas are good, but if you order anything else off the menu beware... my friend ordered salmon with Brussels Sprouts and i ordered chicken w cauliflower. Everything was covered in grease and both dishes were drenched in the EXACT same seasonings — it was not good. I couldn’t eat my dish.

Great Experience. Family owned

We were there for Mother’s Day and the food was worth the wait.

The food, drinks and service were all excellent. We were spoiled by the owner Maria and appreciated the fact that she came to our table and introduced herself and stopped by before we left.
We look forward to returning and enjoy more food from the menu and their donut shop

Food was okay and service was a mess for Saturday lunch. I nearly walked out and saw at least one other party walk out.

Great food and great people

Friendly atmosphere & service, good food, limited but solid kids' menu.

Food was great, and really liked the vibe and menu v. the previous tenant. Sadly, although friendly, service was PAINFULLY slow in a nearly empty restaurant. Please fix that, as we'd love to go back, and that seems to be what has killed off several surrounding restaurants in that part of Bethesda in the last year or two. Attentive and aware servers really do matter!

We went for an early dinner with a toddler, and our server was very friendly, and made great recommendations, and made sure the kids meals came out quickly. The kids mac & cheese was very good, and the the bbq chicken wings were delicious. The roasted chicken and cauliflower felt like comfort home-cooked meal. The sticky toffee pudding was excellent. We weren't so keen on the ice cream, mainly because we are not fans of malt. Passion fruit margarita is a must-try. The decor is light and refreshing, and the area spacious, so tables were not crammed next to each other. I would definitely be going again.

Pleasant staff, good food, quiet at lunch.

We went to R Family Kitchen and Bar on a Saturday night for the first time and enjoyed it immensely. It's a cozy place that is very well decorated with plants and low lighting. The movies being shown on one wall (without the sound) were "Back to the Future" and "Star Wars Episode IV" and it was really fun seeing some of the scenes from those. We had the Tequenos, the Piquillo Caesar Salad with Salmon, the Al Viletto pasta and the Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert. Everything was delicious and the price was very reasonable especially when you included the two cocktails we had. Our server was Bill and he was terrific. He made some excellent suggestions from the menu and we "tested" him and found his suggestions to be great. He was kind and engaging and helped to make our experience there especially good. This place is a real gem in Bethesda.

I love this place. Great food, friendly service, cool decor, kid friendly but also a cool date night spot. This is exactly what Bethesda needs! Salmon, mac n cheese, kale, and wings (sriracha honey and Old Bay) are our favorites so far. We'll be back to try more!

Such a great neighborhood restaurant. Something on the menu for everyone, and especially good with kids!

Really enjoyed our meal. Like the new concept that the Roche family has done. Food was very good. Really enjoyed the Vegetable Pho. The Cuban Chicken Sizzle was very tasty. Great spice but not overly so. They were not kidding about the sizzle part. Best to let it cool a little before digging in. My wife had the Sticky Toffee Cake. Highly recommend it.

We are new to the neighborhood and walked by R Family Kitchen on the way home from dinner a previous night. After looking at the menu, we decided to give it a try and I'm so happy that we did. The menu may appear small, but the choices are so vast and different that there's something for everyone, no matter their preference. Comfort food from around the world, cooked as the chef remembers from his childhood is how it was described to us when we asked how they came up with the menu. Latin, Italian, Greek, Venezuelan, and even some Asian flavors in there (from pasta to pho, literally). We had the fried pork and the tzatziki to start and both were delicious. I had the salmon sizzle plate with mac and cheese and my husband opted for the special of the night, bbq ribs. The salmon was cooked just right, the mac and cheese appropriately gooey and delicious and the ribs were so tender, that the meat slid right off the bones. DELICIOUS. The price point is very welcome in Bethesda, and I don't feel as though we've received this much for our money (both in quality and size) in other locations here. Wonderful and knowledgeable staff and owner who came out to say hello. We give this place a huge RECOMMEND and will be back soon!

the Roche brothers can cook! we love the food, ambiance and value. tapabar was a favorite and R Kitchen is equally as good. we tried almost everything on the menu for my sons birthday and loved it all. highly recommended. enjoy.

We went to R kitchen just for a regular Saturday night outing with a couple friends. There was an issue with the printer and one of the entree dishes did not come out. Once Marie (owner) found out, she personally came to our table to apologize. Alfonso (Chef/owner and Marie's husband) came out personally with the pasta dish as soon as it was ready and again apologized profusely. They also gave us dessert on the house as an apology measure.
Bottom line is..mess ups happen in restaurants but the way they handled it was with class and in the end made sure the customer was happy and satisfied.

That being said, the pasta was indeed delicious. My husband ordered the Salmon which was cooked to perfection. We will definitely come back.

Only open about a week. The new menu concept is good and the price point is a welcome addition to Bethesda. Food was very good. Little under staffed for the night, but those working kept everything moving and food out on time.