PassionFish - Bethesda

Good food and service

Food is so consistently mediocre. Caesar salad and Kung Pao calamari were both extremely oversauced.

Disappointed at our recent visit to PassionFish in Bethesda. While food was good, service and ambience had some faults. Our waiter was fine, but it appeared as if staff was Moore interested socializing with other staff and not really paying attention to customers. We saw a little drama between two waiters play out right in front of our table that we didn’t need to see. Also, we were seated very close to a loud noisy party that made our dinner out unpleasant. And why do other patrons feel it's ok to dress in short pants and baseball caps when dining out?

The sushi tower is one of my favorites here -- all fresh, diverse, beautifully presented. The fish is always fresh, with choices of preparations a sauces and sides. Very nicely done.

This was my second time going there. In both instances the food was amazing as ever. Everything came out as advertised and full of flavor. The service was exceptional as well. My only complaint is that on both occasions I was sat at the worst seat in the house, despite there being plenty of room in the front of the restaurant. On my first trip to the restaurant I did not think much about it. However, on the second trip when the restaurant was practically empty, why would you seat customers in the worst seat in the house near the kitchen? I was taken straight to the back of the restaurant despite there being no one seated in the front. Of course I declined the worst table and picked another. Your hosts should do a better job

My sister and I had a great time. We were able to take advantage of the 1/2 food and wine special for the holiday. We both had the surf and turf and it was so good. The red wine that the server recommended was amazing as well. I also have to add our server was amazing. We really enjoyed having him.

I am glad we gave this restaurant a second chance. The food and service have improved since we tried out the restaurant a couple years ago. Then, it seemed like Passion Fish Bethesda was the less well bred stepchild in the Passion Food family, with inattentive wait staff and middling food preparation. Our meal this time was as tasty and well prepared as at other Passion Food restaurants. The staff went out of their way to help us celebrate a birthday.

First time trying this restaurant - I was very pleased with the crab cakes.

My wife and I dined at PassionFish before going to a movie. We very much enjoyed our table next to the window, as well as the pleasant interior design of the restaurant. The house caesar salad was excellent, with a few anchovies on top, and split for us as we requested. The prosecco was nicely priced. We ordered bronzini and trout, cooked perfectly to our taste and served with sauce of our choice. Accompanying side dishes, family style, were delicious mashed potatoes and asparagus. The desert was an amazing key lime tart with coconut sorbet- beautiful to see and succulent on the tongue. This was one of the best dinners we have had in the Bethesda area, during the past 40 years.

Had a great time ! Mia was our server and she was extremely attentive knowledgeable about the food and wine and very personable. Food was outstanding as well.

This was my first visit. Turns out Thursdays are Surf and Turf night. Overall the food was good not spectacular. The lobster tail was a bit bland and my medium cooked steak was under cooked. The wait staff immediately took care of my steak and returned it as I had ordered with an apology from the chef. The steak was delicious. The restaurant was a bit noisy but I am learning that this is the norm now for trendy restaurants as the same noisy environment occurred two days prior at a restaurant on the new DC Wharf. There is a quiet section in the back. It is well decorated and the service was very good.

The descriptions of the food are noticeably better than the food. The noise level is unbearable if you actually want to talk—not shout. Sorry, not a good experience, and will not return.
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Went here for brunch on a Sunday and sat at the bar. I have been here before and they have a really good brunch. The bartender was friendly and attentive. Had the Chesapeake crab benedict which was excellently prepared. They also were running brunch specials. I got a grilled bronzini (fish). It was perfectly, and I mean perfectly prepared. It came with a cream sauce on the side which was good, but the fish was great on its own. Also had their lobster bisque which had a great consistency.

This meal was fantastic. Char broiled oyster appetizer was excellent. Trout had a great presentation and was very tasty. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Drinks all came out at diff times also we ask for high chair and it took over 15 minutes to get one. Food was decent but little over price for the food we got (we dine out a lot all over so this is comparing similar dining places) overall good average place to dine. Service needs to improve however...

Have visited two or three Passion Fish and have always been pleased with the entire experience. Will definitely recommend them and continue to enjoy their food and wine.

The food was good. The issue for us was the noise level. The back room needs more acoustics to absorb the noise. It was as if everyone in the room was screaming. The waitress could see our distress and moved us to another room.

Recommend for restaurant week value, and come hungry. We each had a nice gazpacho, a full entree and a dessert for $35. I thought my flounder would be lost behind the thai-style preparation, but it was very good when accompanied by a slightly spicy cucumber salad a bit of the fish sauce. Crispy skin yet still moist inside, worthy of 5 stars. My wife's scallops, on the other hand, were overwhelmed by a corn cream sauce--also too rich, so 3 stars at best. She enjoyed the chocolate mousse, which I thought was undermined by its subpar companion of devil's food. My key lime tart, on the other hand, was flavorful and well-matched with a coconut sorbet. At usual prices, this would been a $150 dinner, for which I would expect more dishes like the flounder.

Went with my wife for Wash Restaurant week special. Food was excellent: appertisers very good and main courses of branzino for me (best branzino I have had) and scallops for my wife were both outstanding. Chocolate mousse bombe dessert was also very good. Service was attentive without being overly intrusive and restaurant stressed that DC week special was full portions for the main course. Only downside was that, on a Sat. night with the restaurant crowded, the noise level was high.

We plan to return to this restaurant.

This was a second visit to PassionFish for brunch. The first time was much better. This time the food was not as good with the exception of the smoked salmon which was still excellent. The bagel, however, was toasted too long (burnt on the edges). The huevos rancheros were okay and the eggs Chesapeake were pretty good. Also, I did not order the smoothie, though it sounded good, at $11 it seemed over priced.

Fish was delicious. We will be back.
And the sweet potato fries were wonderful.

Excellent food, good service and nice, quiet ambiance!

One of the best restaurants in Bethesda! Delicious cuisine, friendly and attentive service. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

The food and service were excellent.
Will definitely go back again.

Restaurant week is the best time to visit this restaurant. My girlfriend had surf and turf (lobster tail and ny steak) it was nicely done. I had chines style smoke lobster, it wasn't as good as I expected. Normally this dish is $45 which completely overprice, I am glad I tried it during restaurant week so know not to order this dish in the future. We had chocolate mouse and crème brulee, both were good. I had Hamachi in the spoon and that was really good. I also had the pork belly sliders and crab cake sliders at the bar for happy hour while I waited for my friend, pork belly is better than the crab cakes.

One of our favorite places to dine and it was beyond fitting for a business meal with prospective clients. The cocktails were amazing and the food pairings were spot on!

This was intended to be a birthday dinner with my wife, but because it was the middle of restaurant week, perhaps they seated us in the middle of a crowded area. We’ve been here before and the service has always been impeccable, but tonight it took 10 minutes for our server to greet us, they did not have drink or wine menus for us, and they were very unattentive for the first 30 minutes. We received our food after about 30 minutes, and from there things improved to the superb standard that we love this restaurant for. Despite the decreased service - the sushi was exceptional - as normal.

Food was delicious and the service was great and accommodating. It was quite loud in the restaurant, so be prepared for lots of noise.

Wonderful experience and service. I will definitely go back.

Went to PassionFish in Bethesda for restaurant week. We really enjoyed the evening. The food and service were excellent. We also found a nice SB to pair with our seafood. We will return.

PassionFish and other restaurants in the group consistently deliver both quality and value for Restaurant Week.

Anniversary

Excellent service and fish was outstanding. Quiet table in back of restaurant.

Portions were smaller than what I'd expect. Very good, but I've had more generous potions of the same entree items elsewhere, at comparable prices. Like the grilled salmon was very good, but seemed miniature.

The food and waiter were great. They had the patio doors open and the restaurant was extremely hot and uncomfortable. They did offer to move us, but we didnt want to half way through our meal. The back of the restaurant was cool and much more comfortable.

The food was ok, nothing special. I felt like my flounder was a bit overcooked. It wasn't bad enough to send back. Ambiance is weird, with TV video of fish, and a silly ad for the video that keeps popping up. Server was proficient and quick, drinks pretty good.

Mediocre sushi, sashimi and rolls. Wouldn't go back.

Amazing brunch! Mix and match an appetizer//entree, appetizer//appetizer, appetizer//desert, entree//desert for $19 and bottomless mimosas or Bloody Mary’s for only $11! Such a steal! We had the seafood Cobb, ceviche, crab and corn chowder and then hash and everything was so fresh and delicious! Our waiter was great in refilling our drinks and only coming around when he thought we needed something. Will definitely be coming back to PassionFish for brunch again soon.

Had a great time! Service was fantastic...very attentive but never annoying. Our server,Darrin, was outstanding. The brunch special is a very good value. I had the carrot ginger bisque to start and main course was shrimp and grits. Both were delicious and I was stuffed...but I also over indulged on the bread basket...couldn’t just have one or two. I will definitely be back!!

Delicious food, great service, lively but not too loud atmosphere. My husband, who avoids new places, loved it. I had the fried whole flounder and he had the mussels. Next time sushi for me.