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Suma (Formerly The Shore House and Nest Cafe), Chef Gene Sohn's American on Bethesda Avenue in Bethesda in the Former Louisiana Express Space


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Noticed this place tonight, located on Bethesda Ave next to Pizza Zero. Anyone know anything about this place.

Noticed a few people inside but chairs were stacked on tables so it does not look like they are open yet.

Nest Cafe opened a couple weeks ago. Their nascent website implies that they might place an emphasis on wine.

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Stopped in to take a look at the menu yesterday. The most remarkable thing is that the most expensive item on the menu is mussels and frites for $13.95. You'll find your classic American restaurant configuration: onion soup, pasta bolognaise, pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. They also have a three course tasting menu for $19.95 without wine, $29.95 with. The only item I remember is a cream soup.

It's located on a strange little strip of Bethesda and location alone will make surviving difficult. That being said, once people find it, if the food is decent the low prices may keep them coming back.

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Stopped by tonight for dinner with my two kids (7 and 5). Nice space - hardly resembles the old Lousiana Kitchen. Arrived around 6:30 and the place was less than half full but by the time we left if was about 3/4 full. They also have a few tables outside and 3-4 seats at the very small bar. Seeemed to be family friendly as their were a couple tables with small children.

The wine list by the glass is fairly pedestrian but then again it is MontCo. I was able to find a malbec for around $6 a glasss.

Very happy to see they had a kids menu. Typical kids menu - pizza, chicken fingers, buttered noodles, etc. My kids seemed to enjoy their meals - mozarella stick (actually a mozarella sandwich) and pepperoni pizza. My 5 year old stated he preferred the pizza at Mia's over the pizza here. I tried a slice and it was actually a pretty decent kids pie for the price. I think it was around $5.95.

I had the the Sausage Rigatoni $ 12.95 Red wine tomato sauce with sausage, shallots and fresh fennel. I was not expecting much but it was actually above avergae. The sausage in the dish was tasty but did no overwhelm the dish.

In total $40 + tip for 1 adult meal, 2 glasses of wine and 2 kids meal. Fairly decent value for Bethesda where we have gotten used to being overcharged for mediocre food, wine and bad service.

Nice, attentive service. We will be back to try out some other dishes. All in all a nice addition to the neighborhood. Hope they can make a go of it in a tough location. Pizza Zero next door looked virtually abandoned.

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Went there for the first time yesterday. If you are in it for the taste, best pizza in town. I had the basic Margherita and it blew me away. Been to Two Amy's, which in terms of pizza is overrated and Comet, which has gone way down hill. In a blind taste test, this pizza blows them away.

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We stopped by last night; our first time.

Everyone is right about the nice prices.

I had a carne pizza. It was gawdawful. Undercooked, pale crust and actually raw around the edges. Greasy and not in a good way.

She had a tahini salad. It looked and tasted like a green salad with cardboard tomatoes.

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We dropped in here last week when we lost power from the storm. Apparently others had the same idea as we had about a 15 minute wait on a Thursday night. Enjoyed a glass of wine at the small bar while we waited.

Kids ordered the kids pizza ($5.95) and Mini Burger ($5.95) - kids claimed both were very good.

We started with an order of Crispy Calamari & Artichokes ($9.95) - a nice sized portion and light fried.

I opted for the Portugese Mussels - a new addition to the menu. It was an interesting options and new to the menu. Mussels were large and tasty. Wife had the pizza which she said was pretty decent.

While not fine dining, it was decent with friendly attentive service. I am much happier spending my money here than Rio Grande down the street.

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Last two meals here have been extremely disappointing, enough for it drop out of our regular rotation. Last night in particular being a disaster. Portuguese mussels were so overcooked that there was barely anything left in the shell. I alerted the waitress who took the dish and would let the kitchen know, when she returned she asked if I would like to order anything else. I asked for an order of properly cooked mussels but she declined saying the kitchen thought the first order was prepared properly and a second order would be prepared the same way. Um okay. I declined and instead ate a bit of everyone else's plate, which was pretty mediocre.

Mentioned to a bartender (whom we were told was a manager) what happened and he didn't really have a response just that he would make it up to us next time we came in. I think we will pass, too many other options for my dining $.

Sad as we really used to like this place for a casual family meal out that did not break the bank.

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Wife and I stopped in on Sunday night for dinner.  We opted to sit at the bar. Place was empty when we arrived and maybe half full when we left.  Location is a tough spot in Bethesda with no easy parking and off the main strip of Bethesda Row.

The wine list is very odd - only 1 white and 1 red by glass - both $9.  We split an appetizer of the sauteed octopus ($14) which was generous sized portion and cooked perfectly.  We both selected entrees from our friendly bartender.  Wife had the Shrimp & Scallops ($32). I don't recall how many of each she received but shrimp were very large. She did not care for the citrus reduction which she said overwhelmed the dish.  I went with the jumbo lump crab cake ($28).  Very disappointing crab cake for the price.  Bartender sold it as having no filler, which was true. The problem was I could night find any sign of jumbo lump crab in it.

Unlikely to return for a full meal any time soon as there are better less expensive options.

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Had brunch there on Sunday: nice French onion soup, although the pieces of beef included were a little unorthodox. We also had fried chicken and pancake, eggs Benedict, and roast chicken. Generally very well executed, although the poached eggs could have been taken off a few seconds earlier. A good selection of beers on tap. Not the cheapest or most exciting menu, but good quality food and drink. I would happily go back, but I wouldn't make a special trip.

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