Praline Bakery & Bistro - Bethesda

How long will Praline fly under the radar? The food is wonderful, you can hear yourself talk, and there is ample free parking. This time we shared a butternut squash salad (they are enormous) and enjoyed trout almondine and scallops on a mushroom risotto. Cocktails are tasty and the wine list is varied with unusually helpful notes. The dining tables are located upstairs surrounding an atrium with lots of open space, keeping noise down. Only a few minor flaws and a slow start marred the otherwise fine service. We were curious about the brunch menu, and after seeing it, decided we will not only have to come for brunch, we'll have to come more than once.

The food was mediocre and the service was not great.

This was a most pleasant experience for 4 of us to celebrate my mothers ' birthday. Food, drinks and ambiance were excellent for an afternoon brunch, and I appreciated that both brunch and lunch options were on the menu. The only slightly off note was when we were lingering and asked to leave as a party was setting up for a baby shower. It was obvious something was happening, so we were about to leave--it would have been more diplomatic to ask us to move to a downstairs table or somewhere else instead. We might have had another coffee!

The experience was awful. It was great last time I went a couple of months ago. The server was terrible. I wanted to swap out the tuna with salmon for the salad Nicoise and this time I was told I could not make that substitution unless I added the price of the salmon. I got the frisée lardon and egg salad. Awful almost iniedible. Won’t be going back.

We went back to Praline for New Year's Eve dinner and it could not have been better. The food was fabulous. The Beef Wellington was perfectly prepared. The meat tender. The green beans and mashed potatoes flavorful. The Arctic Char was delicious and the rack of lamb, perfection.