La Panetteria has been a Bethesda Landmark for more than 35 years. It has won accolades from food critics and many loyal customers for its superb menu and impeccable service. Cozy, old-fashioned Italian restaurant, serves both northern and southern Italian specialties, with homemade pasta, fresh seafood, veal and chicken dishes and best white pizza in the area. The restaurant invites diners in with a tree shaded street front awning, and an Old Italy atmosphere enhanced by a sunlit indoor atrium with graceful hanging baskets and period paintings on white washed stucco walls. The ceramic tile floor and white tablecloth complete the ambience of a true trattoria. The menu is extensive and features a wide variety of classic Italian dishes, plus daily specials like risottos, veal shank, seafood lasagna, rolattini and Zuppa. If you have a favorite Italian dish you will find it on the menu. La Panetteria means ‘the bakery’ in Italian and all the bread is baked fresh daily.
"Have been here many times over the years. Always excellent food, moderately priced, and warm, efficient service. Ambiance of a family run restaurant with Old World charm is hard to resist."
Dined on 5/12/2013
Special Features: notable wine list, romantic, neighborhood gem, special occasion
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"This was a celebratory meal. Our daughter had just graduated form college and all our family was in town for the event. We let our daughter choose the restaurant and she chose La Panetteria because she thought it would be like her favorite restaurant in Rome. Everybody had a good meal and the service was fine."
Dined on 5/12/2013
Special Features: good for groups, kid-friendly
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Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, great for brunch, romantic, neighborhood gem, hot spot, great for lunch, special occasion, kid-friendly
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"Dined here for a graduation luncheon celebration. Party of 8. Found this place on Open Table as we are from out of town. It's on a side street so it was not crowded, no problem getting a reservation as a lot of other places were booked solid. I am so glad I found this. The service was wonderful, the full menu was delightful, everyone enjoyed their meal, wine list was good and reasonable. The only downside was finding a place to park. Two parking garages across the street that were full on Sat. afternoon. Kept driving around and around waiting for a spot to open up. But once you're inside it's worth it! Enjoy!"
Dined on 5/11/2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, great for lunch, special occasion, kid-friendly
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"I took a big group to this restaurant after my wife's graduation and couldn't be more impressed with this restaurant. The staff was great, the food was delicious and portions were perfect. Will definitely go back again."
Dined on 5/11/2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, romantic, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, great for lunch, special occasion, kid-friendly
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"this was our second trip. not as good as our first occasion. food was awesome, drinks were perfect. I believe the waitress might have been new hence our moderate service. she was very pleasant but not as attentive as she could have been. the restaurant wasn't full so certainly she wasn't being over taxed. it was brought to her attention that it was my sons birthday but no attempt was made to arrange a special dessert which was the case during our first visit. had trouble placing items on the table. all in all we will most certainly return."
Dined on 04/24/2013
2012
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion
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"I rarely go to Bethesda for dinner, so I can't compare it to other Italian restaurants in the area, but I thought the food was excellent and the service outstanding. Great food. Great service. Great company."
Dined on 04/23/2013
2007
Special Features: neighborhood gem
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"I'm pregnant and was craving freshly-made pasta (reminiscing about an amazing meal in Florence during our honeymoon). As most know, pregnancy cravings MUST be satisfied. I did some research and found good reviews on La Paneterria. The staff was very nice and attentive, but bottom line is that the meals were so-so. The pasta could have been made from a box. Hard to tell since it was drowned in oil. I do try to eat healthy so I knew that we'd be indulging in alot of carbs and fat. Unfortunately it wasn't worth the calories. Not horrible, just nothing to go back for. My older foodie friend said she went through the same search years ago, and decided the DC area does not have good Italian. Guess I'll go back to Florence next time!"
Dined on 04/21/2013
2008
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"This is the second time we have been to La Panetteria and the food was excellent both times. From the pizza, to the eggplant parm, to pasta and meat dishes, everyone enjoyed the food. The house wine was good as well, and, although they do have a good wine selection, it is slightly on the expensive side. The service was good, but a little slow (but not to the point of being annoying). Overall, we really like this restaurant and will definitely go back as soon as we can."
Dined on 04/21/2013
2010
Special Features: neighborhood gem, notable wine list
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"Fantastic food and tremendous service. My waterglass never went below half. They didn't hover, but were always attentative to our needs. We live in Virginia and went to La Panetteria because it was convenient on the way back from a trip out with the kids. We will be driving back especially to go to the restaurant."
Dined on 04/13/2013
2011
Special Features: fit for foodies, kid-friendly, neighborhood gem
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"Food is always good. The waiter left something to be desired. We were not sure he understood English. He never returned to the table to ask if we needed anything. Therefore, we were straining to look for him. He didn'know the menu therefore. we had to ask Harry for his imput. The service was disappinting"
Dined on 04/13/2013
2005
Special Features: neighborhood gem
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"We had brought my parents there for their 60th wedding anniversary. I had made the reservation on line and made that as a comment. I never mentioned it to our waiters when we came in but sure enough after dinner they brought a couple cannollis out with candles for their anniversary. The food was very good and filling. No one left hungry, that's for sure. Thank you so much,"
Dined on 04/07/2013
2007
Special Features: kid-friendly, late-night find, romantic, special occasion
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"We had a wonderful meal. The food was great and the service, without a doubt, the best we've experienced. The ambiance was perfect and we recommend it without reservation to anyone seeking a nice intimate yet inexpensive meal in the Bethesda area."
Dined on 03/17/2013
2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, romantic, special occasion, great for lunch
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"I'll be honest, we ended up at La Panetteria almost accidentally. My boyfriend's father is in town from Spain and wanted pasta for dinner so I looked on Yelp and saw the Olazzo had good reviews. Unfortunately that had a long wait which brought us to La Panetteria which I like to refer to as, "little old Italy". It's very cute and cozy, a great place for family dinners. The food is also fantastic, best spaghetti alla carbonara I've ever had in the States! I highly recommend this restaurant, especially to those who love mom & pop styled eateries."
Dined on 03/09/2013
2009
Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, special occasion
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"For 30+ years a staple in Bethesda ...now a hidden gem amongst the bevy of Bethesda restaurants. Consistently very good food and service at an excellent value."
Dined on 03/02/2013
2005
Special Features: kid-friendly, neighborhood gem
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"Terrific italian fare. The veal was tasty and the calamari was perfect. The service was above and beyond with very prompt and friendly table service."
Dined on 02/22/2013
2011
Special Features: neighborhood gem, notable wine list, romantic
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"Yet another delicous meal at our favorite Italian restaurant and we were glad that, on Valentines Day, the food and service were still just as good and Panetteria didn't succumb to the "Three Courses for large amount of money" syndrome. A nice touch were the roses handed out to women and the valet parking which they normally have only Fridays and Saturdays. Our desserts (we had to have chocolate of course!) of chocolate mousse cake and chocolate eclair were delicious as were the Trota Amalfitana (which my husband orders all the time) and the Meditteranean Seabass special. Lots of yummy garlic in the mushroom, white bean, and asparagus appetizer special. There's a reason we're regulars!"
Dined on 02/14/2013
2007
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, special occasion
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"This is a great little spot for date night. The ambiance was sweet, the vibe was good but it wasn't too loud. The food was better than average, although the lambshank was a little greasy. The was not as attentive as I would have liked but it was packed and that is to be expected. Overall the food and service were better than average, and the ambiance was excellent."
Dined on 02/14/2013
2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, romantic
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"Food was mediocre. Male had special of the night of lobster and crab with fettucine. Seafood was tough and dish was tasteless. Female had trout which was OK. Table bread was terrible, no crust and very gummy. Not worth the price."
Dined on 02/10/2013
2008
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"My GF had fruits de mare (again); I tried the lamb shank with risotto special. Both were delicious. Reasonably priced for the fine quality of the food. Service was friendly and efficient We highly recommend this restaurant."
Dined on 02/09/2013
2005
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic
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"The experience, as always was very good. The only problem was that the kitchen apparently "lost" or order and we had to wait a long time for the main course."
Dined on 01/27/2013
2013
Special Features: neighborhood gem
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