Peruvian restaurant Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar is expecting to open its new location in downtown Bethesda by the end of March, according to Rosa Reyes, the restaurant’s regional manager.
Reyes told Bethesda Today on Friday she was looking forward to bringing Peruvian foods and flavors to Bethesda and connecting with a new community.
“We want to be a neighborhood spot where people feel comfortable,” she said. “It’s really important for us to be part of our community.”
The restaurant in the 2 Bethesda Metro Center building at 7401 Woodmont Ave. will be Pisco y Nazca’s first location in Maryland and its sixth nationally. It is taking over the former home of Cesco Osteria, a Bethesda staple for 25 years that closed in 2022.
When selecting the Bethesda site, the Pisco y Nazca team was charmed by the community’s walkability and the restaurant’s location on a corner, according to Reyes.
“It’s in a beautiful neighborhood and definitely somewhere that’s walkable and it just seems so charming,” Reyes said.
Miami-based Pisco y Nazca offers classic Peruvian dishes with a modern twist for brunch, lunch and dinner, according to the restaurant’s website.
Among the dishes that will be offered at the seafood-heavy eatery are parihuela de mariscos, a traditional seafood soup with shrimp; a variety of ceviches; sushi with Peruvian flavors such as queso fresco and aji Amarillo aioli; and Causas, a Peruvian dish of whipped potatoes with shrimp, chicken or tuna tartare.
Other dishes include empanadas, fried yuca, burrata with quinoa, chicken stew, seared tenderloin and Peruvian-style chicken and rice, according to the menu.
In addition, the restaurant serves a variety of drinks using Pisco, a popular brandy made in Peru and Chile, and signature cocktails, mocktails, wines, sangrias and beers.
Reyes told Bethesda Today that the 6,000-square-foot restaurant – on the northeast corner of Woodmont Avenue and Montgomery Lane – is slightly larger than its other locations and can seat up to 200 people. The restaurant features an open bar and kitchen, a private dining room and an outdoor patio.
According to a press release announcing the opening, the restaurant’s interior aims to reflect the restaurant’s Peruvian roots with “bold patterns, vibrant colors” and other cultural elements.
“I think it’s probably the prettiest location,” Reyes said. The Bethesda location is the restaurant’s third in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, with outposts in the District’s Dupont Circle neighborhood and in Reston, Virginia. Three other locations are in the Miami area.
