The family-owned Japanese restaurant from Montgomery County residents and husband-and-wife team Raymond and Amy Yu held its grand opening last week at 4914 Hampden Lane in downtown Bethesda, taking over the space formerly home to Tako Grill (preview video below).

Our very own “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis recently attended a complimentary tasting event at the newly opened restaurant. During the visit, he tried a variety of items and shared some of his favorites. “The sushi was great, but two additional items really stood out to me. I’m not much of a fish guy, but the miso black cod was amazing. The Hokkaido fresh milk soft serve, which was sea salt lemon flavored with a light blue tint from natural coloring, was possibly the best soft serve I’ve had in recent memory. It was so good that I’ll likely return for that alone.”

Appetizers range from $5 to $16, traditional rolls from $6 to $13 and specialty rolls from $18 to $22. Sushi Masato also offers approximately six-course tasting menus priced at $58, $78 and $98.

The Yus plan to eventually open a separate Japanese-inspired dessert concept called The One Cake alongside the restaurant. The concept will offer handcrafted Japanese-style cakes, mille crepe cakes and soft serve featuring flavors such as Matcha and Oolong. An opening date for The One Cake has not yet been announced.

 

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Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen is now officially open at Rio in Gaithersburg following a weeklong soft opening phase. Our very own “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis stopped by on opening day and shared a first-look video, which can be seen below.

Located at 212 Boardwalk Place in the space previously occupied by a music school, Kareem’s is the restaurant’s first location in the Washington metropolitan area, joining its original location in Naples, Florida.

The lunch menu includes several varieties of hummus, including traditional, harissa and beet, along with mezze options such as baba ghanoush, muhammara and labneh. Pita wraps include chicken shawarma, beef shawarma, falafel and lamb kafta.

Grilled entrées include Shish Taouk, Lamb Kafta and Salmon Harra. The menu also features fattoush salad, lemon lentil soup and Lebanese flatbreads topped with sfiha, cheese or zaatar.

The “Taste of Beirut” section includes a chef’s sampler featuring six popular spreads, a Beiruti Special with a choice of shawarma or falafel, and a shawarma platter served with rice and grilled vegetables.

Kareem’s also offers cocktails, zero-proof drinks, Lebanese beer, arak and a wine list that includes several selections from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Desserts include baklava, Beirut qatayef, cardamom-chocolate lava cake, Kareem’s asal cake and pistachio ice cream.

Kareem’s is led by Chef Rachid, whose culinary roots trace back generations in Beirut, Lebanon. He attended the Culinary School of Beirut and began his career at the InterContinental Hotel in Beirut before moving to the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC.

According to the restaurant, Kareem’s was created to honor Chef Rachid’s family heritage while sharing the flavors and hospitality of Lebanon.

 

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Café Sophie, the European-style café located at the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, will be featured on an upcoming episode of WETA PBS’ Emmy Award-winning series “Signature Dish.”

The episode, titled “Exploring Europe,” follows host Seth Tillman to three restaurants serving European-inspired cuisine across the DMV. Tillman arrives by small prop plane at the Montgomery County Airpark, where Café Sophie will be featured for its Norwegian kjøttkaker. The episode will also visit Ruta on Capitol Hill for Ukrainian holubtsi and The Harp in Brookland for pan-seared monkfish and Irish-inspired fare.

“Exploring Europe” premieres Monday, September 7, at 9pm on WETA PBS and 8pm on WETA Metro. It will also be available to stream on WETA+.

Located at 7940 Airpark Road, Café Sophie is owned by Sandy and Tom and features Scandinavian influences inspired in part by Tom’s roots in Bergen, Norway. The café is named after the couple’s dog, Sophie, who occasionally greets customers.

Sandy also has deep ties to the Montgomery County Airpark. Her grandfather and father, Bill and Jim Richardson, built and operated the facility in 1960. Sandy is a pilot herself, while Tom worked as a professional pilot flying private charters throughout the United States and Europe before settling in the area.

Chef Asael’s menu emphasizes locally sourced ingredients and includes baked goods, European specialties, coffee, international beer and wine, and the café’s popular Lingonberry Mimosa. Its location overlooking the airfield allows customers to watch planes arrive and depart while dining.

Maman Joon is expanding again in Montgomery County, with owner Uzi Arshad planning to open a new location at 4007 Norbeck Road in Rockville. The space was the longtime home of Full On Craft Eats & Drink.

Arshad opened Maman Joon’s Westfield Montgomery location less than a year ago. In that time, the restaurant has earned a five-star Google rating across more than 800 reviews.

Although the new restaurant will be located a little more than three miles from the combined Maman Joon and Z-Burger location in Olney, Arshad told The MoCoShow that both restaurants will continue to operate. He hopes the new location will bring Maman Joon’s Persian cuisine to customers throughout the Norbeck area, Rockville, Derwood, Leisure World and Aspen Hill.

Maman Joon specializes in scratch-made Persian cuisine and family recipes, with spices sourced directly from Iran. Arshad said the restaurant uses all halal products, marinates its chicken for 48 hours and uses high-quality meat for its koobideh. The upcoming Norbeck location will also introduce samosas as a new menu item for Maman Joon.

The menu includes koobideh kabob, saffron chicken, ghormeh sabzi, rice dishes, vegetarian options and shareable sides. The concept first arrived in Montgomery County in 2023 alongside sister restaurant Z-Burger in Olney. Additional locations later opened at 15780 Shady Grove Road in Gaithersburg’s 270 Center and inside Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda.

Full On Craft Eats & Drink closed its original Norbeck Road restaurant in February before relocating to 5566 Norbeck Road in Rock Creek Village Center, previously home to Creek Lodge Bar & Grill.

Customers will not have to wait long to check out the new restaurant. Arshad told The MoCoShow that Maman Joon is aiming to open its Rockville location in September.