Last week my friend Lauren suggested we try a new restaurant that her friend just opened up in Bethesda, MD called The Parva. Of course I was on board because I live pretty close to Bethesda, and I love trying new restaurants. Parva was started by two brothers who were inspired by the Nuevo Latin Flavor in Miami. The restaurant serves up Latin American Cuisine with a twist to incorporate flavors and techniques from around the world.
Chef Andres Garcia keeps the cuisine traditional, but focuses on dishes that are fresh, unique, and somewhat exotic.
Upon walking into the restaurant you automatically feel like you are in Miami. I forgot where I was entirely. The feel is trendy, modern, and clean. It reminded me of a restaurant you find in South Beach.
I started with the Colombian Mojito which was delicious. It had a touch of anise flavor which was very unique. The drink menu is quite extensive with an array of mixed drinks, classic cocktails, wine, beer, coffee, tea, and non alcoholic drinks.
When you are seated you are served fresh Baked Bread and Focaccia with an eggplant and Olive Tapenade. Everything at the restaurant is made from scratch including their desserts and baked goods.
We shared the Crunchy Quinoa and the Ceviche Caribe as an appetizer.
The Crunchy Quinoa was large shrimp that were coated in quinoa and either baked or fried and served with a slightly sweet dipping sauce. They had a great crunch on the outside and the shrimp were tender on the inside.
The Ceviche Caribe was absolutely delicious. Mixed seafood with onions, peppers, large corn kernals all mixed in this delicious broth with Tigers Milk and Sweet Potato Puree. This was a very unique yet lovely blend of flavors.
For dinner we split a bottle of the Alamos Cabernet and cheers’d to a great start to our meal.
It was pretty difficult to choose my entree because everything sounded wonderful. But I went with the Salmon dish as recommended by our waitress. The portions were large, and the plating of all the dishes was beautiful.
Other dishes looked just as incredible as mine.
I loved the uniqueness of this dish. The salmon had this somewhat sweet coating and had a nice crunch on the outside. It was very refreshing with the strawberries, apples, and salad that were included under the potato puree. It was definitely more than I could eat, but the salmon and the salad were filling, but by no means heavy.
We couldn’t resist dessert once we heard they were all made from scratch so we decided to share the flour-less chocolate cake. It came with vanilla ice cream and a lovely raspberry sauce. This was unlike any flour-less chocolate cake I’ve head. It was extremely dense and fudge like, and just the right amount of sweetness. Absolutely delicious with the sweet yet tart raspberry sauce and the ice cream helped to cleanse the palate.
After relaxing a bit after our meal we headed upstairs to the lounge. This is exactly what Bethesda needs. We mingled for a bit and sipped drinks while lounging on white couches and listening to the sounds and beats of Miami nightlife.
Definitely a place I would love to come back to. The lounge has a full bar, bottle service, a comfortable sitting area, and a large dance floor in the middle. I can only imagine how incredible this place will be. The atmosphere is fun, and it really does have that Miami feel. I will definitely be back.
