The Salt Line
Seafood restaurant · Bethesda ·
Locally sourced seafood, lobster rolls, cocktails, late-night menu
Locally sourced seafood, lobster rolls, cocktails, late-night menu
"This is the place to go on Bethesda Row if you are in the mood for freshly shucked oysters and ale. From the blue-and-white booths to photos of fisherman lining the walls, the nautical space screams seafood. Salt Line is also the perfect place to sample coddie — a crispy Maryland favorite featuring salted cod and tender Yukon Gold potatoes. For something more substantial, delve into a Portuguese stew brimming with clams and oysters. A new weekday happy hour (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) features half-priced priced local oysters, $10 select cocktails, $4-$6 beers, and $9 wines. The Navy Yard-born raw bar and sustainable seafood restaurant also maintains an area outpost in Ballston." - Claudia Rosenbaum
"I'm noting the recently opened Salt Line Bethesda as another notable local addition." - Adele Chapin
"Navy Yard-born raw bar and sustainable seafood restaurant the Salt Line expanded to Maryland this summer with its familiar lineup of lobster rolls, shellfish towers, smash burgers, and baked clams. The new Bethesda Row location also introduces a special late-night menu — a rare feature for the Maryland suburb — with half-priced oysters, $10 espresso martinis, and $4 Narragansett beers." - Tim Ebner
"The New England-style seafood restaurant just debuted in Bethesda with half-off oysters during late-night happy hour (starting at 9:30 p.m. daily). Fridays at the Navy Yard original call for half-off Virginia and Maryland oysters from noon to 4 p.m. Over at Salt Line Ballston, bivalves are $18 for six or $30 for a dozen from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the entire restaurant on weekdays, as well as 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. during brunch." - Tierney Plumb
"Opening July 11 on Bethesda Row, the Salt Line brings its Navy Yard–born raw bar and sustainable seafood program to 7284 Woodmont Avenue, expanding the brand that began next to Nationals Park and opened a Ballston outpost in 2021. The 7,500-square-foot, seafaring space by GrizForm Design Architects features mahogany paneling, blue tones, brass fixtures, booths resembling yacht seats, vintage oil paintings, and a shucking station shaped like a Chris‑Craft boat. The menu imports signature items — lobster rolls, seafood towers, smash burgers, baked clams, and beloved New England “stuffies” (baked middleneck clams with smoked linguica, lemon, breadcrumbs, and parmesan) — and introduces new dishes such as a grilled giant squid salad, kombu‑cured kanpachi with toasted pistachio, nori tempura, leeks and coriander vinaigrette, and a Maine peekytoe crab roll, alongside baked crab dip, Portuguese stew, a local heirloom tomato salad, bucatini with clams, and Kyle Bailey’s Nashville‑hot soft‑shell crab. Dinner service starts daily at 4 p.m. (lunch and brunch to follow), and a rare-for-the-suburb late‑night menu offers half‑priced oysters, $10 espresso martinis and $5 Narragansett beers for walk‑ins from 9:30 p.m. until close (midnight Sun–Thu, 1 a.m. Fri–Sat); a huge U‑shaped bar sends out coastal cocktails like a Cape Codder G&T, blue cheese martini and sbagliato spritz, plus beers, wines and oyster shooters." - Tierney Plumb