Press
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Molly Hippolitus / molly@mhco.studio
MoCo Show
Maryland Restaurant Earns Spot Among Top Upscale Casual Restaurants in Region
MoCo Show flags Aventino’s selection as a RAMMY Awards semifinalist for Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year, putting the downtown Bethesda Roman spot among the region’s top dining establishments.
Washingtonian
100 Very Best Restaurants 2026
Aventino lands at #60 on Washingtonian’s 2026 list, with Red Hen chef Mike Friedman’s Bethesda Italian praised for pastas like lumache all’amatriciana and squash ravioli plus a standout daytime burger.
Bethesda Magazine
Aventino Cucina earns RAMMY nomination, eyes Dulles expansion
Aventino was named a 2026 RAMMY semifinalist for Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year, and chef Mike Friedman is preparing to open a new outpost in a United Airlines terminal at Dulles later this year, framing the Bethesda flagship as his “love letter” to Rome.
MoCo Show
Maryland Restaurant Earns Spot Among Top Upscale Casual Restaurants in Region
MoCo Show flags Aventino Cucina’s selection as a RAMMY Awards semifinalist for Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year, putting the downtown Bethesda Roman spot among the region’s top dining establishments.
Eater DC
Best Places to Eat and Drink in Bethesda
Eater includes the Aventino Cucina / AP Pizza Shop pairing among its 15 Bethesda must-tries, highlighting Friedman’s 130-seat authentic Roman menu (pizza rossa, tonnarelli cacio e pepe, rigatoni carbonara, $30 weekday lunch deal) alongside the AP Pizza Shop slice shop next door.
MoCo Show
Two Maryland Restaurants Make Eater DC's Best Happy Hour List
Aventino Cucina joins J. Hollinger’s on Eater DC’s best happy hours list, recognized for its daily 5 to 6:30 p.m. service of $8 martinis, spritzes, Negronis, and wines paired with small plates like prosciutto pizza and truffle aioli burgers, plus a weekday $22 Roman pasta and Aperol spritz combo.
Washington Post
From the owners of the Red Hen, a celebration of Roman Jewish food
Mike Friedman really wants diners to try his sweetbreads at the new Aventino in Bethesda. The chef also knows not everybody leaps at the thought of thymus glands for dinner.
Washingtonian
With Aventino, Bethesda Finally Gets the Destination Restaurant It Deserves Revel in Roman pastas at the Red Hen crew’s stylish dining room
Downtown Bethesda is not hurting for Italian restaurants. No fewer than 13 pasta houses, trattorias, delis, and pizza shops—some several decades old—are within a three-quarter-mile radius of the genre’s latest arrival, Aventino. But there’s nothing remotely like this Rome-inspired newcomer from the folks behind Bloomingdale’s beloved Red Hen and the Navy Yard and Shaw pizzerias All-Purpose.
MoCo 360
Montgomery County’s dining scene is thriving. These new upscale eateries prove why.
One of the best dishes at Aventino, a Roman-Jewish-inspired Italian restaurant that opened in Bethesda in January, is a secret—diners have to ask for it. With the off-menu item, chef and co-owner Mike Friedman has managed to indulge three of my favorite pastimes—snacking, sipping and splurging—in one perfect starter for two.
MoCo 360
10 MoCo restaurants we can’t get enough of
Named after one of Rome’s seven hills, Aventino was a smash hit from the day its chef and owner, Olney resident Mike Friedman, opened it in Bethesda in January 2024. The bustling bi-level restaurant is a love letter to the cuisine of Italy’s capital, so housemade pastas—among them spaghetti with lemon butter and caviar and a rich rigatoni carbonara—are not to be missed.
Fox 5
In The Kitchen with Chef Mike Friedman
In The Kitchen with Chef Mike Friedman Aventino Cucina and AP Pizza Shop!
NBC Washington
Red Hen chef serves Italian favorites Roman-style at Bethesda's Aventino
Award-winning Chef Michael Friedman brings his latest venture, Aventino, to Maryland, where he creates Italian favorites with a Roman flare,
Washingtonian
Craving a Sweet Treat? Here Are the Best Desserts in the DC Area.
Affogato – Just a shot of espresso poured over (usually) vanilla gelato–as elegant and simple as an Armani pantsuit. Find it at: Aventino (4747 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda), which uses housemade–and vanilla-free–fior di latte gelato to show off the flavor of the milk it’s made with.
AXIOS DC
New D.C. brunches to shake up your weekend
Aventino (Bethesda): Eat like a Roman with a new lunch prix-fixe (Tues – Sat) that includes a choice of pasta and glass of wine. There’s also a full brunch menu.
EATER DC
10 New Lunches to Check Out Around D.C.
Does a power lunch include two glasses of wine? Aventino, a new Italian addition to Bethesda, unveiled a lunchtime pasta special ($30) in July that includes a pair of pours from the Lazio region and any lunch pasta, including ricotta-filled ravioli, spaghetti with Calabrian chile and guanciale, and a classic cacio e pepe. The special extends through the weekend as well, only shutting down lunch on Mondays.