This is a super spot - you have to get over a couple of things first though: 1. The location - a windowless basement of a Medical Office building (that's the only reason I am deducting a star).But hang on, it is close to me so I should add that star back on. 2. The clientele - the retired Chevy Chase crowd, a few of whom have just probably just been Botoxed on the second floor. That's all - if you can deal with that you are in for a treat, magnificently authentic Portuguese cuisine in a pleasant well decorated - if slightly old fashioned space. The three course a la carte menu is a steal for $20 at lunch time. The fish skewer on is superb. All in all a very pleasant surprise. read more

Tavira is all right. The food is fine but not exceptional. I have eaten twice at Tavira and tried the tuna steak (2.5 stars) and the paella (3.5 stars). The service is good but somehow the food lacks the polish and depth that could make this an exceptional restaurant. The flavor and texture of Tavira's cuisine do not amaze. It's a bit hard to find, in the basement of a Chevy Chase bank building, but management has done a good job compensating for its windowless obscurity with decor that evokes Mediterranean luxury. This restaurant is a real hit for the older crowd in Chevy Chase, and I don't want to bash an establishment that is clearly popular and pleasing a lot of folks, but don't expect a mind blowing culinary experience. read more

High anticipation for this restaurant, esp since I came from an extended movie... The overall environment was quaint. Relaxing lighting and was well decorated. Upon entering, I knew it would be an expensive place--and I felt under-dressed (in flipflops and jeans mind you!) Nevertheless, being thinkskinned, i had no problem mingling in with the well-dressed crowd. The servers were quite cold at first, and lacked a sense of humor, but I was pleased with the amount of things they had to remember about each of the dishes (I have to admit, sadly, I didn't listen to half of what he was saying but it sounded important and well memorized). With appetizers, we got the baby calamari--BABY they were, not in size but in portion. Extremely tender and well cooked though, fine white meat, soft to chew. Flavors were also pleasant. We also ordered the Mexilhoes na Cataplana which consisted of mussels and a tomato/pepper/onion sauce. There was plenty of sauce, which I like drenching my food in. Mussels were well-cooked in the fact that they were tender and easy to pull out of the shell (so that I didnt have to barbarically tackle it in a high class restaurant--thank you). But the sauce was just meh to me, and the mussels have that sea ocean taste which I can tolerate, but for those who fear it--stay away. I got me the Frango a Piripiri! HAHA big portions! Came with chips, cauliflower, peppers which were drenched in tabasco sauce--sour and spicy. The chicken was tender, i could pull the bone right out without exerting much effort. Well sauced, a little too salty, but having strong tastebuds I enjoyed it. read more

Tavira Restaurant - Mediterranean Near Me - Chevy Chase, Maryland

I went to this restaurant with the Groupon and honestly it was very good. I had shrimp appetizer sorry I don't recall what it was but it was excellent and then I had a fish that was also very good. My husband had lamb shank and he said it was excellent. The restaurant wasn't very busy but I think for the quality of the food and the price it should be a lot busier. read more

We cannot say enough good things about Tavira. Fantastic food and service. We have only great experiences. Happy hour menu is attractive. Full dinner is amazing. read more

Be forewarned: This place is break the bank kind of expensive if you only order from the specials (no, they don't give you prices), but the wines (by the glass and by the bottle) are very reasonable. To start we had the calamari sauteed in garlic and white wine (whole calamari, not rings) and they were fantastic, and the mixed green salad, which was very good. For mains, we followed the advice of yelpers and ordered specials. I had the "duck confit", which was actually duck breast and duck leg, neither of which were confit (cooked slowly in its own fat to render the duck). The duck breast was very good (if you recognized it as breast rather than a confit leg), but the duck leg was a little dry and jerky-like. It came with some very good, cheese risotto. My friend had the yellow fin tuna steak with a peppercorn sauce, which came with some baby potatoes and a pile of garlicky spinach. His was better than mine, but I resisted the urge to claim eminent domain on his dinner. We also had the chocolate cake (average, a bit dry, a little to ported up for my taste) and the orange bread pudding (another special, it has a much smoother consistency than the chunky style American bread pudding -- I didn't like it much). Now for the sticker shock: The duck special was $35 and the tuna special was $29. Yikes! That's about $10-$15 more than comparable dishes on the menu! I don't even want to know how much the filet mignon special would have been. They don't seem to have the restaurant week special during the year. Other tables got the five-star treatment -- the owner came by with extras on the house, like glasses of port or glasses of wine, but we got nada (we were perhaps the youngest couple in the dining room by about 20 years) and our waiter (who was very charming and did us the service of writing down our orders even though he had all 20 specials memorized) sat us in the middle of the dining room even though there were several empty tables along the edge (there was a reason for this, but I don't remember it). The place can be hard to find in the dark -- look for the Chevy Chase Bank and Citycycles right after EW Highway going north on Connecticut Ave. There's a big parking lot in back, and when you come back out, there's a protected left turn from Chevy Chase Lake Drive back onto Connecticut. I might go back if his parents were in town; we'd probably get the 5-star treatment with them. read more

As many reviewers have noted, Tavira is in a very odd location. It is my understanding that it is very popular at lunch for business professionals meeting clients or colleagues. I was there for dinner (when parking is easy, free and abundant). Tavira makes an excellent first impression - I would say it could be a "special occasion" restaurant. The china, glassware and flatware awaiting you on the table are lovely and feel very upscale. The service was friendly and appropriately attentive without being rushed. An interesting chat with the waiter about the evening's specials proved instructive and helpful. My guest and I both chose items from the specials and had magnificent meals. We each had a glass of wine and dessert. Without Groupon, it would have been a bit pricey, but with the coupon we had no complaints. I highly recommend Tavira for a special night out. read more

I had read good reviews about this place and also since it is close to my work place, thought I needed to do my due diligence. It is located in an office building, might not be easy to locate, but you just have to stop your car or stop walking and look around, and there you see it, a big enough signboard. Unfortunately, I found the staff and management to be a little condescending and haughty, like they have seen enough customers or maybe that's their accent or they didnt like my face, but I preferred to ignore it. But then right before I was leaving, the maître d or maybe it was the manager, told me to have a good day. I said thanks and that I usually write reviews, and he said 'everbody does that nowadays'. Giving me an impression that I was one of the many painful customers he has to deal with on a daily basis. What I was about to tell him was that I was going to write a good review about his restaurant and that I blog, but he was not too impressed. He and the staff gave me the impression that they do not care about my review or my opinion. Maybe they have their regular clientele and did not care for my business. I loved the food and might come here again, but will prefer to just eat, pay and leave and not talk to any member of the staff. read more

How this place doesn't have 5 stars is beyond me... Unless price is the reason. The seafood here is superb. The cod with chorizo and chick peas is a fabulous blend of different flavors. The merluza special is incredibly flavorful and very soft. We had grilled calamari and mussels for appetizers. Very, very tasty. Some of the reviews had mentioned the food was a bit slow and the menu actually warns you of this but we were surprised at just how fast we got our food given the warnings. And besides the food, the service is welcoming and attentive. We've lived 2 miles from this place since it opened 15 years ago. I'd say that's unbelievable if this place wasn't so secluded. Finding this place is like looking for Carmen Sandiego. It ain't easy. Located in the basement of an office building, you'd never know this place was here unless you were fully committed to finding it. Now that we did, we will be regulars moving forward. read more

This is a lovely place for a date with good food, excellent service and warm atmosphere. We have been there when they have had live music (two guitarists) and you can't do better. The restaurant is small and intimate and feels like it is 4000 miles away. There is plenty of free parking in their covered lot. This is amazingly convenient in this area. read more

My wife and I had dinner at Tavira restaurant a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday evening and greatly enjoyed its atmosphere, food & service. I highly recommend its experience and am looking forward to dine here in the near future. We started with an octopus appetizer; for entree - I had a pork special, my wife had roasted chicken and after, we shared a creme brulee desert. We could go with absolutely opposite choices for next time and I am sure that food would be just as delicious. Vadim read more

I went here for my anniversary. Since the hubby is Portuguese, I'm not surprised he picked this place for us to dine ;) First off, this place was not that easy to find. The restuarant sign is at the top of the building, yet the restuarant itself, is in the basement of the building, very confussing. We actually were directed to the restaurant by the security guard sitting in the lobby because it's super hidden, tucked away in the corner entrance (from the point we entered), down a flight of spiral stairs. The good thing was that there was a sign atop the spiral stairs to flag lost guest, lol. When we first walked in, you first see the bar the restuarant itself is very unassuming, but my husband reserved us a corner table in a special closed of section of the restaurant, which was a romantic nice touch! The intimate secluded room had only 2 other tables and the most entertaining part of the evening was our server, Horranatho. The server had been working at the restuarant for 10 years!! He had a very thick carribean accent but swore up and down that he was from Angola (a country that was discovered by Portugaul). Very entertaining and I recommend definately getting a table in his section. We had ordered a bottle of 2005 Borba cabernet (Portuguese wine), I stuck with the special menu of the evening. I ordered the capris salad and special Portuguese grouper fish dish which was very yummy! The hubby stuck with the normal menu and ordered a salad and the ultra famous dish from Portugual, Bachalauh (salted cod fish). Then we ended the evening w/flan de fritta which was super deelish, small shot of Portuguese sweet porto(compliments of the restaurant) and espresso. I think in order to enjoy the evening as much as I did, you should definately try and get into a private room w/ Horrantho as your server. read more

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I drove past the restaurant yesterday and remembered I haven't review the place. However it's been many years since I visited the restaurant. The location is a bit odd you would never know driving through Chevy Chase that there is a Portuguese restaurant. I was searching for one and Tavira came up. It's located in this office building with a basement parking lot it kinds reminded me of Green Fields Churrascaria. I think I went there after coming back from an excellent Portuguese restaurant in Amsterdam hoping to find the octopus and rice stew but they didnt have it. The restaurant was kinda dark and cold - no windows and not very crowded. The food was ok it didn't stand out too much. read more

This update is to try to correct the categorization and another input from a friend. 1. Correcting the Yelp categories: This restaurant is predominately Portuguese and Mediterranean cuisine. Unfortunately Yelp doesn't have enough ethnic categories to fit the diverse cuisine in Washington DC or any large metropolitan area. Greek and Mediterranean should be separated as categories. Portuguese is not Spanish/Basque, but it's the closest category available 2. A close friend had dinner at Tavira and thought it was fabulous. A world traveller in his own right, he agreed with my general assessment of Tavira. Highly recommended. read more

Loved it! Duarte, the owner and Chef, was super nice and very friendly! He greeted us at the entrance and made us feel like we were in Portugal again with such welcoming hospitality and a relaxed, tranquil atmosphere. The food was amazing. We had the Valenciana Rice and the Tamboril a Lusitano and both were so delicious, we didn't leave anything on the plate. The service was superb - again something that will make you feel like you are in Portugal. The atmosphere was romantic but at the same time chic and casual. We will definitely be back!! There are so many other dishes to try. And have the pastel de nata for dessert. read more

This review is for the Groupon for a prix fixe dinner. We arrived close to closing on a Sunday night, so we were only one of three parties dining there that night -- I actually thought we might be the only ones there since this restaurant is so oddly located! LOCATION: Basement of an office building in Silver Spring/Chevy Chase area. You would never know this restaurant exists unless you found it on Groupon or Yelp (etc.), you worked in the office building, or word of mouth. There's no signage outside the building for the restaurant! IMHO, methinks they should spend their money on some signage rather than Groupon... DINING EXPERIENCE: Pretty nice, considering it's technically in a basement. Unless you notice an absence of windows in a room, you'd never know you were underground. They've done a nice job setting the tone for a pleasant dining experience -- white table cloths, mood lighting, fresco paintings of Mediterranean scenes. SERVICE: Nothing to complain about here. In addition to our main waiter who took our order and delivered the check, we had 1-2 others who swung by to refill waters and check in on us. They weren't overly friendly and personable, but that was perfectly fine with me as long as they got the job done! FOOD: The Groupon prix fix dinner menu was pretty simple. You get an appetizer, entree, and dessert and each category offers 3-4 choices. The choices are really standard. For appetizer, you can choose from two kinds of salad or a soup of the day. For entree, you can choose from fish (mahi mahi), pork shank, chicken, or vegetarian ravioli. For dessert, you can choose from a chocolate cake, ice cream, or a flan-type dessert. Our table tried all the appetizers, the fish and pork, and the chocolate cake. Everything turned out pretty good! Both salads were very tasty; the soup was solid but probably not better than what you could pick up from a grocery store's prepared foods section. The fish and pork were cooked perfectly -- not too dry and seasoned just right. The pork shank was fall-off-the-bone tender. The portions were just a tad on the larger side, although you could easily finish it all if you were hungry enough. The chocolate cake presented well and had a nice richness and density, contrasting well with the accompanying french vanilla ice cream. (Most of couldn't finish the cake after we'd finished our ice cream though!) OVERALL: Pretty happy with this meal -- would recommend if you're looking for a night out. The dishes are nothing to write home about but it's a fantastic deal with the Groupon, considering the tasty food and good dining experience. Downsides are location and limited prix fixe Groupon menu. read more

Truly one of the most special dining experiences anywhere. Delicious food with a beautiful interior and atmosphere. I have been a devotee of this restaurant since it opened over 20 years ago and it is always superb. read more

A trip to Portugal which is always a good thing. Elegant service and lovely food. Where else can you find grilled sardines?

I had a fantastic dinner at Tavira. The food was perfectly spiced for being from Portugal while at the same time avoiding being too dull. The had a good selections of wines especially Vinho Verde which is a portuguese staple. The service was fantastic, I even got to share a shot of port with the owner, who was stopping by all of the tables to talk with customers. Also, they are planning to extend the restaurant week tasting menu and make it a set part of the menu, and for $30 dollars per person it is a good amount of food. I highly recommend that everyone check this restaurant out. read more

Great place. I've been here a few times and have not been disappointed. They have some nice specials for carry out. I recently had the New York strip steak which was really good. read more

WOW!! Where do I start, the ambiance, the waite staff, the wine, the Portuguese tasting menu. Every detail was a class act and makes this my new celebration spot. Thank you Tavira, you are a 10+ in every aspect. read more

Tavira Restaurant - Mediterranean Near Me - Chevy Chase, Maryland

Have loved Tavira for years. Very classy restaurant, excellent service and good is delicious. Tonight was my first visit for Happy Hour and it did not disappoint! Good prices on wine and other drinks. Large menu of $5 small plates and also delicious sandwiches, salads and pasta for a few dollars more. read more

Went here for the first time recently. Very nice place with a good selection on the menu. Service was good although it was a bit difficult understanding our waiter. Parking was easy. Will definitely return. read more

I have eaten here several times over the past few years and usually enjoy it very much. One does have to be careful what to order; for example avoid any sort of paella type dish because the chef (s) don't know how to properly cook rice. Saying that, the seafood is excellent. The service is superb. The complementary glass of port is a very nice touch. One of my dates got looped on that as she had never had a fortified wine before. A lovely evening it turned out to be. This is a classy place and not the easiest one to find unless you know exactly where it is located. I appreciate that I never had to share the dining room with screaming infants or noisy toddlers. This is, thankfully, an adult restaurant. This is a big plus for me. read more

We had dinner here last Friday and it was a lovely experience. The service was excellent, ambiance is very pleasant- nice colored tiles and murals on walls. The food was delicious and served well. We had the beef entree and the paella was served hot with a balanced mix of seafood. We have also dined at Tavira on music night and enjoyed the music and food. Awesome place!! Will be back to try other dishes. read more

Tavira Restaurant - Awesome Paella! - Mediterranean Near Me - Chevy Chase, Maryland

The food was delicious only problem I had was that the chicken was burnt and taste like Charcoal lolz. I brought it to the attention of the waiter, and it was quickly resolved. I ended up ordering the steak instead. The waiter was really professional and easy to deal with. I will definitely eat here again. read more

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I am so glad I finally stumbled into Tavira because it did not disappoint! Located in the basement of a nondescript office building, the restaurant and bar have a charming mid-90s-quasi-Euro decor that brings back good memories of simpler times. The Portuguese menu offers a variety of prix fixe options (which are an amazing deal...3 course meals in the $25-$33 range) and a wide a la carte menu as well. Our $33 meal was awesome, beginning with a big pot of mussels in a zesty tomato both for my other half and a delicious kale and chorizo soup for me. We both had the same entree which was a beautiful grilled skewer of monkfish, shrimp, scallop, onions, and peppers served over saffron rice. Dessert included a chocolate cake and a caramel flan. Service was very attentive and polished. Also for COVID they are taking safety very seriously: sterilized and wrapped flatware and hand sanitizer on every table. We were so impressed and can't wait to come back! read more

Came here for my brother's birthday dinner on a whim and so glad we did! We ordered the ravioli with ricotta cheese and shrimp avocado (a special) for appetizers, for the entrees my brother got swordfish with spinach (a special) and I ordered the steak medallions, and for dessert the Portuguese custard cake. I would vote for the shrimp avocado as the better appetizer, even though the ravioli was really tasty. I didn't know shrimp and avocado went so well together. It also had this special dressing over it too - like a Thousand Island but lighter and a little tangy. The swordfish was thick and tender. The steak medallions were cooked perfectly to medium rare. It was so tender and the sauce was a wine reduction that paired so well. It was served with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed green beans and carrots. The mashed potatoes were so creamy and had just the right amount of garlic. The custard cake was served with ice cream but it was too sweet for both of us. Service was spot on too! read more

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Awesome place for a date night. Reasonable prices for a more upscale dinner experience. Their breadsticks came out warm and amazing. The service was attentive. The sangria and wine I had were fantastic. The menu didn't look all that different from a Spanish/Mediterranean restaurant. I wasn't sure which dishes were unique to Portugal. Nonetheless I enjoyed the warm, ambient atmosphere. Would highly recommend! read more

Went to Tavira on a Groupon. What a great place. It has a very nice atmosphere for date night. The decor is classy and has a romantic feel. What stood out to me was the excellent service. The food was fancy and tasty, with pretty large portions. We ordered everything off the specials of the day list. Two fish dishes, both delicious, as was the potato/leek soup. My friend ordered a heart of palm, beet type of appetizer. I'm not into either of those veggies, but I gotta say, it was good! My absolute favorite of the night was the Fried Milk dessert. WOW!!! I'm a huge dessert lover and pretty picky about how desserts taste (so much so that I don't order dessert at all restaurants b/c a bad dessert ruins a good meal). This dessert was just fantabulous! The marriage of the flavors was outstanding. Can't wait to go back and try more dishes! read more

Located in a out-of-the way place (basement of a office complex) but worth going to. Very good food and a nice restaurant decorated old-style (think nice restaurant from the 70s: white tablecloths, low lighting, kitschy decorations and fake flower arrangements). Grilled calamari was very good. I had a whole fish that was excellent. Friends I were with had duck with a madeira sauce and another fish. All very good. I will definitely come back when in DC. read more

We went there for mother's day dinner. The waiter was very funny and great (I believe we had the one the other reviews indicated) and the place was very cute, though hard to get to! (It's in the basement of an office building) Everyone in our party got some seafood type dish, though everything was overcooked. The seafood paella was delicious, but all the seafood in it was just overcooked and dry. My sister got the Bacalhau a Pobre and the cod in it was pretty dry as well. Everything was ok, but it wasn't great. read more

This was absolutely a reward after a long day in Washington DC! Although my group came late like a closing time, their service was incredibly nice. All food from appetizer to dessert we ordered did not betray our expectation. A Pear Compote with vanilla ice cream was a MUST to eat! read more

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Food was fresh and delicious. Service was attentive, friendly and informative, but not oppressive. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. read more

Fantastic food, wine, ambience, and staff. You will think that you are in Portugal! A hidden gem in Bethesda/Chevy Chase. Thank you for treating all your customers like family and for cooking up the best portugese cuisine. I absolutely crave your soups and seafood. Support Tavira!!! read more

This is a great place! The servers are friendly, the food is delicious, and it's perfect for a special occasion or romantic date (especially before a show in Bethesda or at the Strathmore). read more

The food was overpriced for the quality. I went there with friends. I had inquired about the yelp deal of a free bottle of wine. The waiter said I was not able to because I had a table of six. Did not make sense, he said it could only be used for tables of four or two. Anyways, the service was mediocre, nothing to write home about. Thought it was funny that the waiter asked us if we wanted appetizers after he told us the food would take 40 minutes. The food did not take that long. My husband got the special and the meat was not tender for the price. Will not come back. read more

Very nice and classy ambience. Yelp says attire is casual but I would change that to business casual. I had a groupon so I thought I would try this place out. The service was great. Very family style restaurant meaning your food will take it's time to come out and you need to ask for your check when you're ready so it give you ample time to chat and relax. I gave it four stars instead of five because of three reasons. First, the menu is very limited. They're about 15 entrees all together that you can order. Half of them being steak entrees and the other being seafood. There was no chicken except an option for Cornish hen. Secondly, it is VERY pricey so be prepared to rack up the bill. And last, location of the restaurant was a little unclear. It is located in a big building next to City Bikes but you can go in through the building. You have to go down a side street to get into a parking garage and go in through there. Parking was free though so that was nice That being said, my boyfriend and I both ordered steak and we both agreed that it was one of the best steaks we've had. The flavor and tenderness of it was top notch!! (Very worth the hefty price we paid for them) however they did skimp is out on the side of mashed potatoes they came with. All and all, it was a very nice and delicious date place. read more

Despite its windowless basement placement this is a restaurant to try. The service is impeccable My wife had the cod fritters app, which was tasty but too chewy. I had tomato w/ basil & fresh mozzarella which was OK, the tomatoes a bit too chewy. We had monkfish & grouper entrées with cool vinho verde. The service personnel were friendly and attentive at the proper moments. read more

Service was outstanding! Meal was great! The bife de casa is a good portion of New York strip with housemade potato chips and olives. I had the avocado shrimp salad, the featured appetizer. It was excellent. My friend enjoyed the caldo verde...potato soup with kale. She liked it but said that it was skimpy on sausage. She ordered lamb chops and said they were well-seasoned. read more