Bob’s Soup Dumplings & Bar Is Aiming for November in Bethesda

The windows on Norfolk Avenue still say Opening Soon. Bob’s Soup Dumplings & Bar, at 7776 Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle, is aiming for a November opening, co-owner William La told Bethesda Magazine in mid-October. Most of the renovation is finished in the old Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza space. County inspections and permit approvals are what remain. “We’re close,” La said. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been.” There is no firm date until those clear.

La also co-owns Bob’s Shanghai 66 in Rockville, the Shanghainese restaurant known for pork xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings. The brand’s site dates that kitchen to 2013. Bethesda Magazine’s 2025 readers’ poll named it best Chinese restaurant. An earlier Bethesda team hung “Bob’s Shanghai” signs in late 2025 that looked too close to the Rockville name; Bob’s Shanghai 66 said publicly it was not affiliated. In February, La and his partner, Jing Yao “Jay” Wang, joined the project after telling that team the copy was not cool, then getting invited in. La has led the buildout since. He is training the new chefs at the Rockville kitchen.

Rockville never had a bar. Bethesda’s will seat more than fifteen. La said about 80 percent of the menu will match the Rockville board: soup dumplings, noodle and rice dishes, Shanghainese small plates. The other 20 percent is new appetizers and dishes meant for the rail. Diners can watch the dumpling station from the room. The steamer baskets stay; the taps and bar plates are the addition.

La told Bethesda Magazine the company had long wanted a second location in downtown Bethesda. An earlier site two blocks away never worked out. Passersby can already poke their heads in while he sweeps construction dust. November is the target. The Opening Soon lettering stays until the county is done.