El Patio, the family-owned Argentine restaurant that has anchored Rockville since 2001, has quietly fired up a second grill at Traville Village Center. The new spot takes over the former Nantucket’s Reef space at 9755 Traville Gateway Drive, with a compact El Patio market and bakery tucked behind the main dining room. Regulars can expect the same empanadas, milanesas and family-style parrillada platters, now a shorter drive for North Potomac neighbors.
First-look coverage and a short Instagram reel from The MoCo Show show off the fresh interior and new signage as El Patio settles into the Traville storefront. According to The MoCo Show, the Traville location quietly opened over the weekend and includes a back-of-house market stocked with Argentine pantry staples and pastries.
El Patio’s own site lists both the Traville Village address and the original Loehmann’s Plaza location at 5240 Randolph Road, complete with separate reservation buttons and phone numbers. Online, the restaurant describes itself as a hybrid of full-service dining room, bakery and specialty market, with shelves of Argentine wines and imported goods.
Menu and Market
The kitchen sticks to classic Argentine comfort food, with a parrillada-style grill at the heart of the menu. The MoCo Show highlights a Parrillada Buenos Aires that piles on short beef ribs, skirt steak, New York strip, Argentine sausage, blood sausage, sweetbreads (molleja) and chinchulines, while the Traville location’s ordering pages on Toasttab feature a "Grilled Meal" combo that bundles steaks and sausages for sharing.
Licensing and the Move
The expansion followed a formal application for an alcohol license tied to the Traville address earlier this year, which showed up on a Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services agenda. Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services records list El Patio at 9755 Traville Gateway Drive under a new Class BD license application, a procedural step that clears the way for on-site alcohol service.
What’s Next For The Randolph Location
For now, the Randolph Road restaurant appears to be staying put while ownership decides whether to consolidate or keep both kitchens humming. Local coverage from Store Reporter notes that both locations are still listed as active and points to the restaurant’s reservation system as a sign that any shift will be a gradual transition rather than a sudden closure.
