Q by Peter Chang restaurant posts Coming Soon signage in Bethesda (Photos)

Acclaimed chef Peter Chang has left a wall-sized calling card for his new restaurant, Q by Peter Chang, in the front window of its future home at 4500 East-West Highway in Bethesda. The Q stands for Qijian, which means "flagship" in Mandarin. That's because Chang intends for this location to be his home base, and the largest in his local restaurant empire.

Tim Carman of the Washington Post reports that the 8000 SF space, located in the ground floor of a new Carr Properties office building, will be divided into a 5000 SF dining room, and a 2000 SF tasting room that will be the Chinese equivalent of Jose Andres' Minibar. Chang's Bethesda menu is expected to be even more authentic than his Rockville location. In fact, Carman says Chang will live in Bethesda to take a hands-on approach as chef here; he has been living in Rockville in recent years.

The restaurant is expected to open in April. As you can see, the interior build-out has yet to begin, but theoretically could remain on-schedule at this point. This is a very challenging location, but as with Kapnos Kouzina at Bethesda Row, the reputation of the chef may be just what is needed to attract diners to an out-of-the-way spot. The website on the signage is not yet live as of this writing.