Nice surprise! Arrived before the cathedral opened for tour, so walked the church’s premises and found this place on church grounds- the Open City cafe.
Open City is very charming, with a substantial menu, well executed. The baristas very accommodating, pleasant, competent.
Being a week day, the place was filled with locals on their laptops, reading a book, friend gathered for coffee- very nice to see
I don’t give 5 stars, but this place deserves it.
The National Cathedral is a place of solemn worship and meditation, and the cozy, rustic environment of the Open City Cafe is a meaningful addition to it.
It also provides amazing coffees, pastries and paninis, if you're seeking earthly nourishment instead of just spiritual fulfillment, and they're really good at it. While there is no table service, they do bring the food to your table, and they use fresh ingredients as far as I can tell.
Highly recommend, for either a coffee or lunch proper.
With the original in Woodley Park, this location is Open City's second. Located inside a historic building on the grounds of the National Cathedral, here's my experience after visiting on a Monday morning:
1) Food: My five-year-old daughter and I stopped in for a snack after playing at the nearby Beauvoir Playground. She ordered a plain bagel with plain cream cheese and devoured it! My cinnamon swirl sweet bread was great!
2) Drinks: Their chair latte is still among my favorite in D.C. (Ebenezers near Union Station also has a great chai latte.)
3) Service: It's quick and very kind. One gentleman was so funny and served every customer with class, grace, and speed.
4) Space: There are many tables inside the historic space with stain-glass windows. There's outdoor seating in the patio. There's free wifi throughout.
5) Neighborhood: There's a lot to explore nearby, including the Bishop's Garden, Olmsted Wood, and Beauvoir Playground (when it's open to the public).
Friendly staff, beautiful building, and great atmosphere to hang out with friends or get some work done. The food is always great. We really enjoyed the tuna salad sandwich and homemade chips today.
It’s a great place to hangout. Usually busy.
Iced Honey lavender latte is One of the best coffee.
Kale 🥬 smoothie is good
All the refreshers are great(only when it is not light on the flavours/syrups they use.
Overnight oats, turkey club, egg sandwiches are my fav.
Good staff. Person at the counter mostly in the morning time she is welcoming and kind.
I love this cafe and frequently find myself studying, browsing the internet, or going on a cute, quick date here. Aside from the building's majesty, the menu has plenty of options for all palates, runs really delicious drink specials, and simply has a fantastic ambiance.
Small but lovely coffee shop and restaurant across the parking lot from the National Cathedral. It is often busy, but the food they serve doesn't take long to make, so there's never too much of a line.
There is no table service, you order at the register and they bring the food to you. There are games and puzzles available to borrow if you have small children, and you can move the tables around to accommodate a larger group. The food choices are millennial, interesting and a bit eclectic. It's by far the easiest place to stop in for a bite if you are visiting the National Cathedral, anywhere else is a few blocks of a walk. There is a public restroom here.
Great cafe with a fun vibe and tasty food! We had the Cubano and Turkey cranberry sandwiches. Our kids had a grilled cheese. They were tasty, especially the Turkey sandwich. The lavender hot cocoa was fun to try. There were many more tempting items on the menu too! We enjoyed the friendly staff and stash of board games for kids.
The place is viewed from the vast church. We had a great time eating and drinking there and enjoying the view! It is clean and nice. The staff is friendly and so kind! I would come again to this place. I recommend you to visit this place and have some relaxing time 👍👍
It a nice little cafe to grab brunch after the 11:15 Sunday service. They have lattes, soups, waffles, salads, and club sandwiches. There is a good amount of seating and people are friendly which is an added bonus. There is a garden close by to just incase you want to sit outside and reminisce as you eat.
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