Jefferson Cafe

Buffet of hot food is ok but beware, I’ve gotten a bad stomach twice after eating here. Not sure if the burger wasn’t cooked through or what. I come when in a rush only, when I don’t have a lot of time for lunch. Buffet to go is charged by weight so it can be pricey.

I eat here 1−2/week for lunch/​breakfast. I have to say this is a really good place. Prices are reasonable and the food is always tasty and very consistent. This includes made-​to-​order sandwiches and sell-​by-​weight items. There is a good variety also. And you can pick and choose from different cuisines. I think they use good ingredients. I don’t think I’ve had anything that wasn’t fresh or tasted bad. It’s also very clean, even if you peek into the kitchen on the way to a restroom. There’s not a whole lot to complain about. Coffee is also very good in the mornings.

I’m some what of a cheese steak /​steak and cheese snob. Ever since I left work in DC I have been on a search for a replacement. The Jefferson café delivers a solid one but it still doesn’t compare to family dinette «honey’s» in chinatown. Jeffersons isn’t bad, it’s filled with green peppers, onions and slices of provolone cheese. You’ve also got to ask for the spicy peppers, it will give it a nice kick. With French fries it will set you back $ 8 and some change. Not bad considering how huge the sub is and the amount of fries they give you. Their buffet is ok… there’s lots of varieties but the hot food was cold and just lacking flavor.

I use to go there every now and then, but now any more. I paid for my food and the lady said my card was declined. I knew that couldn’t be possible, but I figure I’d look into it later and just handed her a different card which she told me also got declined. She showed me the receipt that printed and it said «communication error». She kept swiped it again said it was declined. Swiped it a 3 rd and it went through! I checked my account as I was standing right there and every time she swiped that card a «pending transaction» would post to my account! I ended up having 3 pending transactions with one account that I ultimately paid with and the other card has one pending transaction. The girl I was with behind had the same problem and tried to tell her she used the card too much which is why it was getting declined.
Now I have to go through my bank to clear up the mistake their busted machine kept making. Their food is NOT worth that sort of trouble and that lady’s attitude when I was trying to tell he my card isn’t declined was unnecessary. Not going back!

The weigh and pay is really good here. They change it up all the time and always have something good. The sushi is a bit off but its not bad. Its just not great.
The breakfast sandwiches are great. Made to order and they cook the eggs just like you want.

I used to get breakfast here almost every morning. The breakfast buffet was pretty solid, but it never really recovered from being «remodeled» last year. The renovation made it uglier, but more importantly the food assortment is not as good. The large coffee cups don’t fit under the coffee pots anymore either… I think they used to sit on a platform or something that gave it the extra height.
The quality of the buffet has gone down markedly. Today, my tator tots were cold and soggy. They also serve made-​to-​order breakfast/​lunch, but I haven’t tried it recently, so I can’t speak to that. If you want a good breakfast spread, check out the metro café just around the corner… better assortment, better food.

This is a pretty decent lunch spot if you have $ 10 – 11 bucks including drink. The food options change slightly everyday but I’m never disappointed. The hot food selection is delightfully different from what you can find in the area (yams, greens, baked turkey and stuffing, roast, etc). The salad bar is yor standard fare of greens and cold salads. It is a tad expensive, and some of the dishes can be a bit bland. Also, locating the place for the first time was mildly confusing. I eat here maybe once a month when I feel like treating myself without sitting down. I know they stop putting out more food around 1pm. Once I had a late lunch and by the time I arrived around 1:25 it was clean-​up time. I can’t speak for their sandwiches, but I’ve heard good things about them for both breakfast and lunch. This place is worth a try.

This is a lunch place. They have a buffet and they make sandwiches. It’s average but a good place to grab a variety of things for lunch.

Easy lunch. This is a neat little café/​buffet. I’ve not tried the sandwiches (but they look good and there are about 7 choices of breads). The fruit is fresh, the Caesar salad good, the things you can add plentiful. The hot bar has variety with wonderful (real) turkey, Swedish meatballs, baked chicken, two kinds of fish today. Tomorrow it will be something else so those who go almost every day (and I am sure there are some) won’t become bored.
The line at lunch time moves quickly and one can eat outside (could use a few more than 3 tables out there on a day as lovely as today was). I live nearby so this is a good change from home-​prepared lunches most days. But of course, one must exercise restraint at any buffet… easy to pile up a large (and thus heavy, and thus expensive) container!

Recently I was transferred from our DC office to our Rosslyn office, which means the all new adventure of trying to find your «go to» spots. Well, just a few weeks and I’ve found this little gem right here.
The Jefferson Café was the talk of the cubicles, apparently they had a sweet buffet that you had to hit up early otherwise it’d all be gone. Apparently 2 pm is the vacant aftermath where those piranha like appetites come in and devour everything. However, a coworker and I went at noon and were able to get a piece of all the action we could pile into our styrofoam boxes. I went with a baked chicken, a grilled chicken, some potatoes, some veggies, some veggie fried rice… you know. sampling it all. It was all pretty decent stuff and definitely better than the buffet that’s in the Rosslyn Metro Mall building.
However, this nice little buffet isn’t alone, as there’s also a grill that can produce burgers, steak n cheeses, cold subs, and even fries. It’s here where you can get a quality cheeseburger for the low low price of $ 4.00. It’s a wide burger with two juicy yet thin patties with cheese, complete with a bun that they put on the grill as well. The fries that you can get with it are also steak fries that are almost like mini railroad ties of deliciousness. This means you get a delicious burger and fries for around $ 6, which is something that seems almost rare nowadays.
However I must state the following: this isn’t a burger to be judged against all burgers, this is a solid cheap option that’s better than going to McDonald’s (because who wants to ever do that?).
So if you work in Rosslyn, or are simply there during the week days, then you should definite give this place a try. It being my very first «go to» in the ‘hood I’ll definitely be going back.

I went there at about 2:15 on a Thursday to get a drink and maybe a bag of chips and the buffet looked nasty. The food looked gross and had been lying there all but they still would have sold it to me. I got a 14 once drink and a 2 once bag of chips for $ 4.46.
I went in the next day because I needed to have the buffet to really critique the place. The food looks good and it has a bigger choice of foods then most buffets. Also the food taste better then most buffets. BUT BUT BUT I was shocked at the price I spent. I got a good amount of food because I was really hungry but no drink and it was $ 13.47. I was dumbfounded and speechless. OK the food was not too bad but this is a buffet and if they want to change me this much money they should sit me down and have someone wait on me. I could have had a relaxing meal at Ruby Tuesday around the block for that price.
Again the price is ridicules, I am actually eating the food now and would not mind going back but I plan on sending my daughter to college one day. I will never go back and I suggest none of you do either. Maybe then they will get the hint and lower their prices. Again let me say WOW these people are really making one hell of a profit on us dumb wokring stiff here in Rosslyn.

Probably the largest of the pay-​by-​the-​pound Korean-​run buffet lunch places in Rosslyn. I’ve not tried the deli counter, but it seems to be popular, and that portion stays open until 3pm.
There is only one thing that I love about this place, and it’s the days they have «crispy fried squid». It’s the Chinese version of calamari, lightly breaded and crispy, with tons of minced garlic, diced scallions, and fresh spicy jalapeño slices. People are catching on, because each tray of it flies into those black styrofoam containers almost as quick as the cooks can set them out. It’s not the best quality calamari (likely frozen rings, and I don’t even want to know from which third world country), but their preparation is the best of any version of this dish that I’ve had in the greater DC area. I pile my squid high with all those jalapeño slices no one wants; I love this dish with lots of heat. All that’s lacking is some white jasmine rice — the perfect accompaniment for all those extra garlicky, spicy fixins. I also add a packet or two of black pepper to make it perfect. This dish, like chicken fried steak with peppery country gravy, has always been one of my guilty pleasures.
Whenever I go and they have this, I literally pump my elbow back and say YESSS!@# in public. You think I’m kidding. The thing is, they don’t advertise what they’ll have on any given day, so it’s always up to chance. So between a «crispy fried squid» day and one of the TVs set to ESPN, my day is made.
EDIT ¹¹⁄₂₀₁₁: Squid day is Thursday. Some weeks’ squid is better prepared then others, but it still tastes good when you scoop up all the garlic/​scallion/​chili bits and eat it together, especially with white steamed rice.
EDIT ¹⁰⁄₂₀₁₂: Be aware that many of the healthy-​looking items on the hot bar may not be very healthy. If you look closer, they are swimming in a sauce that is really pretty much just oil. The non-​fried fish, green beans, roasted chicken — to name a few — are covered in it. So if you’re not accustomed to or expecting it, your tummy can get upset soon after lunch. They’ve also put it on ESPN2 now instead of ESPN, which I don’t understand — at lunch time, SportsCenter isn’t on anymore :(.
EDIT ¹²⁄₂₀₁₂: I haven’t seen squid there on Thursdays in ages — once in the past couple of months. They do the garlicky salt and jalapeño pepper preparation on everything else, though — from tofu to fish (watch out for bones) to chicken to tough beef «steak» pieces. Probably is because squid doesn’t weigh much… Watch out for salt levels in some of the dishes… they sure are generous with it and the oil.

I eat here occasionally when I’m in the area, at first I the food was ok from the hot food bar that varies by what day you come in to eat. The reason why I give this spot a five star is their deli bar. It’s always great!!! Whatever I order it’s been on point. Their steak & cheese is good and their wraps are great! They have a huge selection of beverages from soda to tea. They even have exotic stuff like that Aloe Vera drink that looks funky. All in all it’s a great spot if you come in before 1pm because the food always sells out. But I usually come after to the deli. It’s great!!!

I’ve eaten here more often than I’d like, as I used to work in the building.
The food is not worth the money. Everything tastes like there is an underlying common ingredient. . and guess what it is? MSG.
I don’t have good details, except I’m not thrilled with it. And I didn’t think the employees were all that friendly. So glad I work somewhere else now.

Unimpressed. I got here late (about 2:00 PM) and there was hardly any food left on the buffet. It probably is fine if you arrive around noon or earlier. The samplings were okay. not outstanding. Whatsmore, there were 2 unbearable channels on the TV, and noone knew how to change the channel. Not sure that the staff speaks/​understands much English.

A surprisingly large buffet selection for weekday lunches. You pay for the buffet by the pound and the prices are reasonable for the area. The salads, fruits, & vegetables are fresh and well cooked. Breakfast sandwiches are cooked to order.

Due to meetings and too much going on, I had to eat here as it was in our building lobby. That said, overall it’s pretty good. There is a large buffet and also a grill that is rather efficient at getting the food out quickly to everyone waiting.