Cafe Azafran

Right on Hopkins campus so it’s pretty convenient when I want to pick up a snack that’s a bit healthier and of better quality ingredients than I can find elsewhere in the immediate vicinity.

Love their chicken fontina! And their fries are so delicious :) clean and quiet location with great food!

I have only had their tuna sandwich twice. It was good the first time and okay the second time. The bread was so hard and dry the second time, and I got sick ending up in the ER with food poisoning. Could have been the food here or something else. Eat the tuna sandwich at your own discretion. The place is spacious and pretty with large windows that face trees, hilly landscape and a tiny stream. Service was fine.

Too expensive. A bottle of OJ for $ 5?! No way! But the food overall was ok but not extraordinary.

I ordered a egg and cheese sandwich cuz the lunch begins at 11. It is not bad, but I don’t think it’s good enough for five stars. Maybe I should order sth else next time.

Great lunch place located on JHU’s Homewood campus. Sometimes they run out of foods, especially if you show up near closing time (hence the 4 stars). The food is awesome though, soups salads and sandwiches. The Thai steak salad and Croque Monsieur are two of my favorites, but they have vegetarian and vegan options as well. Also, a great rotation of weekly specials.

Healthy, gourmet and scrumptious food! I am thrilled they use Counter Culture coffee, which is the best I’ve found available in the Baltimore area (they also serve it at Atwaters). It’s so great Azafran, Alkimia and now also Acanto are food options at Johns Hopkins and the local community as well…

Azafran is one of my favorite cafes in Baltimore. It’s a hidden gem. The food is creative and never disappoints. I specifically appreciate the fact that they use high quality ingredients and you can feel good about what you order. There are a lot of healthy options as well as wonderful desserts. They also have some of the best coffee and espresso drinks in Baltimore. The services is always friendly — the owner is a true artist.

Parking is not obvious! — If you don’t work/​study nearby, you can park at the meters near the sports field here and walk around down the hill:

This is a really excellent café, a little hidden away, in a lovely space. Sometimes things completely knock me off my feet, like the special pizza I got the other day with butternut squash and parsnip purée, spinach, walnuts & caramelized leeks. Whatever that makes you picture, the dish as a whole was incredible. I’ve also had some great soups here. And they’re really good on the coffee side, too. Even little extras like the sodas and chips they pick are very good. For those concerned about price, most dishes run a little under $ 9. (The menu and specials are kept up to date on their website.) The whole place is very conscientious about environmental impact and sourcing ingredients locally and sustainably. I should make a disclaimer that I think the owner is wonderful (I work in the building) so I’m slightly biased, but honestly it’s really very good.

While this is on the Hopkins campus, it’s in a building that’s open to the public.
The prices might seem a little jarring but it’s perfectly justifiable considering they use healthier ingredients and seem to treat their employees well.
The owners are educated and likable people while the staff is particularly friendly and lovely.
Their specials are worth checking out and their Arepas are almost as good as the best I’ve ever had. I’ve eaten here dozens of times and never had an unsatisfactory lunch. Worth the extra money for sure.
I simply wish they would open a café/​restaurant in the city and give the city what would likely be one of its crown jewels.

I used to work in the building that houses Azafran. Their food is always creative and delicious. The owner, Irena, frequently walks the dining area to chat with the customers. The menu changes frequently because most of the ingredients are locally sourced so as the seasons change so does the food. The café is also very responsible about their waste and ingredients. They recycle heavily and use lots of fresh interesting foods to make unique and worthwhile plates.
On the down side, this careful and aware approach to the business results in a slightly more expensive dish. However, definitely worth giving a try.

I am lucky enough to work in the building they are located in. Truly, a hidden gem. The salads and special entrees are worth the trip.

Splendid! Food is wonderful and it is generally quiet.

Its so good and the stuff here are so friendly ! This definitely the best café i have ever been! You get free Hubble Pics here, thats amazing!
I like the owner. He is so loving life and always trying to improve food and café here!

Wonderful. Great coffee. Fresh and compelling sandwiches and salads. Very friendly owners. Great views of the park.

One of the great academic lunch spots in the US. Good fresh food, delivered with a smile. I’ve eaten here about 15 – 20 times over 5 years and I’m always happy to go back. Don’t forget to try their breakfast and their espresso — both are great.

Eating at Café Azafran is an experience. As you walk to the café through the winding hallway of the Space Telescope Building, you are surrounded by large and breathtaking photographs of outer space, taken by the Hubble Telescope. To the average undergrad, it feels like a museum!
Then you reach the café and are confronted by so many delicious options for soup, salad, hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, smoothies, coffee, pastries, etc. In my 3 years of eating at Azafran, my favorites were the vegetable panini and the spicy mango smoothie. Seriously, I’ve been trying to recreate the same smoothie on my own ever since. It hasn’t worked, which makes me sad because now I’m located 2876 miles away from Baltimore and my beloved spicy mango smoothies couldn’t seem any more distant.
Anyway, back to the point. Be sure to enjoy your lunch on the patio if the weather is warm and pleasant outside, and if you’re a JHU student, be sure to display your student discount card to get 10% off your order.

Food is well-​prepared, but is extremely overpriced considering it’s essentially a cafeteria. Scant vegetarian offerings, often the normal menu is supplanted by a special one, to ill effect. Staff is friendly.

After being at JHU for over 4 years, this is the best place to eat around Johns Hopkins for lunch. It’s conveniently on campus, but on the outskirts so you don’t have the general Freshman/​Sophmore crowds. There is a student discount as long as you tell them, and sometimes they have themed lunches. It’s a great relaxing place to go for good food and such a great change of scenery from Charles Village.

The hands-​down best place to eat on the JHU campus — located in the Space Telescope building. The menu is excellent, the dining area functional and fun, and the crowds are typical of the university scene. The sandwiches, salads, soups, and rotating food items are all fine choices, the coffees, teas, and hot chocolates are also great. If you want a taste of Hopkins, look no further. This is THE place to see and be seen.