Cafesano

One of my favorite Italian places. The restaurant’s ambience is a good one if you are taking your date for dinner. Also, the view of the lake is good too. Not to mention the food tasted great. Definitely will visit again.

When I dine at a restaurant I look for 3 things.
1. Cleanliness of the restaurant
2. The food they serve
3. Service
For a neighborhood casual eatery, this place has it all. I tried their portobello panini, split peas soup, and steak skewer. They were all good.
For a laid back environment and food, this place wasn’t bad at all.

I ordered a chicken platter for $ 13.03
The plate was full of uncooked rice, 5 or 6 very small peaces of chicken no flavor no spices at all. And some vigges. The environment of the place is nice. Should have a few tables with electric outlets. Recommend for the owner to visit a few real Kabob places in the area.

Comfy café with a great menu (and view!) of Mediterranean and Italian favorites including schwarma, salads, pastas and artisan pizzas. Friendly and efficient service!

Fresh and delicious. We ordered Kabob platter and Penne Arrabiata. Tasty, succulent and served fresh. A bit overpriced but surely a must try in Reston area.

The only thing I didn’t like is my funky garlic breath!
Awesome lunch spot! I ordered the Chicken Shawarma that was perfectly seasoned with a great char like flavor on the chicken. The chicken wasn’t dry either which is sometimes the case when its charred. It came with a side of pita chips which were beyond awesome. Really great Mediterranean flavors.
I also got a side of red pepper hummus which was tasty. I told the cashier I wanted the «side» which was half the cost of the «appetizer» but because I wanted pita chips he charged me the app price which turned out to be too much hummus. I guess I will have enough for later too.
For $ 2.75, I will skip on the brownie next time. It actually tasted about a day old but because my main dish was so awesome I am still giving this place a 5 stars. The order process was easy and I waited less than 5 minutes for my food to be brought to the table. There is one long table in the middle — so when its busy — sit, eat and make a new friend!

Some items we’ve tried are excellent, like lentil soup and zucchini friti, and some quite nice, like their margherita pizza or pasta with marinara sauce. Their felafel has improved but felafel shouldn’t include peppery heat, and is often cooked too long. And some dishes you shake your head at, like chicken skewers with pieces that sometimes are so hard and rubbery they literally bounce. (Cafesano, if you want to work on them, you might compare to the ones at Plaka Grill in Vienna — 5 miles further away but worth the trip.)
BTW, when Cafesano first opened, they had a salad I ordered a lot, but stopped after they took out the pinoli. (Pine nuts are expensive so maybe cost prohibitive?)
Extremely loud inside so carry-​out is the way to go for me, unfortunately, unless it’s off hours. The two times I met someone there for a lunch meeting we had to yell to be heard.

Dining during mid-​afternoon. SIGNATURE salad and Malbec wine was great pair. Serenity view of Lake Thoreau– gotta check that up!

Love this restaurant but not today. As the staff prepared orders, they were eating food. Nasty, but they did have rubber gloves on. Going to insist on getting food at the main restaurant from now on

If the food existed in a vacuum, I’d give this place four stars at least– it’s always been tasty and the pizza, in particular, is amazing! The coffee SUCKS, however. The worst cappuccino I have ever had.
However the service here has taken a serious dive since the first time I came here six years ago. I think they must not treat their workers very well or the pay is very low because the workers are not on the ball at all (forgetting parts of orders, taking forever to bring out food, etc). The line to order moves very slowly– don’t come if you’re impatient or in a rush. The one counter guy is also in charge of bringing out soups, etc which slows down order taking even more.
I also personally don’t enjoy eating here because there are always a TON of kids running around. That might be a good thing if you have kids too, so I don’t dock any stars for it, just want to point it out.
Four stars for food, one star for service. It’s a shame too because I can walk here in 5min from my house.

We ALWAYS come back for their beef shawarma. Instead of lettuce– ask them to put onions instead and along with chopped tomatoes and the garlic sauce. Ahhh … Sheer bliss to the tastebuds.

As rare as they come — me giving any place a 5 star rating is like Joan Rivers being nice on Fashion Police. Doesnt happen.
I come here now at least twice a week as I work in the area. Hands down the thing to get is the signature salad (Romaine, artichokes, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives and red onions, topped with fresh avocado and mozzarella. Served with their house dressing, our Parmesan crisp and grilled ciabatta). It really does not get better. It makes Sweetgreen look like a one armed homeless man. Every bite is flavorful and most importantly FRESH. They are not cheap with their ingredients.
Have also tried their Greek pizza which again is incredibly delicious. The feta cheese is real and the personal pan is more than filling for one person at lunch. Paninis here also decent. This place is the not so hidden anymore gem of Reston.

One of my new favorite discoveries in the area! From the atmosphere to the quality of the food, I love everything about the restaurant.
Cafesano is a Mediterranean-​Italian fusion restaurant, where you place your order in the front and a waiter delivers it to your table. The restaurant is clean and well-​decorated, which kicked the casual dining experience up a notch.
The falafel appetizer is DELICIOUS. I love how it was crispy, seasoned well, and the tahini sauce that comes with it was good, too. I also enjoyed the combination platter with chicken and steak, which included a vegetable kabob, rice, a salad, pita bread, and a side of tzatziki. The housemade lemonade is really yummy as well.
If you want to add anything extra to your meal, there’s a seasoning bar next to the fountain drinks and utensils which include a huge selection of sauces and condiments like Sriracha, Tabasco sauce, A1 sauce, pepper flakes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, etc. I thought that was nice.
The only negative I can really think of is that the meal was on the pricey side for casual dining, but I didn’t really mind it.
Overall great food, service, and experience!

This place is a great hidden gem. They have a big menu with a nice variety. They have salads, sandwiches, and pizza. They also serve wine as well. I had the roast beef panini which was great they come with these thin style pita chips which were yummy.
You order at the counter and they give you a pager like thing and they bring your food to your table. So it’s a combo of sit down/​fast food.
Regardless I really did like it and would come back again.

I was a huge fan of this place. Great food for a reasonable price. Not sure what has happened in the last week but everything has been off.
On Monday August 24^th, I went there with my boyfriend and daughter. We ordered a kids cheese pizza, and a Greek pizza and a Greek salad. You can’t really mess up a salad (or so I thought) so I was satisfied with it but both pizzas were burnt on the bottom. Burnt to the point my daughter, who can kill an entire kids pizza in one sitting, had a hard time getting through it, and my boyfriend was complaining the entire time. That was strike one.
Strike two came today when I ordered a Greek salad, again, because it’s amazing. Half way through my salad I realized that the olives were missing. The whole point of a Greek salad are the olives and the feta cheese.
Strike three came just a few hours later when our dinner plans were cancelled and decided to have a go at getting a margharita pizza from café sano. Burnt bottom. After driving back to get our money back, they gave us another margherita pizza for free but once we were home (strike four) the bottom was burnt.
Are your flames too high? Is the oven being cleaned enough? Are you keeping it in the oven too long? What happened to the amazing pizza you used to make? We are fed up with the dissatisfaction we have experienced and will not likely return.

A wonderful Italian/​Mediterranean restaurant, set up similar Panera Bread where you order at the counter and your food is delivered to you at your table. I had the Prosciutto and Mozzarella panini and it was the delicious! The chips that came with it, not so great. If I go next time and get an entrée served with the chips I’ll ask for a substitute side. A few friends got the lasagna dishes from there and all of them enjoyed it (both the veggie and regular lasagna). They have a great variety of desserts including cannolis!
The atmosphere is fairly casual, decorated nicely, kind of loud, you can still talk with your friends it just can be hard to hear sometimes. It’s in a great location, it’s in the same plaza as the Reston Community Center, a Safeway, and other restaurants.

Great atmosphere, great food, and fast service! I got their traditional salad and my friend got turley and avocado wrap. We also got two glasses of wine. The food was delicious! Very healthy option for our lunch.

Where has this place been all my life?
The restaurant is very spacious. There is indoor and outdoor seating. You place your order with the cashier and then get a number card. The cashier was friendly and quick. You seat yourself, there is no server here. An employee finds your number and brings your food over. There is a counter with napkins, utensils, straws, sugar, sauces, etc. Help yourself.
I don’t want to hype up this place, but we really enjoyed ourselves. They have a big menu and it all looks great. We tried some of their dips and wraps and enjoyed it all. It was so fresh and clean to the palate. Prices are reasonable as well. For some reason, this place reminds me of California.
I will be back!

Cafesano wins my heart! Located in a busy shopping center, you’re lucky to find parking, let alone anything close by. But I lucked out.
If you’re coming for lunch, give yourself some time. The line in here can be long and the food is fresh, so it can take some time to come out. But it’s worth it!
I got the chicken pesto with the kettle chips. Delicious! The sandwich is flavorful and I love the zucchini on it. The chips aren’t your typical kettle chips — they are made from sweet potatoes and not all greasy.
The place is nice for a lunch date or to just escape the office.

Popped in as it is close to the house and we wanted something quick. Been here before at lunch not sure why I haven’t reviewed
A dinner visit so…
Tried the spaghetti arrabbiata which is a version very light on the spice. Tasted some pepper and tomato but surprisingly no other spices. If needed some help so a could quick dashes if tabasco did the trick
Also tried the prosciutto & mozzarella panini. Decent but lacking in overall flavor. Tomatoes were sad rounds. Yes I know the middle of winter so I probably should have known better. I think some balsamic or other vinegar would be helpful. Or a vinaigrette vs just olive oil. Pita chips are tasty and added a nice crunch.
My fav here is the meatball panini. However it doesn’t always cone out heated all the way through… hit or miss … i just send back till right.
Other favs are their salads which always seem fresh and flavorable.
Love the table tracking system. So order comes out right to the table. Runners know right where you are. 5 stars on that procedure
But it’s in the neighborhood… so undoubtedly we will be back.