Community Canteen

This review is for the salad bar only. It truly deserves five star!
I come here often for their custom salad. You can either go vegetarian or throw a little protein into your salad. First, choose a base. They offer romaine lettuce, spinach, arugula. Then, hand your bowl of leaves to the staff and load it up with fresh toppings here. They offer so many toppings without charging extra. The toppings change a little bit seasonally. Hard boiled eggs (yes, this is free of extra charge), celery, chickpeas, shredded carrots, cucumber, onions, cherry tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and many other options. Basically it is like a wholefood salad bar but charge differently. I usually get the salad with protein here. They have chicken, turkey, steak, ahi tuna, salmon and shrimp as protein choice. The bonus point is they all cost the same. Just a little over 9 bucks! Finally, you can choose the dressing. Again, many options. My favorite dressing is the low fat citrus and Asian dressing. Citrus dressing goes well with shrimp and seafood, Asian style dressing goes well with other salad. But really, they have so many options and you will find one you like. In my opinion, it is better than sweet green. It is so worth it!
The ingredients are always fresh here. Staff are always smiley and happy even when it is super crowded during lunch hour. With that being said, I absolutely love the salad bar and you should too!

Tasty, cozy and a range of delicious breakfast options. Make your own omelette or pick up a cookie from the baked goods bar– either at you are in for a treat.

Everything was served in disposable plastic bowls. Environmental disaster was created while eating here.

Love the food and the prices! Coffee is amazing. If you are getting coffee get a to go cup so you can do free refills. Recommend their specials and the French toast.

I had lunch twice here. The food was tasty both times. I like being able to grab quick but wholesome food, and this place is just perfect for that.

Pleasantly surprised actually. I had a breakfast sandwich, the special, and was concerned because it was pre-​assembled then heated up– but it was tasty and more than I can eat. BF got an omelet made on the spot. The yogurt fruit salad looked great and so did the pastries. Definitely will come back.
Only downside was the cashiers. We got a number for the omelet and asked the cashier if we come back and get the omelet or does someone bring it out for us… his response was «either.» So I said that we had no problem coming in and getting it and he said that he would look out for it. But then we had to come in and get it. I am just convinced that every person working in reston who works in customer service is socially awkward, doesn’t listen, or simply has no clue how their operation is run. C’est la vie. Small price to pay for a quick, tasty breakfast.

The woman that took my order was extremely rude. Wouldn’t allow me to order breakfast because breakfast ends at 10:30 am. I was in the door at 10:25. Looked at the menu, set up my 2 year old and 5 month old at a table. Was at the counter at 10:31. And in the middle of my order she said «sorry, we can’t do that now. Breakfast is over». I packed my two babies back up, walked out, and will never go back there again.

A few months ago they shrank their salad sizes significantly, you used to get a huge plastic container for salad, it shrunk to about ²⁄₃ in size. Their tomatoes are awful, either hard and tasteless or rotten. I have complained to the managers numerous times. I pointed out that the SweetGreen next to them has far tastier Roma tomatoes that are never rotten and they said it «costs more».
The «protein» meat you can put in salad is pretty low grade, as is everything there, has a lot of stuff you cannot chew and have to spit out. The meat in the lamb sandwich is also not very high grade, and the sandwich costs almost $ 10 so you might as well consider the kabob across the street. For an extra $ 2, you can get protein in your salad and one of the choice is a tiny piece of salmon. If you are going to get a $ 10 sandwich, a better deal is a burger from The Counter across the street.
As an alternative for salads, consider SweetGreen next door. They have much better variety and stuff that «community Canteen» just doesn’t have — strawberries, beets, guacamole and much more — and their prices are just a little higher. The salad you get costs about $ 10 in «community canteen» and about $ 12 in SweetGreen, and both places are packed during lunch.
community canteen prices went up somewhat during the summer of 2015, on top of salad shrinking in size significantly.
All in all, they are an ok value compared to everything else in Reston town center (there are no «good value» places to eat here IMO). I give them about 3 stars. Their major redeeming value is delicious breakfast like omelet (which is not cheap either) Another is that they have free carbonated water that’s pretty good. After 3pm, cookies are ½ price.

Great hospitality & decent clean delicious food with great organic fruits specially raspberry

The only good thing about this place was the outdoor seating in the sun. We went on Saturday and found that their usual menu was drastically reduced to a few humdrum sandwiches, an omelet bar, and quiche. There were also a selection of cookies and sweets, and a coffee bar.
Oddly, the place was very disorganized and when it came time to pay, the cashier had wandered away, so we sat down to eat and eventually settled up.
The Counter, just across the way is a far better bet, with beer, salads, and custom-​made burgers. I won’t waste my time and money again at the Canteen.

I am a huge fan of their breakfast items. They are fresh and quick. If you are in the area for breakfast or brunch you can’t go wrong with the omelettes. Their lunch items are not my favorite as the ones I have tried are taste somewhat processed.

I freaking Love this place! Every time my girlfriend and I get brunch here, everything is perfect! They have an awesome omelet bar– every single omelet I’ve had here, over the last year, has been cooked flawlessly! The staff is super friendly and competent!
Great for you and about 1 – 3 friends unless you eat outside– then it’s 3 – 5 people :)

My husband and I went here for a quick breakfast and coffee on a Saturday morning while my parents watched our newborn son. It was as described by fellow Unilocalers: cafeteria style with limited seating. However, the food was quite good! I ordered French Toast and he got the sausage burrito. We were both happy with the portions and taste for the price. The coffee and Americano we ordered were also good. Since we didn’t find a seat at the restaurant, we sat in this middle area between the Canteen and Mon Ami Gabi. The manager came by to introduce himself and welcome us. After mentioning it was our first time to either establishment, he coolly slipped us a $ 25 gift card to Mon Ami Gabi and invited us to come again when the patio is open. Needless to say, we will return.
Yummy breakfast, bright atmosphere, and helpful staff for us newbies but 4 stars because of limited seating.

My husband and I made a return trip for their Saturday brunch. They were a bit busy but we were able to find seat fairly easily in the connected Mon Ami next door near the bar.
The first time we came here the ordering and paying process was chaotic. We didn’t get any direction on the way of things from the employees. But this time, even though they were still busy the employees we talked to gave more direction which helped.
So if you are new to the place, you go to the big front counter to order and they will give you a ticket and a number. You can then go pay on the right hand side and then take a seat and wait for your number to be called. If it’s not too busy they will bring your food out to you.
I got a simple waffle, but very yummy, topped with strawberries and syrup. My husband got an omelette, loaded with veggies with a side of potatoes and toast, all which he enjoyed very much. We also took a couple chocolate croissants to go. My husband couldn’t wait long to eat his! Too yummy!
We look forward to coming again!

I have done the breakfast and lunch here. Yes, it gets crowded, yes there are a shortage of tables. Food is very good. Sandwiches are value for money on pricing and quality. It’s a typical european style deli. Need more of these type of food places around.
Try a different daily special sandwich. Can not go wrong. Salads beat the crap out of any chain restaurant salads.

Its a good go-​to for simple fare at their price points. Omelets are good, baked goods are fresh and coffee is hot. Nice jumping point to go window shopping and pass the time away at the Town Center as Community Canteen is in the heart of it all.
You can also overflow into the regular restaurant high tops and booths if there isn’t seating left during peak hours.

I had the crispy fried chicken sandwich here and that is usually what I get most of the time. The chicken tastes good, it’s a good size and you can taste the saltiness of the skin through the sandwich. Not too much fluff with the ingredients, shredded lettuce, mayo, tomatoes and the bread is soft with a thicker outside; good for a sandwich. I would recommend and it gets busy during peak lunch hours, my only complaint is the confusion of the lines. Usually there’s 2 lines, one for salads and one for everything else. They could probably make their shop more efficient by handling their line issue so customers won’t be confused.

I tried their spicy lamb on naan and crispy chicken sandwich. Lamb on Nan was quite good but certainly not the best. I went there for lunch when it was bustling with people. It looks like a small place from outside but they have huge siting arrangements.
Will recommend it for a quick grab !
Will strongly suggest — Crispy Chicken Sandwich !!

Community Canteen is the carry-​out lunch part of Mon Ami Gabi. The options range from a choose-​your-​own-​toppings salad, to sandwiches, to soups and daily specials. I usually opt for the salad — choose a container of different lettuces out of the wall cooler, hand it over to a staff member, pick your toppings and watch it be tossed all together.
Skip the iced tea and lemonade. It’s a smallish cup for the price and doesn’t include any ice. I’ve never figured out if I’m supposed to get my own ice somewhere or just ask for some. Free filtered water available near the door.
Need some sweets? Treat yourself to a buckeye, giant cookie or treat. Sweets are BOGO after 2 pm.

**LUNCH REVIEW**
As a salad and mixed greens lover, I am aghast that it took me so long to discover and to try Community Canteen. I guess I had it in my mind that this was a breakfast-​only spot, and I only expected an experience slightly above, say La Madeleine. However, in stopping by for lunch, I was pleasantly blown away by what is, for me, a perfect lunch.
NB: go early for lunch, just prior to 12, as the top-​of-​the-​hour lunch crowd fills in quickly and seating becomes quite scarce as quickly as the line grows long. Luckily, there are separate queues for the type of made-​to-​order or modified-​to-​order food one is seeking. Luckily for me, the salad line isn’t as long as the sandwich line, and it always moves efficiently thanks to the quick-​handed and deft salad ladies behind the sneeze guard.
Okay, so the best-​kept secret about their salad is this: pick up your pre-​packed (as in, packed a moment ago; turnover is quick) green mix of choice from a shelf on your left as you wait in line. When it’s your turn, hand over your greens to your salad lady, and have at it. Have her fill that bowl to the very brim with anything and everything. They do not weigh the salads, they do not charge for «extras» or «premium toppings» nor do they limit you to a certain set amount of toppings before piling on the extra charges. This. Is. Awesome. Dressing quantity is also totally within your control, something that is crucial to me when crafting a salad.
Take your beautiful, custom salad with you directly to the register, bypass (or do not bypass) the lovely pastry and bread items (a la francaise, bien sur), and pay up. Don’t forget to grab your silverware or plastic ware; it’s awkwardly located in a super-​cramped corner by the cashier area and serve-​yourself water.
I think I’d prefer to eat outside (weather-​permitting) or take my creation to-​go, as the claustrophobia factor and seat-​jostling/​shuffling and table vulture risks are high here at the peak lunch hour.