Busboys and Poets

I have come to this location many many times. With any where from a party of 2 to a party of 8. Imagine 8 hungry night shift nurses at 8am. We are hungry and tried and can be grumpy and this place takes great care of us.
Lots of breakfast options but mostly some combo of eggs, breakfast meat, veggies with some toast. With gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options. I’ve liked everything I had there. Fresh juices, strong coffee, and a delicious pomegranate Arnold Palmer. Plus they have dessert at 8 am which is really what this night shifter wants!
My only star deduction is that the service can be a touch slow and after 12 hours at work I just want to fill my belly and keep it moving.

I have eaten at the Bus Boys all over town. I live near the one in Brookland. Previously, ordering on line has worked well. But my most recent experience was anything but. The online delivery system allows you to specify a time. I asked for 7:15, but was told that the earliest they could deliver which was 7:30, which was perfect, as that’s when I expected my guests to arrive. However, the food was delivered before 7 pm, and when I called to express my disappointment, no one I spoke to at Bus Boys saw this as a problem. Don’t plan eating there any time soon.

This is a review I’ve been putting off writing for plethora of reasons. I love the food. It’s great.
With that being said, the service is absolutely unpredictable, unreliable, and incompetent. All of the waiters seem like they generally just don’t care about the customers. A few of the waiters I have had are REALLY nice, but most of them are some of the weirdest, awkwardest, rudest people in customer service that I have ever encountered. At least whenever I go, I go with only one or two people and I think they consistently put the bigger groups and tables ahead of us (like I get you want a bigger tip, but don’t make it so fucking obvious that you couldn’t give one shit). There have been numerous times where I have gone and they have fucked up horribly, leaving me irate, thinking I will never go back. The only reason I go back is because the food is so good and it’s convenient.
One time, during summer, my friend and I wanted to sit outside, but the hostess was saying she didn’t want to put the waiters at risk of heat stroke (even though I don’t see how they could have had heat stroke between the five steps from the door to the tables). BUT THATS NOT THE POINT. So while we were trying to decide whether or not we wanted to leave and eat outside at Brookland Pint or move inside and stay at Busboys, (it was a really nice day out and we don’t like sitting inside because it can be cold, dark and loud) the hostess started being snarky saying, «oh it’s that hard of a decision, is it?» and not in a joking manner.
This brings me to another point entirely. Whenever I come here, I have to check my phone and say to myself «ok if no one shows up in the next 5 – 10 minutes Im leaving» because sometimes I will literally sit there forever until someone even decides to greet me, probably because I am not in a huge group. So if a waiter shows up in that time frame, I stay but sometimes I just get it to go. The take out section by the way is horrible. Half the time no one is there to take your order and other times they will forget to put some of my items in or give me the receipt to sign. Anyways, when I do stay, my friend and I always have to know what we want to order as soon as we get there because we never see our waiter after ordering waters. So when we rush to order, it takes forever to flag down our waiter again for the check. It’s basically incredibly frustrating because there have been times when waiters blatantly ignore me trying to get their attention. Im going to just hope that they are that oblivious.
Basically, I come for the food and I like to sit outside (when I’m given permission) but the atmosphere gets on my nerves and the service sucks. Oh speaking of the atmosphere, there are customers there that drive me fucking crazy. For instance, groups are WAY too loud, but not just that– I’ve seen people listen to music, videos, etc on their phones without headphones in at full volume? What the hell who does that? in a restaurant???
Its already pretty noisy in there so when customers do that I want to use a cheese grater to grate all of my skin off and then glue it all back on piece by piece. I get that people in DC do that kind of shit a lot, (WHY NOT JUST USE HEADPHONES) but it keeps happening here and it makes me want to pull out my ear balls and throw them at said people.
Anyways, I hate this place, but I live close by, the food is good and it’s reasonably priced so I keep coming back fuck me right.
—Also– very hipster– like really weird liberal paraphernalia everywhere like Im sure you could find a book entitled «why white people suck» and «why Hillary clinton is the best ever» there. Yeah, it’s that kind of place.

Coming to this busboys is always a miss with service. I say if you can, go to 14^th st or Hyattsville! Especially for large parties. My friend ordered a bottle of Prosecco and at first the waitress tried to tell him it was just seltzer water and was confused about what it was (that whole convo was a blur and was just REALLY confusing) and then when she finally let him out the order in, she told him he had to get two bottles if he wanted enough for the whole table (one bottle ended up being enough). They put the bottles out on the bar and just let them sit there. They initially said they were waiting for glasses to be cleaned and after we inquired about the glasses that were sitting with the bottles that were already cleaned, the wine still just sat there while we waited for it. The whole ordeal was annoying and confusing because we could literally see it sitting there. Then the glasses they brought back to us weren’t clean, so some had to be sent back to be re-​washed (because apparently they only have 8 wine glasses in the restaurant at a time?)
This was my third bad service experience here with a group, different group, so I’m just going to assume that this location is just not good with handling groups. I never have any problems at the Hyattsville location or 14^th St.

Hangry and bewildered, I stumbled into this little gem. At first seemed like a spot for political debates and café but lucky for me it was more! All kinds of food served here. After scanning their menu, I learned about their business model; I’m in love. So many vegan and responsibly sourced food choices! For the meat leaning consumers, have no fear– they have plenty of options as well. I ended up settling with a vegan tuna salad and gazpacho. I had a cappuccino for dessert. Delicious! I would eat here every day– delicious food and awesome cause, what more could I want?! Wish they’d come to Boston…

Good olé neighborhood chain that is known foot good brunch and lunch. I don’t think the happy hour is that good with only $ 2 off drafts and $ 6 wines. I always get the lox bagel to go because there’s a nice little eating area that is self service if you want to do work or chill.

Stopped in last October (2015) while I was back in DC for Alumni Reunion weekend at Catholic University and WOW! This place was awesome!!!
CUA had their annual «Halfway Home» gathering that is always held every reunion weekend on that Friday night. I loved the hip and trendy vibe of the place as well as all of the vegetarian/​vegan options available! The staff was really great about making sure our beer and wine glasses were always full!
So can’t wait to come back here when I return to DC this October (2016) for this year’s Alumni Reunion weekend! Today’s CUA students are so lucky to have you guys right across the street! I wish Busboys and Poets had been around back during my college days (2000 – 2004).
Oh, one more thing… PLEASE PLEASE come to Southern California!!!

This is a great place for families, out-​of-​towners, and first-​time in DC’ers. I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to connect with a piece of the local experience.

After touring both the Franciscan Monastery and the National Shrine, we went to Busboys and Poets for a late lunch/​early dinner. We were seated immediately at a table but we wanted a booth, when we asked for one, they cleaned up the table and let us move. Our hostess asked if wanted to start off with something to drink and we wanted a hot beverage because it was a chilly day (felt like fall). I got the chai latte with almond milk and my friend got the pumpkin-​spiced latte. My chai latte was lukewarm so I had to send that back but my friend’s pumpkin-​spiced latte was nice and hot. It also took a while to get my cup of tea back – I’m not sure if they were making another one or what. For entrees, I got the Reuben with a side of the Harira (Moroccan two bean soup) and my friend got the royal sea bass sandwich also with the Harira soup. The Reuben underwhelming – it didn’t really have a lot of flavor and the bottom piece of bread got soggy. I absolutely cannot eat soggy bread! I also don’t recall the Thousand Island dressing. The royal sea bass was also underwhelming – they put entirely too much mayo and you could hardly taste the fish. The best part about the meal was the side of Harira, very flavorful. For dessert, we decided to split the bread pudding with coconut ice cream and this was the best thing I had. The bread pudding was nice and warm with chocolate chips instead of nasty raisins which went perfectly with the coconut ice cream… yum, yum.
Overall, the service was okay – it could have been better but wasn’t terrible. The food was mediocre but Busboys and Poets is a great place if you need to accommodate different dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-​free, etc.). They even have Halal chicken. I probably would come back for brunch but I wouldn’t break my neck to come back.

Went for Beltway Poetry Slam night. Our waiter was so nice. I got the tempeh sandwich. The bread was really underwhelming. The tempeh was sliced too thinly and had too much of a BBQ flavor. There wasn’t much on the sandwich– good thing I ordered a side salad and it came with baby kale that was delicious to put inside the sandwich. The food I get at Busboys is always mediocre at best.

Good Food… Good Atmosphere. It’s always some event going on. I enjoy this location the best out of them all

Good food and comfy atmosphere. I love that they have a very versatile menu and their wait staff is very attentive.

Love this place! There’s such a good feeling to this place. I’ve come with my whole family for a nice dinner date, I’ve also come by myself on a Saturday morning to hang out and catch up on some homework. The place is great because you have your typical restaurant style, sit down area, but then you also have a place to sit, relax, read or work over in the sitting area or by the community table. The food is fantastic, they have a wonderful selection of paninis, salads, etc. I’m dying to come for breakfast, heard their sweet potato pancakes are wonderful!

This is one of my favorite Busboys and Poets locations. I love the fountains outside, the outdoor seating, and I think the vibe in this place is just pretty spectacular. Good for a drink with a Tinder date (speaking from experience, lol) or long dinners with friends, for sure. The service here is always SUPER personable. My waiter the other night was such a cutie, super attentive and super sweet. The service here makes the experience all the more better, seriously.
I’ve had the salmon burger, sweet potato fries, like every single appetizer, pizzas, etc. Get the gnocchi, it’s bomb. The other night I got the avocado panini — unfortunately, I was pretty unimpressed. I expected a warm panini, oozing avocado and cheese. This sandwich was cold, no cheese to speak of, and wayyyy too much arugula. I’m not a big arugula person, but to each his own. For dessert, we got a vegan brownie with vanilla ice-​cream — tasty, simple, and most importantly, VEGAN. Yum.
I’ve got one complaint that I feel kinda makes the experience a little awkward; the booths are SO far away from the table. Like, you have to sit on the edge of the booth and prop yourself up in order to actually reach the table, and no matter where you move it, it always is far away from someone. Kind of annoying.

Come here and expect: great food, great beer selection, great books, great service, wonderful ambiance
What I got from it: I have tried this place 3 times in 2015 I believe, and they consistently do well in their food and in their style. I am a fan of Busboys and Poets, and this location does not disappoint.
When I took my family here for a lunch on Easter, this place wasn’t empty AND they served us super well. Everyone loved their meal– I bet my family wouldn’t mind coming back! The breakfast options were great to impress my opinionated Dad. I remember enjoying one of the eggs benedict and the coffee was yummy too!
I came here recently for drinks and dessert, and even though the staff was about to have a Christmas party, they were accomodating and politely updated us on how much time we had. My friend loved her carrot juice and was blown away by the vegan cheesecake. I was grateful that they offered a beer from an up and coming local brewery called «Handsome.» That showed me they care about the local craft beer scene.
I highly recommend this place if you are near Catholic U. and the Brookland area. It’s a great option among many great restaurants near by.
Please note: they disclosed that they actually get their vegan desserts shipped in because they don’t want to cross-​contaminate.
And one tip: ask about the price of the beer you want. They do charge a high premium for local beers!

An interesting place that caught our attention while looking for a place to eat around the Brookland area of DC.
Went here for brunch and were pretty happy with our food. The chicken omelette was really good. The reuben sandwich w/​tabbouleh was also good as well as the Iraqi corned beef hash (Mekhleme).

We got in about 3pm, in between the lunch and dinner rushes and they had plenty of folks on hand to help out. Our waiter was very nice and talked over the menu to let us know what they had.
From that point it went down hill. We placed and order for one burger and a desert to share. That took the better part of 40 mins to get after we asked twice about it. The tea I ordered never came. While the server did apologize for the back house being slow the manager only at the last minute made an effort to help out and thats only because we asked to see them.
We were comped the desert but nothing made an impression on me that would make me want to return.

Came here just as Saturday brunch service was over. I must have had perfect timing, because there wasn’t a wait for a table. The hostess took me to my table, and I waited a little bit longer than was comfortable to be greeted. I thought this was interesting since there were so many servers milling about, folding napkins in the adjacent room, etc. The time it took for my server to greet me was long enough for me to figure out exactly what I wanted.
When he arrived, I placed my order from the lunch menu for the crab cake sandwich. I have to agree with another reviewer who noted that the lunch prices really weren’t that cheap. I believe my sandwich and housemade chips was $ 16. Food came out relatively quickly given that the restaurant wasn’t even half full. When it did come, I was pleasantly surprised with the crab cake. I didn’t see or taste any filling/​breading. The chips were plentiful and good. Overall, I thought the dish was pretty good. But when you factor in the cost, and the fact that I was hungry two hours later, not a great deal.
My server was just ok. Didn’t refill my water the second time it was empty, instead asked me if I needed anything else. I still had food on my plate! What I need is to quench my thirst and re-​assess the situation. When he brought back the water, he didn’t wait too long after that to bring me my check. Again, can I see the dessert menu before you assume anything? Checked out the menu, decided to try the bread pudding. Although I liked the taste, the consistency was too much for me. I found it to be too gooey. I prefer more than one texture in bread pudding, and this was all soft and chewy.
I’ll try it again because it was convenient, but I probably won’t go for lunch again.

What better way to compliment a workout than by stuffing your face? Well, my dining companion and I thought so at least.
We settled on this venue as we had both previously enjoyed the food at a variety of Busboy locations and wanted to try this new one. The restaurant was almost entirely empty, so we were seated right away.
The décor was pretty standard for a Busboys and Poets: modern and socially conscientious. Where else can the decorations both take your breath away and make you ponder some of life’s biggest questions?
I loved the fact that the waitress gave us so many seating options. (Would you like to sit inside or outside? In an extra-​comfy lounge chair, a modern seat, a booth, a table, etc?) As for the food, I enjoyed the variety of options available. Vegan or vegetarian? No problem. Proud meat eater? They’ve got you, too!
For this trip, I opted for a more traditional meal. I was craving eggs, so I ordered french toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, and a glass of orange juice. The orange juice tasted as if it had been freshly squeezed and paired nicely with my meal.
The eggs and bacon were pretty standard, but my french toast was disappointing. It tasted surprisingly dry and tasted more like someone had poured syrup over a piece of regular piece of bread. :(
For the number of people in the restaurant, I thought they took a surprising long time to come out with our food.
Overall, it was still a good way to spend the morning. I’m giving it 3 stars because for the price, I wanted the food to be just a tad bit better and with faster service.

This is the newest location of Busboys & Poets. Located in the Brookland neighborhood of DC, it’s convenient to the Brookland/​CUA metro stop on the Red Line.
Currently they are open for dinner only as they opened last week. Hours hopefully to extend to lunch soon. I’ve been wanting to try Busboys & Poets for a while as they have awesome reviews at their other locations but are insanely busy whenever I’ve been able to go. So happy they opened this location in my neighborhood.
I had the beef chili with blue nacho chips and green mint tea. The chili was delicious and filling, perfect for a