Cafe Grande

Horrible! I’ve given this place a chance many many times and I guess I’m a glutten for punishment because they’re across the street and convenient when it’s raining. Today, I spent $ 7.28 on a tuna melt. They put vinegar on it. YUK! Did I ask for vinegar? They didn’t ask me what kind of bread and I got this soggy wheat bread. It’s just terrible. When you add just a soda my tab came to $ 9.99. My 13 y/​o nephew can make a better sandwich.

This is one of my favorite joints for lunch. The location is great (right next to the office) and they have alot options. The food quality is good and the service is great. I do feel that it is a tad overpriced. Do check out their chicken avocado sandwich.

Café Grande is one of those jack-​of-​all-​trade places meant to fill any need for the any of the thousands of rats running their respective rat race around K St. Normally, these places have so many things going on that they don’t really do anything great. And after having read somewhere that they also serve up donburi along with their chicken salad sandwiches, I was hoping that they’d surprise me.
Good thing I had tempered expectations, but the chicken katsudon I ordered was… okay. With a bit too much sauce poured over the entire bowl, the chicken lost its crispiness and while the flavor was fine, each bite felt a bit soggy. But that sogginess was offset by the fact that their rice hadn’t completely cooked and I had a few bits of more than al dente grains of rice on the occasional spoonful. So I guess the lack of crisp on the katsu was supplanted by the texture of under-​cooked rice.
I hate to disparage Café Grande since they are the simple mom & pop shop that you’d like to support. But I think in their efforts to bring quantity of choices to the table, they’ve sacrificed a bit of quality. But being so close to the office and having a curious stomach, I may venture back to see how their other options fare.

I’ve only had coffee and bagels from Café Grande but the staff is always pleasant, the wait is never long, and it’s close to my office. What more can a girl ask for in a café?

I walked in, saw that they had Tonkotsu, and I ordered the Tonkotsu.
That’s just how it is.
Watched the guy make it and then I ate it at the counter.
Broth — It was more yellow than creamy white. It was cool
Nitamago — Well technically there was a hardboiled egg (you can see in the picture)
A sliver of seaweed
A slice of Chashu
It’s good in a pinch, but I’d actually hit a dedicated Ramen spot for the tonkotsu.

Just happened to wander by, and saw that they had a Japanese menu in addition to the standard lunchtime fare. The chicken katsudon was pretty good, if perhaps a bit on the pricey side. I will go again to try other items.

The Chicken Katsudon was tough and dry. The sushi orders are pre-​boxed and sitting out on the cold bar. Sadface.

Downtown
full of deli/​café options in office buildings. Some are bad, some are good, most are between mediocre and bad. Café Grande is excellent. The staff here are very friendly and the selection is vast. I typically grab the Grande platter here for an inexpensive, filling breakfast. It costs around $ 8 and comes with eggs, a piece of toast, bacon (they have Turkey bacon!) and hash browns. The coffee they serve is also very good as are the wraps and salad.

As a follow up to my earlier review, it bears noting that Café Grande is still offering consistently tasty food. They’ve added a Japanese menu that is also very, very good. But what keeps me returning over and over is their friendly service. CG is attached to my office building, and I frequently share an elevator with some other customer returning to their desk with their CG food and we look at each other and say, «isn’t that the best little place? So friendly, so willing to go out of their way?» I manage customer service for my organization and it’s great to see a business who value great customer service as highly as I do.

Perfectly serviceable little café with good coffee and solid sandwiches. I stopped by near my DC office and it was quick with semi-​friendly service.
No complaints, but a day later, I can’t remember much about the breakfast sandwich. It was just kind of there.
But the coffee hit the spot. Certainly could do far worse.

Got the French toast platter. It was pretty good. A lot of their other food looks really good, but I’ve never tried it since it’s not really close to work. My bus stop is here so I grabbed breakfast one morning. They had samples of their pie out and it was really yummy. I wish they weren’t so far so I could grab lunch.
I was, however, really disappointed in their coffee. I got a white chocolate mocha latte (about $ 5-​$ 6 at Starbucks). It was really yummy, but it was almost $ 5!!! If I wanted to spend that much I would have gone to Starbucks and get a really good latte! McDonalds makes it for half as much and is just as good so I won’t be getting coffee from here anymore.

I work right above here so I’ve had quite a few experiences. The takeaway is they use fresh, quality ingredients, and cook it all really really well. I love the pastrami reuben, the gyro special, the bacon egg cheese on a croissant, the stir fry special, the burritos. It is a little pricey but it is worth it. They also have a large variety of snacks and drinks.

My coworkers love this place so I went with one of them at about 12:45. I ordered the veggie sandwich on toasted whole wheat with extra cheese. The staff was working hard to accommodate everyone in a timely fashion. Not only were they fast but they were also accurate. I my bread was toasted and there was plenty of cheese. To add to that, it was delicious. The bread had lots of yummy seeds and the veggies were crunchy and fresh.
I highly recommend this place for a perfect quick bite to eat for lunch.

If you work in or frequent the K Street/​Farragut area, add Café Grande to your list of lunch places. From behind the unassuming storefront, tucked next to an eyeglass store, comes some of the best sandwiches.
Service is quick and no-​nonsense. It can get a little busy around lunch but this is true for most places in the area. Sandwiches are made with care with fresh ingredients. I highly recommend the Turkey Brie: Sliced turkey breast, brie cheese, apples, honey mustard all arranged on soft Ciabatta.
The bottled drinks can be a little pricey but the food is very reasonably priced.
Edit: 3÷10÷15
Fantastic iced coffee. For the area, price is on par, quality is above it.

Good coffee, ambiance not so much. Food is good too though and it is delivered quickly too.

This has been one of my go-​to places for lunch for the past 3 years and I have never been disappointed with the food or service. Like most small restaurants in the area it is Korean owned and has a few Korean items hiding on the menu. I have recently started a craze in my office by bringing in their beef bibimbap bowl. I highly recommend adding the fried egg for an extra $ 1. It smells and tastes delicious and is very satisfying. Everyone was rushing out to try it the next week!
They usually have two registers going and you can step up to either one to order anything on their menu. Just make sure that you pick up any drinks or sides you will want to go with your meal before you approach the register. Note that if you are coming for a sandwich this shop is not one which offers free chips.

Café Grande is nicely tucked away on K Street, away from the main bustle of Connecticut Avenue. I stumbled upon this place after searching for lunch spots with good sandwiches.
I’ve been here twice now, and so far I’ve gotten the Turkey & Brie sandwich every time. Such a simple combination of turkey, granny smith apple slices, slightly melted brie, and honey mustard on ciabatta bread. I love turkey, but I love brie even more so. Therefore this sandwich was meant for me.
The staff are very friendly, and the service is fast. It’s a nice alternative to waiting in line for your favorite food truck grub at Farragut Square across the street. The café itself is very clean and quiet, plus ample seating for you and your coworkers to sneak away for your lunch break. I have yet to try the other options in the café, which I’m sure I will, but all I can think about is brie.

This is my second time here — I love how spacious and clean it is — but also the variety of selection at a reasonable price. On my first visit I had a caffe latte — it was superb. Not over-​roasted and bitter like the stuff Peete’s doles out.
Today my friend and I had the beef bibimbap with fried egg and soy sauce dressing — very delicious, hearty, and fresh — it had lettuce, red cabbage, marinated zuccini and squash, carrots, daikon, and other assorted vegtables on a bed of fresh hot rice (your choice of white or brown). I can’t tell you how much it hit the spot without a nasty, grody, overfull feeling after.
Their selection of teas, specialty sodas, ginger ales, juices, even kombucha, is sure to please anyone. Their baked good look on point and even their soft serve looks just as advertised. I saw some happy business lady just thrilled to get her cone.
Their tea selection is good too — I had a nice darjeeling. perfect for this weather!

I am really not understanding the rave reviews. Maybe I visited on an «off» day, because the food and service I received was sub par. After checking out the reviews on Unilocal,I decided to stop here for lunch. I ordered a salad with side dressing and substituted some toppings. It took the cashier awhile to ring up the order. I waited about 10 minutes to get the salad, while my coworker who ordered a bibimbap got it in about 2 minutes. The folks behind me also got their order before as well.
I think there was confusion because they misplaced my ticket. I noticed they were disorganized and seemed frazzle, and when the worker saw my ticket, she looked surprised and told another worker to finish an order she was working on.
I received the salad and it was missing dressing and some toppings. I asked the worker and she said the topping was there (it was not). I showed her the container and restated that no, in fact, it is not there. Why and how do you argue a fact? Besides, it’s a topping that takes seconds to throw on the salad. Geezus.
The salad itself was underwhelming. Portion size was small, the lettuce was not fresh (some pieces looked like it was wilting and had spots on them).
I’m probably not going to go here again for lunch, but maybe for breakfast or coffee.

My family and I walked up and down K Street and decided to stop in here for lunch based off of their good Unilocal reviews. I ordered their Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad and was very pleased at the freshness of their vegetables and tasty dressing. My friends and family know that I tend to eat a lot of salads, and sadly many places cannot make a decent salad. All it really takes are fresh ingredients and a decent dressing. Even a plain old iceberg lettuce side salad or simple sliced cabbage can be tasty if prepared fresh. Anyway, we dined in and sat at their window and people watched. I also took my daughter to their bathroom before we headed out and was relieved that it was large and clean. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to squish with my daughter into a dirty public bathroom stall because she just had to go potty.
When we’re in town again, I would definitely consider picking up lunch here again if nothing more interesting pops up on K Street.