Le Pain Quotidien – Capitol Hill

First of all, I have to note that they’re playing holiday jazz music, which I love to hear! I stopped by for dinner and learned that it’s another seat yourself sort of place. Make sure to make eye contact with the waiter as I did or you might be waiting for a while! I ordered the braised beef stew with polenta paired with porsecco. The beef was full of flavor and the polenta was rich and creamy. Be sure to check your bill as it was happy hour, but my waiter still charged me full price for a glass.

Underwhelming, over-​priced, and although the servers are pleasant, they are very slow and inattentive. With so many wonderful choices near by (Sona, Belga, etc), just skip this place.

My review is based on their coffee alone since we didn’t purchase any food. We came in after walking around Eastern Market because it was freezing outside and we wanted to warm up.
There was one person ahead of me in line and after she ordered, the staff didn’t seem to man the counter. It took me about 10 minutes to place my order (for no good reason).
I ordered the chai latte and was happy to hear they had almond milk as an option. We were able to find a seat with no trouble and hang until we felt warm. My latte was average, but was just what I needed to go back outside and finish my market stroll.

Normally I don’t mind inattentive service, but the service here is so slow that it’s pretty absurd. Every time I go here we wait at least 15 minutes for a menu and I always have to go up to the front to get water or utensils. I don’t think it’s the servers’ fault (they’re always nice) — I think they’re just extremely overworked and management hasn’t put in place a good system for them. That makes tipping really a conundrum. Hopefully the manager will get replaced soon!

Terrible. Service was extremely slow, I think because the place is understaffed, and the food was just the most tasteless I’ve ever had in my life. Avoid!

I was disappointed when I came here. To be fair I was looking for Peregrine Espresso but it was closed so I came to the place next door instead. I went up to the counter to order a café au lait to have there while I worked. I was immediately annoyed when they told me if you «ate in» you had to be waited on. I ended up paying $ 6 for an okay cup of coffee because of the tip. This is not a table-​service kind of place so I’m really not sure why they had it. It was also very hot and the wifi was slow.

This place is confusing from when you walk in. I thought you order at the counter before you sit down, but apparently its for to go orders, but I wasn’t
told that. Service was not friendly. I ordered, ran my card, gave it back to me and then she left without a word. Didn’t tell me what was going on and didn’t give me my receipt. She just left. It was the strangest thing. I had to grab another person who explained to me the setup and gave me my receipt. I also have to agree with some of the other reviewers. For what I received, it was good but a little overpriced. I don’t think I would come back. Just wasn’t a good experience.

I’ve had slow service here before but today is the first time we actually gave up and left without ordering after being ignored for 15 minutes. Food is decent if you’re very patient.

I’ve ordered my takeout salad now 3 times in the last month or so, once was missing avocado, twice missing dressing. It’s definitely an uphill battle to obtain an order, which is typically yummy, from this place. Check everything before you leave.
There’s almost not table service, it’s something between ordering at the counter yourself and an actual full service restaurant. No one will check on you, you’ll have to beg someone to get a menu or put in an order (just grab a takeout counter menu when you walk in!), and there’s no difference whatsoever if it’s crowded or you’re the only person there, like I was today. I’m not sure what the policy is on tipping? Previously I’ve left 20% for eat-​in and nothing for take-​out, but I’ve had a poor experience each and every time, so perhaps I’m part of the problem. Today I waited an inordinate amount of time to order, got the food quickly, and then the Server. Never. Returned. I had to go get butter from someone else, and the check from someone else, and after waiting 40 MINUTES tried to take the check to the counter to pay and was told my server had to do it. At this point it was AFTER CLOSING TIME! This is ridiculous!!!

Sad service outside. :(
A staff member inside of the restaurant told me that, for sit down service outside, I should just choose a table. I did. Then, I waited for 10 minutes. No one came to my table until I got the attention of the waitress at a table near mine. The customers sitting there had been waiting even longer to pay!
The waitress was pleasant. So I waited while she cleaned the table. Then I waited while she reorganized the tables in that section. Then, I ordered and waited 15 minutes more for a cheese board. Cheese. And bread. It never came.
I left a note, $ 5 for my coffee and departed. About an hour later, when I passed by on the way home, the note and money were gone (I can only hope the waitress got them!) but the table had not been cleared.
Too long a wait. Too little service.

Today I splurged and treated myself to a lentil & avocado salad, adding salmon. It has been my most favorite salad to get from Le Pain when I used to work nearby, and I haven’t had it in months. Typically, it’s loaded with lentils, a generous amount of salmon, along with arugula sunflower seeds, and radishes — enough for two meals, really.
However, after walking over a mile home, I eagerly opened the to-​go box… only to find a sad handful of arugula and a single bit of smoked salmon, with absolutely NO lentils to be found — the main base of the salad. Very disappointed in the sloppy preparation, and I wasn’t going to walk a mile back to the store to get it fixed.

Can’t say much good about this place. Dirty, incredibly slow and understaffed, mediocre food. The glass door and handle on the 7^th street entrance are disgustingly dirty (meanwhile, peregrine coffee next door is always keeping theirs clean). As is the short hall next to the kitchen. Avocado pits rolling around, grimy floors, and no evidence of a thorough mopping in the past few days. Certainly worse than most carry-​out places. Had I not already ordered, I would have left after seeing the hall.
It took about 15 minutes for a black coffee to arrive and another 15 for a sandwich and two salads (all ordered at the same time). This was after waiting about 10 minutes for any type of service. My chicken Cobb salad came out without chicken, at which point I was delivered some grey strips. There was no more than a drizzle of dressing on my salad (coming from someone who normally thinks restaurants use far too much), and our waiter never made it back outside while we were eating, so I forced my way through dry salad greens and grey chicken until I could take no more. The bread was serviceable, but the butter was (of course) rock hard from the fridge.
The waiter was – when not absent – at least pleasant, and seemed genuinely apologetic for the chicken issue and the dirty table that we requested he wipe down. That said, there seemed to be little interest among the staff in contributing to a clean and productive restaurant.
We should have followed the lead of the neighbors on either side of us and gotten up and left. I will take solace in the belief that perhaps a few people will read this review and be saved from an awful experience.

No sure why it only have 3 stars. I think it deserve 4. The service is good and friendly. Nice sit down environment and décor. Very relaxing. Nice quiche, flavorful and hot.
Price is not the biggest bang for the buck but it is DC. What do you expect anyway.
Very close to eastern market metro station. Don’t drive here. Parking would be a problem.

This place is a great stop in while waiting to meet up with friends before brunch or heading out to explore the market. A bit pricey for coffee, lemonade, and a ham and cheese croissant…

Much like every other Pain Quotidien, the shop offers a enticing selection of house-​baked bread. Their whole wheat and nut and seed breads are particularly good. Similarly, if you order a dish that comes with bread at the café, you’ll be presented with a set of three jars containing pralined hazelnut spread, apricot, and mixed berry jam. But the other dishes on the menu are not to be overlooked. The gazpacho is refreshingly light and not overly bread heavy. Similarly, the salads are excellent, if strongly dressed. (Eaters who are finicky about dressing would do well to order it on the side here.) Note that (unsurprisingly) almost all the dishes come accompanied by slices of bread, which can range from the more pedestrian baguette to country Levin, or even walnut whole wheat.

While I love the idea of the place nothing here seems to pan out. We had the mozzarella salad and it was average. The service also left something to be desired. I had to get up for the waiters attention.

I really like this place. Everything is always fresh, hot and yummy. I love the Ham and Gruyère Quiche and the Paris Ham and Gruyère Croissant. The only thing is that the portion for the quiche is so small. I have tried to get a double portion but you have to order the entire meal to get a double slice. Other than that, it’s great.

We went here when my hubby and I were just in the eastern market area after going to the flea market. We decided to get brunch at this cute little bistro. I got a salad and an iced mint tea. My hubby got a pear, prosciutto, and arugula sandwich. We also got a Belgian waffle with fruit and an assortment of breads with delicious jams and their version of Nutella. I ate off his plate and his food was way better than my salad. Oh, the regret of ordering a salad kicked in instantly! Overall, the bistro is yummy but overpriced considering it was a quick place for brunch.
I do have to mention that the bathroom is far and does not connect to the restaurant itself. Rather, the bathroom is connected to a different hallway.

So I have never been to Le Pain Quotidien before but since it was a work meeting and centrally located, I thought why not? I will tell you why not… we had the SLOWEST service ever!!! At first it all seemed promising but then I had to flag someone down to take our order, after our food was delivered, we had to flag someone down for silverware and refills. And then when it came time to pay the check — we had to flag someone down for that and then they disappeared for a good 5 – 7 minutes with the cards… it was just too much.
And the salad I ordered was just blah — no real flavor and nothing to write home about.

I don’t care which location I visit, the quiche Lorraine from here is outstanding! I’d get it to go if I was really craving it.
The quiche is perfectly cooked, savory and light. It also comes with a nice size salad.
The quiche and a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning is fantastic for me!
The service here was good and they seat large groups.