Pete’s Diner

Great breakfast even at 2 p.m. on a Saturday. Great home cooked meal not in your kitchen lol.

It’s not on the menu, but every weekday, the chef/​owner prepares a $ 7 vegetarian combo platter that is consistently one of the best most interesting things I’ve eaten (and I’m not a vegetarian). The platter changes daily other than the red grain rice on which its served. Usually 3 – 4 separate veggie or tofu/​soy-​protein based dishes comprise the meal. Usually Asian inspired, and the chef has told me that many of the vegetables come from her home garden. So good.

Nice family-​run old school diner serving great breakfast all day. Stick with breakfast. We tried a couple of entrees at lunch. These were as bad as the breakfast was good. The coffee passed the coffee-​snob test and the refills are quick and served with a smile.

Excellent Sunday brunch. Service was good: friendly, fast. Well prepared food. Quaint diner atmosphere.

The meal was tasty, the service was excellent and the meal was hot. We had no complaints. We would go again.

Great diner with no frills. They are fast and the food is home style and won’t break the bank.

Now this is a very small hole in the wall type restaurant, but the food was awesome!!! Very clean! Service was great and the people were very friendly! Would definitely do this again.

Consistent and friendly. Every time. Which is why we return almost every Weekend.
The prices are great, servings are generous, and the food is good and consistent. The coffee cup is never empty and the sweet potato pancakes are pretty a nice change of pace.
The thing that has us coming back is the efficient friendly service and we always know what kind of experience we are going to have.
We were gonna stop by today, but rolled in a little too late. This won’t stop us from coming by again. Keep up the good work.

I really, really want to like Pete’s. It gets two stars rather than one because I like that it’s a simple diner close to the House office buildings, but the food is terrible. I got a spinach and swiss omelette, and it was thin and brown. The eggs were WAY over cooked and dry, and the spinach was chewy. I was given no jam with my toast, and the potatoes were soggy. I’ve also eaten the chicken salad sandwich and grilled cheese during previous visits. There is way too much mayonnaise in the chicken salad and the cheese in the grilled cheese was not melted. I think their griddle is just too hot, hence the brown eggs and un-​melted cheese.

Old School Diner! Super food at a super price. Great portions on all of the breakfast items we ordered. Food comes out hot and fast with great service. Great location and find while checking out the surrounding sites.

It was ok. Service was really good. Prices are not bad. Basic breakfast sandwiches on either white or wheat. Sourdough would have been nice. Nice cozy diner atmosphere. Coffee was so-​so.

I had think a few days before posting a review of Pete’s diner. It’s a simple, hidden away gem of a place you don’t want to see be overrun by young upwardly mobile DC trendsetters converging to the SE. Thank good they don’t serve craft beer yet. Great comfort food, simple and unpretentious. You can sit at Petes with total strangers and start up a conversation about anything. The place is family run, very friendly, and if you understand what they’re saying, all the better. Kitschy Buddhas, Bottomless cups of coffee in mismatched cups, with a small greasy spoon ambiance (spoons really were not greasy). It’s the kind of place that’s so cheap you want to tip them more than the meal is worth. Takes credit, no wifi.

There are not too many simple diners like Pete’s left, and thats a shame! I love coming here for the friendly service, delicious food and casual atmosphere.
They have all your typical diner foods, and some specialities like sweet potato pancakes. Their omelets come with a huge heaping of hash browns and all of their egg dishes come with toast that they put jam & butter on.
You will get your food within 10 minutes of ordering, which I love. You can be in and out of the door within 20 minutes if you need to, or you can sit and read the paper all day without being disturbed.
It is a very simple place. You will feel appreciated and welcomed by the staff from start to finish and enjoy a hearty inexpensive meal– what is not to love!

Cheap and wonderful service. Adorable little spot on Capitol Hill. If you’re looking for an affordable breakfast or lunch spot — go here. It’s a hole in the wall and will help you feel like a local. Or – if you are a local, will remind you that lunch doesn’t always have to be $ 15! I got a huge bacon/​swiss/​spinach omelet that was served with hash browns (the fresh potato kind) and 2 pieces of toast with jam.* I also got a Diet Coke. I left lunch spending less than $ 10. If that isn’t 5 stars in DC, I don’t know what is. Plus — if you are a House of Cards fan, it was actually pictured in the show as itself.
*They put the jam on for you so if you want to do the spreading ask for it on the side.

TL; DR: Simple breakfast spot that’s unpretentious, tasty and cheap.
Food: Two eggs over easy with home fries and toast cost me $ 7 — which is easily the price of a customized latte in New York! Friends got chocolate chip pancakes, which were fluffy and very chocolatey — avoided the chewiness of usually cheap spots. Also, they have real sriracha for eggs! I wouldn’t come here for a fancy brunch with parents or clients, but if you want a place to get the typical brunch staples quickly before heading elsewhere, this is the spot.
Service: We sat down, we put in our order, and 10 minutes later, got our food. Check came 20 minutes in, which was great, because it meant we could get in and get out without much fuss.

OMG the staff here is so nice! the food is great and very cheap ! When we showed up it was packed and i can see why. The service is quick and they make you feel at home!
If i ever come back to DC i will most definitely come here again!

Pete’s is convenient and the service is quick. It’s a Korean owned or run diner right by the Library of Congress. It was actually pictured in House of Cards, as itself. We visited on a beautiful morning with sunshine, not too hot, and we sat outside at one of the about six tables. There was only one other table with guests and one person was inside (there are about 10 – 12 tables inside).
The food is kind of on the meh side. I ordered eggs, pancakes and a biscuit. My wife got eggs and toast.
Eggs: both undercooked and overcooked at the same time (too hot griddle)
Pancakes: not bad but the syrup was imitation maple syrup
bacon: very thin, not very good.
hashbrowns: shredded, pretty good but you can’t make a mistake with these!
toast: nothing special
biscuit: not good. Nope!
Orange juice: not high quality but it hit the spot
coffee: good service on the refills, standard low quality fare
We would come back out of convenience, but with other options plentiful, Pete’s is kind of on the desperation side of things rather than the destination side of things, if you know what I mean.

I want to give this place a one star because the food is not very good, the coffee terrible, and the service very rushed and cold, but all these elements give it a certain charm since it’s so counter culture to DC. The Diner is one of the closest restaurants to the US Capitol (In fact, Speaker of the House John Boehner has breakfast here most work week mornings when he’s in town) and the fact that it’s a dive is awesome. It’s crowded and a bit dirty and the people who frequent there come wearing their sweatpants and sweatshirts (Also counter culture to DC). Because of this charm, I give it two additional stars.
Warning: If you order the breakfast sandwiches, it comes on Wonder Bread and not much content inside. It’s not very good. If you want better food, go next door to Le Bön Café for their french toast and/​or quiche.

I simultaneously love and hate the expression «greasy spoon.» The visual image is stomach-​turning, and yet the colloquial association is comforting, the quintessential American experience of no-​nonsense food served in a no-​frills setting. That’s exactly what Pete’s is.
I usually go for breakfast, and it’s exactly what I expect from a diner, solid if unspectacular food served quick and cheap. OK, so the décor is a little frantic and out-​of-​place, the staff are efficient but not exactly friendly, and the «maple» syrup is just store-​bought bottles of Log Cabin and Aunt Jemima. The pancakes are fluffy, the coffee’s decent, and you’ll get your fix for a lot less than the latest hot brunch locale and without the wait.

I tried this place out this past weekend, hoping it would be THE diner I was looking for in the city. Oh, and also, Homeland quotes a «Pete’s Diner» in season 3, which I thought to be hilarious/​awesome.
I got a kick out of all of the Asian-​esque décor, mixed along with the various specials posted on the wall. The place is small, but feels cozy, not crammed.
Unfortunately, I was a bit bummed. Solid food (nothing wrong there), but as others have also noted, prices are a bit high for a traditional diner. I ordered a veggie omelette w/​no cheese, and of course, I got cheese the first time around. Service was good, and they served up my omelette after I pointed out the mistake to someone.
I left stuffed and satisfied, but was a bit sad to be paying $ 20+ dollars for breakfast for 2.