Senate Cafeteria

So sad that this is on Unilocal, it’s my hidden gem at work. I don’t even tell my voworkers where im headed when I come here, I dont wanna share. Haha
Im kidding… anywho
I love this cafeteria, you can get everything and no two days are the same. Prices can’t be beat for the area and the food is always always fresh. I’ve eaten at all the stations and I love to take the small bites back to work as my snacks or quick meals.

Okay, so no one expects much when they’re ordering from a government cafeteria. I have to say, though, that it took a very long time to get a pretty mediocre veggie burger. The options are no better than what you’d expect; very limited. At least it’s not expensive. However, Capitol Hill is a pretty decent commercial neighborhood and it’s not that far away. Or you could pack lunch. All of this is probably fairly obvious.
What’s not obvious is that the U.S. House has much better cafeterias. Which is very odd, given that in every other respect the Senate is clearly a step up in the world. But if you’re here and you really don’t have any time to do better, you might consider that.

This cafeteria is in the Dirksen building. There is no adjacent parking or garage. The entrance is near the corner of 1^st and C Streets NE. You’ll first need to get through a metal detector and a ridiculously serious rent-​a-​cop, then find your way down a stairwell to the basement level. After that, just follow the smell of food and sound of the crowd.
There is a range of food options: salad bar, rotisserie, deli, sushi, etc. All of it is decent quality and priced cheap. There are fountain sodas as well as bottled drinks. There are several checkout lanes, and they take credit cards. This place beats the heck out of the crappy cafeteria in my own building. I do find it odd that so many tourists eat here. It’s just a cafeteria.

I eat here on a regular basis as my work is nearby. I love the ability to get out of the office for a short walk. Their menu is pretty consistent and the food is good quality. Their soups are flavorful and filling, although I recently got the chili that had strips of beef insead of ground beef. They have a nice selection on their salad bar and I like when they have the quinoa salad toward the end. I have had their brownie an it is delicious and their grab and go section had lots of options. Friends have purcased their sushi and have said it is fresh and good quality. The only downside is that often it can be really busy and hard to locate a seat.

It’s a cafeteria in a government building. Its food only has to be slightly above average to illicit a good review. Fortunately, the Senate Cafeteria in Dirksen meets such low expectations and passing with flying (red, white, and blue) colors.
I’ve been here a couple times, mostly for lunch but most recently for breakfast. For breakfast, they have a fruit/​yogurt bar and a bagel making station, along with egg sandwiches off the grill (you can get it with bacon, sausage, and Canadian bacon). For lunch they have a full salad bar with a bunch of sides, a grill to makes burgers, a sandwich place, a sushi bar (I’ve never had it but others I know have and they say it’s pretty good), and some sort of rotating lunch option such as fried chicken, Sharma, Indian food, etc. Overall, it’s a pretty good spread for a cafeteria, and the prices are DC-​reasonable — a small salad with a bunch of toppings will cost you $ 5 – 6, a sandwich roughly the same, sushi can be $ 9 – 15, and an actual meal will be around $ 10 – 12. No tax!
If you’re a Senate staffer you already know about this place. If you’re a tourist or DC resident hoping to catch a Senator, I’d recommend the Dirksen Buffet next door ($ 16 a person, fantastic baked beans) or just wander the underground halls for a bit for free.

I came in for an early lunch and ordered a sushi deluxe plate ($ 12.50). The sushi was made for me on the spot. My meal was well priced, delicious and fresh. I have absolutely no complaints.

For the hungry Hill staffer, this is the place to go. Honestly, I don’t understand why all of the negative reviews on Unilocal; after trying all of the cafeteiras and cafes on both sides of the Hill, the Dirksen cafeteria is hands down the best one. The food is great, the choices are wide, and the location is convenient; what else could you ask for?
In the mornings, there’s a wide selection of quick food-​bites, from cereal and bagels, to full fledged omelets and other freshly made breakfast items. They normally offer specials meals that include a breakfast item and a cup of coffee, like an omelet, coffee, and potatoes for $ 5. You’re in and out in under five minutes.
During lunch, there is a much more wider selection. The salad bar, while not as extensive as Whole Foods, still contains a wide range of options to choose from: bacon, artichoke hearts, fruit, you name it, and they have it. Lastly, the french fries are umm, how do I say this, the best I’ve ever had? Honestly, I don’t know what it is about them, but I have to order the french fries at least once a week.
Overall, for an eatery on the Hill, you can’t beat Dirksen. Am I expecting a government cafeteria to be a 5 star, 5 diamond establishment? No, and I don’t expect it to be. It’s convenient, tasty, and cheap (did I mention you don’t have to pay any taxes?).

I like their salad options. It’s not plentiful, but you can pick and choose what you want to eat. It’s about $ 8/​lb. The soups can be pretty good. They rotate frequently (although the Senate Bean soup seems to be the constant) and the price for a large (16 oz) is about $ 3.50.
Stay away from their cupcakes though. I tried a pumpkin spiced one recently. It looked good, but tasted like a mix of playdough and stale cardboard.

Pleased! For a quick soup and sandwich between hearings, this is the place to be. And if you’re a fed like me, who didn’t get a pay raise, this is the price you want to pay. Chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwich, ginger ale. I will absolutely return and I’m a fan.

I went here thinking this would be as nice as the cafeteria at Longworth on the House side. It was not. The selection was decent, the prices were reasonable, and the food was tasty, but not memorable. Considering there are not a lot of options in the immediate area, it’s serviceable.

3.75 stars.
dirksen cafeteria. where house staff goes for lunch «for a change» during recesses.

Yes, you saw that right, five stars!
Of course the Dirksen Cafeteria is no Equinox or BLT Steak, but it blows almost every other cafeteria I have ever eaten at out of the playing field. I’ve eaten breakfast and lunch on quite a few occasions. The food is fresh, many local items, huge variety and lots of healthy options. They have a rotating global theme each day, along with always having a made-​to-​order sushi bar, grill station, pizza, homecooking and wonderful salad bar with a lot of unique options. They always have 4 different soups/​chilis and tons of drink options including many diet friendly option. Their breakfast options are awesome as well. Oatmeal, grits, fruit/​yogurt/​cottage cheese bar, pastries, hot food bar, cereals, made-​to-​order breakfast options and grab-​and-​go breakfast sandwiches, etc.
Also a plus is the cafeteria is green and not pricey compared to a lot of other options. There is something for everyone. Plus, they have great desserts!

This place isn’t much, but for a cafeteria it’s much better than you would expect. I usually went with either the burgers or the sushi, though occasionally I would order the chicken tenders or pizza. Their dipping sauces here were particularly good, especially the honey mustard. They also have a huge selection of bottled drinks, it was almost like one of those grocery store aisles filled with drinks.
The sushi wasn’t the greatest here but compared to the other places I had sushi in DC it was on par with other sit-​down restaurants in the area. The sushi chef was always really nice here, too, and it was fun watching them make it in front of you.
I always thought it was pretty neat to run into the senators eating here, and was surprised how many senators would come here for lunch. I remember I saw Al Franken walk in here on one of his very first days in the Senate, and I also stood behind Ted Kaufman and Lindsey Graham in line at the grill too.

Ate here when I interned on The Hill last year. It’s a cafeteria, so you know, nothing too spectacular here. It’s good food, decently fresh, nothing life changing though — for goodness sakes, it’s a cafeteria!
They do have different varieties at decent prices, there’s a salad bar (by weight, which I always hate), international, sandwich, etc. I do very much enjoy their pudding though, both the chocolate and the vanilla is good.
They close around 3 or 4… I forget. So don’t count on dinner or anything.

The cafeteria in Dirksen has changed dramatically since the majority of these negative reviews were written, with a significant changed for the better. Quite possibly one of the best I’ve ever eaten at, the Senate cafeteria now has many healthy options and delicious, consistantly refreshed menu items. The sushi counter, global, desserts and salad bar often prove to be excellent lunch options.
The recent overhaul was a brilliant idea.

The only reason I give it 2 stars is because it’s relatively inexpensive. The food (comparing the pork and mac & cheese especially) is way worse than the House cafeteria in Longworth. The mac was actually bad here. Overall it offers run of the mill caf food.

The Dirksen cafeteria experience is a strange one in contrast to Longworth over on the house side.
The food options are pretty… eh. Pizza, a deli bar, the general hamburger/​chicken breast/​turkey burger spread, and some kind of other daily entrée options. The salad bar isn’t that extensive, and there aren’t many healthy options save for some of the prepared lunches over by the bottled drinks. The prepared stuff is actually all right — I went for the salmon wrap with salad and a low cal pudding for under 5 bucks. Not bad at all.
And the atmosphere — as mentioned, it’s totally dated and ugly. Come on Senate. Get your act together. And no biodegradable products? I expected more from you.

Perks: 1) Really, really cheap and tax free 2) The sushi isn’t bad 3) The 400 calorie lunch «boxes» are generally really good; I love the black bean salad that is a frequent side. 3) The cornbread that they serve over by the hot meals by the soups is awesome.
Cons: 1) The wafting smog from the smokers’ room. 2) The lack of any protein besides canned tuna at the salad bar 3) The 1970s dingy decoration
While most days you’ll find me heading over to the House side to take advantage of my tax free lunch privileges, sometimes the convenience of the Senate caf can’t be beat. As long as you know how to navigate the menu, something I think that has to be learned by each person individually, you’ll be able to find yourself a nice lunch.

Lunch at the caf is disgusting. Your best bet is to go for the quarter chicken on build your sandwich. The saving grace of this dark and dated eatery is its breakfast options. After a night out with the office, there’s nothing like getting a scoop of eggs (sort of like the kind you used to get at camp), a scoop of home fries, two strips of bacon, two pieces of toast, 8 oz of juice and 8 oz. of coffee all for $ 3.40. You won’t have to eat the rest of the day.
There are also french toast and pancake options, but I am a creature of habit and rarely deviate from my eggs.

If you work in one of the Senate buildings you’ve no doubt been to the «Senate Caf.» It’s generally pretty quiet and the options are bleak. If you’re going to venture down to the dungeon your best bet is to bring your own food and to use their plastic utensils and paper napkins.