Solar Cafe

The need better management. I’ve been several times in the morning and it takes forever for the lady to acknowledge a customer. This am there was only decaf available and she didn’t seem to want to make more at it was only 8am. Many people just got tired of waiting to order food and left. Too many other places around to suffer this lack of attention. Apparently they really don’t need anyone’s business.

I work in the building and have been to Solar Café many times. They are convenient and have decent breakfast and lunch items. However, the service, particularly the check out staff is abysmal. Even practically empty, the staff takes forever to check you out.
There’s are many better options, especially now with the abundance of food trucks on the park at lunch, that Solar Café is now a last resort.

I stopped by for a bowl of chicken noodle soup to-​go to cure my sore throat. There was no line at 10:40 a.m.; thus I endured a very short wait. The lovely soup was fresh, hot, chunky (i.e. huge pieces of carrots and celery), and amazing.

I came in here because I was headed to McDonalds and saw a heckler guarding the door. Usually when there is a heckler on one side of the McDonalds I walk around the block and enter through the side entrance, but this time I was in a hurry and decided to go to Solar Café instead.
Not sure what went wrong here but I didn’t have the best experience. I was confused as to where I was supposed to order and no one in there gave my any direction, and when I did order, I then had to wait 10+ minutes for oatmeal. They apologised but it was still annoying. And then the cashier doublecharged me. This was a mistake, but I’m glad I was diligent and caught it. Lastly, the oatmeal was lukewarm.
The only positive thing I can say about this place is that it had a TV which made the wait more bearable, and one of the guys behind the counter seemed friendly. But it was just kind of a blah experience and next time I will make the trek around the block to McDonald’s side entrance instead.

worst service — a strictly amateur operation — one day this sandwich place literally ran out of bread!

They close at 6:00, but the place was spotless and the staff was ready to go at 5:45. When I asked what the latest time I could come in and order if I was working late and wanted dinner they responded, «before 5:00.» Why not close at 5 then?
The turkey wrap I had was ok. No itemized receipt so I’m not sure how much the chips and bottled water cost but the total was just under $ 10. Cheap in this part of town.
I’m lukewarm on the place but I’ll try again before the 5:00 cut off.

I was lured in by the sandwiches they had displayed, particularly the Neptune — a tuna salad with AVOCADO — but I was sorely disappointed when I opened my sandwhich. I found that there wasn’t much avocado to be had. Though it was merely a marketing ploy, for $ 6.04, it wasn’t a bad deal. Avocado is expensive and the bites that I had in my sandwhich were delectable. Just wish they weren’t so deceiving about it.
All in all the food seemed fresh. Service? Can’t really complain. You come in for food, not to have an experience. As far as DC sandwhich/​pick up lunch goes, the air of unfriendliness is practically a given and on par with the attitudes people give and grant on both sides of the counter.
Ambience was homey and clean with tables to sit and couches to lounge.
As Michelle F. notes, ask for a punch card. They didn’t offer one to me, though I lingered a bit and stared at a card that seemed hidden at the register. Because I have no intention of returning, it really wasn’t a big deal.

Solar Café is my go-​to lunch spot when I want a great salad for $ 4-​$ 6.
You start with a small basic salad (spinach, lettuce, or mixed greens) for $ 3.45, or a large one for $ 4.45. I get the small one because you end up with the same amount of food, just packed more tightly into a smaller container.
The variety of toppings is unbelievable:
Standard items: (first three items are FREE, each additional item $ 0.75)
Tomatoes, sweet corn, grapes, shredded carrots, cucumbers, peas, mandarin oranges, kidney beans, black beans, water chestnuts, red beets, green peppers, string beans, croutons, onions, chickpeas, alfafa sprouts, and broccoli.
$ 0.75 items:
roasted peppers, mushrooms, olives, pepperconinis, walnuts, sunflower seeds, hard boiled eggs, raisins, chinese noodles
$ 1.00 items:
sun-​dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, pesto chicken, grilled chicken, asian sesame chicken, deli turkey/​ham, avocado, bacon bits, albacore tuna, baby shrimp, portobello mushrooms (AMAZING!)
…plus 14 different dressings. Incredible.
Service is above average — good, and there is plenty of seating inside for dine-​in lunches of small parties (no more than 3 – 4). One star off because they’re often out of alfafa sprouts. Also, they don’t advertise this, but you can get 10-​time punch cards for salads, sandwiches, and coffee.
I haven’t ventured much into the sandwiches, soups or wraps much, but the BBQ chicken quesadilla my coworker ordered was DELICIOUS. One of these days, if I ever get tired of the salads…

I will give credit when it is due and lately Solar Café has improved, Because it is so convenient (just downstairs from my office), I recently tried them again. I noticed they had some new faces and my experience this time was different. They are polite, quick, and had more items in stock.

Nice coffee shop with friendly staff. There are other coffee shops that are closer to where I work but I’m here several times a week so recommend it. The salads seem to be a good deal and fill me up, I’m sure the same amount of food would cost twice as much across the street at Soho where they weigh your food. The sandwich selections look good although I’ve never tried one.
I’m always looking for vegan snacks with my afternoon coffee so stop here a lot. They have Luna bars, Mojos, fruit, vegan cookies (when in stock), sweet potato chips, and Hearthrive bars-​also some healthy bottled drinks.
Oh, they also don’t try to impose a minimum credit card limit like Soho (which is something that makes me not want to return to an establishment).

This place has many tasty lunch sandwich/​wrap combos, like the Mexican Tuna wrap, which has tuna, roasted red peppers, corn, and salsa (and other yummy stuff). They have pretty good quesadillas and a made-​to-​order salad bar that’s not too expensive. There is also an excellent selection of gourmet potato chips from a variety of vendors.
Breakfast is unique because it’s made-​to-​order in front of you. Get a bagel with egg and the guy will crack eggs and put them on a lightly greased pan and put it together in front of you. Takes a little longer than most places, but I imagine it’s healthier.
At lunchtime, there are usually many pre-​made sandwiches, wraps and quesadillas, but the tastiest stuff, in my opinion, doesn’t get pre-​made (the Mexican Tuna and Chicken Burrito wraps are awesome), so during the lunch rush you may have to wait a few minutes to have them made. If you’re in a hurry, grabbing something already made can come in handy.
The atmosphere isn’t great. The lines can be confusing (there’s a sandwich line and a salad line, then you have to circle all the way back to pay) and there’s not enough room to navigate the chairs if people are actually sitting in them. There’s a big TV so when I’m lucky enough to get a chair facing it, I watch some CNN. Otherwise, I take my meal across the street to Franklin Park.

Hands down, this is my favorite lunch place in DC. It’s affordable and so good. I go at least 2 – 3 times a week for the salad. The salad comes with three free toppings (I usually go for black beans, cucumbers, and beets) and they have plenty of other toppings for only 75 cents to a dollar more, including chicken, eggs, mushrooms, and roasted red bell peppers. Lunch costs me less than $ 5– it’s amazing! The only thing I recommend is avoiding the tomatoes– for whatever reason they’re just not that good.
Also, be sure to get the punch card. Buy 10 salads and get one free. Not a bad deal.

I work right next door to this place, and I usually I get a my breakfast here (Im not hungry till about 10: 30 am), and its normally just a boring bagel with vegetable cream cheese
However, THIS morning, was destined to be different.
I got 2 eggs scrambled with cheddar and wheat toast, lightly toasted
WOW WOW WEEWAH.yummy.and real food too! The guy actually scrambled 2 real eggs, added cheddar, and only used pam for the pan, so it was actually a real, healthier breakfast and only for 3 bucks.
next time I am going to see if he can do only egg whites… and then maybe I wont be such a fat ass anymore. yeah!

A few weeks ago I was on the hunt for a quick lunch in a short distance from my office. I was pleasantly surprised by Solar Café. The food is great (I’m a HUGE fan of the quesadilla, which is a decent size) and reasonably priced. It is a also a great place to stop by and grab a quick ice cream bar from the fully stocked freezer for those lazy summer afternoons that are quickly approaching.
My only complaint is that with all the tables in the café, during lunch time rush the line to order seems confused and a little too close to those who are eating in.

Awesome, cheap lunch place. Salads, wraps, paninis, QUESADILLAS! I usually get a salad, chip and a soda and walk out spending around $ 7. You can get whatever you want on your salad; a very nice gentleman attentively chooses your carrots, mushrooms and broccoli florets as you point and choose what you want.
Also, they have great snack foods; bananas, apples, oranges, luna bars, fresh fruit, chips, pretzels, homemade brownies and cookies… the works.
The made-​to-​order small (but quite large) salad is the best deal: all the fixins you want (chicken, cheese, ham, etc. are $ 1.00 extra) for around $ 4 – 5.
For me, the best days are when they have Diet Dr. Pepper in stock!

Solar café is my regular coffee, snack and occasional lunch spot near my office. It’s kind of hidden on I Street across from Franklin Square Park and near the corner of 13^th street.
The folks who work there are very friendly, and the coffee and food are fine. They have a number of lunch options, including both made to order and prepared wraps, sandwiches, salads. They also have hot grilled panini. The prices are reasonable.
I would give it 3.5 stars if that were an option.