Elle is a great spot, with tasty food and coffee, but expect lines! It is very cute inside and lately has a growing number of gluten free options (usually you can find one or two pastries- financier or banana bread). I would love it if they got more savory gluten free options as well, like a bread for sandwiches or breakfast roll!
It is also very upsetting that they don't open until 8am, rather late for a coffee shop. I would like to go before my commute to work, but 8 is too late, and even then, it is very crowded right at 8am. I imagine even 7:30 would be a full line. I wish they would go to more casual cafe in the daytime hours rather than table service. It shines at coffee and pastries- give us more of that!!
As far as coffee, they have some great options! They do a fantastic espresso tonic. The Banana cinnamon seasonal latte didn't do it for me (didn't taste like banana at all), but I do enjoy the miso caramel (bring it back!), the gourd spice, and desparately want them to bring back some of their herbal flavors (thyme or rosemary please!)
All things considered they are a nice spot in the neighborhood, though expensive.
Magalí Yance
I love Elle, their food and service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lauren
Good coffee and pastries but poor management and staffing. Only one person at the register to ring people up, pour coffee, and box pastries. I go to the Coffee Bar during the week and it’s always so efficient, with so much support. On any given day you can wait almost 30 minutes for a drip coffee at Elle. Today the line was to the back of the store, the manager came up and told the register attendant to go back to register because she was slowly pouring ice and looking out into space, but the manager didn’t help with the line. They are also often on a 30 minute wait for other coffee/espresso drinks which is unheard of and a staffing/pacing/management issue.
Susan Morrison
Had a takeout coffee and scone, really lovely coffee. The place looked really nice if u are sitting in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Spencer Jacobs
Excellent food and great service! Each dish was well balanced and many interesting takes on classic dishes! Of course you have to get the bread since they bake it fresh there!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Frauen
Panzanella salad for dinner is top tier
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Iriana Cruz
I only came for a coffee. The coffee was very good. I will come back to eat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Oznur Basak
Very busy at weekends. They have nice lattes and I have also tried their coffee too. They have Fresh pastries like scones and donuts. I have tried different things different times. If you are in the mountains pleasant area you can stop by to get some drink and try their pastries. Maybe better to go weekdays.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Brooke Bevan
Respectful and accommodating, Elle staff are some of the most considerate customer service professionals around. I am gradually acclimating to the area and they demonstrate the definition of customer relations in their work ethic with a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nathan Bellott
Staff is always super friendly. Coffee is always fresh. Pastries are a must.
Their bread is great, but at 11am they’re basically out of everything except the sourdough. Too pricey for what it is! The service is awful, specially if you go to do some work.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Shane Simpson
I see it’s popular with neighborhood folks and it seems like a good neighborhood spot. Not sure I will venture out to eat here again because there are better options for the offering.
The wait was a bit unreasonable just for a breakfast sandwich (25-30min) and the price for a breakfast sandwich is a bit outrageous ($20 before tax) with no side. There was somewhat of a long line to order but it moved fast. I saw they used Tandem beans, which is one of the best coffee/bakeries in America. However, the latte was overly sweet and tasted little of espresso, and I get 4 shots.
The bacon and egg on the sandwich were good but the cheese was mild with little flavor and the biscuit was average—not worth the price. They had several pastry options—the donut and chocolate chip cookie were really good. If I lived nearby I might try again, but not going out of my way.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Brian Dusek
The guava pastry is INCREDIBLE, and the server’s enjoyable vibe convinced us to try several more pastries. The service is great, and this place is an ideal (and in DC, a little rare) cafe spot that is casual and cozy. Great morning and lunch spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Krystal Erickson
Cozy cafe with lots of seating indoors and outdoors. They sell some of the best sourdough loaves I’ve tried in DC!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Danielle Wright
Service is just obscenely slow. You will wait 30 mins for a coffee
Elle is a great spot, with tasty food and coffee, but expect lines! It is very cute inside and lately has a growing number of gluten free options (usually you can find one or two pastries- financier or banana bread). I would love it if they got more savory gluten free options as well, like a bread for sandwiches or breakfast roll!
It is also very upsetting that they don't open until 8am, rather late for a coffee shop. I would like to go before my commute to work, but 8 is too late, and even then, it is very crowded right at 8am. I imagine even 7:30 would be a full line. I wish they would go to more casual cafe in the daytime hours rather than table service. It shines at coffee and pastries- give us more of that!!
As far as coffee, they have some great options! They do a fantastic espresso tonic. The Banana cinnamon seasonal latte didn't do it for me (didn't taste like banana at all), but I do enjoy the miso caramel (bring it back!), the gourd spice, and desparately want them to bring back some of their herbal flavors (thyme or rosemary please!)
All things considered they are a nice spot in the neighborhood, though expensive.
I love Elle, their food and service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good coffee and pastries but poor management and staffing. Only one person at the register to ring people up, pour coffee, and box pastries. I go to the Coffee Bar during the week and it’s always so efficient, with so much support. On any given day you can wait almost 30 minutes for a drip coffee at Elle. Today the line was to the back of the store, the manager came up and told the register attendant to go back to register because she was slowly pouring ice and looking out into space, but the manager didn’t help with the line. They are also often on a 30 minute wait for other coffee/espresso drinks which is unheard of and a staffing/pacing/management issue.
Had a takeout coffee and scone, really lovely coffee. The place looked really nice if u are sitting in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent food and great service! Each dish was well balanced and many interesting takes on classic dishes! Of course you have to get the bread since they bake it fresh there!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Panzanella salad for dinner is top tier
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I only came for a coffee. The coffee was very good. I will come back to eat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Very busy at weekends. They have nice lattes and I have also tried their coffee too. They have Fresh pastries like scones and donuts. I have tried different things different times. If you are in the mountains pleasant area you can stop by to get some drink and try their pastries. Maybe better to go weekdays.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Respectful and accommodating, Elle staff are some of the most considerate customer service professionals around. I am gradually acclimating to the area and they demonstrate the definition of customer relations in their work ethic with a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Staff is always super friendly.
Coffee is always fresh.
Pastries are a must.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Their bread is great, but at 11am they’re basically out of everything except the sourdough.
Too pricey for what it is!
The service is awful, specially if you go to do some work.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
I see it’s popular with neighborhood folks and it seems like a good neighborhood spot. Not sure I will venture out to eat here again because there are better options for the offering.
The wait was a bit unreasonable just for a breakfast sandwich (25-30min) and the price for a breakfast sandwich is a bit outrageous ($20 before tax) with no side. There was somewhat of a long line to order but it moved fast. I saw they used Tandem beans, which is one of the best coffee/bakeries in America. However, the latte was overly sweet and tasted little of espresso, and I get 4 shots.
The bacon and egg on the sandwich were good but the cheese was mild with little flavor and the biscuit was average—not worth the price. They had several pastry options—the donut and chocolate chip cookie were really good. If I lived nearby I might try again, but not going out of my way.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
The guava pastry is INCREDIBLE, and the server’s enjoyable vibe convinced us to try several more pastries. The service is great, and this place is an ideal (and in DC, a little rare) cafe spot that is casual and cozy. Great morning and lunch spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cozy cafe with lots of seating indoors and outdoors. They sell some of the best sourdough loaves I’ve tried in DC!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Service is just obscenely slow. You will wait 30 mins for a coffee
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
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