We've visited Open City at the National Cathedral twice, and both times it was busy and loud. The round house is charming, with many interesting menu options. There is not enough indoor seating for their customers, some of whom park on laptops, but there is more outside. Both times the staff made errors in our orders. The second time, my BLT with avocado had no bacon at all. When I brought the uneaten sandwich to the clerk who took my order 10 minutes prior, he looked through the sandwich, carefully checked my order in the system, and set my box aside for the cook to get to after two other orders. They didn't have the included chips and they ran out of avocado. I was still charged full price ... actually $1 above the printed menu price, which I couldn't see until after my receipt was paid and emailed. It's a shame this cafe has a captive audience of cathedral visitors, with no obvious competition across the street to make them up their game.
Anthony McCullough
Terrible. You can get a better, more filling sandwich sandwich at 7/11 for literally 1/3 of the price. Please save your money.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Thomas Ewing
This is my go-to coffee shop in the neighborhood. Beautiful, airy space; friendly staff; great coffee and food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brianna Leigh W.
okay so- my personal coffee mission is finding places that steam oat milk properly, well, they do! i can get an oat milk cappuccino here and not worry about angry bubbles- it's just a solid cup of coffee. thank you!
Mallory Hedquist
The food was nothing spectacular but the service and atmosphere was delightful. The best part of my meal was the Chai latte, the sandwiches were just okay. However, the breakfast and the pastries looked super delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Lali Devamanthri
Warm atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
K S.
Washington DC - Visited this charming and very busy cafe after Stained Glass tour at National Cathedral on New Year's Eve Eve. This location is right on the cathedral property set up against the lovely Bishop's garden. In warmer weather there's outdoor seating. Inside there's plenty of natural light and wooden tables that are cuddled pretty close together. You will hear your neighbors conversations so keep that in mind if you are sharing secrets ;-). An employee takes your order at the counter then gives you a number to place on your table. They bring the food right to your table which is quite helpful. The employee taking our order on this fine day could have been a little more polished. I requested a sesame bagel. They were out. A nice next step would have been for them to share the varieties they did have but that didn't happen. Additionally the employee did not seem to know what a half caffeine coffee was. Perhaps they were new. Or the cafe was too busy for these kinds of details. Anyway Handsome Husband and I settled in with a chai tea beautifully presented with animal crackers on the side and an everything bagel. The chai was perfect with just the right amount of cinnamon and the bagel was toasted with cream cheese on the side. Next time we are in the neighborhood we might explore other cafes for comparison but just the same appreciated this one being in the right place and time after our tour.
Sumit F.
Beautiful cafe! Serene ambience!! Lovely service !!! Supreme coffee!!!! Elegant place
Bo Carlson
Friendly staff, beautiful building, and great atmosphere to hang out with friends or get some work done. The food is always great. We really enjoyed the tuna salad sandwich and homemade chips today.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shawn Carroll
Nice surprise! Arrived before the cathedral opened for tour, so walked the church’s premises and found this place on church grounds- the Open City cafe.Open City is very charming, with a substantial menu, well executed. The baristas very accommodating, pleasant, competent.Being a week day, the place was filled with locals on their laptops, reading a book, friend gathered for coffee- very nice to seeI don’t give 5 stars, but this place deserves it.Kid-friendliness: CasualWheelchair accessibility: No steps
Great place to grab some soup, sandwich or a muffin while you visit the National Cathedral. They make specialty coffees as well.
Peter Hays
Hidden gem in DC!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lotan Helfman
I love this cafe and frequently find myself studying, browsing the internet, or going on a cute, quick date here. Aside from the building's majesty, the menu has plenty of options for all palates, runs really delicious drink specials, and simply has a fantastic ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dan Young
This place could be amazing. Beautiful outside of the building. Adjacent to the cathedral garden. However inside the atmosphere seems like a coffee shop in an office building. Low end coffee and baked goods, bright lighting, etc. This place could be so much more.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Nisheegandha Uyake
I went to the café today with higher expectations because it was highly recommended by a buddy who is a frequent there.There was a rush, and I had to wait for about 25 minutes (which was understandable).In the last 30 minutes, every vacant table had become filthy.There was no water in the water jug.There were no napkins.There was no cutlery.I overheard someone calling herself the Assistant Manager.The staff was friendly, but the management might do better.The food and coffee were both excellent (only chips included, now they charge $3 for the side salad which is too much)Please look at the café environment when running it, management/leader appears to be missing in this department.
We've visited Open City at the National Cathedral twice, and both times it was busy and loud. The round house is charming, with many interesting menu options. There is not enough indoor seating for their customers, some of whom park on laptops, but there is more outside. Both times the staff made errors in our orders. The second time, my BLT with avocado had no bacon at all. When I brought the uneaten sandwich to the clerk who took my order 10 minutes prior, he looked through the sandwich, carefully checked my order in the system, and set my box aside for the cook to get to after two other orders. They didn't have the included chips and they ran out of avocado. I was still charged full price ... actually $1 above the printed menu price, which I couldn't see until after my receipt was paid and emailed. It's a shame this cafe has a captive audience of cathedral visitors, with no obvious competition across the street to make them up their game.
Terrible. You can get a better, more filling sandwich sandwich at 7/11 for literally 1/3 of the price. Please save your money.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
This is my go-to coffee shop in the neighborhood. Beautiful, airy space; friendly staff; great coffee and food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
okay so- my personal coffee mission is finding places that steam oat milk properly, well, they do! i can get an oat milk cappuccino here and not worry about angry bubbles- it's just a solid cup of coffee. thank you!
The food was nothing spectacular but the service and atmosphere was delightful. The best part of my meal was the Chai latte, the sandwiches were just okay. However, the breakfast and the pastries looked super delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Warm atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Washington DC - Visited this charming and very busy cafe after Stained Glass tour at National Cathedral on New Year's Eve Eve. This location is right on the cathedral property set up against the lovely Bishop's garden. In warmer weather there's outdoor seating. Inside there's plenty of natural light and wooden tables that are cuddled pretty close together. You will hear your neighbors conversations so keep that in mind if you are sharing secrets ;-). An employee takes your order at the counter then gives you a number to place on your table. They bring the food right to your table which is quite helpful. The employee taking our order on this fine day could have been a little more polished. I requested a sesame bagel. They were out. A nice next step would have been for them to share the varieties they did have but that didn't happen. Additionally the employee did not seem to know what a half caffeine coffee was. Perhaps they were new. Or the cafe was too busy for these kinds of details. Anyway Handsome Husband and I settled in with a chai tea beautifully presented with animal crackers on the side and an everything bagel. The chai was perfect with just the right amount of cinnamon and the bagel was toasted with cream cheese on the side. Next time we are in the neighborhood we might explore other cafes for comparison but just the same appreciated this one being in the right place and time after our tour.
Beautiful cafe! Serene ambience!! Lovely service !!! Supreme coffee!!!! Elegant place
Friendly staff, beautiful building, and great atmosphere to hang out with friends or get some work done. The food is always great. We really enjoyed the tuna salad sandwich and homemade chips today.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice surprise! Arrived before the cathedral opened for tour, so walked the church’s premises and found this place on church grounds- the Open City cafe.Open City is very charming, with a substantial menu, well executed. The baristas very accommodating, pleasant, competent.Being a week day, the place was filled with locals on their laptops, reading a book, friend gathered for coffee- very nice to seeI don’t give 5 stars, but this place deserves it.Kid-friendliness: CasualWheelchair accessibility: No steps
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Lox and Bagel, Waffle Bites
Restaurantji Recommends
Great place to grab some soup, sandwich or a muffin while you visit the National Cathedral. They make specialty coffees as well.
Hidden gem in DC!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love this cafe and frequently find myself studying, browsing the internet, or going on a cute, quick date here. Aside from the building's majesty, the menu has plenty of options for all palates, runs really delicious drink specials, and simply has a fantastic ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place could be amazing. Beautiful outside of the building. Adjacent to the cathedral garden. However inside the atmosphere seems like a coffee shop in an office building. Low end coffee and baked goods, bright lighting, etc. This place could be so much more.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
I went to the café today with higher expectations because it was highly recommended by a buddy who is a frequent there.There was a rush, and I had to wait for about 25 minutes (which was understandable).In the last 30 minutes, every vacant table had become filthy.There was no water in the water jug.There were no napkins.There was no cutlery.I overheard someone calling herself the Assistant Manager.The staff was friendly, but the management might do better.The food and coffee were both excellent (only chips included, now they charge $3 for the side salad which is too much)Please look at the café environment when running it, management/leader appears to be missing in this department.