Best museum food experience I’ve ever had. 10/10 recommend. Pricey- but worth
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ, Cornbread
Sharice Hendricks
My fiancee and mother in-law dined her over the weekend during the cherry blossom festival. The wait to order our food and be seated was long but to be expected as the museum itself was very crowded . I ordered the fried chicken, collard greens and mac& cheese ( my fiancee ordered the same). My mother in law ordered the fried fish, rice&gravy and potatoe salad.Everything was a 10/10 especially the hot sauce !!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Potato Salad, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese, Mac & Cheese, Fried Whiting
Adam
Great food for cafeteria style. Felt more home made than the other cafeteria
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
BDaS
This is why I need to stop believing these instagram posts. I went here today just because.I got the chicken meal with 2 sides for $18.50 which is waaay too pricey. They were running out of chicken; so the server, although he was nice, gave me the smallest pieces of chicken.I ordered mac & cheese and greens with my meal and ordered more mac because the portion sizes were so small. I also ordered cornbread and a slice of apple pie.Server and cashier were friendly—even with the crowd of people they had on a Friday for lunch.My thoughts on the food:- Chicken: I had a small drumstick and another piece of chicken that was small. Didn’t taste bad but the pieces were way too small.- Greens: Meh- Mac & cheese: Not terrible but could have used more salt and TLC.- Cornbread: Good, cakey, sweet BUT cold.- Apple pie: Had good flavor BUT it was very clear they took the pie out the freezer because it still tasted frozen.I probably won’t return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese, Cornbread, Mac & Cheese
Claudia Cordero
Stopped by here for a little snack but ended up being pleasantly surprised! For a cafe, the food is fresh and delicious. The fried chicken was incredible and so were the short ribs. The dessert options were incredible. Definitely make time for this place during your museum tour.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Isabelle
The buttermilk fried chicken was very delicious as well as the mac’n’cheese. We didn’t like the fish too much though. The queue was quite long but it was a good experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese, Cornbread, Mac & Cheese
Farhat K.
Can't believe museum food can taste so good. But that's what happened. For work, we had a field trip and went to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. They have a food spot there called Sweet Home Café, which for black history month, is bringing in national chefs from around the country to curate a weekly menu that tells stories about their heritage. When I visited this past Friday, Chef Jeff Cortez was showcasing two main entrees which were the bbq braised short ribs and cajun cornbread stuffed rainbow trout. I opted for the trout and it was the best choice ever. Great portion, cooked perfectly, juicy, and full of flavor, this is honestly one of the best fish items I've ever had in my life. The cornbread gave it great flavor and it didn't have that weird fishy overpowering taste that I sometimes expect from a seafood meal. My sides were solid too with cornmeal crusted okra with creole remoulade, and wild mushroom Louisiana dirty rice. Perfect compliments to my meal. The cost is about $21 for the meal but in DC, it's the norm. Happy as a clam I checked em out PS: don't buy any cookies or brownies from the middle table in the cafeteria (separate from the chefs table line). I got a brownie cookie from there and it tasted nasty. Waste of $4
Bode P.
The food is not as good as it should be the fish is undercooked and overcooked at the same time. Sides were pretty good however. The room its self is overall pretty nice for such a large amount of people.
Justin Shaw
Definitely stop here for lunch before or after your museum visit. Absolutely loved the food here. The fried chicken was tender and well seasoned. And comes with hot sauce. Very tasty options (except the sweet potato) but I think the meal was pretty expensive at over $20 (but the museum itself is free) w/o a drink. Just get a cup of water. Don't be fooled by the many bottles of Dasani sitting out by the trays. Those are $4.50 a bottle. Also, I didn't really like the "school lunchroom" style seating. I visited the museum solo and all the seating (as far as I could tell) was set up for multiple people, which could make someone visiting solo (me) feel like they're taking up a whole table or just a little bit unwelcome. So a variety of seating options would be nice.
WASHINGTON DC - As far as non-fancy cafeteria food goes, this is decent and worthwhile. The missus and I had been at the African-American Smithsonian a couple hours already, it was noon, and so we thought to give the museum's cafeteria a try. Upon entering, you're faced with a small handful of different food stations - a grill area that does hot dogs and fries, for example, and a dessert station. We opted for the soul food-ish station and hot fried chicken and two sides ($18.50) and a serving of broccoli cheese soup ($6.90). The Mac and cheese was a pleasant surprise - actual cheese, and slightly baked, not just industrial Kraft. The collared greens also were a nice surprise - tender and a nice sweet/savory seasoning combo. The chicken was fine - not as salty as what you'd get at, like the grocery hot goods bar, could've been a bit crunchier. We also got a piece of cornbread ($4.50) - not too sweet, it was fine. A disappointment - the soup I wouldn't get again. Couldn't taste either cheese or broccoli, just warm mush. Fountain drink was $4.60. Bottle of water was $4.30. Overall, kinda pricey and nothing rave-worthy, but perfectly fine compared to what one usually gets in cafeteria settings. A 3.75 experience.
Jamie L Hickman
The best food! I am a vegetarian and they had great sides for me!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Drea
Had the pulled pork and chicken which were both excellent. The corn pudding was exceptional! Recommend for a lunch break in the museum.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Martha C.
Who knew you could get something so well done at a museum, but this spot is heads and shoulders above the usual cafeteria food. Let's be real- Is it as good as your aunties collards and grandmothers Mac and cheese? Probably not a fair comparison. For a large volume presentation of some African American culturally significant foods and styles where you have to consider allllllll the things for allllll the potential visitors I think they do service. The chefs are also really happy to address ingredients and process (I needed to know if it was a shared fryer due to an allergy). All in all a good and tasty experience.
Debbie Drives and Travels
The chicken dinner was delicious! The collards greens was a little sweet for my taste, but, didn't slow me down. Best cafe of the Smithsonian museums. As a side note, anywhere you eat in the tourist area is expensive. I got a small ice cream cone from a food truck on the street and it was 7$. That, was overpriced!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese Cornbread, Mac & Cheese
Best museum food experience I’ve ever had. 10/10 recommend. Pricey- but worth
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ, Cornbread
My fiancee and mother in-law dined her over the weekend during the cherry blossom festival. The wait to order our food and be seated was long but to be expected as the museum itself was very crowded . I ordered the fried chicken, collard greens and mac& cheese ( my fiancee ordered the same). My mother in law ordered the fried fish, rice&gravy and potatoe salad.Everything was a 10/10 especially the hot sauce !!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Potato Salad, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese, Mac & Cheese, Fried Whiting
Great food for cafeteria style. Felt more home made than the other cafeteria
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
This is why I need to stop believing these instagram posts. I went here today just because.I got the chicken meal with 2 sides for $18.50 which is waaay too pricey. They were running out of chicken; so the server, although he was nice, gave me the smallest pieces of chicken.I ordered mac & cheese and greens with my meal and ordered more mac because the portion sizes were so small. I also ordered cornbread and a slice of apple pie.Server and cashier were friendly—even with the crowd of people they had on a Friday for lunch.My thoughts on the food:- Chicken: I had a small drumstick and another piece of chicken that was small. Didn’t taste bad but the pieces were way too small.- Greens: Meh- Mac & cheese: Not terrible but could have used more salt and TLC.- Cornbread: Good, cakey, sweet BUT cold.- Apple pie: Had good flavor BUT it was very clear they took the pie out the freezer because it still tasted frozen.I probably won’t return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese, Cornbread, Mac & Cheese
Stopped by here for a little snack but ended up being pleasantly surprised! For a cafe, the food is fresh and delicious. The fried chicken was incredible and so were the short ribs. The dessert options were incredible. Definitely make time for this place during your museum tour.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The buttermilk fried chicken was very delicious as well as the mac’n’cheese. We didn’t like the fish too much though. The queue was quite long but it was a good experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Buttermilk Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese, Cornbread, Mac & Cheese
Can't believe museum food can taste so good. But that's what happened. For work, we had a field trip and went to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. They have a food spot there called Sweet Home Café, which for black history month, is bringing in national chefs from around the country to curate a weekly menu that tells stories about their heritage. When I visited this past Friday, Chef Jeff Cortez was showcasing two main entrees which were the bbq braised short ribs and cajun cornbread stuffed rainbow trout. I opted for the trout and it was the best choice ever. Great portion, cooked perfectly, juicy, and full of flavor, this is honestly one of the best fish items I've ever had in my life. The cornbread gave it great flavor and it didn't have that weird fishy overpowering taste that I sometimes expect from a seafood meal. My sides were solid too with cornmeal crusted okra with creole remoulade, and wild mushroom Louisiana dirty rice. Perfect compliments to my meal. The cost is about $21 for the meal but in DC, it's the norm. Happy as a clam I checked em out PS: don't buy any cookies or brownies from the middle table in the cafeteria (separate from the chefs table line). I got a brownie cookie from there and it tasted nasty. Waste of $4
The food is not as good as it should be the fish is undercooked and overcooked at the same time. Sides were pretty good however. The room its self is overall pretty nice for such a large amount of people.
Definitely stop here for lunch before or after your museum visit. Absolutely loved the food here. The fried chicken was tender and well seasoned. And comes with hot sauce. Very tasty options (except the sweet potato) but I think the meal was pretty expensive at over $20 (but the museum itself is free) w/o a drink. Just get a cup of water. Don't be fooled by the many bottles of Dasani sitting out by the trays. Those are $4.50 a bottle. Also, I didn't really like the "school lunchroom" style seating. I visited the museum solo and all the seating (as far as I could tell) was set up for multiple people, which could make someone visiting solo (me) feel like they're taking up a whole table or just a little bit unwelcome. So a variety of seating options would be nice.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mac & Cheese
So good so
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
WASHINGTON DC - As far as non-fancy cafeteria food goes, this is decent and worthwhile. The missus and I had been at the African-American Smithsonian a couple hours already, it was noon, and so we thought to give the museum's cafeteria a try. Upon entering, you're faced with a small handful of different food stations - a grill area that does hot dogs and fries, for example, and a dessert station. We opted for the soul food-ish station and hot fried chicken and two sides ($18.50) and a serving of broccoli cheese soup ($6.90). The Mac and cheese was a pleasant surprise - actual cheese, and slightly baked, not just industrial Kraft. The collared greens also were a nice surprise - tender and a nice sweet/savory seasoning combo. The chicken was fine - not as salty as what you'd get at, like the grocery hot goods bar, could've been a bit crunchier. We also got a piece of cornbread ($4.50) - not too sweet, it was fine. A disappointment - the soup I wouldn't get again. Couldn't taste either cheese or broccoli, just warm mush. Fountain drink was $4.60. Bottle of water was $4.30. Overall, kinda pricey and nothing rave-worthy, but perfectly fine compared to what one usually gets in cafeteria settings. A 3.75 experience.
The best food! I am a vegetarian and they had great sides for me!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had the pulled pork and chicken which were both excellent. The corn pudding was exceptional! Recommend for a lunch break in the museum.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Who knew you could get something so well done at a museum, but this spot is heads and shoulders above the usual cafeteria food. Let's be real- Is it as good as your aunties collards and grandmothers Mac and cheese? Probably not a fair comparison. For a large volume presentation of some African American culturally significant foods and styles where you have to consider allllllll the things for allllll the potential visitors I think they do service. The chefs are also really happy to address ingredients and process (I needed to know if it was a shared fryer due to an allergy). All in all a good and tasty experience.
The chicken dinner was delicious! The collards greens was a little sweet for my taste, but, didn't slow me down. Best cafe of the Smithsonian museums. As a side note, anywhere you eat in the tourist area is expensive. I got a small ice cream cone from a food truck on the street and it was 7$. That, was overpriced!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Collard Greens Mac and Cheese Cornbread, Mac & Cheese