Misha's — Restaurant in Alexandria

From the outside, Misha's looks like a trendy, interesting coffeeshop and located on the outskirts of Old Town Alexandria, its location backs up the story.

Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving.

On walking inside, you are immediately confronted with how small the shop actually is. We're talking maybe 2-3 feet from the front door to the edge of the counter. If you're the only person in the cafe or 1/2 an inch wide, then it's okay. But if you're a normal human and go during normal human hours, then things can get pretty cramped pretty fast.

I was also a little shocked at how old the interior of the shop was. I've been to my fair share of coffee shops and I totally get that the vintage vibe is trendy right now. But there's a difference between vintage and just plain old.

Misha's trends on the latter.

After trying to decipher the menu (which looked like it was made out of alphabet fridge magnets) I finally decided I would go with their drip coffee. I asked the barista for his recommendation and he gave it to me; a Guatemalan blend, I believe.

I then paid about $2 for my cup, which I thought was pretty reasonable, and went on the journey to find a table. All in all, there are about 7-8 tables on the left half of the cafe. They're all pretty small (only enough room for about 2 people) and crammed pretty tightly together. On the right side of the shop there's a much larger table that multiple people can use.

I grabbed one of the single tables and set up shop.

After a couple of minutes my coffee was ready and, honestly, it was pretty disappointing. I've come to not expect too much out of drip coffee, but this cup was bad even on that standard. It was watery, bland and really not what I expected from a speciality coffee shop.

But, it was coffee so I would be a fool not to drink it.

I spent a couple of hours at the shop trying to get some work done. I say trying because focusing proved to be a bit of a challenge seeing as I could hear every single conversation happening around me thanks to the closeness of the tables.

I'll also add that you should probably bring some sort of blanket or parka if you come here in the winter. I don't know what it is, but the ground of the cafe is freezing. Like there's a draft coming from somewhere that you can't escape. I walked around trying to find somewhere to sit where it wasn't freezing and simply couldn't.

In the end, I just wasn't super impressed with this place. With so many other great coffee shops in the area, I probably...

One of my hobbies is trying coffee shops. I stumbled across Misha's when I was leaving the dentist the other day. The outside of the building is cute. When I opened the door though that was where the magic began. The smell of freshly roasted coffee wafted through the door and into my face. It was a fantastic smell. The only other coffee shop that roasts their own is Swings. (That I've been to) Swings is great too. Misha's is even better. I love they have 20oz Mochas. Swing's does not.

I ordered a mocha and the barista gave me one with beautiful foam art. I tasted it and it was perfection. It wasn't bitter. It wasn't over syrup'ed. Many places try to make up for the taste of their coffee by putting gobs of sweet syrup in to the Mocha, but not Misha's. The flavor did not override the flavor of the coffee. It was so good I could have just drank it black. I cannot say that about every place I try.

I also bought a bag of French roast, which was good in my drip pot—not so much in my Rancillio Silvia. I'm not a fan of French roast made as an espresso. It's too bitter. However it was perfect in my coffee pot.

Employees were personable and quick. I was amazed at the skill even with the quickness. Usually you have to trade one for the other.

The atmosphere in Misha's was modern rustic. There were a ton if people, so not many places to sit. It was abuzz with conversation, people meeting up, and the employees making their magic. I chose to sit outside since no one was out there. There's a huge tree in front of the building so it was shady enough. Misha's has knocked Swing's from the number 1 coffee spot, to number 2. I will definitely...

I used to go here often since it's so close to my work. But it has really gone downhill, especially after the move to the new location. There must've been some turnover with the staff, the new faces seem to be the worst - just two days ago, I was waiting in line according to the dots for distancing and two ladies cut right in front of me and the barista entertains them seemingly clueless there were two people waiting according to the distancing rules. By the way, none of the staff were actually wearing masks, and as it so happens no one except myself and one other patron were wearing masks in the every-table-was-seated coffee shop. So much for the signs saying masks are required.

In addition, the last few times, I get home to unload my whole beans and find in two different occasions, rocks (not beans) that jam my uber expensive grinder. The first time, they swapped it out of course, but I shouldn't have to deal with that.

I would highly suggest going to Killer ESP which is catacorner (they carry Stumptown's Hair Bender) or if you're biking on the Mount Vernon trail - going the much extra distance to Georgetown for Blue Bottle. If you're in NOVA, I still think the best is Cervantes Coffee (but they have very...