Café Unido Shaw — Restaurant in Washington

Great vibes, super friendly staff, and solid coffee. I came by this lovey Panamanian coffee shop with a few friends on Saturday morning, and I immediately fell in love with its clean and modern, yet super cozy and welcoming aesthetic. I love the floor-to-ceiling windows flooding the space with natural light, smattering of plants, and slightly aggressive "no laptops allowed" signs placed on every table (at least during the weekends). It was the perfect place to hang out and it would be a good place to work on the weekdays (when laptops are allowed).

Our barista was super friendly and gave great recommendations; we eventually settled on a hot dirty chai, hot latte, and iced orange raspadura latte. The orange raspurada latte was definitely the highlight -- I loved the combination of citrus and cinnamon, and, while it was a smidge too sweet for me, both of my friends absolutely loved it. The dirty chai was similarly well-spiced and super tasty, also with a bit too much sugar for my taste but well-received by both of my coffee buddies. The plain coffee was solid, but I didn't think that it had a ton of flavor -- it mostly just tasted like milk. I would love to come back to try their drip coffee or an americano, or perhaps a cortado / something else with a little less milk to really appreciate the flavor...

1st and LAST time visiting!

I stopped by for an afternoon coffee and mentioned to the cashier, Jorge, that it was my first time visiting and asked if they offered any hot teas. He simply pointed to the menu without saying a word — as if I was inconveniencing him.

I then asked if they had any creamers available, and he responded, “Only milk.” So, I decided to order a small coffee with oat milk. When I received it, I took a sip before adding sweetener, only to realize the coffee was ice cold.

I went back to the counter to politely request a refund and explained that the coffee was cold. I asked if it had been sitting out since the morning, and he said, “No, the milk did it.” Without apologizing or offering to make a fresh cup, he just said, “The money will be back in your account in 3–5 business days.”

As I gathered my things, I watched the barista pour my returned cup of coffee back into the coffee urn — completely unacceptable and unsanitary.

To the management or ownership: I recommend reviewing your cameras for this incident, as I have the exact date and time if needed.

My entire interaction was a total...

This is a new coffee shop near Howard's campus, a great place to sit down and study, right? Wrong. I have been here multiple times to get a bite and a caffeine pick-me-up while completing tasks, but over the past week, they have decided they do not want customers to come and sit at tables on the weekends if they are planning to do any kind of work on computers/tablets, despite having a multitude of outlets, wifi to connect to, and a sizable number of tables to sit at within the shop. It's very disappointing to see this new policy in place shortly after extending their hours to accommodate for more business. According to the staff, customers who sit for prolonged periods of time have been losing them business because other customers are unable to sit when they order coffee/food. I've been multiple times during busy hours and have never seen more than 3-4 tables of people with devices working, as it is always filled with noisy, chatting customers. Luckily there are some more device-friendly coffee shops in the area with equally delicious coffee and food (and more reasonable prices). I suggest giving those a...