Cafe Twelve — Restaurant in Washington

We stumbled upon Café Twelve one morning while we were on a city break in DC. It is a quiet café but don't let that deter you as the food really hit the spot and you can grab your coffee to go as you please!

Food: The menu is simple however, what they do is very good. It was 9am when we stopped by so a good breakfast was on our minds. We both got a bacon, egg and cheese, I got mine on a wrap and my fiancée got her's on sourdough. They cooked the food from scratch and they had it ready in a matter of minutes which was very impressive. You won't have long to wait here. After the food arrived I asked for some hot sauce to accompany my wrap and it was deliciously firey and tangy! From what I've read in other reviews Café Twelve is the best place to get a deli style turkey or ham sandwich however, I'm sorry I didn't try one of their grilled sandwiches as they are supposed to be very good.

The Staff: The staff are friendly, attentive and very helpful. They keep the premises very clean and welcoming!

Layout: When you walk in you will see that the Café and dining area are all located in the one space. The main counter and menu is infront of you and the cooking is behind that. Then to the right of the entrance there is another counter with a large to-go coffee station for customer use. There is a handful of tables and chairs in the middle of the floor area to choose from with a counter and stools along the windows facing out towards the city street.

Decor: The café's decor is a bit dated, feels like the late 90's or early 2000's. However, don't let that deter you from entering this little gem!

Note: On the day we visited I noticed that a lot of the shelves and coolers were mostly empty. If I am being honest if spooked me a little as in I didn't have high hopes for the food after seeing this however, I couldn't have been more wrong as the food was delicious. So if its empty don't judge this book by its cover! Apparently as one commenter mentioned, the reason why its so empty is because the surrounding Federal buildings are still at limited capacity. So the foot traffic in that area is not yet back to what it was pre-pandemic. In saying all that, another reason as to why it was so quiet and for the shelves to be empty might be down to the fact that we visited on Wednesday the 3rd of July. A lot of people that work in the general area might not be working as they might be taking the whole week off as part of the 4th of July weekend!

Overall Opinion: If you are looking for a simple, no fuss coffee to-go Café then Café Twelve is it. Its nothing like the modern chain cafés that are all the same. Its got a more small town feel to it. If you are in the area I hope you get the chance to discover this business and try one of their freshly made sandwichs and grab some coffee to...

If I could give zero stars I would right now. I just had the most ridiculous dining experience of my life here and will NEVER go back and tell everyone I work with not to either. I arrived at 10:35. Apparently breakfast ends at 10:30. I wanted a bagel with egg salad. Literally, sitting in front of me, was a tray with probably 30 bagels and a vat of egg salad. Which they refused to sell to me because "breakfast is over". I even spoke to the manager. Perhaps they have a new owner because I have never had an experience like that before - anywhere. I have gotten there when they were out of bagels, but there was literally an entire tray sitting in front of me. If you cannot be reasonable, you lose my business and I will share this ridiculousness with everyone I work with in the area that...

A typical hole in the wall luncheonette grill serving the federal parts of SW. But they deep fry in addition to sandwich & bottled drinks. 2 star difficulty, 4 star execution in normal times. uncomplicated, and they do a fine job of it.

not very tidy, if you care (the room, but also their workspaces with the food)

Know they allow people to eat inside during the pandemic (whatayagonnado, but the dining is the same room as the kitchen), and i have observed employees casually unmasked. If that's a "no" for you,...