Coin Des Poetes — Restaurant in Washington

This locally owned and operated cafe' is an absolute delight. The crepes are some of the best (if not the best) I've had in DC. Paris, the proprietor, will make them any way you want as long as he has the ingredients (currently limited to sweet crepes, but apparently will expand to savory eventually). For myself, I ordered an espresso and a strawberry-banana crepe with a squeeze of lemon, no sugar. My son got a peanut butter banana crepe and a LaCroix. The crepes were fantastic. I was also amazed at their price. Given their quality, Paris is undercharging to the point of inspiring guilt.

Paris himself is awesome, and the customer service is out of this world. I wandered in with my 2-year-old son this morning on a whim, doing some single-parenting, and Paris was kind and understanding. After ordering, my son expressed interest in how the crepes were made. Paris then narrated his crepe-making process for him, which my son found fascinating. Later on, because I was hanging out, Paris introduced my son to the cafe's piano, which is open to the public. My son really enjoyed that as well.

Also noteworthy is Paris' effort to establish community at his cafe'. Coin Des Poetes holds community events weekly. They show local artists. Another customer stopped by while I was there, and there was ready camaraderie (this other customer also sang the praises of Paris, the cafe', and the crepes). Paris mentioned that 90% of his sales are from repeat customers.

There are some downsides. It's a super tiny space. It's easy to miss, as it's slightly off the main street (good for ambiance; bad for business). The lack of savory crepes. And the coffee is all Illy. Illy is great for non-coffee snobs, but I'm a single-origin medium roast kind of guy. *sigh. Illy is good enough, I guess.

Having said that, the downsides are very minor relative to how awesome this place is. I recommend visiting soon and ordering some sweet crepes (those prices just can't last). Then hang out for a bit with some espresso in hand, if you can at all...

I visited this establishment with my boyfriend during my last trip to Washington, specifically on August 15th, between 10:30 and 11:30 AM. The person in charge, who was the only one there at the time, greeted us rudely even though the place was empty. He told us that it would take approximately 15 minutes to prepare two crêpes, which seemed almost like an invitation to leave that we failed to recognize. We found it strange that it would take so long to prepare two simple crêpes, but we decided to stay.

During our time in the café, the manager, a young man who was the only staff member present, was consistently discourteous, bordering on unpleasant. At one point, when I asked where the restroom was located, he responded in a very rude manner, as if my question annoyed him.

While we were enjoying the two crêpes, a tea, and a coffee, for which we were charged over $30, a woman arrived with a small child who had a disability. The manager was equally unpleasant to her and the child. He even refused to offer an appropriate place for the woman to park the child's stroller, and made no effort to provide them with a suitable table and chairs.

During this time, two young men arrived and were also treated poorly. They even had to watch as the manager served a young man who arrived later, allowing him to skip ahead of the woman with the disabled child and themselves. All of this happened right in front of us.

Finally, when we were leaving the café, we tried to be courteous by bringing our tray with empty containers to the counter. Instead of thanking us, the manager shouted that the tray didn’t belong there and that we should have placed it in a trash bin located right behind his own counter!

In summary, this place could be pleasant if it weren’t for the presence of such a person, who would be better suited to a different...

Cash grab!

Showed up because I had heard there was chess. Was told “chess night” started in 10 minutes. Asked if people actually show up (coffee shop was empty except for two employees) and could not get a straight answer—was told to “wait and see”.

Oh, and if I want to play chess I have to buy a drink. Sure, why not? Bought a drink, played a game with an employee who did not know how to play chess on the big board outside. Tons of mosquitos.

Moved inside, offered to play again—oh no, to use the boards inside, there’s another $7 fee. Again, it is just me and the two employees. I say no thanks and start to leave. They say you know what, given nobody is here, you don’t need to pay. Sure, I stay and play a few more games against the employee who does not know how to play chess. Get ready to leave and the other employee calls me back to pay the $7!

So, a drink and $7 for a chess night that nobody showed up to, when events like this in most major cities pull in 50+ people and are free with optional donation. I should add that even with this, I would have been happy to pay had literally ANYONE ELSE shown up and...