La Colombe Coffee Workshop — Restaurant in Washington

Good coffee, good food, nice place, friendly service, but very expensive now for pour over.

Coffee: I guess this is pretty subjective. Of the 3 different coffees I've tried here (all pour over), 2 were good but not great (Panama & Nicaragua), the third (Guatemala) - meh. The biggest complaint I have is their pour over is now $6 per cup (I think this is a recent price increase). In my opinion, this is expensive, even in comparison to other pricey coffee shops. They have been very busy each time I've stopped in, so maybe they're just trying to discourage people from ordering pour over? Anyway, unfortunately, being that much more expensive than everyone else, basically means I'm unlikely to come back again for coffee.

Food: The almond croissants were very tasty (flaky and fresh), but didn't quite live up to the expectations I'd built-up from reading other people's rave reviews. I also had another very tasty donut-pastry hyrbid, which was also flaky and fresh. The canelles here tasted good, but the texture was really off. They felt stale - like they'd been made the night before or something.

Service: The service has always been friendly and prompt. They do seem to get pretty busy, so it can sometimes be a wait to order or for your coffee, but the people who work there always seem to be hustling to get everyone's order done.

The Cafe: Nice place. Again, just a bit busy, so it might be a wait if you want a table.

Overall, the La Colombe coffee shop was really nice. Of the 4 coffees I've tried from this roaster (3 in their shop and 1 at home), most have been good but not great. Obviously this is personal taste though, and I may just not have found one I really like yet. However, the pour over in their cafe, in my opinion, is way...

I used to really love this place! And I'm not one to leave bad reviews, but today my experience was unfortunately really negative, I left feeling sad at how I was treated. After ordering my cappuccino, I asked about the brownie ingredients (I have a few allergies). Initially, she said "what do you mean whats in it... and stared at me." The barista seemed extremely aggravated when I then asked what allergens the chocolate brownie had and she repeated multiple times angrily "its gluten free" when I clarified "oh but do you have an allergen list or anything." Again, just "its gluten free." So I said "alright, I have allergies so I'm fine then. That'll be all" (the only thing rung up was my coffee). And I went to pay for my coffee. But she just kept staring at me deadpan so I said "okay that'll be all please" again. After a few seconds she asks "do you want the brownie or not?" I said no that'll be all. And she said do you want the brownie? I said no thats all, just the cappuccino please. At which point she allowed me to pay and quickly went off to giggle with and whisper in the ear of the barista, seemingly about my question? (While another customer behind me waited). And the cappuccino wasn't foamy,...

I usually don't give a coffee shop in DC a 5 star rating if there is not wifi, but La Colombe is the one exception. There are several reasons for this:

1. It's in a GREAT neighborhood in DC- Blagden Alley. If you haven't made it there yet, go! It feels like NYC and has a lot of history and quickly becoming the foodie center in DC with restaurants like Table and Rogue 24 nearby.

2. The atmosphere is great! One of the walls is all glass and opens to the outside during the summer time. Despite this, the AC still keeps you cool if you sit inside.

3. The coffee is amazing! The owner Todd Carmichael is a genuine guy who travels the world finding the best coffee around the world directly from the source (Check out his show on the Travel Channel "Dangerous Grounds.").

4. There's a lot of seating during the week and the fact that they don't have wifi is kind of refreshing. Since the atmosphere is so inspiring, go here, get an iced latte with sweetened condensed milk, and read a good book. Your life will be better...