Pavilion Café — Restaurant in Washington

I recently stopped by the Pavilion Café at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, and I’d say it’s a cool spot overall.

Ambience & Setting The first thing that stands out is the setting. You’re right in the Sculpture Garden, with big glass windows and plenty of natural light, so even if you’re inside, you still feel like you’re outdoors. It’s calm, not overly crowded, and a nice break from the busy Mall area. Definitely a peaceful place to recharge in the middle of a museum day.

Food & Options Menu-wise, it’s not a huge selection—so don’t expect dozens of choices—but what they have is solid. I tried one of the sandwiches, and it was fresh and put together well. They also have salads, flatbreads, and a few drinks, including coffee and some alcoholic options if you want to take it easy and enjoy the view.

Service Service was smooth and friendly. Ordering was quick, and I didn’t feel like I had to wait around too long, which is nice when you’re just looking for a casual meal in between museum visits.

Value The prices are about what you’d expect for a museum café—nothing too crazy, not super cheap either. Considering the location and atmosphere, I’d say it’s worth it.

Final Word Overall, Pavilion Café is a nice little stop if you want a calm place with decent food in the middle of DC’s busy museum scene. Not a ton of variety, but what they do, they do pretty well. I’d go back for the...

The only negative is that the food is over-priced ($10-12 for just a sandwich), as with all the Smithsonian cafeterias. However, seeing that we enjoy the museums for free, I guess it's a fair trade-off. Other than that, it's probably my favorite place around the National Mall to enjoy lunch when the weather is nice. They give you a buzzer when you order your food, so you don't have to wait awkwardly by the counter for your meal. And the large outdoor fountain is a nice place to relax (and dip your feet into). The entire pavilion is surrounded by trees and shrubbery, so it feels like you're dining at a casual garden party. I always eat outside for this reason.

They could add some more outdoor lunch tables, I think. However, if you can't get a table inside or outside, there are quite a few patio chairs with side tables lining the front of the cafe, and there's also seating by the fountain (but with no tables to use). Might not be ideal for families, but people make it work. As for the food, I like the roast beef sandwich, but the jerk chicken sandwich could use more flavor...or...

The food is tasty and you get enough to feel full plus the food seems pretty healthy for a convenenience cafe. The setup seems a little awkward and slow but it may be that way because of the high volumes of customers. There was a 10-15 minute line to order and pay. They give you a "pager" and you wait to be paged. It would probably be smarter if one of us then went and found an open table outside... but we didn't, so we were really lucky to be in the right spot at the right time to sit down within 3-4 minutes. It was a beautiful day so a lot of people were out. There are inside tables too, but with all the people in line to order it's very crowded. However, I would think that if the weather was not as pleasant the crowds would of course be smaller. We decided to go here after considering going to a local restaurant because the prices seemed very competitive and considering how good the food was, we made a...