Peregrine Espresso — Restaurant in Washington

Peregrine is one of the best coffee shops in D.C. It's not just me talking; they won East Coast honors at the America's Best Coffeehouse competition. So you've got the best coffee shop on the eastern U.S. in the heart of the District.

Their baristas aren't just your regular old baristas; they're also coffee ambassadors. They are super knowledgeable about tasting notes, brews, and beans. What sets Peregrine apart from a lot of other coffee shops in the area is the relationship between barista and customer. They engage with the customer and talk about specialty coffees. You can clearly tell their passion is coffee. It's not just a 9 to 5 job, it's a way of life for these folks.

The coffee here is simple but crafted to perfection. They serve Counter Culture Coffee, a North Carolina roaster that has amazing beans. Their filter drip coffee is really great. Smooth and balanced, with lovely notes across all kinds of beans. They also dole out espressos, cappuccinos, lattes, and the like. And if you like latte art, they're some of the best in the biz. They serve tea from Rishi and pastries from Buzz Bakery.

If you're in the Eastern Market area, I'd highly recommend stopping in and grabbing a cup of Joe...

Went in here not knowing what to expect, just going off of other reviews. Was greeted quickly at the counter but was kind of expected to just know what I wanted to order. Which is fine, but they weren't terribly busy and I mentioned it was my first time in. I know my way around coffee so it wasn't a huge deal, just expected some suggestions from the barista. I ordered a Vanilla Soy Latte. Hot. Found a table and sat down and waited. The drink took several minutes to come up at the bar, glad I was listening, it was hard to hear the girl call out the drink over the way to loud music and the normal din of a busy neighborhood coffee shop. The latte itself was excellent, right temp, good coffee flavor and the foam was perfect. It's a good location to sit and people watch in the open air market on 7th street, outside. Not a great place to try and get some work done, it's a little too small, there really aren't any restrooms and maybe it was just today, the music was too loud and distracting. I liked the music they were playing normally, but just wasn't the environment I was hoping for. Overall had a good experience here. Don't think I will make the trek across town...

Update 6/17/2024 It appears they’ve gotten their mojo back Last 5-6 shots have been great

Update 3/25/2024: With heavy heart I have found the quality of the espresso shots they pull to have severely declined. At first I thought it might be me but I’ve been keeping track 3 out of the last 5 shots I had there were sour and over-extracted. Today’s shot was so over extracted that the level of espresso was almost to the rim of the demitasse. I’m not sure what has happened. They purport to have some of the best baristas in town and for many years I could attest this to be true. Since this place is en route destination point for me I will do another 5 shots over the next few months to see if things get better. As I’d love to give what I considered a “top-notch place” some chances to recoup their reputation.

Top-notch place It’s got everything one would want in...