Pluma by Bluebird Bakery — Restaurant in Washington

I came by on a weekday evening with a friend. I had been highly anticipating their opening as I had heard good things about the bakery! The croissants did not disappoint, but the coffee and service were lacking. I'm particular about my espresso drinks, so I'll give them a pass on that, but the service has much to be improved upon. Additionally the bench I sat on was extremely wobbly and did not provide secure seating. Perhaps it was due to the bench end protectors that caused it to be imbalanced and roll back and forth.

Regarding the service - One of the owners, Camila, was sitting in the cafe and seemed very attentive to the fact that a couple had walked out without making a purchase apparently due to verbalizing that they are vegan & was told there was nothing vegan by the barista. The owner immediately educated the barista after the guests walked out.

The barista / female taking the orders was not very friendly or knowledgeable. We ordered a two hot drinks, and she completely forgot about the second, but since we knew the owner was around and had just gotten on her case about losing customers, neither my friend or I had the heart to mention it and/or complain about the forgotten drink (note: there were NO other customers at this time). We did finally bring it up to the barista discreetly about 20 minutes after we sat down, and then we received an incorrect drink. Then we had to go back to the barista yet again discreetly to request the correct drink. Didn't get an apology or any token of concession or caring for the inconvenience we experienced during our first visit.

We both chatted with the owner a bit (without mentioning her employee's mishap), but did not get a sense of welcome at all either. As a former business owner, my recommendation is to focus on customer service and keeping the guests that come through your door happy & wanting to continue to patronize your business before you focus on the guests who haven't spent any $$ at your business at all.

Unfortunately I won't be returning. The attitude of the establishment will need a major overhaul which likely won't happen anytime soon. I wholly recommend you to visit for the croissants, but for me, I'd spend my coffee & croissant discretionary income...

If you've lived long enough in DC, you've heard of Bluebird Bakery. If you haven't heard of them, chances are you've tasted their pastries at one of the many restaurants and cafes across the city (For example, Peregrine sells their pastries at all their shops). Pluma is Bluebird's first shop of their own.

It's in the newly named Union Market District on that ground floor of a new apartment building called the Edison. It's within walking distance from Union Market in one direction and the NoMa Metro Station in the other.

It's a bakery first so definitely try a pastry. In the mornings, they serve a variety of baked goods from croissants to tarts. In the afternoon, they add in more savory pastries closing the evenings with pizza and breads. The stand out for me is their warm banana chocolate chip muffin. It's so good! They also make a variety of croissants (including a pistachio one), but if they all are like their almond croissant, it's good, but not the best you'll have in DC.

They are also a coffee shop. They can brew any type of coffee you'd find anywhere else and have Stumptown (drip and cold brew) on tap. Throughout the day, they serve juices and then wine and beer in the evening. For coffee, I think their barista is still figuring things out. Both my wife and I and two friends all went at separate times and the coffee game was lacking and it wasn't the coffee. It was how the barista made (or didn't make) the coffee.

They've thought of every detail from the long wooden tables to the beautiful tiles from Colombia.

With late hours (7AM-9PM during the week), Pluma is one of the few local, quality coffee shops open late. They have free wifi (password: cite4975many35sag) so it's the perfect "work from...

Lovely bakery with outstanding pastries and great coffee. Located just a few blocks from Union Market, Pluma faces stiff competition from the dozens of coffee shops, bakeries, and eateries within a 5-minute walking radius, but this humble little cafe holds its own. I first visited Pluma on a misty Saturday afternoon in July. I was initially hoping to meet a friend there, but, after about 30 minutes of waiting outside, I concluded that they probably weren't going to make it and decided to step inside to treat myself to a little beverage and pastry. The space was super cute, with a ton of natural light streaming in from the giant floor-to-ceiling windows, and plenty of seating at the giant communal table in the center of the restaurant or along the bar at the window.

I decided to get a matcha latte with almond milk and, at the barista's recommendation, also added in a morning bun. As I moved along the line to pay, the barista surprised me by saying my order would be on the house; apparently he had seen me waiting outside and offered me my drink and pastry for free to make up for it. It was SUPER sweet, and I'm still so incredibly grateful to that barista :).

The matcha was solid, and I loved the little heart latte art the barista added. The morning bun was also delightful -- it was super flaky and buttery, and it had an almost impossible number of layers. It wasn't super sweet, but it was rolled in delightful orange-scented cinnamon sugar, giving it a lovely hint of...