Sweet Home Cafe — Restaurant in Washington

Sweet Home Cafe is located inside of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture museum on level C. We decided to get lunch out of the way first so we could enjoy the museum uninterrupted.

ATMOSPHERE: It's a big, modern cafeteria-style dining hall that seats 400, with four food stations serving different menus.

FOOD STATIONS: The Creole Coast - Gumbo, shrimp & grits, BBQ chicken, catfish, red beans & rice, yams.

The North States - Haddock, turkey stew, oysters, sweet potatoes.

The Agricultural South - Fried chicken, pork sandwich, collards.

The Western Range - Brisket, trout, black eyed peas, empanada.

They also sell burgers, hot dogs, drinks and desserts at remote stations.

No alcohol is served.

FOOD: Fried Catfish $15.95, 2 pcs. What a disappointment as the fish was tasteless both inside and out. The batter was nice and crisp but so bland. Desperate for some flavor, I searched the condiment bar for tartar sauce but only found mayo and vinegar, both of which helped a little but didn't satisfy my taste buds. Two sides came with in which I got Old Bay-seasoned fries and corn on the cob, the latter of which was good. The fries could've used more seasoning. Portion size was average. Pass.

Catfish Po Boy - $14.95 My spouse's dish which was the same bland catfish in a sandwich. Like me, he was disappointed in the fish's lack of taste.

We also enjoyed side dishes of collard greens, mac & cheese, and red beans & rice, each ringing in at a pricey $4.55. Am I back in Hawaii? The greens were just greens, absent of any meats but tasted as expected. The mac & cheese was just okay as the cheese was a little thick and gritty. The red beans & rice tasted like it was cooked by a hospital for a low sodium-diet patient. Portion sizes were average.

DESSERT: Sweet Potato Pie - $6.10 I'm no expert on this as it was my first time trying it, but it was good. Definitely sweet but not overly. The crust was nice and flaky.

SERVICE: It's a cafeteria, so grab a tray and utensils then head to your area of choice.

We arrived around 10:45am so they were still setting up the stations. A female associate welcomed us in, letting us know that they weren't ready for lunch yet. We sat in the dining room waiting for 11:00 to roll around, but my Yelp instinct got the better of me as I thought what a great time to take pics of the menu boards. Well, I guess they don't appreciate loiterers in the station areas before they open and was asked to step away. Gawd!? Fine, no pictures for you on Yelp then!

I ordered from the Agricultural South station. As 11:00 rolled around, I went up to the counter. They were still setting up and not ready to go. Two workers (cashier/server & cook) were there preparing the counter but no one acknowledged me. As I was waiting in line, another patron stood to the right of me, which was at the pick up side of the counter as there were no directional signs. The cook barked at him letting him know to stand on the other side to order. Calm down, Oscar! The cashier greeted me when she was ready, and was friendly and patient. Without request, she selected the biggest pieces of fish for me, thank you! Our dishes were plated nicely too.

TIPS: Arrive early (they open at 11am) to avoid the crowds.

Bathrooms are located just outside of...

Yesterday was out first time visiting the museum which was rich in history and the African American culture. At the end of our visit on the concourse levels we could not wait to taste that scrumptious cuisines in the cafe. After standing on a long line, we finally entered the cafe to assess of options of soulful, authentic cuisines that represent our roots. My family (3 of us) decided on the Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, and Mac'n'Cheese. First of all the picture of the Buttermilk Fried Chicken displayed biscuits. However, we were told there were no biscuits (misrepresentation of the meal). The chicken didn't appear to be chicken because the pieces were so large appearing to be fowl instead. The portion of Mac-n-Cheese was huge; but, they ran out of collard greens (OK, for a southern section with representative food from our culture... who and how do you run out of collard greens. The meat with two sides was priced at $15.95, so when we asked the server about a vegetable substitute we were told we could go to another station to get a vegetable. But wait, the lines elsewhere we almost out TNT door. Luckily, we went to a semi-empty line to request green beans and had to explain the southern cuisine line ran out.

After finally getting our orders we proceed to the lime to pay. Two of us wanted fountain sodas but did not want them in the hard plastic cups that are "steam cleaned". We asked for paper cups and the cashier was rude in tone and posture stating they don't have any. As a result we then purchased 3 simply juices. I asked for a cup for ice and was given a 8 ounce plastic cup all to pau $72.00 (including 2 pieces of cornbread).

So, now we begin to eat the poorly seasoned unbattered cold chicken that was as huge as fowl, box like Mac -n - Cheese, hard corn bread and 5 green beans. The food was so bad my 9 year only ate the minimal green beans we were provided.

To sum it up the food was horrible for such as place...

This cafe has a callout for Southern style cooking. Our meal did not meet this expectation for the Southern down home cooking. There was four of us and our selections were the following; ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob, fried chicken, fried whiting, collard greens, mac and cheese, hush puppies, sweet potatoes and for dessert strawberry cheesecake, chocolate cake and carrot cake.

The sweet potatoes were not done still hard and no flavor. The whiting, now typically I would remove the black lining and then season. Anyway, that option set aside to leave the lining on, this did not have a southern style seasoning, just lacked overall. The hush puppies were just awful, baked beans were hard too and the carrot cake was dry and did not taste like any esemblence of carrot cake.

The ribs were decent, as well as the collard greens, and corn on the cob (corn will need salt, for better taste). The other two desserts were not good, cheesecake was dry and I do not have words for the horrible tatse left in my mouth🤢. And the chocolate cake was not moist a bit dry, however able to eat. Photos of the desserts station is a good reflection of the options available. My family felt the looks did not meet any expectations for their selection; strawberry cheesecake and the carrot cake.

The trays were all wet and the tray return area was just filthy. There were several spills tracked out of the exit. And food spilled around the trash cans. It was in bad need of a clean up service.

For the price and the end results of the food, not the best. This visit was during the week. So, may have been an off day, up to you if you want try it out. Had I read the reviews, my family would have waited and...