The Potter's House Café & Bookstore — Restaurant in Washington

Delightful cafe with solid coffee, tasty food, and even better vibes and service. The Potter's House is a cool, vibey coffee shop in the heart of Columbia Heights and has been a mainstay of the neighborhood for years now. They serve local (ish) beans from the Afterglow Cooperative, which is based in Richmond, VA, and centers on sustainably grown coffee. The coffee tends to be quite strong, so you can fully appreciate the beans, even in a latte or milk-dominated beverage. The coffee is rich and smooth, with an almost velvety texture that completely coats your mouth. It's phenomenal on its own but goes even better with some of their treats. They have a pretty extensive food menu, including all the classic sandwiches, bowls, and salads, as well as a variety of sweet treats. I honestly love their plain buttermilk biscuit, which is rich and buttery, with a slight hint of tanginess from the buttermilk. It's crumbly and goes wonderfully with their strawberry jam.

What truly makes The Potter's House one of my favorite spots in DC, though, is the vibes. The staff is remarkably friendly and will chat with each and every guest, often remembering you and welcoming you by name if you visit more than once. The shop also does more than just sell coffee and food -- they're also a bookstore featuring tons of items from local authors and artists, as well as a nonprofit. You can pay for your meal in one of three ways -- either at the full price, at a discounted rate of $5, or for two meals so that you can subsidize someone else's discounted meal. I appreciate how community-centric they are, both in how they've crafted this shop to be a third space and community hub, and in the ways they give back to ensure people in DC...

There's a lot to love about this place. The history, mission, and community service and community engagement programs. Also the general physical atmosphere, and the bookshop/venue/restaurant services.

The cons are unfortunately 1. food (undercooked wild rice, ton of oil in plain white rice for some reason, lack of vegetables generally, gluten or dairy in pretty much everything, staff who don't seem trained in accomodating even reasonable allergy requests). 2. Also not sure what happened to the racial justice atmosphere because don't see as many POC as before, houseless folks told to leave when I was sitting outside, there is random AAVE on the menus (!!), and all the management seem to be white while majority of staff are POC. Also not sure what happened to the music because we seem to be in a Taylor Swift era.

The target clientele seems to have changed drastically since the latest reopening. Can't help feeling like this has been something of a loss to the community.

I still go back because I believe in the mission of hunger relief and would rather spend money here. Just please take some time to ask customers and clients about the food offerings...

I love coffeeshops and this one might be my new favorite! It was the perfect setting to catch up with a friend and was exactly what we were looking for. It never got too loud and was very clean! The people who work here are the absolute sweetest, the books they've curated in the bookstore are perfect, the food (breakfast burrito) is filling, and the drinks (chai and iced coffee) are great. The prices are reasonable and they have a wide range of books. They have some outdoor seating and plenty of indoor seating. The amazing (radical hospitality) that they demonstrate in the community is wonderful and I loved learning about all the impactful work that they do. Potter's House feels like such a staple of the community and I only regret that I don't live closer and can't go all the time. My friend and I kept saying that Potter's reminded us a lot of our favorite Charlottesville coffeshop because it felt so cozy and like it was made to be a gathering place for old friends. I highly recommend stopping by if you're...