We originally wanted to try a different sandwich shop on I (Eye) Street. Unfortunately, the line was out the door when we arrived. We ended up at Atrium Café. They have a few outdoor tables, and very limited interior window bar seating. The shop has many grab & go items as well as hot and cold sandwiches, soup, and salad. My husband ordered the Steak & Cheese sandwich. He was happy with his selection. It was made to order. The steak and veggies were grilled in front of us. I went with the Tuna Melt on Sourdough bread. The bread wasn't really grilled. The bread appeared to be toasted. The tuna was warm and the cheese was melted. It was made with fresh ingredients. I just expected it to have that buttery grilled bread. It missed the mark for me. I should have gone with the panini. I'd give it another shot if I worked nearby. The pricing is reasonable. Especially for breakfast. I can see it being popular with the locals who work in that area. I just wouldn't get the Tuna Melt. read more

Atrium Cafe - Tuna Melt on Sourdough Bread - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I need to go here more often. Super simple food counter with great breakfast sandwiches, lunch options coffee, etc. I stopped by the other day bc I went to Slipstream for coffee but their food choices were too foo-foo. I just wanted a regular bacon, egg, and cheese. Looked across the street, saw Atrium Cafe and immediately walked over. read more

Atrium Cafe - a counter with a variety of food items - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Took 5 years off for Covid. Went back today. Still amazing. Music is too loud but the sandwiches still hit. Good service.

What a horrible experience I just had. I asked them to clean the grill because the couple on front of me ordered pork items and im a muslim and cant have the oil in my food. and the girl basically said she doesn't want to waste and that she can't clean the entire grill..... This was a few minutes before I ordered and the lady taking my order wasn't even paying attention to what I was saying she was just doing her own thing. When I saw what they were preparing and looked it was nothing I had ordered. Then all these Spanish women started teaming up against me . It was crazy. I told them I use to go out of my way to come get breakfast but after the way I was treated by the staff I'm never going back here again. They need to speak English better as well. I think being able to speak English helps a lot in life. Not a Muslim friendly establishment. read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would - On December 30, 2019, I visited this restaurant to order lunch with a fellow coworker, as my witness. I ordered grilled chicken tacos with lettuce, pico de gallo, and cheese, which came in a small rectangular aluminum container. Upon eating my meal, I discovered a small sharp razor blade lodged into the taco I was eating. Luckily, I was using a fork, but I noticed the blade as my fork hit an unusually hard object in my plate. When I returned to the restaurant to physically show them the blade and return my food, all they did was say sorry and give me $10 back. One of the cooks identified the machine it came off from and showed it to me as consolation, but I find that response to be insignificant compared to my encounter of almost ingesting a razor blade! If you knew your cutting machines were faulty and could easily identify it, wouldn't you think to remove it all together? I am unsure if this has happened to other patrons who have eaten here, but it is frightening that they did not take the situation more seriously. The best they could think to do was give me $10 and an apology. The idea of having a razor in my mouth and possibly sustaining injuries inside my mouth due to such an oversight is beyond scary and unnerving to me. Never eating here again due to crazy oversight regarding preparation of their food, high prices, and unorganized operations. Reported them to the DC Department of Health for further investigation. A razor in a taco! Absolutely insane! read more

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They will knowingly give you the wrong item. At least 3 times I've been to this establishment they have given me something that I did not order, not even close. This particular time I asked for a blueberry muffin, and was sold what looks to be cranberry. I even asked the man behind the counter (presumably the manager) if he was sure it was blueberry and he said "yes" and seemingly rushed me out the door. read more

Atrium Cafe - Blueberry Muffin - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Atrium Cafe is the person you are dating who keeps on sending mixed signals. Here's how I felt led on by Atrium Cafe: - I wanted something quick, but good for breakfast in downtown DC. As I walked by I and 13th St NW, Atrium Cafe was full of people. A line is a good sign, right? -Then I looked Atrium Cafe up on Yelp- 3 stars. Hmmm... -As I walked in, the coffee smelled good and the sizzling ham on the open grill looked like it was the making of the best breakfast sandwich in the city. The croissant they put it on was large. Did I stumble upon a hidden gem? -I went to pay and my total for a ham, cheese, and egg breakfast sandwich and a medium coffee came to just under $9. Seems expensive. -Then I went to sip the coffee. It was decent. It isn't third wave coffee, but alas. It's caffeine. The sandwich looks promising, but tasted a little bland. I'm still processing my experience and all the mixed messages Atrium Cafe sent me. Who are they really? Age has taught me to not mess around with mixed signals. I'll move on to La Colombe down the road for my breakfast and quality coffee. read more

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This is one of my favorite salads in the city (when I'm not trekking to find a Sweetgreen). Seriously. Atrium Cafe has really fresh and large portioned salads for $8-9 which you just can't find anywhere else. The dressings are by far the star of the show, and they have so many options to choose from. My absolute favorite is sesame ginger. My salad of choice is the Quinoa Avocado, but I've also tried the Chicken Caesar and the Cobb, which were very good. In addition to salads and pre-proportioned deli items in the fridge when you walk in, they make sandwiches. I recommend the hot pastrami or the turkey sandwich. Just like the salads the portions are great - very big. I usually have an entire half leftover. The line moves fast. Enjoy! read more

Atrium Cafe - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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abaolutely a gem! cute little shop! HBY and i both had the pastrami! delish! there was seating and accommodating for groups! very clean and friendly! read more

Atrium Cafe - menu - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Had a great turkey sandwich here, I opted for them to put it on a croissant so it was a dollar more, but I really like croissants. The line moved fast and everyone was quite pleasant, even though it was about 2pm, end of 'lunch hour.' They have tables and stools if you want to dine in. Big plus is that stools at counters are on window side so fun to watch street while you eat. read more

Atrium Cafe - Exterior street view - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Got a chicken bacon salad and for the price ($6 on Mealpal), the portion was huge. It wasn't bad but it wasn't amazing either. It was just a salad. Don't expect to eat here, because it's pretty much a 7-eleven style place: grab your food, stand in line, and check out. There are no seats, but there is a nice circle nearby with benches to eat at. read more

Amazing food! My husband and I ordered omelettes. And to my surprise they were unusually delicious with a pleasant sauce on top. Quality cooking! Great prices too. Outdoor seating was available. Open bright and early! read more

Atrium Cafe - Front entrance - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

This place is everything you want in a downtown deli. It's so good, I often, accidentally, find myself eating here twice a day. For breakfast, they'll do you an enormous omelet or huge breakfast sandwich. You can go even heavier with french toast or a breakfast platter. All delicious gut busters. For lunch, the menu ranges from Korean rice bowls to fat burritos, with traditional deli sandwiches and salads, as well. My favorite is the pesto chicken melt. I'm addicted to their ice coffee, which is served with frozen coffee ice cubes. They're fast, the staff is friendly, and I've enjoyed literally everything I've ever ordered here. What more could you want? read more

Great food for a good price in an expensive city. While I was in town for a few days, I stopped by multiple times for breakfast. The sandwiches are pretty big and filling! read more

Treat yo' self. This is a great locally owned small business to support. If you walk by in the morning you can smell the whole turkeys being roasted as you walk by and at any given time during the day you can watch as they pull them out of the oven and carve them fresh for your sandwich like it's Thanksgiving day. The sandwiches run around $10 and they're GINORMOUS, it's like getting 2 for 1. (But I always eat the whole thing) My favorite: -turkey -cheddar (extra charge, but they load you up) -mayo -deli mustard -lettuce -tomato -pickle -avocado aka God's butter (I know it costs extra) -CROISSANT ::drool:: The grilled chicken is equally delicious, they put it on the flat top and let the cheese melt on top before putting it on your sandwich, amaaaazing. Much better than any of the corporate options in the area. read more

Super friendly staff! Experience was a breeze, good covid precautions put in place. Highly recommend their breakfast sandwiches, coffees, and most definitely their iced chai latte. Delicious!! read more

The place is just amazing. We wanted to find a place close to the hotel to have breakfast. This placed is clean fresh and serves delicious food. The meats are carved right in front of you, yes they are carved since the make their own. The bread is baked in house. The salads and fresh fruit is made in small quantities so nothing is sitting in the fridge for too long. Their coffee and Chai Latte is wonderful and have non dairy selections if needed. We loved their food that made sure we went again for lunch and the consecutively the days that followed for breakfast and lunch. They never disappointed. Loved by the locals and they will rave to anyone that comes in. read more

This French toast sandwich is hard to not turn into a breakfast fav!! It was correct portion of everything, very cheesy, not extra eggy & the turkey sausage gave me all that I needed. I called ahead & literally walked in 10 minutes later to my food ready yet still piping hot - they even have the heated syrup for you HEATED! I loved everything about this sandwich, it started my morning off great! read more

Atrium Cafe - Montecristo Sandwich - subbed the ham & Swiss for turkey sausage & egg! - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Solid deli here. They have a lot of options for food and drinks I'm a convenient location. I got a chicken cheesesteak and it was tasty. I also got an iced tea that was basically water, which was disappointing read more

I stopped by for a smoothie after lunch and got JUST what I wanted; an ice cold, fresh, delish strawberry-banana smoothie. YES! There were a few other fruits to choose from (kiwi, blueberry, orange, etc.), but I got what I wanted. It was well worth the $3.95 (small size). I'll be back for more of the same. read more

Food is alright but I agree with the other reviewers that the owners are sketchy with the prices. They always fluctuate and they nickel and dime everything. They are stingy and buy low quality supplies (coffee stirrer, etc). They don't allow you to take the little jelly single servings, you have to ask and they ration one per bread slice. Paying over $2 for a slice of bread, I think it's reasonable to ask for 2 single serving jam containers. Today was my last day going there- I'm done with the nickel and diming. read more

It's alright. It's convenient because it's near my job but my first experience with them wasn't good. They had eggshells in my scrambled eggs and when I ordered lunch and got the lamb gyro, it was extremely dry and inedible. I was very disappointed. I haven't tried their whole menu and they don't have pancakes on their menu which I'd prefer over French toast. Everything is good I believe. Just small things they need to fix up. read more

Restaurant closes at 3:30pm. Walked in at 3:15pm. Everything had been put away and cleaned up for closing. Asked for a meatball sub, and an annoyed employee made it. Every part of the sub was cold except the bread that went thru the toaster oven solo. Cold cheese. Cold veggies. Cold meatballs. If you close at 3:30pm, maybe be ready to prepare a sandwich till 3:30pm. read more

This place doesn't get enough credit! The turkey is sliced right in front of you and its still warm in your sandwich! Ask for your bread toasted and its a perfect sandwich spot. Nothing bad I can say about this place - clean, fast, and plenty of toppings to choose from. If you add enough toppings the price can get a bit steep (turkey, lettuce, mayo, sprouts, cheddar cheese on wheat = $9.00) but it is worth it for the heaping pile of turkey they give you. The cheesesteak also looks GREAT! This is a great pick-up sandwich spot and is underrated in the area! read more

Atrium Cafe - Turkey lettuce cheddar mayo sprouts on toasted wheat - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

A morning staple. The location is convenient and on a block where quick easy breakfast and lunch are needed. The staff is super friendly and quick at preparing orders. The prices are a bit high but you have to factor in the DC location. The breakfast sandwiches are good, the prepared salads in the cooler are perfect, and grab an overly priced snack. But hey...convenient. read more

Shy don't Yiu answer yiur phone ? Are you open or is your phone broken ? Pls reply we wanted to order food to pick up ..,,Anne

I guess I'll make myself available to write a nice review about my new favorite weekday breakfast spot!!!! if you work downtown DC you will quickly learn your way around the food scene. early morning breakfast can be limited and BORING!!!! my former coworkers would ALWAYS talk about "The Atrium"... never really had time to find it! my job recently moved 2 blocks up NY Ave which put us in smelling distance.... one morning we went scavenging for FOOD!!!! i smell BACON!!!! into Atrium Cafe we went! we didn't get BACON!!! instead we opted for Veggie Omelettes HOLD the potatoes! add tomatoes! cheese please! salsa on top! WITH a small side of homefries! SO GOOD! FRESH! simple! and GOOD! DO NOT get the girts! Well me personally! I HATE instant grits! SO NO THANKS! other than that everything i've had has been up to par! read more

I recommend the breakfast sandwiches which are generously sized, piping hot and pretty cheap. As others have pointed out, you pay extra for cheese. Bonus points for being a small business and serving consistently delicious food but the service really struggles sometimes. I am a regular who buys the same sandwich a couple times a week. Last week I came here at 11:50 am hoping to avoid the lunchtime rush. I stood in line for about ten minutes. The week before I arrived around 10:30 one day and the team was packing corporate catering lunches and made me wait ten mins to order when there was nobody in front of me. One other time, the server made my regular order wrong three separate times. I guess it's a stressful job and you don't get a break mentally or physically from 11:30 until after 2pm. The ladies who make the sandwiches are really nice but you can tell they are under pressure. Maybe this place suffers from having too many customers. read more

Came here on a recommendation from a colleague. I had 1/2 turkey sandwich on pumpernickel with cranberry and guac - cause I'm from Cali . The 1/2 sandwich was pretty large, but it was delicious and I was stuffed. Atrium Cafe also offers a nice assortment of chips and beverages. The service was not very good, at least in terms of the woman who made my sandwich. Not sure why she had such a poor disposition that day. However, the friendliness of the two women running the cash register more than compensated for the one server who seemed to have a huge chip on her shoulder Wed 3/16/11. I enjoyed my sandwich, so I will give this place another try. Go for the sandwiches served in fairly quick fashion. Overlook the potentially bad service. read more

I have been working near Atrium Cafe for nearly 3 years and finally decided to give it a shot. I'm very happy that I did! I ordered a turkey & ham sandwich. They literally put half a turkey and half of a ham in between 2 slices of bread! Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but it was a lot! The lettuce, tomatoes, and onions were very fresh and complimented my delicious "manwich." It was a little heavy on the mayo but nothing outrageous. With a small soup and soda, my total was still under 10 bucks! Excellent deal for the amount of food you get. I will definitely be returning to try their chicken salad sandwich! read more

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My go to for lunch when I'm in the mood for a sandwich. I love that you can see the meat being carved right in front of you. Service is good and they're fast even when it's crowded. Portions are super hearty and you can get half sandwiches as well which is often more than enough! The roast beef and turkey are always delicious! read more

Atrium Cafe - Roast beef on wheat with lettuce, tomato, mayo, spicy mustard and provolone!! - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I love this place. I'm a pretty regular visitor during my lunchtime. They have a nice smoothie section. Smoothie's are made with real fruit and vegetables. It's a nutritious boost for the day. The sandwiches are excellent. A nice selection of meats that are cut in front of you, adding that bit of reassurance that you're not eating warehouse manufactured food made out of recycled egg crates or something. There's also a grill to prepare eggs, cheesesteaks, etc. I order the turkey bacon club on multigrain. The toppings are fresh and you get a really nice portion of turkey. You're definitely not going to leave that place hungry, unless you're a masochist and just want to go window shop. The prices are steep and is the only drawback, which is why I can't give this location 5 stars. Otherwise, this cafe is excellent. read more

Atrium Cafe - Turkey bacon club and salt n vinegar chips - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Let's start with the positives: I went for breakfast and the food is made fresh, and the portions are good. The price was standard for my breakfast platter, about $6.00. The staff is also really nice. But, this has got to be the slowest spot I've been to. The ordering process is confusing, which then means getting your food is like solving a complicated math problem. The staff get orders mixed up and serve things ridiculously out of order. Also, the grits have literally no seasoning at all. No salt, no pepper, no butter. The texture is good, but if you get them, be prepared to sprinkle a little taste on em. It's decent for what it is, a small deli at the bottom of an office building. read more

Came for breakfast - pretty good prices overall. I ordered a croissant sandwhich with egg and bacon. It was definitely a hearty meal and all I paid for it was 2.55. Note - When you're making your order, be specific in what you want. Although I had intended to order an egg, cheese, bacon croissant, as was listed on the menu, I simply stated, "Egg croissant with bacon," which was what they made and what I preferred. Another woman behind me requested plain wheat toast, which was again, not an offering on the menu, but what they were able to provide. Pastries looked delicious and fresh and were displayed in the pans they were baked in. Service - quick and cashier friendly. The line looked daunting when I entered the store, but to my surprise, the turnaround was extremely fast. read more

Absolutely love this place! It is perfect for what it is, a nice place to pick up a quick bite. Breakfast has good options with sandwiches, pastries and plenty of fruit which I've found to be really fresh. My favorite is their coffee, which is the best on the block (including the new Starbucks). Lunch is cool but limited..but their meat is the freshest around and portions are huge on their sandwiches. Drinks are a bit pricey as well. Customer service is wonderful and they treat repeat customers very well. Overall I highly recommend! read more

Fantastic little deli - perfect for breakfast and lunch. Everything is made fresh to order and the portion sizes are great. Favorite thing is the iced coffee. Instead of regular ice cubes, they serve their iced coffee with frozen coffee cubes, which keeps the drink from heavy diluting on those hot summer days. Space is tight, which can make it a bit claustrophobic when there is a rush of people. People are friendly, place is clean and it's a great value for the money. read more

Atrium Cafe - The food line and prep area. - Sandwiches Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The food was hot, freshly made and delicious. The workers efficient and friendly. Great breakfast for a great price!

I got their Turkey Sandwich and it is hand-carved Turkey like you wouldn't believe. The turkey's really juicy and the lettuce and tomatoes are as frseh as you could want. Half a sandwich does more than fill me up for lunch. Try their chocolate chip cookie. It's oversized and delicious and the best I've ever had anywhere. Lunch runs me right around $8-$10 here. A little more than I'd want to spend for a sandwich but the quality makes it worthwhile. read more

I mean..it's ok in a pinch. The Foods simply too greasy, and overpriced for what it is. I paid $14 for a grilled cheese and a yogurt.

Atrium cafe is everything you could want in a lunch spot. All of their sandwiches are great, fresh, prices are low and service is quick. As others have noted, even the muffins and cookies--which are made on site--are absolutely delicious--I mean they are so good----rivaling baked goods that you could pick up at a professional bakery. If I had one or two complaints, it would be that my hair and coat always smell like bacon or other fried meat every time I come out of there, so much that sometimes I hesitate to go in if there's a line. The place is just tiny, and I presume there is nowhere for food fumes to go - maybe a better ventilation system would help. Also, the person who appears to be the owner or manager is very nice, but the other staff is sometimes a little rude and cold and they don't handle questions very well. I would expect they could be a bit friendlier at least with the people they see on a regular basis, that's all. read more