I went to Café 8 for lunch with a friend on 1/17/16. I hadn't been to Café 8 for a couple of years. However, I remembered it (from when I lived closer to Barracks Row) being a good choice when all the restaurants on Barracks Row have ridiculous long waits (our originally plan was to go Belga Café but even on a snowy day, on a 3 day weekend there was a 30 minute wait). I never felt rushed. I was able to enjoy a relaxed a lunch with my friend. The service was good. I never felt ignored. The ambiance of Café 8 is very nice. It feels like they're embracing the sprit of their cuisine without going overboard (e.g. a curtain of beads when you have to walk thru on your way to the restrooms). During nicer weather, Café 8 has a small outside patio in the back of the restaurant. Café 8 menu is very simple (i.e. dips, pidas, omelets, lamb). I recommended the sample platter with the dips. It is easy to find something you like in terms of dips Café 8 offers. The dips include baba ganoush, olive spreads, hummus. In a nutshell, if you're craving a low key atmosphere (and like Middle Eastern cuisine) consider Café 8. read more

Cafe 8 - Great location. - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I love the set up! The bar and restaurant are split up into sections and it's very elegant! They have a wide variety of Mediterranean food. I wasn't that hungry so I just bought Labneh and it was delicious! I like their hookah it's very well made. Not only that they put up these Middle Eastern styled covers so the coal or ashes don't blow away or fall off. The servers are very helpful and attentive. They always pour you some more water when your cup isn't full. Also they have free WiFi and an awesome American playlist! I heard R&B among other styles and they played the best throwbacks! If you're in the mood for great food and drink or just hookah come here! It's in the heart of Eastern Market and you can see the U.S. Capitol from the outside of the place. They close at 11 it's a perfect spot to go to in the early or late afternoon as well as early evening! read more

I've been here time and time again and never regret it. The hookah at Cafe 8 is always clean, crisp and very tasty. The atmosphere is especially good and the staff is really helpful and attentive. I've stayed long after closing time and still had a good time, the staff even enjoyed the extra company. Will continue coming here, the food is really good as well! read more

A bunch of us came on a Sunday afternoon after eating across the street at Ted's Bulletin. I was not impressed with the hookah at all. I go to so many hookah spots in the DC area and this was probably a 4 on a scale of 1-10. It has no flavor or smoothness. I can't speak on their food because I didn't order anything besides the hookah. However the customer service is very friendly and the ambiance/decor is very nice. read more

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It was ok. Went on a Saturday around 7-8 pm, not crowded but folks were coming in. The drinks were average. I didn't eat anything. The music was cool, hip hop and R&B. Ok little hole in the wall read more

Got food delivered from here. We ordered a shawarma platter and some falafel. The falafel was ok, but it seriously looked like dog poop. What the hell. The chicken shawarma was ok, tasted fine. But it came with a side of rice and veggies that looked like they came from a microwave bag. These definitely came from a microwave bag. Hilarious looking veggies. It was edible, but I would never get food from here again. read more

Been a fan since opening! Great neighborhood spot, as the food is tasty, choices are great, and prices seem to stay low. Bar is huge with nice flat screen action - just need more action on this side...no real great happy hour or crowd. Great outdoor dining on sidewalk, and in back garden area, which is a gem and rare on The Hill. I love the pizzas, the pides, and the kabobs. Brunch is now served and addictive! read more

Cafe 8 - The Bar - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Came here on a Saturday night for hookah. The place itself wasn't the cleanest but the staff were nice, music was great, and hookah was good. read more

Cafe 8 - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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My friend has been talking about this for a while and I finally had the chance to try it out. My puppy and I had a long walk and I was starving so I decided to stop here since their outside seating is dog friendly. (I've been researching restaurants with dog friendly places.). I sat down outside and it took a while for someone to greet me and take my order. I did go in to ask if I can sit outside but there was no host at the time. I did order a martini since it was $5 martinis all day long! (Brought back so many memories from UGA). The martini was fantastic and refreshing after a hot walk. For food, I can't remember exactly what I ordered. The kofte sandwich sounds familiar and it didn't disappoint. Service was pretty awesome since he made sure that my dog had plenty enough water to drink. read more

Cafe 8 - Kofte? - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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I have been here about 4 times already before and after COVID-19. They have done an excellent job moving the tables 6ft from one another. There are no appointments it's first come first served so it's best to call in advance to see if there are any tables currently open. Most folks come in the evening. This is a cool spot. Real chill especially if you want to stop in for a drink before calling it a night. read more

Cool vibe for hookah. Reasonable prices: $7 beer and $30 hookah. The server was on point with refilling the coals. Only thing with this area is parking. It's hard to get over here but the decor and crowd were nice. read more

Can't speak on the food here, but I'll be back to try it out! Met a friend here for drinks and hookah on a rainy Friday and it was a very chill, laid back atmosphere. He lives closeby and this is his go-to, neighborhood hang out. At the time, it wasn't overly packed and the bartender, Mark (I think), was very attentive and down to earth. If you're looking for good vibes, reasonably priced drinks and hookah, I definitely recommend this place! read more

If you like to try different t food come here very relaxed atmosphere and the hookahs while you eat are very good.. Food is great nice portion for what you pay for. Drinks are STRONG I couldn't finish mines I had to drive home. Price range lowest meal is $7 which are sandwiches entrées top at $17 Overall good place read more

Cafe 8 - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

My mom lived in Turkey, and says overall there is authenticity in the foods and traditional drinks offered. She's able to practice her Turkish, have a great hookah, and get a bite all in one place. Service is awesome and they have great HH deals. The bread is home made and used for a variety of the recipes, which are really tasty and fun to try. Check them out ! read more

I was completely happy with both the service and food here. The staff was very attentive. My waitress was able to recommend a wine which I always appreciate. I was there at lunch time and I was quickly seated, complimentary bread was brought to the table, and my order was taken. The food was delicious. I was in and out quickly, but never felt rushed. As I was leaving the waitress who had cooed at my baby the whole time actually gave her a little stuffed toy which I thought was super sweet! There are several things I want to try on the menu. They can count on me returning! read more

Cafe 8 - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The food was good. The only downfall was that I couldn't smoke the hookah, it had mold spores inside. He even changed it out, the results were still the same. Bae liked her lamb shank. I had the avocado salad, I had to get a side of spinach and feta to complete it. It just came with a sliced up avocado , cucumbers and red onions. Needless to say this maybe out first and only time experiencing Cafe 8. read more

Cafe 8 - Moldy hookahs ! AH NO NO - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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I LOVE Cafe 8! Their food is great and sosososososososo FRESH. Great portions. They have outdoor seating for the warm months, and a cozy fireplace area for the colder months. They also have a bar and intimate seating, the walls break up each section giving u a different experience in each section of the building. If you are into Hookah, they have that too. read more

Go to spot for hookah and drinks. Try the Turkish breakfast. For best service ask for ozar the guy from turkey. He is very friendly, attentive and will give u the best suggestions. read more

Very nice food, and the iskender was just perfect!! For me, one of the best Mediterranean places in DC. Try the Baklava with a cup of Turkish coffee too.. read more

Cafe 8 - The iskender - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I CAN ONLY VOUCHE FOR HAPPY HOUR FOOD! Meaning the pizza lol and the drinks. Those where amazing and the hookah was great. The service and people are wonderful! The only issue which is a huge deal for ME is they have no WiFi and a lot of people who hookah usually still have to do emails and run businesses still and that's imperative for ME. I wouldn't let that be a factor for me coming back but this is an absolute first for ME and that's the only reason why I gave them 3 stars instead of 4. And this is compared to the other 4 hookah bars I've visited in DC so I am sorry if I'm being harsh, a stickler or any other term to water down the fact that is a great place But other than that I had a great time and I will be coming back. read more

The hookah was nice, but the food and service were HORRIBLE! I ordered a margherita pizza and got a big plate of cheese and grease! The waiter refused to remove the pizza from my bill because I wouldn't taste the pizza. I asked for wings and those were a big let down as well. 90% breaded and 10% meat. The wings were the size of a baby's hand. I will never go to Cafe 8 again! read more

Cafe 8 - This is suppose to be a margherita pizza! - Mediterranean Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I will admit, it been a very long time since I last eaten here, but boy has the food gone down hill. My kafta had no flavor that I ate only about half and left hungry. Also I did not realize this place turned in to a hookah bar, which is all fine, but they seated us in a section in the back where no one else was sitting. At first I thought this was good, since we be away from the hookah, but then 30 mins later they turned the bar attached to this area in a night club with music blaring and strobe lights. To have a conversation I had to yell to be heard and that the lights kept flashing in my eyes. I will say the redeeming part of the whole experience was the waiter. He was great and the right level of attentiveness. read more

I stopped in looking to kill some time before my flight and I was certainly rewarded. They treated me like a princess - pulling up a chair for me to put up my feet; getting my really weird order perfect; and changing out my hookah head when I just didn't care for the first flavor. The food was also amazing. I haven't had bread that good in decades. Thanks guys! read more

Cafe 8 was absolutely delicious with great service and a nice atmosphere. The outside seating is nice, but my boyfriend and I sat inside near the fireplace and it was very cozy. We ordered the falafel appetizer and it was very good, but definitely not necessary since it left us unable to finish our delicious entrees (yay for leftovers though). He ordered the mixed kabob and loved it all. I ordered the baby spinach salad and the chicken pides - both of which were very tasty! We will definitely be making this one of our frequent places to eat when coming to Eastern Market on the weekend. I have no idea how this place does not have more stars than it does because it was a great experience all around! Update: definitely order the Pastirma pides... with egg! It is to die for! /drool read more

Food is really good. Loooove the lamb sandwich! Prices are not bad and the portions are good but not too big. Their bread is also fantastic. Service is passable, not spectacular, but they get your order right and you don't feel neglected. read more

2.50 stars. If I was rating Cafe 8 simply based on its ability to feed one of my drunken houseguests (the infamous Viper) a plethora of bloody marys during our interminable wait for food, it would be a marked success. On all other grounds, however, it simply cannot compete with the Eastern Market brunch stalwarts (Montmartre, Belga Cafe, and newcomer Cava Mezze). The menu here is interesting; it has a decided Turkish feel to it. The pide options looked great, but I went with the house omelette (a sausage filled disaster supposedly sporting truffle oil). I'd avoid it on a return visit and go with the pide. One of my fellow brunchers seemed to enjoy it. Although I had great company, the service here completely lost track of time. We were at brunch for over 2 hours, and we only ordered entrees. One of our guests from Louisiana was supposed to go a baseball game; she got there midway through the 5th inning. Not good. In my recent review of Montmartre, I praised the restaurant for their ability to transcend artificial time restraints by not rushing their patrons through their dining experience. I understand that part of the atmosphere that Cafe 8 might be trying to create is to allow their guests to have a similar experience, but there is a fine line between granting your guests freedom and simply taking them for granted. Unfortunately, we felt that we were placed in the latter category. I'm not saying I would not come back to Cafe 8. I think I ordered wrong (again, the pides looked great), and we did have a group of six people. Next time, however, I'm going to make sure I have an extensive amount of time to spare just in case of a repeat incident. read more

I can't believe I haven't rated this place yet! Cafe 8 is, hands down, my favorite restaurant in DC. They do the food right, for a good price, and for a great atmosphere to match. I've been here with large groups, with patrons my age and my parents' age (well, actually...my parents), and with my guy...oh, and for take-out, too! Yes, I'm obsessed. Cafe 8 promotes itself as being Mediterranean, but it is really Turkish. And, having lived in Turkey, I think I can aptly critique Turkish cuisine. Wouldn't you agree? :) The drinks - you can't go wrong. Ask your waiter or waitress for their wine recommendations. When my dad came here, he was SO impressed with the waitress' recommendation that he had her write down the bottle info and then went and tracked it down at a store. (totally blanking on what kind it was, but I know it was something he'd never had anywhere before, or heard of, for that matter). The food is all amazing. If you are with a big group, get a large platter of the appetizers, including great hummus, sarma (stuffed grape leaves - dolmadakia in Greek, same dish), falafel, beyaz peynir (white Turkish cheese)...etc etc. They have regular pizzas but go for the Turkish pides instead! My faaaaavorite is lahmacun - minced lamb on a thin round flatbread, served hot, and best eaten with lemon spritzed over it and with salad wrapped inside. It's a little pricey for what I'm used to back home, but I guess its a bit of a novelty around here. The lamb dishes are great, too - the meat is well seasoned and succulent. I'm drooling just thinking about it. One time I was here - with my parents - we opted not to get dessert, and guess what! The waitress brought us over complimentary baklava anyway! Big ups for that - she secured a faithful patron in me. read more

This was my second time here and the food is fresh, authentic, delicious and reasonably priced. I give the food and service five stars. Cafe 8 is a good place to go when you want to be able to have a conversation with your partner. The restaurant is usually not busy and the tables are not crammed together. BUT the hookah bar attracts a party crowd and both times that I have been here there has been a noisy birthday party, or friends gathering. The restaurant has two rooms, side by side and the party crowd is usually in the second side room. Note: My third time at the restaurant was a real disappointment. The restaurant was crowded, noisy, service was terrible, hooka smoking at an adjoining table and food was not as fresh. I no longer recommend and will not return. read more

A 20 minute wait for a takeout falafel sandwich AND it was terrible? No sir. The wait was ridiculous and the falafel looked like two overcooked hamburger patties on a pita. While it didn't taste as bad as it looked, it certainly wasn't tasty. This was my first and last visit for sure. read more

Poor service. Pretty ambience. Mediocre falafel. Eggplant pide was not so great. Overpriced drinks - they do have absinthe. A small glass, classically prepared, is $10! Oh, and the restrooms are behind the gold beaded curtains. Overall, I would not recommend. Zorba's (Dupont Cir - 20th/Q) has the best falafel in DC, in my humble opinion. read more

Cafe 8 is currently my favorite hookah bar in DC-- strong hookah, great drinks, and delicious food. So basically, everything you need in life in one place. The food here is shockingly good for a hookah bar. I usually get hummus and the chicken kabob. The hummus is delicious and has a great flavor and conistency. It comes with soft, warm turkish bread and some olive oil with zatar on the side. I also had the red pepper dip once and it was good too. The chicken kabob is tasty-- cooked and flavored well. My only issue with it is that sometimes a few pieces of the meat are weirdly tough like there's a tendon or something running through them, but aside from that it's good food. The hookah here is very good. Smooth, strong, and the flavor lasts through several coals. They put one of those gladiator hookah helmet things on them (I'm embarassed to admit that I have no idea what they're actually called), so it lasts a bit longer than other places. They're also generous with coals and come by with new ones frequently. I usually get a refill most places, but I've never had to at Cafe 8. The hookah is a little more expensive than some other places: $20 for regular, $22 for starbuzz, but it's worth it given that I don't have to pay like $12 for a refill. You save money, overall, depending on how much you want to smoke. The cocktails are tasty and strong. The alcohol and the hookah together defintely have mutually enhancing effects, so I always leave here happy. Service is also super friendly and generally attentive. You can tell that the staff here care about their patrons and want them to be happy. All in all, a great place! read more

Very cute. Very calm atmosphere. The decor was interesting and the hookah was satisfying. Neither one of us were knowledgeable on the culture of the food so we got a sampler platter and I liked most of everything I tried. The drinks... Fa get about it! I got a coconut mint mojito... And then I got a coconut mint mojito..... And then I got.... A coconut mint mojito!! After I tried that first one I didn't want anything else it was sssoooooo good! The prices are kind of pricey and I wish they would do more to update their furniture since they do serve hookah and accidents happen.. I saw burn marks everywhere. That's the only deterrent because it should be a place to celebrate special occasions and the burnt tables and chair kind of takes away from the fancy of it all. I'd go again definitely. read more

Hole in the wall spot honesty. Definitely good time and turn up. Service could be a little better far as the bartenders. The staff working the floor was great. I only order wings and fries from here. Fried food wings eh.. taste like hot wings out the frozen section warmed up. Also don't carry Red Bull and Remy read more

My boyfriend met me for lunch the other day and we ordered the hummus and a pizza. The hummus was pretty tasty and came with this big thick pita bread that reminded me more of a breadstick than pita. Our pizza had six toppings (chopped tuna, ground tuna, mushrooms, corn, black olives, and green olives). Instead of these toppings being spread out on the entire pizza each slice was just covered in one of the toppings. We tried to spread them around but the cheese just turned it into a gloppy mess. I think it still might have been a good pizza but they put so many toppings on it that the center of the pizza didn't cook all the way through. I would have forgiven that if the toppings had been fresh but they were all canned. Canned mushrooms are blasphemous to me. The service was...not fantastic. I don't think anyone working that day really spoke English since we had a hard time understanding each other. My boyfriend had to ask for a water refill three times before someone came over to refill it. I think we would have been more understanding if the restaurant was busy but there were only two other tables dining while we were there. Based on all the other reviews about the stellar service perhaps we just had a fluke experience. With the meh service and the canned toppings I really want to lean more towards a two star review since I don't think I'd ever want to come back. But since the hummus was good and hopefully the bad service was just a one time occurance I'll bump them up to three. I would however strongly recommend Cava down the street over Cafe 8. read more

Ok, let's talk hummus. We love it, and this place has THE BEST. Try the white bean one, it is deliciously creamy. And the bread is fresh and warm. I had the red sangria, and be careful, the stuff is strong. We then had the pides, which were fantastic. Mmm... goat cheese, lamb, pine nuts.... I have to stop, I'm making myself hungry. Afterwards, we had the rice pudding, which apparently is made from scratch by the chef's wife. If they have it, definitely get it, since it's apparently not normally on the menu. Yes, I'm biased, since my cousin works here, but it's seriously awesome! read more

The service was sluggish -- but our rather ambivalent group of nine certainly didn't help matters due to our 1) relocation and 2) indecisiveness. The food is Mediterranean with a Turkish bent, but I must say that it's a tad heavy for my tastes. The flavours are good, but somehow the overall effect left me near torpid for hours. Enjoy the Turkish coffees and Teas, with the Pidehs... :) read more

My friend and I ended up here after walking out of Cava because they kept us waiting for more than 20 minutes, despite us having a reservation. At Cafe 8, we were seated right away, had excellent service and it was less expensive than Cava. Plus it was much more relaxing because the noise level wasn't ridiculously loud, like it is at many other places in the area. Our waiter was wonderful, friendly and helpful, and the food arrived very quickly. I started with the Cava cocktail (sweet and delicious - I could have had many, many more) and the hummus, which was creamy and flavorful. I then had the falafel and spanakopita - both were terrific and the portion sizes are pretty generous for small plates. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and when the bill came, I was pleasantly surprised that my share - drink, tax and tip included - was only $30. This place is definitely a find in an area where restaurants tend to be overcrowded and overhyped. read more

My feelings for this place run the scale. All over the place. Walking in, I loved the decor. Very classy. Our reservation was accidentally one less than our party, so they were very nice and accommodating and set us up another table. Downside was that the table was something they had pulled together in the bar area, which was a little tight and where we did not have the best service. Ironically, the bar area was quieter than the restaurant side, which was pretty loud. Being that we were in the bar area, the bartender who was providing drinks to the whole restaurant was pulling double duty and also waiting on our table. We ordered drinks right away, the bartender eager to get things going. We waited... and waited... and waited. No drinks. About 15-20 minutes later a different server came out and we started the process again. He recommended we opt for the appetizer sampler. It was decent, but I think we wished we had opted for the few specific appetizers we were wanting as the portion sizes of each option was pretty small. Their bread was fantastic and I also really liked their hummus. I had looked at their website (along with the reviews, of course, here on Yelp) and it sounded like the pides were the way to go. I'd seen online their cheesy goodness, and I wasn't disappointed in person. I went with the Caf 8, which consisted of ground lamb, spinach, Feta, tomatoes and pine nuts. I rarely eat lamb, but this was just perfect. The spices and accents (spinach, tomatoes, nuts) brought out the flavor of the lamb. I'm not to proud to say I ate every last bite. So overall... ehhh service, fair ambiance, good food. You decide what that equates out to you. read more

Second time dining in here. First time service was friendlier than this. So let me briefly tell you whats check whats yuck about this place. Blue mist & wildberry mist hookahs are check. Turkish pizza's (Pide) are check. Patio is really good check. You can easily smoke pretty much everything *cigarettes thats a check for me. Inside was hot i think their AC is not working, AC is a must for people dining inside. Yuck. We ordered coke but it was flat. Yuck. Waiter told us that he just opened a new liter bottle of coke, but it was watery. Maybe thats right, maybe coke wasnt just cold. Anyways, he understood and changed it with sprite. However same story, i felt like drinking water. Yuck. Anyways i didnot make a big deal of it. We didnot even asked them to take it out from our check. They should either get a soda machine or serve cans for sodas. Service was yuck. I cant stop wondering, having a really really cool place right on 8 St NE where there are many restaurants, where there are good customers, where there is business how can you not improve your service. All we need is a smiling face, communication, attention and make us feel that we are wanted there as per most of the businesses require this. Anyways hopefully this would go to management, and passed to staff in order to make this Turkish cuisine better. PS: They didn't have Turkish Tea. Yuck. Even though i really enjoyed sitting in their patio i will have to give 2 stars. read more

If you don't mind waiting forever and having an OK meal, this is probably the best place for you. I'm not sure if my friend and I visited on an off day, but when clustered on an avenue with so many delicious options, I feel like Cafe 8 failed to meet expectations. Although surprising large on the inside, my friend and I were otherwise left unimpressed. I've read in various articles about what is considered proper dining out etiquette, like, don't order water and then get pissy when it's not refilled fast enough OR don't bring your outside food and/or beverage when you dine out. I should have done both here. My friend bitched and moaned through the entire hour and change that we sat here, so I at least had something to distract me from the hunger pangs. The food was entirely unmemorable, whereas the fact that 4 different people were involved in the placing and removing of table items at entirely too slow a pace was. My coworker told me that the place was good. Actually a couple of coworkers did. I will not be listening to their food recommendations anymore. I'm not sure how this place is busy. Oh, I know, it's because people can't eat and leave; they're held hostage. read more