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    Daydrift Books & Cafe

    4.6 (32 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

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    DAYDRIFT BOOKS & CAFE ATMOSPHERE

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    Recommended Reviews - Daydrift Books & Cafe

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    raspberry white chocolate matcha muffin
    Daniel Y.

    I went to Daydrift a couple times. The vibes were honestly great. It's one of those places where you feel super comfortable whether you're catching up with a friend or just sitting alone. The space feels open, relaxed, and easy to spend time in. The drinks and food, though, were pretty mediocre. Nothing was bad, but nothing really stood out either. It's not somewhere I'd go specifically for the menu. That said, the ambience really carries itself really well, I'd still recommend checking it out if you're in the area.

    Sugar Bunny Latte
    Heather H.

    I love Daydrict. I picked up this delightful seasonal coffee. It looks sweeter than it was. It was delicious, and it came with TWO Peeps!

    Breakfast Burrito
    Manal C.

    Loved this place!!! The service was amazing and everyone was lovely. I got the honey pistachio latte and the breakfast burrito, both of which were delicious! I plan on going back and trying more things on their menu because everything looked appetizing. The space is really nice and clean. It's a great spot to get work done but I suggest going earlier in the day since it may be crowded. Taking the metro or walking is probably ideal since parking can be a bit tricky in the crystal city area. Highly recommend!!

    Delicious Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
    Angelina C.

    The Greek lemon chicken soup & cold brew mocha smoothie!!! The soup was made from fresh ingredients and was delicious. The fresh dill (& I think I tasted basil?) brought the soup to the next level. The smoothie was also delicious. I was so glad I stopped in here after arriving from the airport.

    Ashley G.

    I was so sad when Mah Ze Dar closed, but I think this little book shop/coffee shop has been a great job filling the space. It's often crowded so maybe not a great place to sit and do work, but it is very bright and spacious and pleasant feeling to sit in, a great place for a coffee and conversation.

    French vanilla latte and open faced ricotta toast
    Quinncee P.

    This is a bright little cafe with a focus on books: you can bring books for donation or come and read what's on the shelf. It would be a comfortable place to get some work done. I had a latte and a ricotta/butternut squash toast with mushrooms on top. They were both delicious. I will say the toast was messy to eat due to the sheer amount of spread compared to bread. All in all it's a nice cafe with good offerings.

    Turkey club
    Sydney G.

    Ok how did I miss the memo that this was here?! I'm at this Alamo all the time and I completely missed it. I'm so glad my friend suggested that we meet here to coworker for a bit so that I could check it out. I got one of their specialty lattes around Valentine's Day, the chocolate covered strawberry iced latte and it was amazing. Definitely the best one that I've had of that kind. For lunch, I got the turkey club at the recommendation of an employee who was very helpful since I was very indecisive. It was very tasty although a bit messy. The Wi-Fi works great. The vibes are immaculate and the staff is super friendly so I can definitely come back to you again.

    matcha latte and pistachio latte
    Khoa P.

    Daydrift Cafe tl;dr: A cute and cozy cafe that combines a delicious food and drink offerings with a bookstore. Daydrift Cafe is a newer cafe in Arlington that is really two stores in one: it's a bookstore and a cafe! It's like having a combination Taco Bell and Pizza Hut--you have two of your favorites in one convenient spot. When you step into this combo bookstore/cafe, you'll see all of the book decor and shelves of books to purchase. I stopped by to try a few of their drinks and food. What I ordered: -Matcha Latte -- Well mixed! They had soy as a non-dairy milk. -Pistachio Honey Latte -- Pistachio wasn't overwhelming and it was just the right amount of sweetness -Silky Egg Breakfast Sandwich -- The fluffiest egg I've ever had on a breakfast sandwich! You can also add bacon Vibes: Lots of natural light, and enough places to sit and meet up with friends. Parking: There is a nearby garage next to Whole Foods. The Whole Foods will also validate even without a purchase for up to 60 minutes.

    Hannah H.

    Welcome to Crystal City, Daydrift! This now bookstore and cafe took over the long emptied space of Mah-Ze-Dahr, and their menu offers andwiches, bowls, soups, open-faced sandwiches, pastries, and coffee/smoothies! Try their coffee and eats, while you peruse their great selection of books. The Silky Egg Sandwich (prepared with egg custard, cheddar, and dijonnaise in a sesame-poppy seed potato bun) and the Soba Noodle bowl (prepared with chilled soba, edamame, shiitake, mango, radish, carrot, cashew, carrot, cilantro & soy egg, dressed in a rice wine tahini dressing and topped with sesame seed sprinkles) are good go-to orders! The Lavender and the Chai Latte were well-made! Staff and service were very friendly! They have great seating options, and there were also many who were doing some studying/remote work. The place does get a bit loud, though. I loved their little gift section, specifically the greeting cards and the basket full of strawberries magnet! Easily accessible from the Metro as well as garage parking is available in the area. +pastries +decent lattes +friendly staff and service

    Mercelis B.

    Absolutely love the space and ambiance. A bookshop + cafe is one of my happy places and they curated this so well. The drinks are reasonably priced though I feel the food is overpriced, but everything was good so at least it is quality. The coffee cake muffin was probably the best thing we tasted. Will definitely come back here repeatedly.

    Matthew F.

    This quaint little book café on Crystal Drive has been a wonderful community third space since it opened. Solid coffee drinks, fresh baked goods, books for sale and a delightful reading/dining room. The staff has been very amiable and cordial every visit. Some reviewers keep saying it's little pricey, but it's comparable compared to the rest of the area, which is quite pricey as a whole, so not a demerit for me. Overall, a wonderful small business to support; would spend my time and money here anyday over Starbucks.

    Alia B.

    ***REVIEW FOR LATTE ONLY*** Stopped by after seeing that this place recently opened and decided to try their vanilla bean latte. The flavor was nice, and I loved that they use their own in-house vanilla syrup as it adds a fresh, homemade touch. That said, the latte itself was definitely on the lighter side. I'm usually more of a bold, robust latte girl, and this one leaned more toward the "sweet milk" end of the spectrum. Still tasty and smooth, just not strong enough for my usual preference. If you enjoy a lighter, milkier latte with subtle sweetness, you'll probably love it. But if you're after something with a little more punch, you might want to try a different roast or drink here.

    Tuna salad sandwich, turkey club, breakfast burrito, and greek lemon chicken soup
    Aleena M.

    Absolutely loved this cozy cafe/book store space. I visited to co-work amongst my boss and other co-workers and loved it. Great space to get work done and def will be back :)

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    Mary F.

    We appreciate the review, Tori!

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    Mary F.

    Thanks, Ashley! We sent you a message to your inbox.

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    Thanks, Aleena! We sent you a private message, so check your inbox.

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    Thanks for the 5 stars, Siddhe!

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    5 months ago

    Excellent atmosphere, a curated book selection, and the best flat whites I've ever had -- we're lucky to have Daydrift in the neighborhood!

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    Ask the Community - Daydrift Books & Cafe

    Review Highlights - Daydrift Books & Cafe

    This quaint little book café on Crystal Drive has been a wonderful community third space since it opened.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Al-Hikma Bookstore

    Al-Hikma Bookstore

    (8 reviews)

    $$

    After asking too many questions about exactly which Lebanese authors were available at his…read morebookstore, the owner Dhiya came out from behind his desk and gave me my very own tour of the the bookshop. Here is Western writing about the Middle East, here is Egyptian history, here is dramaturgy and poetry arranged by country. I have traveled in many countries in the Middle East and am always on the hunt for modern Arabic fiction, and the state of Arabic bookstores in general is Abysmal. Dusty bookstores in the Arab world are full of nothing but religious tracts and outdated translations of English self-help books. Al-Hikma is a magnificent collection of every single type of Arabic writing, both religious and profane. You can find every single thing under the sun, far better than the majority of bookstores you would find in an Arabic speaking country. And rather than the few online bookstores available, you have that truly unique and wonderful human experience of browsing shelves and shelves of Arabic titles without having to know exactly what you are looking for. Located in an unassuming stripmall outside of Washington D.C., Al-Hikma probably does more to bridge the gulf of ignorance between inside-the-beltway Middle East expertise, and the true heritage of Arabic thought better than the State Department and the C.I.A. combined. Everytime I visit DC I try to make it to this palatial collection of Arabic writing. On my personal tour, Dhiya told me that he named his bookstore after the great library in Abbasid Baghdad. His bookstore is certainly a worthy inheritor of the namesake.

    After wandering in and hearing the owner telling a story to another women in the shop, he sat us…read moredown for 2 hours to talk about philosophy. He gave us tea and cookies and a free pen, and great recommendations for books. Although ramblely, his kindness was truly touching. He explained that he has the first Arabic book store in dc, and he is incredibly passionate about free will and the right to literature. The store felt magical and peaceful , and I will cherish the few hours I spent there

    Lost City Books

    Lost City Books

    (48 reviews)

    Adams Morgan

    Great selection and wonderful vibes. The best part all of the staff recommended books throughout…read morethe store. The reviews are thorough and helpful and makes you feel lol they care.

    I stopped by Lost City Books with a friend yesterday, when we spent a beautiful spring Sunday…read moremorning on a walk and mini bakery crawl through Adams Morgan. We both love to read and love bookshops. I love big bookshops, little bookshops, romance bookshops... Lost City Books was a wonderful surprise and immediately became one of my favorite bookshops in DC. Why? It isn't huge, but it makes such good use of its space that I found it to be one of the best stocked independent bookstores I've visited in a long while. I always try to support local independent bookstores when I can, and some of them are tiny (if your neighborhood bookstore is one of the tiny ones, remember they'll probably place orders for you if you want/need something they don't have in stock). But - at the risk of sounding silly - we got lost in time at Lost City Books. We meant to just pop in and quickly pick something to take home. But we wandered through their fiction section and staff picks, pointing out books to each other we loved or have been meaning to read and all of a sudden a half hour had passed and we only really explored one tiny section of the shop. We walked out with four books between us, too. The customer service was friendly to boot. Just a great independent bookshop and another reason to love Adams Morgan.

    Daydrift Books & Cafe - cafes - Updated May 2026

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