This is a small cafe with excellent light food. Staff is super friendly and my coffee was refilled with a smile. I had the Rueben on marble rye, loved it and the wife's tuna salad sandwich hit the spot for her. I'm thinking the bad reviewers are based on thinking this is a full service restaurant. Although inside dining is limited the is seating under the tent. We enjoyed our lunch and recommend it. read more

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I don't know why this cafe doesn't have better reviews. I have frequented many museum cafes ans this is really one of the better ones. Inside was lovely , food was delicious, and really not a bad value for the portions. Service was a tad on the slow side, but honestly gave me time to sit and enjoy. I will for sure be back. read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - Yummy seasonal soup a cider! - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

High tea at Hillwood is such a treat! They have a great selection of teas and currently are offering a "Parisian tea" with fun assorted finger foods and pastries. My favorite was the raspberry scone with cherry jelly. I also ordered a mushroom sandwich with a side salad which was excellent. Our waiter was very attentive and accommodating. Note that yea reservations must be for a party of 4 or more and you will be charged within 72 hours if anyone in your party cannot attend. read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - Parisian high tea - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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A very nice cafe inside the museum. We booked tea for 10 and was catered to by our waitress with continuous water refills and tea. It came with small bites .... The beautiful flowers throughout the gardens were beautiful. read more

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I was skeptical of the place when I got there based on the stars in reviews I saw, however their menu has both gluten free and vegetarian options that ended up having amazing flavor and presentation. While it did seem to take a bit longer than hoped for the delicacies were well worth waiting for. I would go back to the cafe in a heartbeat... even if it was just for the cafe. read more

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Delicious meal and excellent service. The place was hopping on cherry blossom weekend and the staff was still attentive and helpful. Loved the atmosphere, food and service and so did my husband and our young adult daughter. read more

The afternoon tea is an utter bummer. 5 small pieces of food for USD 40 (plus tip and tax) and a small jug of tea per person. Again, there is no refill for the food. Ridiculous. We felt ripped-off. No atmosphere either: it is a small cafeteria, contrasting with the state's beauty surrounding the restaurant. The service is bland and uncaring, like machines, Skip it. read more

OK food quality and quantity for a simple sit-down service cafe in a museum, but it is clearly overpriced which left a bad taste in our mouths, sadly (lunch for two was over $45; just 2 simple salads and tea!). The setting is fine, though the white tent was unsightly. It seemed permanent for no reason. We had no choice as we were starving. This is a very isolated area. Even worse, the bread basket was extra! Usually a cafe at this price range would offer you for free some bread and butter as you sit down. Their plates and presentation did not add any add-on value to their meals. Nothing fancy. Very simple no frills (small white plates for example) offerings. That made their price gauging even more evident. Service was kind of OK, though not top notch. read more

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A lunch for two on Friday ( April1). The cafe just re-opened after the winter. New seasonal menu. Three interesting salads with an option to add chicken or salmon, two main entrees: polenta and grilled salmon, two soups - soup of the day ( on Friday it was tomato bisque) and borscht ( I assume inspired by Ukrainian cuisine). I love Ukrainian borscht and order this one to try. Absolutely terrible ( zero stars out of five), it is a joke. Tastes like puréed boiled beet roots with a drop of cream on top. No taste or flavors, just purred boiled beets. Insult to Ukraine. Salad with goat cheese and walnuts was very good , generous portion, interesting and tasty strawberry vinaigrette dressing ( 5 stars for salad) . Smoked salmon (main course) was good but with very wild rice - more of a decor than food so order a salad to go with it if you are hungry ( 3.5 stars for salmon). Smoked salmon toast from appetizers menu was quite good (4 stars). Good solid service ( 4 stars). Overall solid 3.5 stars . It is a better lunch option during the visit to Hillwood than a take out outdoor kiosk that serves terrible cold wraps read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - Borscht - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Food was very disappointing! I ordered the Polenta and shrimp. What I got was grits and the food was not hot. My friend ordered the Chesapeake fish, also disappointing. A can of corn with a not very tasty fish. Also not hot. The service, however, was impeccable. And the ambience was very good. read more

First off, the mansion and gardens are very nice and worth a visit but the cafe is not. Second, I am a vegetarian who has a dairy intolerance so no meat or dairy is preferred. Things have improved over the years with respect to vegetarian/vegan selections. Not to at this place. We opted for a sit-down experience under their large tent, which was pleasant. My companion got her usual and enjoyed her chicken salad on a croissant. I ordered the portobello melt and was served a sad sack of a sandwich! I naively envisioned an actual portobello mushroom cap or half of one. I was served the most meager portion of diced mushrooms on one slice of bread. Guessing there was less that 2 ounces of mushroom on my plate! I barely tasted the mushroom at all. It came with a side salad that consisted of Spring greens and three slices of radish I could have read the menu through. Not a cucumber slice, cherry tomato half, or scallion anywhere! There was a flavorless vinaigrette on it. Such a disappointment for $15-16. If the scanty portions are the result of cost-cutting I would prefer to pay a higher price than order a portobello mushroom sandwich with virtually none of the star ingredient on my plate! (No sneaky fees here, but feel the same way-just raise the price of menu items and eschew the subterfuge!) There were a lot of hamburgers being served to the guests around us and it was really a huge difference in the portion size compared to mine. (They did have an Impossible/Beyond Burger on the menu, but prefer less processed food.) The high spot was the service. Our server was personable and efficient but I won't return unless it's for a coffee. read more

***2.5 stars*** Every so often, I like to treat myself to formal afternoon/high tea with friends. It's always a splurge and I can never justify the cost based on food alone. The experience is really centered around the atmosphere and service above all else. At $20 for the Royal Tea, the price was moderate but my expectations were still very high. Hillwood Estate is so luxurious and opulent, I was expecting at least a shred of it to carry over to the tea service but it did not. The cafe's decor is plain and modest and the chairs are not conducive to sitting in for 2-3 hours while you lounge, sip tea, enjoy treats and chat with friends. I went with the peach black tea. It didn't taste like it was flavored at all so in retrospect, they may have given me English breakfast by mistake. The best part of this tea which made the $20 seem that much more of a deal is that it comes with a glass of champagne, chardonnay or sherry. The champagne yesterday was Cook's and it was great. However, the cafe ran out of champagne flutes so we had to drink out of wine glasses. Yeah, seriously. A basic staple of high tea is the three-tiered plate presentation and shared with the group. Everything here came together on one plate for each individual. There was no presentation - in the center were grapes surrounded by a tarragon chicken salad on a croissant, two shortbread cookies, a strawberry, lemon tart and raspberry cake. We did not receive fresh baked mini scones, or orange marmalade and devonshire cream as advertised in the menu. Scones, marmalade and devonshire cream is another staple of tea that they totally passed over. The food and treats were ordinary and edible. There were no petits fours. You can't just serve tea, cookies and some fruit and call it afternoon tea. The waitstaff was sufficient for cafe service but it was by no means the impeccable service characteristic of tea salons. I'm glad that I had such a great time touring the estate (http://www.yelp.com/biz/hillwood-museum-and-gardens-washington#hrid:gwhEFR6vXzh8RugJh2-UoA) since you can't get access to the cafe without paying the additional $12 admission to the estate. I would have been livid if I had just come for a disappointing tea service that cost $32. Come to Hillwood, skip the tea. read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - Brown Sugar Rock Candy - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Eeeehhhh, I can't say anyone should find themselves at Hillwood Cafe unless they're spending an afternoon at the Estate and didn't think to pack a lunch. They do a decent job of writing a menu heavy with Russian treats, but most everything can be reproduced by hitting up the "International" isle at your local mega mart. I thoroughly enjoyed the borsch, although my recent obsession with beets and everything made with them is more to blame than the dish itself. All the other items were forgettable and in some cases, barely even warm. Bonus points for serving Baltika beer. The service was extremely pleasant, but even slower. I think there were 2-3 servers for no more than a dozen tables, but we still had to flag someone down after 10 minutes to get our check. We were seated immediately upon walking in, so I guess there's that. The decor reminds me of a small cafeteria, more at home in a museum than then grounds of a beautiful mansion and gardens. I'd like to see them do more to make it part of the whole experience. Immerse me damnit! All this adds up to a big disappointment. Given it's location, the cafe could be so much more with just a bit of effort. It seems like they're content serving a captive customer base, which is a shame. So much potential squandered. Oh, they have free wifi if you... uh... want to surf better places to have tea?? read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - baltika #7 - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Not impressed. Ok to be fair, afternoon tea was only $15 when it is normally twice that anywhere else, my problem is this wasn't an afternoon tea service. It was more like order a plate of random pastries with a mug of tea bag tea. (Look at the picture) Poor food presentation, no lemon curd, no cream, no honey. Butter was those little single serving things you get at IHOP. Mugs were all coffee stained. The room itself looked like a conference room in my office decorated with a few poinsettias. Food was good, just don't call it afternoon tea because it is definitely not. read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - Afternoon tea service...yummy, but ZERO food presentation. Everything is pre-plated and set in front of you like this. - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Delightful. I had the chicken salad sandwich and iced tea. They hit the spot and the service was good and friendly.

The outside express was just the snack I needed. The spinach salad with almonds, cranberries, quinoa and goat cheese seemed like a healthy choice. Price was a little steep at $8.50. read more

It is to be understood in advance that very few cafes housed within museum-y establishments ever seem to be really up to par, for whatever reason. They are not, overall, places where one finds professional waitstaff, as those persons prefer standalone venues, and it is not often a place one finds truly stunning chefs either, for similar reasons. Given that, my expectations weren't exactly soaring when I stepped into the cafe with one hungry friend in tow, taking a break from peering at gardens and clothing. My expectations were, honestly, met. The servers here make an effort and do a decent job, and the food is tasty enough, if not awesome. A stickler will gleefully point out that the salad nicoise wasn't [there are some rules about how one makes it and what goes in] but it was fresh and salady and had a nice piece of fish on it, which was the goal. The latte was passable, and the obligatory postum was... well, honestly, the stuff tastes like pureed grape nuts, and for a good reason. It bears noting that it's not caffeinated, so it's not a good sub for coffee at all, despite the intent. Overall, it's good for a quick snack, but be prepared to feel out of place if you're under sixty, and don't expect to be stunned by flavorsor award-winning service. read more

Hard to give a rating on one visit, but we Elite 16s keep our eyes and noses alert to gauge the surrounding dining experience. I planned on visiting the Hillwood Estate and eat lunch at this cafe. A good choice. Winter was coming and it was chilly but not too chilly to eat in one of the overflow semi-outdoors areas. They were working on the building, so changes might be evident. I wound up eating in the main dining area: Small but able to pack a fair amount of people. Everybody seemed happy with their choices. I had the Coronation Chicken Sandwich, that came with soup. The special was, iirc, broccoli cheese. Both the sandwich and soup were good, well above average for a museum cafe but nothing to write home about. A goodly size of each, and I left full. See photo. Three-and-a-half stars for the food, rounded up by the service and ambience. To fully explore the Hillwood Estate would take a lot of time, and I'm happy that a good cafe exists. read more

Hillwood Museum Cafe - Coronation Chicken Sandwich with, iirc, Broccoli Cheese soup. The Four Seasons, Hillwood Cafe, 11/26/16 - Tea Rooms Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We had clam chowder at the Museum Cafe and it was good except for it we each only had one little piece of clam in our chowder bowls. We also enjoyed a cookie which was yummy but it's just the typical Cafe great place to take the hunger off if you need something there are pre-made sandwiches in the refrigerator to the right of the register. I was hoping for something a little more but it serves its purpose. read more

Wonderful service, delicious simple menu, excellent presentation. I had the quiche and it was an appropriate size for one person. It paired lovely with the side salad. A table of 3 shared the hummus. We had a variety of drinks ranging from alcohol, to hot tea and coffee. read more

Having already made my tea reservation before reading the previous review, I was a bit tempted to cancel it. However, I had told my mom that I was taking her to tea for her birthday, and I thought I should follow through. The first thing to keep in mind is that this cafe is not a tea salon. To me, they break the one cardinal rule of tea service, and that is that everything is brought to you at once, instead of in courses. I am happy to note that on my visit, they did indeed use champagne glasses to serve champagne and that they did have mini scones. That said, the food that they serve cannot possibly be homemade. The scones are definitely store-bought and may be even less appetizing than the pastries sold at Starbucks, which is saying something. The clotted cream was more like goop. All that aside, the tea was good, and I liked the swizzle stick stirrer with which it was served (even if it was not particularly refined). I agree that the lack of petit fours and general presentation is not up to snuff for high tea. The cafe was decidedly noisy, but it was the lively noise of friends catching up on a delightfully warm afternoon. The reservations policy here is also frustrating. I detest negative confirmation reservations; I want someone to call me and tell me that my reservation has been confirmed. While it does seem that you have to pay to go to the museum in order to go to the cafe, it is certainly worth it to do so. I also think that you could easily just sneak into the cafe without a reservation at the museum - just skip the visitor center and head right to the cafe. That said, I am not sure I would go out of my way to have tea here if I weren't tacking it on to an already lovely day touring the museum and strolling through the gardens. But, if you're already there, you might as well stop by the cafe, if not for tea, maybe for a glass of champagne or a bowl of borscht. read more

This place deserves way more than its current 3 star average. Went here for lunch with my mom last week, and we both loved it! Great food selection, great prices, really nice patio with a nice view, really nice waitress, and the food itself was delicious - we had the golden crepes with chicken and asparagus, the smoked salmon crepes, and the banana nut bread. Also, being Russian, I really appreciate the Russian food options (borscht, crepes/blini - wish they had even more!), especially considering how it fits into the nature of the museum itself. And remember, this is still a museum cafe, which are usually massively overpriced for crappy food, so quite a difference compared to that. One star comes off for the service being a bit slow, otherwise perfect! Am looking forward to trying the tea service there sometime. read more

This is the saddest, worst set up and odd place to have "afternoon tea". Why even promoted it as a venue for such service? Wait, maybe there IS a market out there for people that enjoy afternoon tea over asphalt, next to parked cars. Really? day-old pastries? Spare yourself. read more

We celebrated Mother's Day at Hillwood and was highly disappointed by the quality of the afternoon tea. I came here a few years ago and it is apparent by the unoccupied tables that the quality has gone down. We came here knowing that it is indeed overprice ($18 per person for afternoon tea) but we expected the food to be decent. It was anything but. The sandwiches were white bread that were stale, with two pieces of cucumbers! For $18, you think the bread would not be stale. I also ordered the vegetarian option with mushroom quiche. I was served a tiny quarter of the quiche which was also very dry. Everything was mediocre. I regretted celebrating Mother's Day there and it's a shame. This could be great but it's not. Perhaps they need a new management at the cafe. $18 for cafeteria food is just too much. Never again. read more

You really need to make sure you make a reservation. The staff were a little less than friendly when we didn't have one. I went here for a lunch on a Friday around noon, and we barely got a table because everyone had made a reservation ahead of time. A lot of good options. I had a great gazpacho soup, and a salmon and Caesar salad. It's a nice place and I'm sure MMWP would have loved dining there for lunch- but I mean i felt that they could done without the cans of soda....especially at the prices...just pour it in the glass. Otherwise it was a big salad, delish fish, and great experience. read more

We just had to have Postum coffee since that is how the wealth was made! It was served a bit weak INMHO but quite a nice flavor. Also had quiche and soup, which was a fair deal and quite tasty. I think the herbs and vegetables in the quiche might have come from the garden! Service was fine-- we didn't have a reservation so made one once we got there and then went and looked inside the house and then ate. All the staff were quite friendly and helpful. read more

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You'll have to wait to sit. Ordered pre-made sandwiches outside. Not great. Ham and Brie Panini ok but bread is stale. Avoid the blt club wrap. Someone in the party got ill after eating it. One thing is for sure: Marjorie would not approve. read more

The Hillwood Cafe has a pretty good menu for being a cafeteria at a museum. They have a 1812 special - Russian or French - where you get soup, salad, sandwich, dessert, and a drink for $18.12. While the sandwich is on the smaller side, it's still quite a good deal. The Russian dish is borsch and smoked salmon on pumpernickel and the French dish is onion soup and chicken salad on a croissant. The desserts were both amazing - napoleon and a marscapone creation. The patio outside is pretty and the gardenias make the area smell amazing. The 1812 special tempted us to eat on the patio, otherwise it would be smart to order take out and have a nice picnic in the gardens. read more

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I have to disagree with most people on here, we loved it. If the weather is nice and you can sit outside, go for it. The 1812 special was perfect, generous portion and reasonably priced. The crab cakes were to die for. The chocolate Napoleon, words honestly can't describe how beyond incredible it was. Sure, the service is not rapid, but come on people....this is not the place where you want to rush. Order another Russian beer, savor your food, sit back and enjoy life....that's the point of a cafe. read more

Preorder led because we were with a large group. Asked for vegetarian options. They put chicken on the Cesar salad, and when I asked for a salad without, they told me to just take the chicken off. Rude. I also had to ask three times to get something different. Crappy sandwiches -wilted lettuce and soggy cheese- too. Lots of mistakes in the large group and disorganized. Then rude when asked to fix it. Wasnt impressed. Don't recommend for large group events. read more

This was so disappointing. My mom and I had company in town and wanted to take them to the Hillwood instead of the normal tourist destinations. We made reservations to have their special "afternoon tea" and were pretty excited about it. When we got there we learned that it was pre-fixed menu and that no substitutions are allowed. There was an asterisk that said, "*clotted cream and jam available upon request" so a couple of us asked for it. It made not mention that the tablespoon they gave you cost $2/each! Our plates came out and it just looked like someone went to a buffet and grabbed a bunch or random stuff, no presentation at all. I didn't event get one of the items and had to ask for it. It tasted ok, fine for the price ($15). Now for the service. HORRIBLE! This guy made no attempt to make sure our experience was good. First, my mom asked if she could get her tea as iced tea instead and he said yes. but it wasn't iced tea, he just threw ice cubes in the pot with the hot tea. She then asked for some ice so she could pour the tea over it. He brought her a plastic cup with ice in it. Not the best idea when pouring hot liquid. When he brought the food, he reached across the table to put people's plates down, instead of simply walking around the table. He also forgot our $2 clotted cream and jam. It wasn't just him, I saw other servers treating other guests the same way. And I don't think the hostess smiled once. After just touring Marjorie Merriweather Post's beautiful mansion and grounds, and reading about her attention to detail and the pride she took in presenting her guests with the highest standard of elegance, this was beyond disappointing. read more

I had the Coronation chicken salad it was amazing, my friend ordered the salmon salad, also came with big portion and very tasty! Plus, the place is just too beautiful read more

I had an excellent plate of smoked salmon will all the accompaniments. Did not appreciate the specialty tea and the bed of capers- yes like and entire jar of capers I received. I was happy with my meal. read more

So-so tea food and service. Food was unremarkable: prefabricated, and not fresh. Staff was indifferent. The Hillwood is a tasteful, beautiful place; it's cafe is clearly not at that level. Would not patronize this place again. read more

Ok for a quick lunch while visiting at Hillwood Cafe. Good service. Dining room was full, so we had to eat outdoors. Fortunately outdoor dining is covered by a canopy. Food was ok, nothing special. I had a chicken coronation sandwich ($10.50) and wife had Niçoise salad ($14). Convenient lunch after 3 hours in museum. read more

We went there for the mothers day high tea which was in a tent ,yes I said a tent . They had a nice selection of tea but the sandwhiches had stale bread because apparently they were pre made and not covered with wrap . The filling was good : curried chicken ,salmon and cucumber . The scones ,red velvet cupcakes , and two chocolate flavored cakes were just ok . It was a very pleasant day with the family but the food was very disappointing . Thats too bad since the mansion and grounds are a sight to behold . read more

Not good. Just as I remembered from years ago. I had been invited to tea by friends and so agreed to go again. I was really hoping that the tea would be better and reflect the grandeur of the mansion. Afternoon tea is not hard to do people!!! Please stop offering it if you refuse to provide a decent one. On the other hand the tour of the mansion was fantastic read more

Came with friends during Tanabata. The food is pricey, but I assume it supports the museum. I had the house iced tea and the coronation chicken salad sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised by their tastiness. read more

Hillwood recently changed cafe operators and the difference is astonishing. The new menu is varied and interesting, the food is fresh and beautifully presented, and the service is terrific. I especially like the roast beef with caramelized onions, a huge and very tasty sandwich, or the roasted red pepper chicken salad. Lunch in the cafe rounded out my visit to the museum and gardens very nicely. read more