Corner Bakery Cafe

Pretty awful. This place is pretty dirty, has mediocre service, long wait times for food, and mediocre food. I’m generally a big fan of Corner Bakery restaurants, but this one was disappointing. I visited for a weekday lunch back in March with 3 others and we barely found a place to sit. Our food was all brought out staggered and one of us ordered a sandwich (paid $ 10 for it) that came out much smaller than expected. My Asian Wonton salad was nothing to write home about. The lettuce was wilted and they skimped on the chicken. I much prefer the Corner Bakery locations in other parts of DC (Metro Center, Farragut, etc) and will skip this one in the future.

I stopped into Corner Bakery Café as Daikaya Izakaya is closed between lunch and dinner service and I wanted to continue talking with a friend of mine that I was meeting in DC.
We walked in to Corner Bakery Café and ordered the Chai. It was very good and the cashier/​server was delightful.
While I did not have more than the chai — I would definitely stop back in here when I am in the Chinatown, Capitol Hill area to give their other items a try.
The space is great with a nice ambiance, clean bathrooms and great service — and the chai is pretty good too!

I can only review the baked goods here, specifically the cinnamon roll. While it’s not as moist or cinnamon-​y as Cinnabon (or even IKEA), it’s close enough. It’s also a big serving so it can be shared (plus it’s pretty sugary for just one person). Great customer service: friendly, quick, and efficient. I would come back to this location.

Basic Corner Bakery chain. Clean and perfectly situated in Chinatown DC. Good location for breakfast or lunch.

This location is conveniently within view of the arch in Chinatown. Metro is right around the corner. The café is roomy and comfortable. The hole punch cards that earn free drinks include tea purchases. The pastries are pricey. I prefer the soups. The bathroom requires a code, which means it stays cleaner.

I enjoy the smoothies a lot…
Strawberry banana!
Also one time, the sandwich I had tasted like soap…

This was an odd experience. Here are my concerns with this joint.
I had just got done a 8 hour shift from 11pm-​7am, so I was absolutely beat. Hungry as well.
I had seen pictures on the side of the place depicting some rather tasty looking breakfast wrap.
To be honest, it looked gosh-​dang delicious. I thought this place would be a great way to end my late-​night shift or start my day when I walked to work at 6am-​ish. Cool! Maybe this is my NEW REGULAR PLACE. WOW.
So at 7:40am, I went in for the first time.
I walk up to the counter, and I’m about the open my mouth, when suddenly there’s a small voice that says «Excuse me sir, we don’t open ’till 8.» I was a little upset, but I understand. It was Saturday, and who the hell is getting Corner Bakery prior to 8 a. m on a weekend?
Anyway, moving on.
So, the manager comes out and, quite heartily, (he seems like a very friendly gentleman) convinces me to wait ten minutes to order. Look, I’m in NO rush, I’m about to go home and sleep, so sure, I’ve been wanting to try this place anyway. Here’s where this place’s major problem lie.
The counter workers, while seemingly friendly and kind to one another, seem almost pissed-​off that I actually came in and ordered something. Laughing, and playing around until I finally decide to order and they make it seem like I encroached on a private conversation.
I JUST WANT BREAKFAST, MA’AM. I AM INCREDIBLY SORRY I BOTHERED YOU.
This is odd, because the manager himself, (should have got his name) was very kind. He came out every 2 minutes while I waited to make sure I was doing okay, and was incredibly accommodating. I’m not sure what’s going on with this teeter-​totter customer experience, but over-​all it was kind of unpleasant.
So the time finally came at last. I bought that power breakfast wrap with bacon and cheese. I walked out on the rain soaked sidewalks of DC, with my wrap in a bag, my body ready for ANY ray of sunshine on this miserable metro morning. Finally! Validation for my patience!
So I pull it out of the bag…
And it started to rain again.
This thing was like 4 dollars. Which isn’t a bad price, but good lord. It’s so damn dinky! There’s a regular sized panini for like a dollar more, so I get it, right? The wraps are not so much a breakfast, as it is like a breakfast snack, meant to keep you going in the early morning.
As for the taste, I mean it’s okay. The bacon was pretty tasty, and it came with a thing of salsa which was a nice surprise. It was tasty enough to satisfy my breakfast flavor needs, but as for my stomach… I was still hungry. Should of just walked home and made my own breakfast wrap (which is what did after, hey-​o!)
I’m sure if I got something else, I would have been satisfied, so I’m not blaming the food… that’s not the problem with the place.
As a final message, Mr. Manager, if you are as truly kind as you were to me that morning, than perhaps you can shed some of your caring onto your workforce.
Be a ray of sunshine in the morning. I mean c’mon, it’s breakfast time!

I walked in with friends after a movie around 5:30pm on a Saturday, they close at 6 on that day. Chairs were on top of the tables already and the workers were cleaning and chatting with friends. When my friend got her food, she came and sat down and as she bit into her sandwich a worker says «this section is closed». 1) if the restaurant isn’t closed, NOTHING is closed 2) we move and hear him complaining about how he «already cleaned this section» and had to do it again. Mind you, where we were sitting wasn’t even clean. So we’re sitting in our new section and hear someone say «make sure u lock those doors» at 5:54pm. A father & son come in 2 minutes later and before they can get 2 feet into the store the cashier yells «WE’RE CLOSED!» Raggedy. Then the workers holler «I told u to lock those doors.» Piss poor service. They act like they’re back there chef’ing up something gourmet and it takes 30 minutes of prep work, all they have to do is fold some sandwiches and grab a cookie and bag of chips off the rack. Piss poor.

Stopped in for lunch one afternoon. It was recommended to me and I was told the paninis are good. I ordered one of the special paninis, turkey with manchego cheese, green apples and spinach. Service was pretty fast. My sandwich came with a bag of chips too. One problem I had was that the spinach, which I thought would be fresh, was wilted and almost overcooked. It was stringy and unappetizing. The rest of the sandwich was fine and more than enough for lunch. It does remind me of Panera and there is one down the street. Overall the place is okay. I may give it another go in the future.

I agree that this place is a different version of Panera. The food is fresh and the prices are reasonable. The service is far from speedy, I think that is an advantage that Panera has at most locations. I am not sure what the deal is with the service people in the DC area. The attitude is one of indifference and lack of experience.
Oh, just a recommendation to people working the cash register. If you head itches and you need to scratch it like a dog with flees, excuse yourself and do it somewhere else. Again, a general lack of professionalism.
What did I learn today? I asked for an egg sandwich. The girl behind the counter could not figure out what I was talking about.

i ordered a hot chocolate before waiting the table for the Daikaya. It is OK.

Updated review.
If anything it’s gotten worse!
The food is still the same mediocre but OK quality, but management seems to have contrived to create most miserable workplace possible. The scowls and glares that greet you upon entering and the withering looks upon being handed your order all contrive to create a pretty depressing atmosphere.

Like going to Panera and getting 50% of it all. Tables all covered in trash as employees standing around. Bread stale and I think they make their own. Sandwich was flavorless and needed some creativity put behind it. Employees all sound like they are being tortured being there and would rather not be. Came and dropped my food, on a thank you I got no reply, nor did she bother to pickup the 4 tables around me while no one was in line to wait on.
Just nothing special, boring sandwich in a dirty restaurant, keep walking plenty of other places right there.

7 $ for coffee and an avocado spinach flat bread. Coffee is decent and sand which is good. What more do us want? Looks like good bakery items too.

1010 calories for 4 buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs and Applewood smoked bacon. What!!! This is why we have an obesity epidemic in this country! Ok, we can’t blame everything on Corner Bakery or Panera or even McDonald’s but my goodness, are we ok with this? I’ve been to several Corner Bakery and this location provides the same welcoming home-​kitchen feel that takes you back to Grandma’s house. The stacks of baked treats provides a comforting sight, where you know there is no wrong choice.
This location is clean, service is efficient… a typical Corner Bakery. But on this day, I happened to really focus on the calorie information provided in parenthesis and was shocked! I scanned the entire menu and the fear only grew worse. I ended up selecting a flatbread sandwich at 360 calories. It was the size of my fist and eaten in 5 lady-​like bites. Granted it was delicious with fluffy scrambled eggs, fresh crisp spinach, creamy avocado, and a tasty salsa on the side. But next time, I’ll remember to bring my breakfast from home and save my calories for smth more substantial.

This is my new «go to» spot for breakfast. The steel cut oatmeal and croissant hit the spot. The staff is professional and the place is cozy and nice. This one in the heart of Chinatown DC. I will go back and try lunch there sometime as well.

Subpar store for this chain. I typically think this chain is fine but this specific location needs work. The service is slow and the food was not to standard.

Had the American Sampler. Good solid breakfast nothing special. Great when waiting for the Chinatown bus across the street. Nice portion very filling!

Stopped in this location for a quick bowl of soup during lunch. I had the chicken tortilla soup. I thought it was pretty tasty. It was nothing to write home about.

This place is not A-​OK but «just okay». I got my coffee from across the the street at Chinatown Coffee because Corner Bakery Café didn’t look like it could cut it. I saw other people bringing in their Chinatown Coffee so I think those in the know get the coffee across the street and the pastry at this place.
There are tables all over the place. It is kind of depressingly dark and cluttered with a maze of tables and chairs. I didn’t enjoy being there — but there wasn’t anything wrong with the food.
I will stay at Chinatown Coffee and eat their over-​priced scones rather than cross the street to this depressing place for a cheaper treat.