Sunspot Cafe of Fairfax

Someone must of told the young woman at the register about her attitude because she’s been extremely nice the past few weeks. Like I said, I work very close by so I frequent this place for breakfast solely because of its location.

They close at 3, not 4… They’ll tell you they close at 4 then when you try to order something they won’t make it for you because they «need time to clean the grill» apparently they don’t understand the concept of employees staying after closing time to clean up– like all other restaurants. They also take forever to make food– which wasn’t even cooked!
Anyhow, their food isnt that good anyway, I suspect they continue on because they’re convenient for the offices nearby.

From Big Mike! — The staff is super friendly, beaming with smiles every time that I visit. This family run team oriented business keeps this deli style restaurant super clean and efficient. The service is great and they fill their orders very quickly. The menu is very diversified and the food is the best in Merrifield. Believe me, this is not the same operation that it was when it first opened (years ago) — Not the same staff. We go there virtually every day because you can throw a dart at the large varied menu, and it’s all good. Great Breakfast place! Super Salads made to order. Prices are good! Sandwich sizes are large portions. Great specials everyday. We see one of the owners bringing in all local fresh produce. We love you guys!

I really like this place. The staff are always friendly and they will accommodate all your requests because everything is made to order. On Thursdays, they have bibimbap, which is amazing! Pretty much everything I’ve had here (which is a lot of things, since I’m lazy and go there a lot because I work in the building) has been great.

My wife and I come here whenever either of us decides to work from home, since it’s walking distance from our place. We have a bit of rapport with the staff who recognize us when we come in. I give them 4 stars based on what they are: a relatively quick, clean, convenient and reasonably cheap weekday lunch place. You can also call in your order for pick up. A number of new places are sprouting up in the immediate area; but sometimes you just want to go to a non-​chain, non-​fast food type establishment. And that’s where Sunspot comes into the picture. They have a fresh and well-​stocked salad bar; their sandwiches are made to order; they have rotating daily specials and their portions are huge. They also have a selection of drinks and snacks/​candy that are somewhat upscale and hard to find (you won’t find them at the local 7 – 11). Their gyros are pretty decent and we try to get the Thursday bibimbap special if we’re around (this is a pretty good deal and tends to run out quickly, so come in early if you can!). My wife is also fond of their buffalo chicken salad and their pecan dijon salad. Being that this is an office/​work lunch place, they’re only open M-​F till around 4PM. They’re a little hard to find on the ground level behind the DHS/U.S. Immigration building and parking garage. I can’t speak to how things were from 2012 and earlier. But since we’ve been going (after 2012), we’ve been very pleased with their food and service.

I think the only reason people come to this place is because of convenience. The cashier is rude and most items are over priced.

Want to start off with… alot old reviews on here are no longer valid. I am almost 100% sure they are under new management. Our company just moved to this location and Sunspot is located at the buttom of our building. It is really convienant and the food is really good and fresh. Going down to eat at this place is a daily thing for our employees. I want to clear up that this place is REALLY CLEAN! They always wear gloves and you can see them as they make your order. They have a delicious breakfast menu that they make fresh in the mornings as you order. Alot of the things on the menu are customizable. Very friendly staff. The main girl that is always at the cashier is always smiling and is super polite. I love their drinks selection many exotic drinks that are a rare find to choose from. To me the drinks and snacks are a bit pricy but, it’s understable. Some things that I have tried from there that have been a success are French toast, pancakes, (most of the breakfast items). Chicken wings and fries, their salads are super fresh and yummy, yankee doodle, steak and cheese.

I come here multiple times a week because I work in the building it’s housed at the bottom of. It’s reasonably priced and, once I tried out most of the menu, I found my favorites. I would recommend the Greek Salad Supreme, the Country Chicken Wrap, or the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. They also have really tasty Chicken Salad (you can order it in a sandwich or get it by itself at the salad bar). I’m not a huge fan of their tuna, though. The coffee is good and the staff is friendly. In fact, I’m drinking their coffee now and looking forward to going down for a salad today!

The chicken gyro salad is worth every penny. The western omelette is also worth the price. Nice portion sizes and pretty fast service. This is in the bottom of an office building, so it’s office building fare, but that gyro is a-​typical and worth every bite.

This place is clean, the staff is courteous, and the food is good. It’s located on the corner of Dorr Ave and Prosperity Ave in Merrifield. Their breakfast sandwiches are freshly made, albeit a little greasy. The salad bar has cold, crisp vegetables. The portions are much larger than what is normally served in these types of shops. My favorite meals are the lamb gyro sandwich and the buffalo chicken salad. DELICIOUS!

I realize most of the reviews on here are super old! And yes they USE to have a snarky mean lady but everyone there now are really nice. AND they always have gloves on for the record. Maybe they didn’t before? But I’ve noticed they always have gloves on whenever I come in.
They give you soo much for what you pay for. The lamb gyro is so delicious and they pack in a lot of meat. Everything is made to order so you can have pretty much anything the way you like it. The staff there are friendly and if you come in a lot, they’ll remember your order. They have a huge selection of bottled drinks including some exotic ones to try and along with a fountain drinks. This place consists of a salad bar, sometimes soups and sandwiches along with different specials everyday. If you need something quick during your lunch hour, this is the place to go although it can get busy and packed at times but you can always call in first and they’ll have your order ready.

I came here almost every other day of the week while I worked on Prosperity Ave. It was once the only place to get food within reasonable walking distance, but now they have built up the surrounding area, and there are other places to go to. Regardless, I never had any real complaints about Sunspot Café. The selection of food is generally cold cuts, toasted sandwiches, wraps, and salads, but they also have burgers and hot lunch specials every day.
Reasonably priced, I can’t complain about this place. If you decide to get lunch here (they only do breakfast and lunch — close at 4), I would recommend the Park Avenue and Georgetowner sandwiches.

They have pretty good coffee, okay sandwiches, and a large selection of chips, snacks, bottled drinks, etc. This place is a little expensive and takes advantage of the fact they are basically the only game in town if you work in this building. Their ordering at the counter is confusing at times as people stand at either side and nobody is sure who has ordered and who is waiting to order.
One major downside here is the $ 5 minimum for credit cards. If you go here for a cup of coffee be sure to bring cash.
If you work near here and need a caffeine fix or an okay lunch this place fits the bill but I wouldn’t make a special trip to check the place out.

Bad service.

Ok, so picture yourself stranded on a desert island. No hope of rescue, but plenty of coconuts.
In addition to said supply of coconuts and palm trees, you can only have ONE sandwich shop/​coffee place/​Korean deli. Got it?
OK. There is NO WAY IN HELL I would choose Sunspot Café to be that shop. Why? Well, allow me to explain.
1. Too expensive — self explanatory. They only charge these prices because they are the only game in town.
2. Lackluster offerings — a menu that lacks any ingenuity or consistency, other than «products Sysco Makes»
3. Weak-​sauce coffee — if I’m stuck on a desert island, it’s probably in the tropics. As a result, I should be able to get good coffee.
4. Shitty ambiance– Inside décor looks like the aborted love-​child of a run-​down 7 – 11 and suburban strip-​mall McDonald’s. Although I will give extra credit for the outside patio which is actually decent in the spring/​summer thanks to some shade trees.
Long story short — if you are stuck on the desert island that is Prosperity Avenue, and are going to starve to death, you can get a lukewarm cup of joe and a «sandwich» here.

Perfectly average office building deli/​café. They have a captive audience, so the prices are too high for what you are getting.

So, I just read the review by Leslie T. and I have to say that she is a little harsh. I have been working in the area for about two years, and been to the café on multiple occasions and their food handling process had been fine.
My only two knocks on the place is that the prices are a little high for what you are getting, but nothing tragic. The bigger issue is: come lunch time … you never know which end of the counter you order from! Some people go to the register and give their order, while others wait for a worker to ask for their order at the other end. I think they need to be more consistent with the order taking process, so that they are not alienating any customers.

Absolutely FILTHY. They don’t wear gloves when handling your food, they have long hair that isn’t pulled back or in a net, they touch the food & then take your money & go right back to preparing the food. I found a long hair in my egg & bagel sandwich. Just disgusting!
Not only that, but the place just loooks like it needs to be cleaned, the «menu» is a disjointed posting of papers stewn all over the wall and the people that work there are just plain snarky. I work in the office attached to their café two days a week and close-​by dining choices are limited, but I will never eat here again.

More variety than I’ve ever seen at a sandwich shop. Everything tastes great, they’ve got a huge beverage selection, and they’ll tailor you food to order. Reasonably priced and über-​convenient.

There’s a huge bottled drink selection as well as pre-​packaged snacks. They also do a salad bar, sandwiches, and a selection of fried and grittle foods. The food is OK, typically over cooked or greasy. Each time I’ve gotten eggs from them for breakfast, they’re cooked to death.
The staff is nice, and it’s convenient if you’re in a bind to get something to eat. They get a lot of business from the office building they’re located in (which is where I happen to work), so it’s busy typically around noon.