Takoma Bistro

Not surprised this restaurant closed. The service was so bad the last time I went there with some friends. One friend thought she lost an umbrella there; when she asked one server if he’d seen it, he was rude and didn’t even offer to look around the restaurant to see if her umbrella was still under the table/​on her chair or whether anyone had turned in an umbrella.

There’s a reason why this place got shut down. Everyone, especially the managers and owners, were young and unprofessional.
I almost order something and filled an application at the Takoma Bistro. The place had bad lighting during the afternoons and horrible customer service. I don’t like eating at a dimly lighted room or treated as an inconvenience just for asking simple demands.
I would never spent over $ 10 on a burger that looks worse than something on the dollar menu.
When I did a follow-​up on my application, one of the managers bluntly told me «I am not good enough.» It’s subjective and he was in charge, but I have experience from working at Walt Disney World!
Picture this: a Fortune 500 company hired me, but a rundown dinner didn’t?! How ironic!
I’m not bitter about not getting the position as a waiter, but I’m angry about how rude this individual treated me. Just imagine what the customers must have gone through.
I seriously think this restaurant was a cover operation for storing and dealing drugs… or perhaps a terrible café with clueless employees and blind leaders.

Each time I come here I always say to myself that the service couldn’t get any worse and every time I come they prove me wrong. I am in today with a group of friends visiting from out of town and we all ordered a Mimosa to start (it took about 20 minutes for them to take our order). They come back 20 minutes after we ordered our mimosas to alert us that they were out of champagne (at 10am no less). This will be my last visit to the Bistro because the service is just the worst. They need new management, and a younger more energetic staff to revive this place.

It really is a neighborhood café. Didnt try any of the pastries. They ran out of wheat bread which I wanted for my salmon platter. My poached eggs were cold. Our server was awesome she spoke french cant remember what African country she was from. I would say its a laxed work enviroment

Have you ever seen kitchen nightmares? I’m not sure if this happens here all the time, but I sure as hell had a kitchen nightmares experience here.
I decided to drop in for lunch on a beautiful day and this looked like the only place around that I could sit outside and possibly get a decent meal. I walked in and was pleased with the décor, modern, somewhat rustic, not a hole in the wall, cool. The hostess seemed a little reluctant to sit me outside, maybe because she’d have to keep going in and out. She informed me there would be a different «beverage» selection if i sat inside due to licensing, so I opted for the indoor bar (where all the action was).
Being the only guy at the bar and, well, the only patron in the establishment I was relieved in hopes that I’d get a speedy meal. I could see the chef in the kitchen through the window. He made eye contact with me a few times, but he had a certain grin that I was trying to place… Either he was about to make me the best meal ever, or spit in my food type of grin…
I ordered the angus short rib burger served on freshly baked sesame challah with spicy pommel frites and homemade pickles. I ordered it medium… How delightful does that shit sound right???
I then order a beverage and to the servers dismay, the tap broke off and the thing just started pouring dark brew. After 10 minutes, most of the pitchers and cups were frantically filled and one of the waitresses who just got off break saved the day. The manager wiped the sweat off his head and went back to the register.
After finishing my beverage the waitress offered me a free half glass of the remnants from the levy breakage earlier. I noticed some time had went by, but was at least relieved to see that the chef was slaving away in the kitchen. He was making it clear to continue making eye contact with me, grinning. That was off-​putting, but I thought hey, he’s working on it :)
About 10 minutes later he put a plate on the window counter, and it didn’t look like a burger. I looked around and there were no other patrons in this joint that could have been for. He walked out of the kitchen to the bar and poured himself a glass of ice water. He smirked at me, then looked to the kitchen where it looked like a line chef walked in off break. The line chef looked at the ticket counter, looked back at the chef who was in front of me, laughed and rolled his eyes (like, oohhh you got me). The chef grinned, proudly picked up the plate from the counter window, sat down to in the back corner, and began eating a meal that he had prepared for himself. (see picture for proof).
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
The whole time I was there (about 35 minutes at this point), this guy was not only not working on my ticket, he was preparing himself a meal. I looked at the manager in shock. But I didn’t say anything because I wanted to see how this played out. The manager walked over and sat down next to this guy, and the guy was proud to inform him about the ingredients of his creation.
About 15 minutes later my burger was up. «Yay we have mustard today!» the waitress exclaimed. «Yeah but we don’t have no ketchup» the line chef announced… The waitress set my plate down in front of me, grabbed her purse and went to the local corner store to buy ketchup. Good for her. At that point, the chef was behind me cussing about how he ordered ketchup 3 days ago and the truck still hasn’t brought any.
Now — the meal.
Spicy pommel frites? More like pre-​frozen fries with some kind of fake old bay… Homemade pickles? I swear (see photograph) this one (and only) pickle sliver was sliced so thin, you could see through to the skin… Angus short rib burger on sesame challah? Well, the bread looked nice, but the staleness of the edges revealed it had probably spent some time in a freezer as well. Now, the burger… A well done piece of store bought burger patty. Plain and simple. Edible, but not gourmet as advertised. Not even close to how it was advertised.
The only thing this place needs, is Gordon Ramsay, other than that… I’d say shut it down and let someone else have this beautiful piece of real estate.

This little bistro is the Little Engine That Could. It keeps going and going, and getting better and better. They have had beer and wine for about a year now. Heavy Seas bottles for $ 5.00!
The dinner menu has something for everyone. Salmon, crab cakes, salads, and a variety of tasty appetizers. I wasn’t famished, so I got the goat cheese tartlets ($ 7) and swapped the potatoes for French fries. I loved the tangy dipping sauce that accompanied them, The tartlets were good, but small. I think I will stick with buying them from Trader Joe’s for value. Next time I’ll order a real meal. My friend loved her salad and crab soup.
The best part of the meal: The bread pudding! It’s enough to share! Sorry, I didn’t take a picture, my friend 9and I) couldn’t wait to dig into it!
Another bonus to having dinner here is that [almost all] the bakery goods are half off after 4pm! I don’t recommend the almond croissant; it pales in comparison to Saint Michel, Tout de Sweet, and Fresh Baguette. However, the lemon poppy seed muffin was a great breakfast treat the next morning.
Finally, our server, Heather made our experience very enjoyable. You go, Girl!

My husband and I have been here many times, and things just don’t seem to get any better. It seems like a lovely restaurant and the location is great, but the service is always slow, and they don’t seem to ever have all the items on the menu.
Last time we went for dinner and ordered two appetizers and two of the items that the server assured us were available to eat that day as main courses. The long and the short of it was, one appetizer was burnt, and the other appetizer (the coconut curry shrimp) had a smaller portion of shrimp (only 4 on the plate, usually 6), and neither appetizer came with the sauce they were supposed to have.
Then the main dishes arrived. .. also without sauce. The server informed us they had no more sauce. When my husband said he was disappointed there was no sauce our server reluctantly went to the kitchen and brought some sauce to the table (the sauce they had none of). At the end of the meal our server told us the credit card machine was down and we would have to pay cash. My husband expressed disappointment as we didn’t have cash and needed to go get some and our server replied «Imagine how hard it is for me.»
Adding to the ridiculousness and frustration of the meal, we were both referred to as «Ladies» the entire time. All in all quite bizarre. We probably won’t be back unless we are ready for a strange eating experience again.

Me and my fiancé went to Takoma Bistro this past Sunday for Brunch and I ordered the Strawberry, Melon & Blue Cheese Salad which was wonderful. The décor is very warm, comfortable and inviting. The price was only $ 10.00 and I would love to try out the breakfast some day.

I have been here a number of times. Usually I just get a fancy coffee drink and maybe a pasty. This place is perfect for that.
Recently I went and ordered breakfast. The bread that came with breakfast was very goof but what I ordered was absolutely disgusting. It could not have been made worse. It was a couple months ago and I forget exactly what it was but I think it had something pickled in it maybe and it involved eggs. Anyway, it came out purple and covered in grease. It was so bad that I took a dish that happened to be on the table and drained the grease into the dish. It still wasn’t edible. I don’t know how it was made that bad. There’s no excuse for that.

I have been here a few more times since I first came and every time has been worse then the previous experience. Service tends to be very inconsistent. The food is uninspired and really lacks flavor. I have had a turkey sandwich take 45 minutes to come out, waited to be served for over 15min when it was not busy, etc…
This place has an amazing location, I really hope they can turn it around. I want it to be good but I am always disappointed…

Don’t know what changed. Have eaten there twice before… everything was great. Last nite I brought a friend with me after telling here how good thing where. Mederian platter looked liked slabs of poop slapped on a plate with turds of fafella. I had the very dry cardboard like salmon salad. So dry manager took it off my bill. Told me they don’t cook the fish there they get it already done… and heat up.
Service was good. She was nice. Food very disappointing. Probably won’t be back.

Okay service but very frustrating meal.
My wife and I both ordered the same thing. French Onion Soup and French Dip sandwiches.
The soup was pretty good generous cheese, good mild onion flavor. We enjoyed it. Until we didn’t get to finish it… The sandwiches were brought out when we were half way through our soup. Not great timing there.
Here’s the problem, the French Dip Sandwich was made with mustard, which was spread on both pieces of bread, under the melted cheese. There is NO mention of mustard on the menu at all, and my wife downright loathes mustard (and honestly, mustard on a French Dip Sandwich?) so she ended up picking around half the sandwich, not enjoying it at all. Please, Takoma Bistro, if you’re going to add mustard on a sandwich, list it in your ingredients on the menu!
Further more, the Aus Ju was practically flavorless… At least, it was hard to suss out a flavor since the mustard was so overpowering.
The fries were pretty darn good, with a nice light Old Bay seasoning. The pastries looks yummy too.
Our waitress was great, and we hope to have her if we come back… Hopefully with an updated menu that accurately reflects what we are getting.

Breakfast was absolutely wonderful! Not sure what the bad reviews are talking about.
The menu seemed chock-​full of great ideas. The nutella pfannkuchen (German crêpe) was very good but I was really impressed by the shakshuka, which I had never heard of before but loved. The coffee was a bit strong for me but I’m a wuss. I will be back to try other things, including the pastries.
Reasonable prices, check. Vegetarian friendly, check. Nice atmosphere, check. No reason not to try it!

I went here for breakfast today and since it’s a federal holiday so they were serving brunch. I will definitely be back! The atmosphere is what you would expect for a bistro: small tables, spacious, clean.
Menu: great value. For brunch they office a hot drink, juice, pastries, and meal all for $ 15.
Food: loved my spinach and feta omelet and potatoes! I added bacon and it was really good. I didn’t see pancakes, waffles and more traditional brunch items on the menu. Sometimes I just want a waffle ya know? They also have amazing desserts, which I didn’t try but they looked delish.
Server: my server was very friendly and recommend a delicious tea.
Glad I found this place and will be back again!

Despite the bad reviews I’ve read, this place has gotten better! This review is only for their breakfast. I absolutely love the breakfast here! I’ve gotten the chocolate banana French toast which is my favorite (Ask for syrup on the side if it doesn’t come already)! If you love chocolate I recommend this one. I also recommend the Big Breakfast which brings eggs, bacon, and potatoes with onions. I also ask for bread and butter as I wait for my food to come out. I’ve also tried their ham and cheese croissants and I must say they are so delicious!
The previous times I have came here the service was a bit slow with my food but the last time I came the food came out pretty fast. I can’t really complain about this place because every time I come I’ve been greeted very nicely! Overall the staff is great and the décor is very nice!
I definitely recommend coming here for breakfast!

Watch out for Lily, Server #52. She charged my debit card for my friend’s meal and added a tip. Check your bank statements carefully if you use a debit or credit card.
The food was good, though… just make sure you pay CASH.
The manager claims another table had the same amount as my friend’s bill, but that doesn’t explain why my card was charged.

I wouldn’t come here without a coupon. We had a LivingSocial deal for $ 15 for $ 30. We ordered the black bean pupusas, which were decent, and the veggie burger and chicken pot pie. Like others have said, the chicken pot pie is very tiny (it’s like a soup with a half a biscuit on top of it) and rather salty. The veggie burger was also mostly bun and the fries were good, but nothing special (the menu overplayed them). Our entrees were around $ 10 and the pupusas were around $ 5. My friend got a chocolate cheesecake to take home.
Service was pleasant but often missing. We came for an early dinner, so in the beginning, the server came by a couple times. But while we ate, we had to get up and ask for ketchup from the counter, and our check took forever to get to us. They really need more than two servers for the whole place.

Alright guys, I’m not sure about all the complaints about service here…
I came on a Saturday for brunch. Selection was fine, food was okay. Nothing really special about the omelette. Also had the German yogurt/​granola special which was unique and tasty.
The service was fine. Prices reasonable. It was nice to be able to buy a few loaves of fresh baked bread on my way out.

Café perchers, light lunchers, heavy brunchers, lovers of Old Town Takoma Park — this is for you.
I dropped by a few weeks ago and had a great experience. Granted, I was one of the few people in the restaurant at the time, but I found the space cute, simple and the service, excellent.
I kept my order in line with the space — light, fresh and uncomplicated with a Chicken Caesar Salad. It did not disappoint.
The menu is filled with Morning Savories and Sweets that sound like a ton fun for the taste buds, but not as much fun for the waistline. Plenty of treats inspired by European old and new world. A few menu items that might be of interest:
–Chocolate Fondue with fruit and tea cakes
–Cuisine a-​go-​go (croissant filled with 2 scrambled eggs, meat and cheese)
–Nutella Pfannkuchen (German-​style pancakes w/​Nutella & Bavarian Cream garnish)
–Cassoulet (casserole of white beans, pork, chicken and duck)
They also have a ton of beautiful cakes and baked goods on display for purchase.
Plus, free Wi-​Fi and plenty of parking in the back!

A local bistro by Bread and Chocolate? What’s not to love!
As if our little main street in TP could get any more perfect. Now we have a true coffee shop café. I love Mark’s, but you can’t really settle in with a laptop for hours… and Mayorga down the way is a little too small… it’s a crapshoot to get a table now.
At 9:01 on their first day of business, I was delighted to have the manager thank me for being their first customer. But I don’t think they’re going to frame the $ 20 I gave them… :(Well, I certainly won’t be the last. There was a line of 5 behind me, and for the next 3 hours, I watched no less than 30 people come in. Service is fast, and opening day friendly. Pastries and coffee were brought to your table, and the servers came by and cleaned up trash/​took plates away… I hope that lasts.
TB serves Lavazza coffee, my personal second favorite behind Illy. And you can get all the usual classics… Americano-​latte-​breve-​chino, as well as a selection of aromatic teas. And of course, anything by Bread & Chocolate has a wicked pastry counter. My apple turnover was flaky and tasty and not overly sweet.
What I love most is the size… there is plenty of seating, including several window seats. And there’s about 8 outdoor café tables… with NICE chairs, not cheap aluminum stools. The décor is simple and fresh… wood seating and tables and a mosaic of black & whites on the wall. A little contemporary pop music in the background, and an overall bright, open airy feeling that makes you want to sit and have a lively conversation over your cappuccino and torte. But it’s not too loud that you can’t get work done… def a great place for anyone trying to finish a term paper, novel or Dear John letter. As of yet, no wi-fi…but I’m hoping that will change.
I’m simply giddy over the new addition to town. There’s metered parking immediately on Laurel, and a free lot directly behind the café (no rear entrance though). Come out and enjoy!