Navy Yard Metro Center Cafe

Food is ok. It’s always the same food though. breakfast however is great, you can never go wrong with breakfast! Overall, food is mediocre and it’s pretty pricey.

I’ll start by saying that in my two visits, it has been my experience that this place is NOT blocked off from the general public. While you do have to show ID (just a driver’s license is fine) to enter the building, you don’t need to work in the building.
One you go in, there’s a nice-​sized seating area, and to your left is the area where you place your order. They offer a nice variety of breakfast platters, including pancakes, eggs, French toast, and a variety of meats. They also have a hot bar, although I haven’t been here for lunch to see how it is.
The first time I was here, the wait was about twice as long as this last time, which was a welcome change. I’ve had the pancake platter and the breakfast platter, both with eggs and turkey bacon. I’m not a big fan of turkey bacon, but it’s their only non-​pork meat. In either case, the turkey bacon is fairly tasteless.
The food is perfectly average, and fairly greasy. Nothing is exactly jumping out with flavor, but nothing is bad, either. The jams and pancake syrup are of the high fructose corn syrup variety reminiscent of Denny’s.
On the whole, this café will work in a pinch for a filling and affordable breakfast, but there are definitely better options.

this place is closed to the general public and shouldnt be on Unilocal!you have to work in the building to access it. too bad

I tried going here and the guard told me the café is only open to employees of the building…

This hidden café is perfect for someone looking for a good, cheap breakfast or lunch spot! There aren’t that many places to eat around Navy Yard from what I’ve seen. Well a few of us stumbled across the café one day and we were very impressed. The staff is very nice and the place is kept clean at all times.
For breakfast you can order food from behind the counter and they cook it for you to order. It’s not super greasy or over priced (a bacon, egg and cheese on a rather large croissant is $ 3.49) and it’s one of the best I’ve had. They also have a few flavors of coffee and a latte maker.
During lunch they have a hot bar where you can get everything from sushi to Bourbon chicken! You can also order a sandwich or other foods that they make to order.
The café also serves as a convenient store as they have plenty of snacks (chips, candy, cookies, brownies,) refrigerated drinks, and an ATM. Plus, if you want, you could sit, eat, and watch TV.
This place was a great discovery for someone who moved from an area in DC that had numerous eateries, to Navy Yard which has few to none. I can get everything I need here!

Just relocated to Navy Yard for work and needed to find a quick place to grab a bite to eat. Unilocal lead me to this place located in the BAE building (80 M St. SE). This place is a mix of a convenience store, deli, and buffet. Breakfast starts at 6am where you can order breakfast sandwiches, omelettes made to order on the grill. For lunch there’s a buffet filled with a variety of stuff. One half has your typical Asian fare and then on the other half you have a variety of salad, veggies, tuna salad, egg salad, and tons of salad toppers. The egg salad is delicious! Warning: the salad bar does get pretty expensive so don’t get too carried away. You come here for good food and fast service. The cashiers are all so nice with an incredible memory. They remember everyone and what you normally buy.

So I was working at L’enfant plaza for the past couple of years and I remember complaining that the food options were lacking. Well, they built it up and then my team was relocated to M street. And once again, I’m with slim restaurant options.
So a coworker told me about this place. You have to show your ID to get in. I feel like I’m entering into a mysterious secret spy world as I pass through the doors and the guards… only to walk into the little café and order a breakfast sandwich. I’ve only been here for breakfast, and they have some pretty good options. Typical options, but still very good and the prices are not too bad. I normally order a bacon, egg, and cheese on croissant for a grand total of $ 3.96. The bacon is crispy and the sandwich comes hot off the grill. I’ve also tried their unholy breakfast burrito. I say unholy because it’s filled with all kinds of things that seem bad for you. But it’s probably healthy.
Other than that, they have an assortment of breakfast platters and a small buffet table. The table has assorted fruits and pastries. Nothing of note. They also have a couple of racks with processed food items like chips and candy.
It’s a great place for convenience.

I work in the building and eat here sometimes.
The grill is pretty decent. Their subs are good, and the french fries are excellent.
the food bar is just ok, and rather expensive. They have a regular assortment of Asian food and usually a western entrée like roast pork. Fridays are my favorite, since they usually have fresh fried shrimp. A container of food can easily get to $ 8 or $ 9.
They sneak a couple of Korean things into the salad bar, like marinated baby bok choy. That is one of my favorites. Their deviled eggs are delicious.

Since there aren’t many restaurants and things in the area yet, I have found myself eating here about once a week for lunch. It is located in the BAE building, and is toward the back of the main lobby. It has a unique setup and sells a variety of different things. There is a buffet style counter in the middle of the room that allows customers to fill takeout containers that are then weighed to determine the cost. There is also a deli/​sandwich counter where you can order a hot or cold sandwich that is then prepared for you. They are also open for breakfast, and the buffet area is usually filled with donuts and muffins at that time and the counter serves hot breakfast sandwiches and burritos. Those are the two main areas of the room to get food from, but the room is also lined with many other things available to purchase such as drinks and bags of chips and other snacks.
I have not tried the buffet style food yet, but I have had a few different things from the deli counter. The food is okay I would say for the cost. The sandwiches I’ve had have been decent, but usually the meat (chicken or turkey for example) is dry and almost makes the sandwich taste a little bland. The breakfast burrito that I had from here was a little better, but I think it was the salsa that made it better. They also have some tables set up in an adjoining room where you can sit and eat, usually people are in there for lunch. Pretty much all of the people that eat here are business professionals either from BAE itself or from one of the other various businesses located along M Street, and I believe you may even have to have some form of ID visible when you enter the building. All in all I’d probably give this a 3.5 out of 5, but Unilocal doesn’t really accommodate for halves.