Bread & Chocolate

I have to say that I agree with Lydia M… this place really is more like a museum for wait staff since you do more time watching the waiters and waitresses talk to each other than actually eating your food or even drinking water… since our water cups became empty a few times before they noticed… it is pretty bad when you don’t even have water to try and fill that empty void of a stomach at breakfast…
Their coffee is so so… and their omelets are not exciting at all… even with lots of cheese I don’t think that these omelets could be any better and cheese since it is pure fat and makes almost anything better so that is also pretty bad…
And this is such a shame because this place is so cute from the outside, good location, lots of little tables and a great looking bakery case full of yummy looking things, yet so many let downs in the food!!! I think I could make a better omelet than this place did with my eyes closed. Maybe the cooks need a few mimosas to start their day here, since we were here at about 7am after a red eye flight I took into DC ha ha or maybe an irish coffee at least??? Could give them some creativity and if the wait staff had some maybe they would notice all of the people in the café and actually talk to them ha

–CLOSED–
Bread and Chocolate at Eastern Market is Closed.
No more Bread and Chocolate at Eastern Market.
After years of providing the slowest service in the Western Hemisphere, and some decent food, this place is gone.

Okay, despite my promise to myself I did return quite a few weeks ago to try their brunch on a Sunday morning. It was sub-​par. I had a Mediterranean omlette that was a little runny — I wasn’t a big fan of the red pepper goat cheese (I would have preferred goat cheese and chopped up red peppers).
I was happy to be seated right away, not ignored (see previous review), so that was a definite plus.
The whole experience was like a C+, pretty average. The service was nice but a little inconsistent.
I’ve also stopped in for lunch to grab a ceasar salad to-​go, and it wasn’t good. The salads from Cosi are much better.
I might return, but hopefully I’ll come to my senses and try a new place before revisiting.

I just popped in for a raspbery rugosa, which I had never heard of before. Even still, the service was very slow. I almost walked out before a lady finally got me the darn thing. Anyway, a rugosa is apparently a delicious Italian pastry. Very yummy, and I would totally stop in for a quick bite for breakfast… if they sped things up a little!

I ordered a large glass of orange juice. It was «fresh» squeezed, but I couldn’t even finish it since the taste was so off-​putting. I think the oranges were just a little too ripe, plus there was lots of pulp. The bread basket was alright, nothing too special, but I definitely won’t be coming here again.

If you like to stare at the waitstaff while they finish their personal conversations and do everything else except take your order, this is your place…
My party walked in, were greeted, seated, given water and then… NOTHING. There was no need to flag anyone down, we left. The kicker is that the waitress looked confused. Huh?

I’m ambivalent about Bread & Chocolate.
On the one hand, the location is great for weekend brunch, just a block away from Eastern Market. The interior is bright and airy (if a bit loud), they have outdoor seating, and even at peak times I’ve never had to wait terribly long for a table.
The food, well, that’s a mixed bag. They do a good enough job with the pancakes and French toast, and the «artisan» bread basket is a filling enough way to start the meal.
But their omelettes — and, let’s be honest, if you’re coming here for brunch, that’s probably where you’re going, right? — they don’t impress. The chefs have a tendency to overdo it on the cheese, to the point where you’ll have attractive tendrils of melted mozzarella hanging out of your mouth with every bite. The eggs themselves can be a bit runny.
The waiters aren’t impressive, either. The service is often slow; they tend to forget a few drinks; and if you’re trying to make changes to your order, good luck.
All in all, not a bad place for brunch if you’re heading to Eastern Market anyway, but not worth a special trip.

Ok — I honestly thought it would be a while before I found a new candidate for my «Dude, you suck!» list. However, this place quickly reminded me that for all of the great restaurants in the District, there are plenty who engage in jack-​assery.
I didn’t get to see the reviews before going but I wish I had. When we walked up, we asked for an outside table because we had Wally with us. We had to wait about 10 minutes before the lady was going to give us a table next to the wall even though there was a table opening up near the fence. I asked again and then got the table — however, it then took us nearly 10 minutes to get a menu. This was strike one.
Strike two came quickly when we had to wait 15 minutes to even get water. I was actually 10 seconds from getting up and walking away when the lady caught my eye and noticed that I was getting perturbed. She quickly took our order and hustled off.
Strike three came when not only when we watched others around us, who sat after us, getting their food first, but when my ham and brie sandwich came out as a ham and swiss. I asked for brie and was told they had none. Excuse me? Could you NOT have told me this before bringing my sandwich so I could order something else?
The only redeeming factor that allows the one star is that I convinced the waitress that for my time and inconvenience, that my coffee and a dessert should be free.
I won. But I’ll never be back.

It was OK. I could even give it 3.5 Had the hot chocolate which was good. it was pretty funny when the waitress pulled out a can of whipped cream to top it with. guess it would have melted otherwise. I had the trois fromage (3 cheese) omlette which was pretty good. Came with a side of potatoes which were nicely seasoned and crispy yet soft. My mom had the very berry german pancakes which were delicious! Fresh, plump and juicy mixed berries with a nice custardy cream on the side. My dad had the chocolate and banana french toast which sounded better than it was. The bread was tasteless and dry. I would not suggest it.
We went on Mother’s Day there was really not a long wait. The service isn’t great though, the waitress said she would bring us bread and never did, and didn’t refull our drinks.

I love bread, and I love chocolate, and bread + chocolate is basically the best combination ever. So when I saw Bread and Chocolate as I browsed Eastern Market, I thought, «That. Is the perfect café!»
Unfortunately, it is not. I went a few times, always expecting it to be pleasant, or at least satisfactory. It has bread with chocolate! How can it be unsatisfactory?! Let me count the ways.
1. This location is always (and by «always,» I mean, «the two times I’ve sat inside») freezing cold. Our party of five kept our jackets and hats on. It was winter. Why was the heat not on? Are you trying to freeze us out so you can close early? Do you want us to buy more hot beverages?
2. I ordered a cappuccino. I got… nothing. Then I ordered it again and I got… a black coffee. Which is similar to a cappuccino in many respects but not quite the same thing. Good try!
3. The bill took for-​ev-​er. FOREVER. We waited and waited in our jackets and hats. Then they brought the bill and due to some mistake on their part, I couldn’t pay with my credit card (I don’t understand it either. There was much confusion. Something about the bill not including tax???) I ended up paying with a check AND a credit card.
4. The food is good. It’s not remarkable, it’s not straight-​from-​Paris. It’s just decent café food. If the service were better, it would be a charming café. As it is, it’s a heckuvalotta trouble for that croissant.
So why the two stars, you ask? 1 for effort (the pastries are tasty, after all) and 1 for the ambiance – once your food finally finds itself on your table, the patio is a lovely location to enjoy it.

It isn’t BAD. It just isn’t very good. Many people go to B&C because of its great location at the corner of 7^th and Penn, SE, and because it has a good-​sized street-​level patio that is passably pleasant when the weather’s nice.
The coffee is just-​okay, and the service is some of the slowest that I have received in my 5 years living in the city. I’ve also waited a long time to be seated (I know, they can’t help that). A baguette is $ 2, which I think is overpriced.
I recommend instead the humble (but cheap and good) Tune Inn, or the intimate Jimmy T’s Place, or no-​frills Tunnicliff’s, or even Mr. Henry’s, for brunch near Eastern Market.

I’ve been to Bread & Chocolate a couple of times and, as it seems most of the other reviewers have indicated, the food is never bad but it’s not really spectacular either. The service is hit or miss depending on the time of day and the crowd on hand, but on the occasion when everything comes together I have enjoyed myself and the cappuccino is awesome. I can also vouch for the yogurt/​granola/​fruit combo which was pretty good if you’re into that sort of thing.
One word of caution, the bathrooms are creepy. You basically walk almost through the kitchen, down a long, winding hallway and punch the secret code into a keypad on the doorknob. Surprisingly, given the top secret code and all, there were a smattering of random people milling in there, not all of which appeared to be patrons of the neighboring establishments that share the facility. My advice, hold it if you can help it.

Jumped in here one morning to escape DC’s first snowfall of the year. Most of the place is table service which I didn’t want at the moment, so I just grabbed a mocha with a cream cheese chocolate muffin and sat along the minuscule bar area.
Both bread and chocolate were good, I just wish they had a better spot for the casual customer who just wants to head in and out quickly. The rest of the tables had large glass windows in which to look out.
There’s some nice outside seating as well, but the snow would’ve gotten my muffin wet, so I stayed inside.

Why oh why do I subject myself to Bread and Chocolate almost every weekend? The service is laughably bad. The tables are so jammed up on top of one another people bump into you all meal long. The food is really inconsistent. I’ve gotten as many runny, inedible omelets as good ones. And no matter how many times I stress that I’d like decaf coffee I always get caffeinated. And the weird thing is, I’m not the only one that comes back to this restaurant after terrible experiences. The place is packed all weekend long! Is it the low prices and great location? Are people in DC so desperate for a brunch place they’ll put up with anything?
I’m gob-​stopped.

I love the Eastern Market neighborhood of DC. It was recently voted one of the top 10 neighborhoods in America by some magazine like Forbes that comes up with ridiculous lists like that. But really… I like this neighborhood (see my review of Murky Coffee next door). Bread & Chocolate is a reliable, cheap, easy American breakfast — at the least. I had the nothing-​special eggs and they were nothing-​special. But when you’re hungry in the morning, nothing-​special is awesome. The ice tea, I seem to remember, was unusually high-​quality and not generic Nestea. Bread & Chocolate has a bright space, windows on all sides, getting a great amount of natural light, which is what you really want in the morning to get kick-​started.
When in this great neighborhood, go to Eastern Market, sample the foods and the crafts and the goods. Go to Uncle Brutha’s Hot Sauce emporium and that book store that’s insanely crowded with books. But for a cheap, reliable, sunny, nothin-​special breakfast. Try Bread & Chocolate.

Ah, the dilemma that is Bread and Chocolate. This place kills me.
The food is good, dammit… but the service… oh, the service. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced service this bad in my entire life. It’s so bad that it is actually funny.
Everytime I eat there I go back and forth between getting so damn aggravated that I want to throw my water at the waiter (if only I could find him and if only I had water) and just plain old laughing. I guess it’s either that or start crying. Hmmm… might be worth considering for next time — maybe they’d respond to crying.
So at the end of the day — I give this place an «it’s okay.» Good food, good location, and terrible service.

After a Saturday morning stroll through the Eastern Market, my friend and I went here for a light brunch. She got the chicken wrap and I the mushroom quiche (both came with a small side salad). The food was yummy and above standard. The prices were pretty modest ($ 8.99 for each). The service and the AC? NOT SO GREAT (as I’m sure fellow Unilocalers’ reviews have given such impression). The hostess seemed irritated when I asked to be seated at a table that was NOT in the direct sunlight and sandwiched b/​w two VERy busy tables (as opposed to the one she’d intended for us to be seated). Also, the room air was so hot and stuffy with no air conditioning (or if there was, almost undetectable).
Perhaps it’s a better place during the cooler/​colder months. I’d like to revisit for some hot chocolate and its beautiful pastries (and biscotti!).

Service was horrible. Spinach and chevre egg white omellete with a side of crispy bacon was good. Bread was okay. Coffee was nice and potent. Potatoes, which were so small I could barely see them, had decent flavoring. Did I mention that the service was terrible? Ugh, I have a really hard time spending an hour and a half for an okay breakfast. Maybe I would have liked the food better if I did not feel like I had to stand on my chair to get a water refill.
The outdoor seating is charming but we opted for immediate seating indoors in hopes of quicker service. HA!

[Actually I would give this a 3.5 rating]
I’m kind of surprised to see all the negative responses to this place. As already mentioned the service isn’t all that, but the few times I’ve come here it’s been on a weekend morning so I expect the server to be a little overwhelmed with the crowd. I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table though, considering how packed that place can get with Eastern Market just down the street, and the staff is always friendly and apologetic if the service is slow.
I like this place because of the laid back atmosphere and the convenience to my apartment. And I’ve been satisfied with the food, but I also don’t claim to have a very sophisticated palate. I can only speak on the breakfast menu, though. I usually get either french toast or German pancakes. If you get the «very berry» kind of either of these it might be helpful to know that it’s not just fresh berries, but fresh berries in a jam type spread, so it’s kind of sweet. I also like the Chai latte here, it’s the kind with that kind of carrot cake flavor. The last time I came here my dining partner got the Norwegian Smoked Salmon, which he really enjoyed, even saying that he liked it better than the tea soaked salmon at Teaism.
Overall, I think it’s a good place to eat at if you’re in the area and want a decent meal. Just don’t go in with the high expectation of a high class European experience with a top-​notch pastry chef creating mouth watering treats from stratch and you’ll be fine.

Looking for that al-​fresco European experience? Perhaps you’d like to sit outside looking chic and sipping coffee, laughing in the lazy afternoon sunlight with some good friends, sipping coffee and grazing on delicate pastries.
Well, that sucks, because that’d definitely not what you’re going to get at Bread and Chocolate. Their coffee and coffee-​drinks are lousy and overpriced. The cake tastes chemical and the thin plastic cellophane wrap around each slice implies that they bought it from some really bad bakery.
Why’s it always so crowded? Who eats there?! Is its existence fuelled by first-​timers who don’t know any better?
Could they possible have regulars?
Imagine…