Cafe Recess

Their Phở is absolutely amazing. How can I tell? The broth: there is no fat deposits or grease on the top of the broth, it is clear, and light, just how it is supposed to be. All of the ingredients are good as well, I highly recommend their Phở, it is excellent. Much better than some of the other places in the area.

It’s cold outside so my newfound obsession with phở has been kicking in– A LOT. This is the part where I Unilocal all the places around me that sell good phở because there is nothing more comforting than having a mix of a warm flavorful broth with chicken, noodles, cilantro, basil, (you know, the works) on a freezing cold day.
Café recess was highly recommended by my peers and by the awesome reviews everyone has rightfully written. I went there on MLK day so they didn’t have the full menu but they had Phở, and that’s what matters. It was AMAZING. I took it to go and they were very generous with the sauces and the extra knick knacks, which I very much appreciated.
I’m so thankful for Café Recess and its wonderful location around my job so I will certainly be checking it out more often :)

Their phở and buffet are one of the best you can find in dc! Great service the guy is really friendly. Great number of choices

We were greeted at the door and right away they offered to put two tables together so that we could sit together. Food was quick and tasty. We got the BLT and chicken salad sandwiches. Lots of filling, good bread… yum!

Not very good. We had barbecue pork Banh Mi. The pork was a mixture of sliced Chinese style red barbecue pork and cold cut pork. Bread was tough. Service was good but food was mediocre at best.

I am a regular at Café Recess, usually when they have teriyaki chicken at the buffet. I have brought people there who have had everything from the Thai burger to the salmon. Everyone has really liked their food!
The staff is friendly. It’s clean. It’s a nice little walk from the House buildings.
I highly recommend it. Call ahead to see if they have teriyaki chicken. Tuesdays and Thursdays seem to be the highest chances.

I went recently where they have changed owners. Still the same food layout but with more Korean food like ramen added to their menu. Vietnamese, American and Korean food in one place. You can’t be that!

The food here is so bad. I can’t remember the last time I had food so bland. It’s buffet style so I wasn’t expecting much but for the price I was expecting something halfway edible.
I had some Japanese style clear noodles that didn’t taste like much. It was slightly salty. I had fried rice as well which didn’t taste like anything. I also had beef and broccoli, which was the worst thing on my place. It was so salty! And the texture, it was tough as a shoe.
Don’t come here, there seems to be many other paces nearby.

Food was ok, but expensive. It was rated 4 stars on Unilocal so went there expecting better food but it’s one of those mass per pound buffets with so so taste. Overall $$ for meh food! Sigh

I wasn’t too impressed with Café Recess. Overpriced for mediocre food. I visited during lunch on a weekday and ordered the phở. It’s a confusing layout because there’s a buffet bar but you can also order food that is brought to your table. Either way, you order at the register up front. There are tables to sit inside, though it seems more of a take-​out place. I placed an order for phở and sat down. I then went to get water and my phở was brought out as I was up getting water, but it was taken to another table (not the one where I had put my stuff). I was expected to move to the other table where they took my food. It was not even crowded and barely anyone was there.
As for the phở, it was $ 12, which is very overpriced, compared to the authentic phở you can get for cheaper in NoVA. The phở itself didn’t have a flavorful broth, came in a smaller portion than I’m used to (even though I ordered the large), and they really skimped on the meat…
I can’t really recommend this place. I will go elsewhere for food when I’m in the area in the future.

This was an interesting place. It had an Asian food buffet but it also had a sandwich counter where you could order sandwiches. You paid for your buffet food by the pound which was an interesting and welcome concept. We were there kind of late for lunch so the food was pretty picked over and a little old tasting. I sure wish I would have ordered the phở though. A few others in the restaurant had ordered it and it looked delicious. And the price was right, only $ 10.95 for a large portion. That was probably the better thing to order… maybe another time.

Family ate here on vacation. Steak and cheese sandwich, reuben, grilled cheese, fries, 3 drinks with free refills. Food was great, service was great, very well priced! Can’t go wrong for lunch!

Excellent Food at very reasonable prices. My Ruben was just right and the next tables Vietnamese food looked elegant and nothing at any of our tables remained for leftovers.

Had BLT (lots of bacon), Italian Hero Sub, Burger, and Banh Mi Burger (super yummy). Excellent service, very friendly. Convenient location, very reasonably prices. Looking forward to next visit.

The crispy spring rolls were fine. The vermicelli was normal. The best one was the hamburger with a great quality bread, and very good taste. The staff was very kind.

Had sandwiches and fries. The Reuben and Ribeye steak and cheese were some of the best sandwiches we have had. Very reasonable and we highly recommend.

While on a trip to DC my family and I stopped by Café Recess. We were looking for a quick and delicious bite to eat and we were not disappointed. My daughter and I had the beef phở and it was delicious. My other daughters had the BLT and the Bahn Mi Burger which apparently was so scumptious that it moved to number 2 on her top list of burgers. Lastly, my wife had the Bahn Mi Chicken sandwich which was very tasty. Overall a great experience that was quick and satisfying.

Today has been the third time I’ve been here and it is my go to every time I’m in DC. They have a great selection of American and Vietnamese food that has had my taste buds buzzin since the beginning. Although I’ve never tried it, they have a hot bar as well — who can argue with that? Great place to stop by if you find yourself on this side of Pennsylvania Ave :)

Very delicious food. Love the chicken wings and ribs. Too bad I didn’t have time to try the phở. I’m sure it’d have been great.

The Phở is outstanding.
I eat here regularly and like the food options. The phở is by far my far my favorite option. The chicken phở, which is cooked meat, is outstanding – the portions are generous and the temperature is always perfectly hot.
I have not tried all their Vietnamese options but will soon enough.
Consider ordering the Phở for takeout for dinner. It’s awesome.

I’ve been coming to Café Recess for many years and it is always consistent. Its centerpeice is a serve-​yourself Asian Food and Salad Bar. Selections are sold by weight. Typcially, I select a meat, an egg roll, noodles, and garden salad in a box. I supose one could call that a bento, though this is not Japanese.
Today, I selected Double-​Cooked Pork as the meat along with my ususal accompanying items. All were very good.
I have not tried the made to order deli sandwiches.
Café Recess would be an ideal place for families visitng Capitol Hill to have lunch as there is something for everyone.
I’m not sure why Unilocal calls it T V A Café Recess. I have always known it as Café Recess.