Native Foods Cafe

The two start summary says it all: «Meh, I’ve experienced better.» That is exactly how I felt after dining at Native Foods Café. I expected a light and fresh meal, but instead had an oily mix of veggies and chicken in the form of their Moroccan Earth Bowl. I would have liked to try the Thai Meatball Earth Bowl, but it was all sold out when I came on a Saturday for lunch. The girl working at the cash register informed me of this in a pretty rude way, listing everything they didn’t have (which was a LOT) when I walked up to the cash register.
Given the slew of lunch options around the area, I would recommend crossing this one off your list of contenders before you even walk in the door. I paid a pretty penny for something very mediocre, and would hate for you to do the same!

This restaurant is the kind of place that gives vegetarian food a bad name. The menu looks delicious. My husband and I ordered the Oklahoma special– a sandwich with their original seitan, tempeh bacon, cheddar and bbq sauce. My daughter order an crunchy avocado wrap. We also ordered a roasted vegetable and red pepper dip starter.
This is the kind of place you order at the counter, take a number and go find a place to sit and they bring your food to you. The kind of place where you expect to get your food in ten minutes max. I started to get worried as soon as I went to get my drink and napkins and ketchup. The ketchup was in a huge squeeze bottle that was almost completely empty. Even squirting slowly and careful (took about 20 tries to fills small plastic cup) the bottle sprayed my pants with ketchup twice. The sriacha bottles were what really worried me. Both green bottle tops were BLACK so assume they had never ever been wiped clean and the black was mold.
Thirty long minutes later we were still waiting for our food. Finally the cook came out and said in barely understandable English that they were out of tortillas for the avocado wrap and what did we want to do for her meal? She went up to the counter and ordered a salad.
40 minutes after we paid for our lunch, our two Oklahoma sandwiches arrived. The tempeh bacon was undercooked (hard to do), the seitan slices were disgusting but the whole sandwich would have been saved had there been more than a teaspoon of bbq sauce on the sandwich. The roasted veggie starter came five minutes later. The vegetables were hard, crunchy and mostly raw. (See pictures– the black things are beets. I’ve never heard of black beets!)
50 minutes after we paid for our food our daughters second choice salad had still not arrived. There was no one at the counter or anywhere to be found. We wanted our money back for the missing meal (original avocado wrap was $ 11.59) because we had to leave. This horrible experience cost us $ 54.03, empty stomachs and an hour of our lives. Oh might as well tack on the extra money to buy my daughter lunch somewhere else.
To be fair, one of the other diners told us that two employees failed to show up. It would have better if the restaurant had closed for the day.
It was a horrible experience.
As a thirty year long vegetarian I had been eagerly anticipating eating at this restaurant. I will NEVER go back.

This is a vegan restaurant that recently opened up. It’s close to Dupont Circle Metro (south entrance) and has a spacious, well-​lit interior. There is a downstairs seating area as well, for when it gets really busy. The layout of the upstairs dining area is a little awkward, but it doesn’t interfere with my overall impression with this place. There are restrooms downstairs that are small but that don’t require a key or pass code.
There are about 2 – 3 registers (only one when I visited around 6:30pm on a Wednesday) and only a few people in line. The cashier was super friendly and enthusiastic about the menu and our being there. She offered us to sign up for their reward program, but I was already a member.
I ordered the Azteca salad, which was huge (see pic)
and more than enough for one person. The meal was fresh, wholesome, healthful, and presented well. I forget what my friend ordered, but she said she was very pleased with both the quality and the portion size.
The agua fresca/​lemonade was delicious. They also have unsweetened teas, but I stayed away because I wanted sugar suga’ suga’!
The guy who delivered our food was cute and friendly, and he took away our plates when we were finished. Personalized service like this is rare in most fast-​foody places, so it was delightful.
Overall, a very pleasant experience! If you sign up for their rewards card, you accumulate points every time you visit, plus you get one free beverage for signing up.
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I think it Native Foods could just take the stuff they say they do and actually do it correctly, they would be great. However, getting basic things right seems a struggle for them, and my last visit was characterized by a credit they offered me disappearing (eventually resolved through customer service) and them failing to give me the drink that I ordered (I headed back only after realizing that it was unlikely that a hot drink was in my carryout bag). It’s often been that way at the other location too; simple mistakes, struggles to get the order right, so I think it not a coincidence, nor is this a new place working out kinks at this point.
Their rating is salvaged by the fact that when I did eventually get my chai, it was quite good, and the tempeh in their tacos, while the tacos are pretty basic, was tasty as well. It’s not easy to get those things 100% plant-​based. I was, however, pretty insulted when their «organic chickpea-​lentil» side, which I had assumed would be some sort of soup or other preparation of chickpeas turned out simply to be a cup of chickpeas. No soup, no sauce, no lentils; just plain chickpeas. Not that I dislike chickpeas per se, but I could pretty easily have just gotten some canned chickpeas and heated them up if that’s what I wanted.
The Virginia location of Native closed recently under complaints of poor service, and I don’t know who is in charge of the brand’s DC expansion, but it seems to me that they shouldn’t be. The place is crying out for better management and competent execution of something we could use: food made out of plants. The sense I get is that Native feels like they have the market cornered and that they don’t have to try. In some sense, that’s true; not a ton of 100% vegan restaurants, especially downtown. But I find plenty of places I’m happy to eat at, especially since I branch out and am not tied to the downtown locations where they operate. I drop in now and then, but if they want me to be in more regularly, they will have to do better.

Warning — I might be addicted to this place, wish there were more in DC. Conveniently located between my work and home, I am here at least once a week. This location is surprsingly quiet in the evenings, but I always have the most pleasant cashiers. I forgot my card this past time and they added my last two meals so I could have my points!
I have actually been to a Native Foods in Colorado, San Diego, and now in DC! They are all equally as wonderfully. The food is extremely filling and they have a wide variety of options for the vegan and picky eaters. I normally opt for the salads, and normally togo! They are easy to throw in my bag for lunch of dinner. The Kale one is my favorite, but they don’t have it at this location. The sandwiches are also to die for.
The rewards program is also great! Normally there are BOGO offers, so I grab my friends and come or take two meals with me and save one for a different time. Prices are somewhat steep, but lets be real this is organic vegan food — these prices are pretty hefty anywhere you go. Nothing abnormal. Great desserts and lemonades as well! I always come hungry and leave happy :)

I’ve loved Native Foods Café’s hearty, tasty vegetarian and vegan fare for years and was thrilled to find out about its DC location. It is creative and delicious without a hefty price tag and there are also frequently promos like free sides (on Mondays, at least as of a month ago).
The Thai Meatball (seitan) Bowl is one of my favorites — the lime-​chili sauce on the meatballs provides a flavor kick throughout a filling bed of kale and veggies over quinoa; it’s enough for two meals. My husband was amazed at the texture of the southern fried «chicken» in the Soul Bowl. The salads are also pretty large and the appetizers are superb — I never skip the sweet potato fries. Don’t miss the homemade drinks, like lavender lemonade or watermelon fresca!
Service is always super friendly and helpful. The ambiance is bright and basic but there’s a good amount of space, including limited outdoor seating. I also like that there are take-​out boxes near the silverware since I always order more than I can eat.
Food: 5, Service: 4, Ambiance: 4

I’m not vegetarian but this place has me hooked to its tasty ‘chicken’ ranch burger. And the fresh drinks they offer, especially the amazing blueberry-​hibiscus tea and the watermelon fresca. Perf for summer!
Confession: I actually thought the chicken was real chicken until I took my third bite and decided to inspect the burger LOL it was so good that I did’nt mind and went a second time when I started craving a ‘healthier’ fried chicken burger. The whole wheat ciabatta bun the patty comes in is excellent as well. Pair it with a salad and you have yourself a satisfying yet not-​so-​guilty indulgence.
I love healthy/​earth friendly places and despite being a chain eatery, this place does not disappoint.

I was excited to try this place but was able disappointed with my order and the wait time during lunch. I may come back again to try something else since it is nice to have a healthier/​veggie options.
I enjoyed the pesto/​polenta baked bites, but I wish there were a few more bites or maybe a simple sauce to go with it. It gets a little dry. But I enjoyed eating it. I really did not like the saigon roll/​wrap?. It was just a wrap with brown rice and some pickled veggies. The small amount of pickled veggies were not enough to balance all the carbs in the roll (flour tortilla and brown rice). The peanut sauce helped, but there definitely should have been something else inside. I would not order this again.

I first tried Native Food Café when in Chicago two years ago. Maybe it was because it hit the spot on a hot summer day, but for some reason I remember really loving my experience so I was excited to have it come here to the DC area. Unfortunately when I finally had the opportunity to try it out I was strongly disappointed. I was still hungry but I couldn’t finish the dish. It just tasted plastic-​like.
The juices are amazing and essentially the only reason I gave it more than one star. I guess the other reason is that it seems like a great opportunity for vegans and I know no other restaurant in DC that provides a menu of 100% vegan options.