Sandwiches by Phillip

How did I not know about this place sooner?! Absolutely some of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. The breads, meats, produce — everything was so incredibly fresh I came here two days in a row! Nothing compares to watching them carve your meat in front of you… the turkey you get tastes exactly as it would if you had roasted it at home. I also love how much choice is offered here. They have a ton of different deli meats and a ton of different types of breads/​wraps that you can really customize your order just the way you like it. Beware: the end product is HUGE no matter what type of bread you get. That’s why I don’t really mind the prices here — it’s really like two sandwiches with how big it is. This is officially my new favorite lunch spot in NoMa!
This place gets very busy during the lunch rush, but they’re really good at getting people through the line quickly so don’t let the crowd deter you!

Came at 3pm on a Monday so it was very slow. The lady who took our order lacked some basic English but it was good enough to order our food. She was unable to answer my question about what the most popular sandwich was. We got the steak and cheese sandwich which was quite tasty. I would stop again if I were a local.

Rounding out my reviews of neighborhood sandwich places. I would say this comes close to Uptown Café for providing the best quality.
I think this used to be ‘Café Phillips’ (I earlier had a so-​so experience at the other ‘Café Phillips’ location), but they must have changed hands. Yet they still have the same quality meats and ingredients. You get a filling sandwich with a choice of breads, and service with a smile. A typical sandwich including cheese, plus brownie comes out a little over $ 10, but if you’re not very hungry, you can save half the sandwich for later. A number of salads, yogurt parfaits, and large-​quantity fruit cups line the refrigerated to-​go counter. I’ll most likely be back.

Most of the time this is my restaurant by default of location… Conveniently located near the workplace so I come a lot.
The service is very fast and efficient, they are professionals at whisking you through the line.
They do very well with crowd control and lines. Most of the workers know you by face if your regular which is a plus.
If I had one complaint it would be the price of Philips. The prices are reasonable but they you charge extra for everything. (slice of tomato, sprinkle of cheese etc) no one’s looking for something free… but some of the extra charges are erroneous and a bit unnecessary.
I’ve had much of their breakfast. For around 4 buck a breakfast sandwich feeds you well.
My go to for lunch is a Cobb salad. It’s great. When it was time to pay I was charged for guacamole, sprinkles of cheese and bacon… until i alerted the cashier it was a Cobb Salad :/​ (the cashiers are pleasant but boy are trained to charge) :)
I continue to come here though sometimes twice a day — breakfast and lunch.

I have been here a handful of times and I’ve had positive experience each time. There’s tons of seating and they keep it clean. It does get busy very quickly but they try to get everything through the line as efficiently as possible. I’ve always been met with a smile and «how are you today».
I like it here a lot because it’s one of the few places I think of that’s not a huge chain and it’s not in the middle of Union Station. I like that I can watch them cut up my lunch meat right in front of me when I order it.
I’m giving 4 starts because I haven’t tried their breakfast, beverages or too many of their sandwiches.
If you’re looking for something that’s a step up from the heavily commercialized sandwich places or other chains that you find a lot of in the area, this is the place to go!

This is, in my opinion, the BEST sandwich you can get in the area for under $ 8 and a great quick lunch option with lots of available seating. The only downside is that they charge something ridiculous like 60 cents for a slice of cheese, which is a little weird because they definitely don’t skimp on any of the other sandwich toppings.
You order at the counter and have a choice of several different meats freshly carved in front of you. I think they’re all the same price — I usually always go for the roast beef. You can then pick from a lot of different cheeses (for an additional charge) and other toppings (most of which seem to be free). This is one of the few sandwich places that I’ve found that still serves sprouts, so that’s a welcome addition.
The line at the counter might be long, but I’ve never had an issue finding a seat in here during peak lunch rush. Next to Union Station, this is probably your best bet for getting a quick and filling lunch option in the area.

Disappointed in Salmon Burger — needs a nice sauce and not the lemon salad dressing that they charged extra for.

So it’s crazy busy at lunch time, but the food is good. They don’t chintz on the meat. It’s piled like an inch and a half thick on the turkey sandwich and on the tuna salad, both which are very full of flavor.
They do yell at you from behind the counter, asking what you want on your sandwich… So if you don’t want to be screamed at «mayo, tomato, lettuce!?» then it might not be the place for you.
It’s basic deli food with decent selections, a variety of coffee, drinks, chips, cookies. Great place to go for lunch, but they need more seating.
Just be prepared to stand in a line of about 20 people. But it goes fast.

This place is an awesome lunch/​breakfast spot. They have a lot of seating, the line moves quickly, and the staff is very friendly. You get a lot for your money — the Italian sandwich I had was huge, filled with meat, and delicious! Definitely worth checking out!

Only been once, but easily one of the best sandwich shops I’ve ever been too. Loved the selection. Very fast and great service.

My sandwich was delicious. The service was terrible. I felt like I was inconveniencing the staff. The cook used the same spatula on tuna as he used on my bacon. I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen. When I finally got his attention I told him that I could not eat that due to a severe allergy. They proceeded to make faces at each other and then started groaning and speaking in Spanish. How rude. By the time my sandwich was done I was standing in front of the fridge picking a drink. The cook decided to whistle at me 3 times to get my attention. I am not a dog. I do not respond to whistles. When I was finished picking my drink, I went to get my sandwich only to witness more faces, groaning and spanish. I will not return here.

My breakfast and lunch can i just say im glad this place is a hop skip and a jump from my office and it’s a god send. Breakfast is great and at a great price lunch is just as stellar and i have no complaints. But the real reason I’m taking a moment to Unilocal this place is the number one the service and staff are awesome and the Hispanic cashiers both will put a big smile on your face and will always try to remember you if your a frequent customer. Its was the little things like my iced coffee which the ice was coffee as well which once done made a small cup in the office and was on my second cup. It’s the best shop around and we over at 90kst appreciate your service

Food is really good and the staff is nice and helpful but it’s expensive.
I ordered a turkey sandwich and they said ‘what kind of cheese would you like?’ And I got cheddar on it. At the register they charged me a dollar for for two squares of standard sandwich cheese. I don’t care about the dollar itself but protested on principle that I didn’t ask for cheese and they didn’t tell me it was extra. The manager charged me regardless and on their giant menu sign above the counter says ‘extra cheese: $ 1.00′. That’s inaccurate because it implies that cheese is a standard condiment (which it is at nearly every other eatery on the planet).
It really is great food and all but I was disappointed (once again on principle) that their staff was misleading, the sign was misleading and they wouldn’t do anything about it.

Another well run establishment that caters to the lunch crowd. Hot and cold sandwhich station and a salad station. Quick well made food thats well managed. Cheesesteak was disappointing since the meat was the frozen slab meat. Roast beef and other sandwiches looked good.

Couldn’t agree more with my previous review.
This time they wanted to charge extra for vegetables in my egg sandwich. Totally makes sense! That said, you didn’t use to do that, so it would be nice of you to tell me beforehand. Not a big deal.
Also, there is less care… smaller portions, higher prices. It’s certainly still solid, and a reliable place to get something to eat.

I like the location over in SW for sandwiches and such, but this review is purely for this location and the stop-​in I made before a meeting across the street earlier this week. I went in, freezing from a long walk from Union Station, and ordered a hot tea.
A SMALL tea cost me more than $ 3!!! I mean, they handed me a generic brown cup of hot water and I had to select a tea bag myself from the counter. Tea bags are like MAYBE $ 1.25 even for high-​quality tea. Water is essentially free. The cup is probably like 30 cents. So they mark up for overhead and profit like 100%!? WTF.
I feel like because there’s really no other place to eat or get a cup of tea anywhere nearby they are just capitalizing on that and committing highway robbery.

They have EXCELLENT meatball sandwich, you can tell the meatballs are not frozen, but homemade. The sauce was delicious. It was about 7.19 $ which was little bit more expensive, but i am willing to support a local business. This was an excellent location when I was taking training at 90K street. It is really spacious but sometimes the line moves really slow, and they only have two cashiers but the line just forms into a blob.

Wow, there’s already 28 reviews for this place? For some reason I didn’t think there would be any reviews since this is strictly a place where people go for lunch during the work week. I don’t think they are open after 4pm and they definitely aren’t open on the weekends.
Nonetheless, I can’t complain since this café is right below where I work. The sandwiches are good and the service is friendly. I can’t give them the full 5 stars since the prices aren’t super cheap or anything, but not much more than what you’d expect for that quality of sandwich.
Overall, I come here pretty frequently for lunch and if you’re in the area for work, you can’t go wrong with this place. There’s probably better nearby, but there’s also definitely worse nearby as well.

I was in NoMa today for a brief work conference and, as that I’m totally unfamiliar with the neighborhood, decided to Unilocal for ideas. Café Phillips is the closest place to my conference site, so I said «what the hell».
The first thing that I noticed was that this place is «assembly line» style. Now, I don’t mind this so much if I know the menu and/​or know what I want right off the bat, but in an unfamiliar situation it makes me very uneasy and uncomfortable. This place is extremely busy at lunchtime, as well, which for me only added trepidation about the whole thing.
I ended up with a steak and cheese sandwich. I wanted coleslaw on the side, but there didn’t seem to be a way to order it on its own, it’s not on the menu board, and the staff was way too busy for questions. To be fair, the staff is pleasant — just very busy.
Food is quite good. The steak and cheese was melty, hot and delicious. They also have a huge row of every kind of potato chip you could think of — while I didn’t originally want chips, the kind that I did select (aged horseradish and cheddar) was insanely good.
Seating and atmosphere is very attractive. I can see why people come here in large groups — it’s a good place for a casual business lunch or meeting. Wifi is free here, which is also a nice perk.
I just wish that there was a better way to order sandwiches and other items here than the «assembly line», because I seriously just feel uncomfortable asking a lot of questions when there are eight thousand people in line behind me waiting to get their lunch. I tend to avoid places like this for just that reason.
Still, I’d come back again. I’ll probably wait until the lunch rush is over, though.
ETA: A coworker finally filled me in re: the coleslaw location — it’s in the refrigerated case at the bottom with the pre-​made salads. Guess I should have known to look there first, but, eh, it’s an honest oversight.

Perfect breakfast and lunch that is the perfect location across the street from the DC bus station.
The sandwiches are a little pricey for my liking, but the flavor more than makes up for the few extra bucks. We got the BLT, grilled reuben, steak and cheese, and egg and cheese on a bagel. All were very delicious.
My only recommendation, if you’re getting a sandwich for the bus trip, get something cold. The greasiness makes the sandwich very soggy if not eaten right away. But, throwing them in the oven crisps it right up.
The best part was the fast moving lines. The amount of people looks intimidating, but the chefs and workers are very efficient. They will have you in and out in no time.