KC Cafe

This is a good place to grab a quick bite when you're in the Kennedy Center complex, as it's a bit of a distance to walk to any local eateries. It's located on the Terrace level of the Hall of Nations, on the opposite side as the Terrace Restaurant which is the formal restaurant inside KC.They have the usual sandwiches, salads, beverages, and snacks - nothing special there. But at dinner time hot meals are also served. The cafeteria is huge as staff and performers also eat here. The outside patio offers an open view of the Potomac - I think you can eat out there in warmer weather? Not sure but there are picnic tables placed out there. It is clean and organized, and better than an average cafeteria.

The food is expensive and there isn't a lot of variety, but we love stopping by here for a solid meal. It costs significantly less than the fancier restaurant, but there are some trade-offs. For one, there really isn't a ton of variety. There are two hot stations, one for pastas and one for your typical "meat & potatoes" fare. They seem to always have one beef and one chicken entrée, and two sides (one starch/potato, one vegetable). For pasta, both had meat and both were penne. They do include salad and a breadstick as well. Now, they do offer other quick service prepackaged options, like sandwiches and chip-dip dishes. They also have a wonderful pastry and coffee bar too! They also offer pre-mixed cocktails and wine. I think if you have preferences or allergies you should be able to find a few things. But, again, you don't have many choices. Still, the staff is usually friendly and helpful. And the ambiance is modern and clean. You have some stunning views from the terrace level as well. It's not going to win any awards maybe, but it definitely works as a quick and simple meal or refreshment spot.

Fast service cafe inside Kennedy Center, Washington DCGrabbed a cheeseburger before the noon show. I asked for well done burger and it came out well done. The bun was slightly cold but burger tasted good.

This is a review based on a single visit for dinner on a Friday night. I wanted to go to the on-site restaurant (Roof Terrace), but no reservation available. KC Cafe is a cafeteria. A really attractive, comfortable cafeteria. (I see some people on Yelp complaining about it - it's a nice cafeteria - what do you want?) You walk in, pick up a tray, and come to an area with prepackaged sandwiches, prepackaged desserts, a variety of chips, beer, bottled sodas and a wine dispensing machine. The wine was $12 a glass, I believe. You walk a bit further and there is a nice looking salad bar on the left, where you select your items and a server puts your plate together. On Friday, there was one soup choice at the salad bar - clam chowder.You keep walking (I make it sound like the place is huge - it's only a few steps from one area to the next) and there are two stations: one for fish and one for chicken/beef. Each entree came with two sides. I don't know if the menu changes, but here's what we had last night. I had the whitefish with a tomato sauce and two sides. The sides at the fish station were vegis (primarily cauliflower/zucchini) and white rice. My partner had the salmon. My partner asked if they could get their sides at the beef/chicken station, which was an unstated option. The sides at that station were new potatoes and string beans. The whitefish was terribly salty. My partner attributed the taste to the tomato sauce with capers, but I think the entire thing was just too darn salty - to the point of uncomfortable. The sides were very good. My partner enjoyed the salmon. I thought it was a bit dry. Those sides were good also. No complaint about the portions - plenty to eat. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking that there was no roll/butter offered with the entrees. There was a roll basket at the salad bar, so I'm assuming you'd have to go over there to pick up a roll and pay another buck. We opted for ice water. There's an ice machine with cups in the cafeteria and you can fill from ice water containers in the main dining area. The seating area is nice, well lit and if you get a table by the window you get nice view of the City, including monuments. Staff busses the tables when you are done. They were working hard ensuring the tables by the window were made available as soon as the previous occupant left. I wish I could remember the prices. I believe the salad bar was $26, the soup $6 and you could get the two together at a discount. The two fish entrees and chicken were in the high 20's and the beef was $32. All the food looked good in the serving trays. If there were restaurants in the immediate area of the Kennedy Center, I doubt I would come back here. Most of the food was good (except for the extreme saltiness of my whitefish, which haunted me hours later), and $75 for two fish dinners and a single eclair (the eclair was $8) to split seems high.

The cafe os on the rooftop of the Kennedy Center. The booths are comfy. The snacks are ridiculously overpriced. Dasani water is $5.50 if you charge it. I wanted to stop by Whole Foods and get over priced water & sneak it in my purse. But noooo, we couldn't take an extra 10 minutes. There are waters, sodas, alcohol and plastic cups filled with gummies and candies. You can eat salads and heartier items. I would just prefer spending money on tickets or the gift shop.

Love having this casual option to eat at the Kennedy Center. It's cafeteria style but stepped up with seafood station and "farm" station. I had a salad and my husband had the sirloin, potatoes and green beans. I just wish they had more options for premade sandwiches. Tonight's choices were tuna, tuna or tuna.

This place is profoundly OK. It's hard to think of a more okay kind of place that you would possibly stick at the top of "the nation's cultural center, and a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy."It's called a Cafe. Now, see, these days when you see "Cafe," you think a cute little shop where you might get a cappuccino and a nice sandwhich, baked goods, perhaps a slice of quiche or something. But when you walk in you think, aha. Cafe. As in short for cafeteria. And suddenly you're mentally transported back into high school. But like, if you multiply the price of your high school food by 10.To be fair, there are a decent number of choices - pre-wrapped sandwiches and salads, a burger/grill sort of place, a more cooked-in-a-pan-or-pot stand, a mediocre salad bar, and I think I saw some sub-optimal sushi as well.The service is as good as you are. After wandering around and bumping into people trying to figure out what exactly the options ARE and then which order to pick them up on, eventually you can make your way over to the check-out and through. Your ability to get a table will be highly dependent on when you come.The food itself meets expectations. Like the cafeteria itself, it's profoundly okay. You'll get in, you'll get out, you'll spend a lot of money, and sustenance will be had.

Quality has gone downhill, alas. Still alright but nothing compared to the old days. Our first time back at Kennedy Center for a show since the pandemic! The seafood stew is rather sad. Just rice, small shrimps, and pieces of white fish. No baguette. No lobster tail. No mussels (see my previous photos, compared to photo of tonight). Ceviche was good though (chunky prawns). Customers are back (full houses!). KC Cafe should do better. Do not cut corners. The Kennedy Center's grand hall is just as grand, now with posters from the past 50 years (they are celebrating the 50th anniversary).

It's really expensive. I thought the self serve margarita was cool. But, when I got the cup and followed the directions (pushed the blue button once) the cup was barely half full. So- I pushed it again. Imagine my shock when my sandwich and drink was $61. Apparently- I gave myself a "double". Beware! The sandwich was from the deli case, wrapped in plastic and ice-box cold. Just go to a drive through on the way to a KC event in the future.

Man, was this an unfortunate stop. We have had really good luck with museum cafeterias, like the USDA and Indian museum as examples. We stopped here during off times when the hot food stations weren't open which may have been fine but the packaged food was able to be both awful and expensive. Sandwiches were bland and half-empty and salads were disgusting. Only good thing was the view and they had good pebble ice. Do not waste your money.