Mars Cafe

It's probably the only place where you can find seating in the Air & Space Museum at the moment (with all the construction). Other than sitting down and watching a documentary.We originally were thinking of getting some bottled water, but the blueberry lightsabor drink looked very refreshing on the menu screen. I should have known that we would get something completely different. It did have fresh blueberries in it. I'll give it that. The drink was darker, and had a stale blue twizzler in it. They'll ask you to pick a straw flavor. Don't pick the lime. You've been warned. It had an awful taste, and smelled like toilet bowl cleaner. They're supposedly edible, but it's not something I would ask for again. Play it safe and pick the unflavored one if you want to enjoy your drink.The service was okay. The tables were clean. We found the only table that wasn't occupied. It was busy, and they got our order out in a timely manner. They get an extra star for that.Would I go back? Probably not. There are other Smithsonian museum cafés that are better.

Located in the Air & Space Museum, this counter restaurant was a convenient stop for lunch. I got the Black Friar Ham & Cheese sandwich, which came on a pretzel bun. I could actually notice a pretzel flavor, as well as a bit of dijon mustard and an apple slice. You order at one spot and go to another spot to wait for your food. It was not fast but not too bad. I liked the sandwich. To be sure I had enough food I also got a hot dog. That was very basic and seemed way overpriced at $7. I suppose it was all a bit expensive, four of us ended up spending just over a hundred bucks. Vacation money, I hope some goes towards maintaining this amazing free museum. At the time I wrote this review you needed to reserve a date/time to visit the museum, so getting to this café is not accessible without some planning.

Where to begin? Not enough seating. Prices are high. Food is subpar, and the lack of any type of operating system made the wait SO long. Lines were huge, so we used the kiosk to order and pay. Prices were eyebrow raising. $14 for an individual "Mediterranean pizza". (See pic- it was a pita slice with $1.25 worth of ingredients). $9 for a grilled cheese on a paper plate. The worst part? They only have a few items- but each is cooked to order, and it takes 20-30 minutes to get it! They could have 15 of these in a warmer and move the lines along- but instead have 6 government employees with attitudes loading an oven every 5 minutes to make one at a time. Eat before you come to the Smithsonian and bring snacks- or go outside to the food trucks. The time wasted waiting for your food here is a big bite out of your museum time. Do better!

Very crowded, long lines and full tables. One employee is helping people finding tables which is very nice. Food is pretty much what you will expect from museum cafeteria, limited selection and taste not so good. We ordered tomato and basil flatbread and there is no basil on it. Asked one person and she said she doesn't know, called over the other person who is making the food and she's like yeah we are out, move along...

There were only 2 hot sandwiches on the menu, yet only one was available, I should note you that they were only 1 hour into lunch service. Since mozz/tomato was not available, we purchased the ham and cheese with mustard. It was so dry that one needed to follow each bite with a sip of water. Also, it was just barely warmed, the first bite in the ham was cold, and the sandwich was from the hot menu. For $13, it was garbage. The setup seems absurd. Only 2 registers for 1000s of people make for long lines. Perhaps this is just a pantry until the renovations are completed? Smithsonian should talk to museums such as the MET in NYC or Corning, NY, where lunch is a relaxing and delicious experience, not a disappointment where you feel like you just threw out your money.

Wonderful menu, food is mediocre at best. Prices are wildly high but then again it's the Smithsonian. No discounts for members or someone did not know there were member discounts. The food was less than unimpressive but sounds good on the menu. Wish McDonald's was still here. Two drinks, a 6" pizza and moon pie- $30. I would recommend eating before coming.

Atrocious food. We spent $70 for 3 cold sandwiches (2 were supposedly toasted for us. Yet still cold in middle), 2 bags of chips one baby yoda matcha latte, one water and and one bottled soda the only acceptable thing was the chips and soda. Literally didn't even finish our food. Horrible place and rude workers.

why all the bad ratings? this place is great!!! we ordered a pizza, which was great! and three sodas, also good. the employees gave us wonderful service, and the ambiancewas amazing. the only downside was high price, at $30 for all the food listed, but come on, its inside a free museum! genuinely surprised at the low ratings, this place deservers so much better.

Terrible, pre-packaged food for outrageous boutique prices. We got three soggy prepackaged sandwiches--clearly old and cheaply made--and a chicken salad wrap, a couple drinks and some chips---$115. Barely edible. Awful experience. It would have been better to go hungry.

There were three of us. We ordered 2 Toasties with cheese, one flat bread pizza, 2 vitamin waters, 1Diet Coke, and 1 astronaut ice cream. There was a thin slice of cheese on dry bread - it looked nothing like the one in the display case. The flat bread looked nice but had no flavor. For a whopping $75 it was definitely not worth it! We were grateful to fill our tummies after long walking and willing to support the museum. The people working were nice and helpful! In the future, we will go elsewhere.