Upper West Side Café

After some squash action, I sometimes will stop by the bar for drinks and food. The bartenders are super chill and friendly. They cycle through their beer to change things up, I think seasonally. Otherwise they have a full stock of liquor.Foodwise it's pretty good, although maybe a bit pricy. I had the Pork Belly Sandwich the first time I decided to get food here. The pork belly I was expecting it to be fatty, but they made it dry and brittle. Other than that, it's not bad overall. I had the EME Burger on a separate occasion and enjoyed that a lot, although it got super messy with the runny egg. Super flavorful with the caramelized onion. Also got a side of truffle fries and they are amazing.

Few weekends ago, we got to try Upper West Side Cafe, I would say this place is truly a hidden gem!! Everything from the service down to their delicious Mediterranean influenced food was phenomenalWe ordered:- Lamb Kebobs served over veggie couscous and tzatziki- Rigatoni Pasta with Pesto sauce- Spinach Artichoke Dip with grilled Pita bread and assorted crudites- Za'atar French Fries with garlic labneh & spicy ketchupEverything we had, definitely exceeded expectations! I was hesitant at first to try veggies with Spinach Artichoke dip, but believe me I love love loveeee'it! And Za'atar fries, ooohhhh!! Those fries were extra amazing!It was surprise knowing that they share the same floor with Squash gym! This Cafe is a perfect place to spend time with your friends over good food and fun playAlso, it's a Dog-friendly cafe!! They host a lot of fun events as well. I attended an art exhibition there once. It was really fun. I would highly recommend this place. Believe me, you WON'T be disappointed!

Cute cafe/sports bar nestled on top of a fire station and inside a squash club. I came on a Sunday during that awkward time between dinner and lunch. I got the BLT burger with sweet potato fries and the watercress salad, which was supposed to come with hearts of palm and yogurt honey dressing. The food was amazing but the more amusing part was that the sweet potato fries that we got weren't actually on the menu. The salad I got had no watercress, even though it was watercress, and did not have hearts of palm. Nevertheless the salad was delicious with its crispy quinoa, fresh strawberries, apples and honey mustard dressing. It would've been more concerning if I had dietary restrictions, but I did find it amusing that I was served a salad that wasn't even on the menu. The burger itself was good and although it was a BLT it had arugula instead. Maybe we came too close to the kitchen's closing time and the chef was just looking for a way to get rid of all the arugula for the day. Nevertheless, everything was yummy and I would actually be curious to come by again to see what surprises would be served up.

I love the concept of food & fun times. @squashonfire is DC's first & only membership-free Squash (racket & ball sport) facility. The modern cafe serves up big flavors by my friend Chef Sally @amplifiedtomax ! She is cooking up some delicious Mediterranean-influenced, fresh & seasonal eats that you can enjoy at the 3rd story patio seating. Everything down to customer service was impeccable. Our favorite was the mouthwatering falafel bites but honestly everything was so good! Come say hi to the bartenders that makes some awesome cocktails. You are in for a good time!They also offer rooftop fitness classes, Yappy Hour, Paint & Sip events, happy hours & brunch! Upper West Side Cafe holds a ton of events and organizes different classes to choose from! Follow along on their Instagram for more information.

I was a huge fan of this cafe in DC! They have a nice outdoor patio, when you walk in it's a little confusing because they are paired up with a squash gym, but it's all laid out nicely and someone immediately greets you. All of the food we got was delicious and perfect portions to split. I've never had spinach and artichoke dip served with veggies, but they all tasted really good with it (the pita was still my fav of course). Also my diet came so cold, from a glass bottle, and with a lemon, sometimes it's the little things! Definitely going back here to try more of their food.

Asked what they had for bourbon. Handed the menu from the bartender who didn't know. Larceny, I ordered. Sorry, we're out. Perhaps you'd like this instead. No, that's a scotch. I'll just have a Bulleit bourbon. Sorry, we're out. Ok. Teeling Small Batch. Sorry, we're out of that, too. OK. You know what, I'll just have the Bulleit Rye. Sorry, we're out of that. Expecting a delivery soon. Settled for a beer. Running out of booze is a sure sign of an impending close.

Save yourself a trip. The food was okay, but there was a massive cockroach on the wall and the coordinator for the comedy show helped the comedian in roasting a group out of the event. Very unprofessional and off-putting. Won't be returning.

They're good here. Behind the eight ball a bit since they double as a racquetball gym. But the outdoor seating and fun atmosphere is why you come here. Mediterranean snacks. Good cocktails. Nice patio space for dj events.

We stopped in here for a quick dinner and although the menu is limited we all had a fantastic meal and great experience with the bartender/server. Wings were fantastic and the rest of our meals were prepared to our liking.

Our lunchtime visit to the Upper West End Cafe can be summed up in a handful of interactions:B: "Do you have fountain sodas? Meaning sodas on tap?"Server: "Yes!"B: "Alright, I'll have a diet coke."Server: _brings out a glass bottle of diet coke_Colleague 1: "The french toast wasn't dipped in egg."B: "How can you tell?"Colleague 1: "Because it's flat. It's bread submerged in fake pancake syrup and what tastes like thawed fruit."B: "Do you want to deconstruct what's left of your avocado wrap?"Colleague 2: "No, thanks."B: "But [Colleague 2] it's bound to be colorful!"Colleague 2: "I don't even want to see what I just ate."Busser: "Fresh bread and olive oil for the table"Colleague 1 after busser departs: "...this is literally sliced wheat bread with low-grade olive oil."B: "I wish they included just a bit of butter."B: "Let's separate the check between the three of us. I'll take the diet coke, and they'll take each of their own dishes, the avocado roll and the french toast."Server: "So two checks?"Colleague 1: "I can't finish the toast. Or the fruits. The blueberries were the only thing I could tolerate and they tasted like they were only a week old."Colleague 2: "I'm not finishing the wrap."B: "Man I just wanted a few glasses of diet coke."It would've been funny if this place didn't take itself so seriously. I wanted to give an extra star for the team at least serving a breakfast item for lunch, but the french toast my colleague received seemed like it had yet to even meet a single egg, let alone be soaked in them. The tomatoes, avocado, cheese, hummus (was there hummus?) in the wrap seemed limp.I can't say for sure that the items weren't fresh. They might've been. I don't know. I just know that they certainly didn't come across that way, and that was a consensus among a table of three. And considering that we walked upstairs through Squash On Fire to try this place after seeing a sign next to the firehouse, the service managed to fall ironically short of our non-existent expectations. And given that the toast was $11 and the wrap was $9... yeah.We expected nothing, and yet we were still negatively surprised.One star for food. One star for service. One star for value. If you're going to Squash On Fire for their courts (this review doesn't include the gym at all, so don't hold this against the gym itself), might as well dip into the CVS across the street once you're done working out.