This review is for the patio, a cafe within Glenstone. Great self service spot with lots of options for a light pastry and coffee, espresso based. Rich coffee flavor. Great for a pick me up. Most incredible of course is the nature! Beautiful indoor and outdoor seating. Can get hot though in the summers outdoors even though it is shaded! read more

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As much as I appreciated the natural lighting from the massive windows and pale wood interior, that was the only real highlight. The café and brunch menu focuses on seasonal dishes and drinks. We were seated immediately, but then left unattended for about 15 minutes and had to wave someone down to take our order. Even though we only ordered café items, the food still took quite a while to arrive. We were at least relieved it was not as long as the wait for those ordering full meals. *Sunrise Passion: described as a house made syrup with soda water. The syrup was barely detectable, and I did not get much passionfruit flavor, whether tart or sweet. *Hibiscus Lemonade: the hibiscus gave the drink its color but only a faint aroma. The lemonade itself leaned very tart compared to other versions and was quite puckering. *Seasonal Sorbet: the current flavor was blueberry. This was refreshing and fruity, with a smooth texture overall, aside from occasional icy bites from frozen blueberry pieces. The portion was generous, with two large scoops that were easy to share. After finishing, we were left waiting again and had to flag someone down just to get the check. It is also worth noting that all bills include an automatic 18 percent charge. The overall setup of the café slows down the dining experience significantly. There did not seem to be enough staff to handle ordering, food delivery, table clearing, and billing. The lack of attentive service made the automatic gratuity feel hard to justify. Combined with the underwhelming drinks and food, I would recommend eating and hydrating beforehand rather than relying on this spot. read more

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I was genuinely impressed by the quality and taste of the food given that this is located in a museum, but they do a great job curating a beautiful atmosphere and menu. The service was also wonderful, definitely recommend stopping by after looking at beautiful art! read more

Glenstone Cafe - Chicken tikka wrap - Cafes Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

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Surprisingly great pastries and drinks for a museum! The outside seating is on a beautiful patio facing out towards a wooded area. Not many seats on the inside of the cafe. It's very peaceful and allows time for reflection. The barista was helpful with telling us what syrups and other add ins they could offer since it's a limited menu. If you haven't been to the museum itself it's amazing, it's a mix between hiking, outdoor sculptures and indoor exhibits. read more

Glenstone Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

The common themes of the reviews for the Glenstone Cafe are: * Love coming to the Glenstone Museum BUT * Speed and overall quality of Service at the Cafe is lacking. The Glenstone Museum (https://www.yelp.com/biz/glenstone-potomac?osq=glenstone+museum), is one of the more underappreciated spots in the DMV. I always encourage folks to visit this unique cultural facility which not only features amazing artwork, but showcases stunning examples of modern architecture. The Cafe is located on the older section of the grounds and boasts truly picturesque views from the patio. As referenced in other reviews, the "ordering process" could be a holdover from COVID times, but you scan the QR code located on the table placard, and choose your beverage and/or food option. Payment is also made through the mobile site, for an entirely cashless transaction. I actually thought the kitchen had forgotten about our order because it took over 25 minutes for the drinks to be delivered to the table. I went inside to check on the status of the order and there are 2-3 people working at the espresso machine...but I guess they're just not the fastest. One of the baristas gave me the standard, "we're crafting each beverage as they come in, so it'll take some time." Thankfully it was a nice enough December day to sit outside and there are plenty of heat lamps for added warmth. When the drinks did arrive, they were good, albeit not as hot as I prefer, perhaps since they had been sitting on the counter waiting to be delivered. My Chai Tea had a bit of spice and was not too sweet; and bonus that they were able to make it with Oat Milk which gave it nice creaminess. I sampled some of my friend's mocha was nice and chocolatey, but again, could've been a few degrees warmer. There were two servers walking rotating between the interior dining room and the patio, so they folks were hustling. Didn't see much of them after dropping off the drinks. I dunno, perhaps more staff could be alloted to the cafe to improve with speed of service? I'm at Glenstone 3-4 times a year for exhibits and visiting with out of town guests, so even with these detractions, I'll still pop by the cafe to a beverage and admire the million dollar views. read more

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Great food & drink, excellent coffee, beautiful setting, and prompt, friendly service.

Post visiting the Glenstone gallery, we sat down for what we thought might be something to drink, but the menu looked interesting. I had the curried butternut squash soup with chickpeas on top -- absolutely delicious! Seriously, I wish had the recipe. My son had the tandoori naan chicken sandwich with chips -- he said it was sooo good! He also had chai which came out with a cute heart on top. My mom had a chocolate chip cookie -- which she really enjoyed. The service was prompt -- we used our phone to order, they brought the food, and then came back to pick up the dishes -- all while seated outside on a cold but lovely setting. read more

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Love the Glenstone, kinda hate the cafe. I've been here twice and both times service was extremely slow. Like 40min for them to serve this god awful cold banh mi, straight from the fridge, is ridiculous. You basically have to order via QR code. The wait staff we encountered weren't friendly or helpful. I felt bad for the elderly patrons who had no idea what they were doing. As for the food, I knew I would regret ordering an American take on Banh mi. The red flags of tofu being the protein and having a gochujang Mayo should've been enough to deter me, but I was starving and obviously not able to make good decisions at the time. Again, the sandwich itself was cold. How are you gonna call this a banh mi without toasting it? At least the chips were good. Coffee at the cafe is decent. I've had no complaints there other than it taking 40min to make... read more

Glenstone Cafe - "Banh mi" - Cafes Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

i've attempted to eat at the glenstone cafe twice - once, with success, and another time without. my first visit was to the indoor cafe, and this was a great experience ! there were few other patrons, so i was seated promptly and served quickly. when it's busier, i'm sure that the communal style tables would be off putting, but i was seated quite far from the other diners with a great view of the window. i just wanted a snack for between lunch and dinner, and the chocolate strawberry parfait was just the ticket. it was small, but refreshing when paired with an iced americano. my second visit i braved the outdoor patio area, which is a ways away from the indoor seating. it was during an evening with live music, and despite coming early, there were no seats to be had. however, i was offered a free lawn blanket to use to listen to the music, so even though i was unable to dine, i was glad to still be able to listen from the grounds. i was also offered an essential oil based bug spray that may not have been super effective, but it did smell nice ! read more

Glenstone Cafe - ice cream parfait + an iced americano - Cafes Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

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The lemonade is great. The cookies taste like a bakery. The sauces for the fries were delicious. The sandwich was thick with which made it hard to eat. Nice cafe to sit in while there! read more

Glenstone Cafe - Chicken Salad Sandwich - Cafes Near Me - Potomac, Maryland

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Glenstone is a treasure. The restaurant is not. Yes, I honestly expected fresh, tasty food. I haven't eaten in the outdoor cafe, but the restaurant serves overpriced, mediocre food. Be prepared to pay almost $45.00 for an average sized sandwich, an iced tea and a tiny piece of cake. The bread was not fresh, the roast beef was fatty, chewy and nothing special. The fries, were...fries. At least they weren't covered with Old Bay spice. The cake, a 2"x3" rectangle, was factory made. This place could be a gem, instead it's not even semi-precious. It's paste. read more

Glenstone is such a wonderful addition to the MoCo area for things to do, and I always enjoy going to the cafe as part of the visit. The waitstaff is always friendly, and the atmosphere is great. We were able to dine outside on Dec 30th (!), and they had servers bringing food out to us (it was a cool 55F yesterday, but they still offered their usual service)! I also think their menu is simple but absolutely gets the job done. We enjoyed their charcuterie plates and a glass of wine, which paired well with our visits to the different exhibit halls. Highly recommend a visit to the cafe whenever you're at Glenstone and have extra time for it. read more

Beautiful place but the food and service are horrible. There is no real wait staff as you order by phone. No chance to ask for more ketchup for example. Our roasted cauliflower wraps were tasteless and cold. read more