The Royal in Washington DC

I was excited to check this place out when a friend suggested it was in the area. Wow was I unimpressed... I got a matcha latte and the Huevos and I couldn't believe how tiny the portion was for the price! It looked delicious but tasted so bland. I was so underwhelmed and honestly frustrated that I paid almost $30 for basically nothing. The inside is cute but it's super small so it was hard to find seating. I liked being able to order from the bar. Overall, not impressed.

Awesome breakfast!! Awesome drip coffee !! Great place to have breakfast with my family while on vacation in DC.

Went here for drinks. Someone I know was the guest bartender. Drinks were good, not only the ones my friend made, but also the ones from the regular bartenders. The small plates we shared were good. Seasoned Fries were of special note. Avacado dish was great, as were the roast cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. It's an odd space but nice. Would like to return during the day when it is a coffee shop.

The Royal is perfect for me. You can come here with a laptop and find adequate outlets and fast wifi. The interior is aesthetically pleasing, with ample natural light and materials. On top of all that, I can tell the food is prepared with love. It is tasty, healthy, fresh, and reasonably priced. A real hidden gem to do work, stay for a bite to eat, drink a cocktail.

Fantastic homemade Spanish flavors. Happy hour prices!

Nice quiet spot, awesome service. If your looking g for a good bite and relaxation ✅

Nice spot for sure. Great service. Enjoyed the food. And I really liked the energy. Decently sized, more on the smaller side but it felt quaint and comfortable. Really amazing breakfast sandwiches

The food was really good here! The arepas are magical lol. The only thing I didn’t like was the service? Everyone was really nice but it took really long to get my food and I saw people that ordered after me get there food first. I know some things take longer but I literally just ordered an arepa with a fried egg so I’m not sure if that takes a long time or what.

Last night I ate at The Royal for the first time. I only had their burgers and fries, but my roommate had a drink. The burger..... was the best burger I've ever had in DC. I'm still thinking about it now! My roommate absolutely loved her drink. I never write reviews, but the burger I had was so good, that I felt I should let people know!

Small and sweet with very personable staff. I ordered the grilled avocado! Stop right there! Order that right now! Eat it! Order a second and share with your friend. You are welcome!

The only thing better than the food and the wine was the customer service!! Have great recommendations and personally delivered since there were technical challenges! Food was superb and the recommended wine delicious! Can’t wait to visit in person!!!

5 stars for everything on the breakfast menu! I LOVED everything about the food here - delicious, fresh, homemade flavor packed into every bite I tried. For my first visit, I tried the chicken biscuit and some of the biscuit with the fermented chile butter (OMG!). The guava pastry was SO delicious (I wish they sold them by the dozen..) and the yogurt w/ granola was wonderful as well. Everything was warm, made to order and the service was quite good for a busy cafe. It was a little confusing walking in so just an FYI to new visitors - order at the bar to the left and grab a seat as quickly as you can. Can't wait to get back here to try more things on their menu!

I’ve been coming here for a while now just for the best Old Fashioned in the district. Cant seem to get enough of this cocktail! Will keep coming back for more. All of the small plates Ive ordered here have been delicious. Bring some friends, order a few small plates, and share amongst yourselves. You won’t regret it.

Nice menu, odd service

Thoroughly enjoyed a happy hour and dinner here. Cocktails were creative and refreshing on a 95+ degree day. Food was outstanding. We had an arepa, avacado salad, grilled red fish and goat cheese ice cream. For the price point, you won't find a better value in town.

Just don't eat here it's not the best bite you'll ever find. just leave me to eat here in peace I'll eat every single perfect--i mean horrible--bite. Seriously though, it's amazing. I crave this food.

Reliably tasty and chill. Not a restaurant per se, but some of the best bar food you’ll find with great cocktails. Hard to describe, but I’ve been several times and it’s always good.

Royally superb! Cozy, comfortable, yet top shelf dishes and drinks. Down home feel, yet high dollar tastes! Friendly and fun where I was treated to excellent cuisine and nice people. Don't go, because seating is limited, and I want a spot!

Delightfully cute and quaint. Fresh spin on breakfast sandwiches. MUST ASK FOR HOT SAUCE...not really spicy but packed with delicious flavors!

Nice spot to grab a drink and breakfast in the morning. The avocado egg and toast was tasty. The royal fog drink was so delicious that it almost tasted like a milkshake.

The bottom line: expertly mixed cocktails and tasty boutique dishes. It's clearly a quality establishment, but I think they're still figuring out what they want to be. Feels less like a restaurant and more like a bar that also happens to serve some food, if you can appreciate the difference. Nice overall vibe though.

The beef arepas are AMAZING!Came here on a Thursday night to meet up with some friends and it got pretty busy but completely worth it. I recommend sitting upstairs if you can - there’s less noise and it’s more intimate of a setting.

They really know how to handle drinks. Their small plates are great for sharing but you may need a couple to get full unless you order one of their sandwiches which come with fries

Cute, casual place with delicious Latin food and yummy cocktails. Highly recommend.

Oh man do I love this place. It is so lovely sitting by the windows, especially when they open it up on a nice day. Super cozy decor that all looks like it belongs in one place (unlike some coffee shops) it’s like the curated home decor style of someone very well-travelled. Even though this was pretty out of the way for me, I’ve gone most weekends to hang out, read, etc.

This is a wonderful cozy neighborhood restaurant with a laid-back atmosphere. It was my first visit and so I asked for recommendations from the bartender, Jake. He did not steer me wrong. Based on his thorough and enthusiastic description, I had a beef arepa. It was definitely a creative mix of ingredients by the talented chef. I also had the grilled zucchini and tomato salad. It was light and very flavorful. I almost forgot about the cocktail. It was a perfectly crafted Jasper's rum punch. The the presentation was creative and unusual, which is what inspired me to take the picture. It was a pleasure watching the bartender ply his craft. It was even more fun tasting it, LOL. Well, this was my first time to the Royal, it certainly won't be my last. I highly recommend it.

Great atmosphere and an awesome food and drink selection.

Coffee shop and restaurant by day, fantastic and cozy bar at night. Seriously good food, haven't had anything that hasn't blown my mind yet. Great happy hour prices on food. Bartenders are friendly and welcoming. They know their craft well and serve up some creative cocktails. Menu changes regularly with a few items which keeps it interesting.Good spot for sipping on a coffee and cranking away on the laptop or for stopping by to grab a late night bite and a mule of the week.

Easy food and nice tempo cafe!

This is a nice spot for a bite and a great cup of coffee! Cool staff and cozy space. The breakfast is exquisitely prepared from fresh ingredients and is tasty, though pricey. I definitely recommend the Royal! There is street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. You can also walk from the Howard U metro station.

The best biscuits I’ve ever had!

Delicious food and coffee. It's such a great place to just nosh a little and hang out. The staff is super friendly. It's always worth making it through the weekend crowds. The biscuit and the fries are perfect.

Best chai + chill service! Late night tamales! [Arepa pictured]

Recently visited The Royal with some friends for happy hour, this was my first time there. I loved it! There was nothing to not love about this charming place. On Mondays happy hour starts at 12pm and ends at 7pm. They offer both food and drink options for happy hour, I love that, that’s how happy hour should be, always. I got the mulled wine which was just over the top delicious. Only complaint I had was that my glass was too small. My friends and I also shared an order of fries and cheese arepas. Do yourself a favor and go, don’t go when I’m going there though, the restaurant is small and it’s too cold to wait outside. 🤗

Seems unassuming, but do not sleep on this restaurant! We had the kale salad, bird dog, and shrimp. Everything was so flavorful and fresh. I highly recommend all three.

After a weekend of disappointing, lackluster food and service in D.C., the Royal washed it all away on our last day. We were greeted and seated promptly (and I assume there were smiles underneath the mask). The only confusing thing was ordering via QR code, but it did not take long for our order to come out. The food and drinks were delicious! For anyone debating if they want to visit, please do...try the "bees knees", cortado, and the arepas( or anything else on the menu), you won't regret it! Will definitely be back post-COVID. Shoutout to the bartender/barista...one person show!