| Address | 1517 Connecticut Ave., Washington, DC 20036 |
|---|---|
| Hours | 7:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Mon-Thu; 24 Hours Fri & Sat |
| Phone | (202) 387-1462 |
| Website | www.kramers.com/ |
Okay, I was starving when we went to Kramerbooks/Afterwords after a night at work, but my friends and I found the food to be heavenly. I got the lobster roll sandwich; better than what they serve in Maine and much healthier. I had a smoothie to die for- the Strawberry Looper and knew it was vitamin packed and scrumptious. Mushroom Crostini, Fig/proscuitto salad and catfish fingers that my friends got were superb. The menu choices and preparation were fabulous. We had a very nice waiter, Darryl. I am really stunned by some of the lesser reviews posted, and wholeheartedly recommend eating here.
They have a fabulous brunch with lots of delicious options. It's a relaxed atmosphere so everyone will feel comfortable. If there is a wait, one can browse the wonderful bookstore.
Kramers has yet to disappoint me. Some dishes are better than others - pasta dishes are very good, the lamb tangine is my new love, the side dishes usually are tastier the main part (the filet mingon was chewy and lacked flavor, but all the sides more than made up for it). Beer and wine selection are good, if a bit pricey. Dessert is unbelievable! Brunch is pretty good and a great value (free muffins and orange juice when you sit down and brunch items tend to be around $10, but large portions). Overall, Kramers is my standby place to eat when I can't decide where to go. Menu is diverse and has a fair amount of vegetarian options.
I love this place! It has upscale and delicious food, but you're actually allowed to talk above a whisper. This is really a great restaurant for just about any occasion: date, dinner with friends, dinner with parents, anything. I've been for brunch, dinner, and dessert, and all were fabulous! First, it's great that the waiting area is a bookstore - you'll never get bored even if you have to wait a while (which we didn't). Second, the staff is very friendly. And best of all, the food is delicious. My favorite thing is how unique the dishes are. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli with goat cheese - yum! Another dish was a jumbo crabcake over pasta with an Old Bay cream sauce. A really unique dish was the seared tuna platter - it was like sushi but with a different twist on the presentation. The best dish by far was the Cafe Tagines with lamb - I don't usually eat much meat, but this lamb was wonderful. And the portions are the perfect size - you'll have just enough room for dessert (and you'll definitely want it when you see what's in the display cases) :) I will definitely be eating here many more times.
Always dependable, Kramer Books/Afterwords does a fine brunch in a wonderful location. Food was good, although the components were made in advance, so one diner could not get the vegetable omelet without broccoli. A great place to meet with friends.
Reliable but not stellar. Afterword's entrees are hit-and-miss. But at $18 for three appetizers, getting the appetizer tray is super bargain that will complement your generally watered-down cocktails or choice of great beer. By the time you have finished one of their delicious desserts, however, you tend to forget some of the earlier disappointment in the food or service.
Everyone in my party was more than pleased with their meal from fish to beef to quesadillas it was all delightful. They have some spectacular alcohol concoctions and a rather decent wine list. Everything was great but the Kahlua Walnut pie at the end was a disappointment. I'm ready for round two - and a new dessert choice.
Good omelette for brunch, shame about the desperately slow and inadequate service. Only some of the complementary side servings promised in the menu were provided -- and grudgingly, despite repeated requests -- which makes the price tag pretentiously excessive.
I remember this as being a good place, but returning after several years found it tired and disappointing. It even needs painting. My chicken quesadilla was just fine, and I think the person who got the waffles liked them okay, but the person who ordered the vegetarian quesadillas said they were so bad they couldn't eat them, and sent them back. The replacement bagels with cream cheese and salmon were not wonderful, either. It is sad to have a local establishment falter, because it leaves the way open to yet another chain establishment.
The food is not bad, but it's not worth the money; we (5 people) spent $100 for a small appetizer, a plate of nachos and about 7 drinks. Also, the restaurant double charged my credit card, so that does not leave me inclined to return. Always keep your receipts!
One of my favourite places after hours. Open 24 hours on weekends.
Don't expect anything fancy here ...
but,its a great place to be with your friends
and enjoy their dysfunctional family sundae,
and probably some booze ? ...
Cheers !!!
It's always busy and the tables are very close together. If you want to hear your dinner companion, do not go here. If you like things noisy and enjoy being bumped into, this is the place. Our waitress didn't even take our drink order and never came back to see how our food was or if we needed anything. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Will only go back if it's the only place open. Which, by the way, it is open late, so if you want after-theatre food, it's open, but you may have to wait for a table.
Skip the dessert but enjoy everything else ...24 hours on weekends. Indoor, outdoor and green house dining steps from plenty of reading material. Very convenient with good food and service. Always a lively crowd to produce a party atmosphere.
It's hit and miss but I go back because I've found menu items I like that they do well. Avoid the desserts. I've tried many and they don't cut it at all! Always a fun crowd. Open all night on weekends.
Great brunch, and even a bookstore while you wait. See and be seen for DC's "intellectual brunch"
Very delicious desserts to be had, the only bad thing, choosing just one!!
I ordered a portabella salad. The greens were absolutely drowned in an over-powering dressing. The greens eventually succombed to saucelike dressing in a wilted mess.
I support Kramerbooks, and I like the idea of having a cafe there, but really I found the food to be slopplily thrown together.
A really cool bar in a really cool bookstore - what more could you ask for! I hear food is good here, but I'm more attracted by their fantastic selection of beers on tap! Shiner Bock, Rogue (several of them), Allagash, Strongbow, etc. This is a beer drinker's beer place. And, Wednesday-Friday, Adam keeps things fun and crazy at the bar until 5pm or so!!
I live in the neighborhood and have been to Afterwords several times. Each time I wonder why I elected to go, not necessarily because the experience is bad, but because there are better alternatives in the neighborhood. Afterwords serves an eclectic menu, but the food itself is rarely satisfying. Plus, it tends to be overpriced for what it offers. Any appeal lies in the ambience, which is a bit more lively than most DC restaurants, and the wine and beer selection.
Although I've never been "wowed" in my previous trips to Afterwards Cafe, my past 2 brunch experiences have been notably bad. The last was the worst. We were not greeted after standing essentially in the server station for 10 minutes. We finally seated outselves but were not given water for another 10 minutes. Our server was not overwhelmed, merely inefficient, languid and chatty. The food was tepid and notably bad. Even my visiting friend from Tucson, a less judgemental soul than myself, was notably dismayed with the cuisine & service. From now on, I'll stay in the bookstore.
Though I do not recommend Afterwords, I'm sure this is a fine place to visit on sunny afternoons or evenings to have a nice time with some friends, but the food is bad. Anyone who has the ability to cook will be horribly disappointed at the money they spend (which isn't much). I had a vegetable lasagna (that was recommended) that amounted to a sloppy mass of cheese and over-cooked noodles. My friends' food was only slightly more appealing. The service was ok. The beer selection is good. The desserts looked good, but our meals sat too heavy in our stomachs to try any. My advice is to stay in the bookstore unless you're thirsty.
I like Afterwards Cafe for its inherent reliability. Not a top of the line restaurant, but you'd be hard-pressed to have a bad meal there. Plus, it is always worth leaving room for their desserts (best ask for more than one fork or spoon).
Finally, it's my pick for a good first-date restaurant: decent food, mid-priced, speedy but not rushed execution; and if you're the type who shows up early (or your date is late), you can settle yourself in the bar or the bookstore.
What is nice about Kramer's bookstore is that you can sit in the bar or in the dinning area and feel that you have excellent staff service and know the food (almost any entree) will be hot and good!!! Also you can browse books before and afterwards before or after the meal. A meal and a book!!!
I must say that this was one of the poorest dining experiences I have had in some time.
Fist the seating me and my guest was given was right in the middle of the restaurant under a blarring spotlight. The light was the lighting for the entire area not for the the table we sat at it just happened to be right over our table.
The light seemed to intensify when the appetizer slipped out of the pie tray that it was served on and fell on the table creating a loud chatter and sending my drink and my partners drink toppling over(the entire restaurant turned around to see what was going on (in the spot light) The glass broke and water spilled over the edge of the table and into our laps. We had to ask to move to another table but not the table of our choice-- because the table we wanted to move to was for a party of 5 and ours was only a party of 3. Without going into much more detail I will tell you that the rest of our dinning engagement did not get any better! I called the restaurant the next day to voice my disatisfaction with the service rendered and the mamnager (Mya) Who was the same manager on duty the night before (she was the one who broke the 3rd glass at our second table) not only had an attitude with me but was sarcastically appologetic. She did invite us back to have dinner but the drinks and dessert would be on the restaurant. Wow, a way for them to get patrons to come back and spend more money. When I asked her why she had not offered us the drinks amd dessert while we were at the reastaurnt? Her only respsonse was "I was taking care of another problem" I thoutht the waiter offered you coffee. I will share with you Mya I will not be returning-- free dessert or not...and if this is indicative of how you manage a restaurant and take care of your customer...your going to lose alot of business, consumers have far to many choices to dine in the Metro area to pur up with your poor attitude.
We tried the new shareizes, little plates of different foods, kind of a spinoff of tapas. it was great. It was pick 3 for $14.00, not too bad.
