Tryst
| Address: | 2459 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA |
| Phone: | +1 202-232-5500 |
| Site: | trystdc.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 7AM–12AM 7AM–12AM 7AM–12AM 7AM–12AM 7AM–1AM 7AM–1AM 7AM–12AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
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Derek Gildea
Its a shame that I came to Tryst first out of all the coffee houses in D.C. because now all the other venues need to compete on a wicked grading curve. Nothing Ive seen compares to Tryst in terms of coffee, atmosphere, and comfortable seating. For $2, the standard cup of coffee comes in something that might more accurately described as a bowl. The furniture is a hodge-podge collection of sofas and old chairs... absolutely nothing matches, and its wonderful. The music at Tryst is right up my alley - I often think someone there has stolen a playlist off my laptop. Expect to hear a mix of independent artists and downtempo music, including bands like the Shins, Zero 7, Coldplay, Phoenix, and many, many others. Sometimes the music gets upbeat, and sometimes it slips into some groovy jazz. Im used to putting in headphones at cafes without good music, but Ive never had to here. Tryst is also a fantastic place to people watch, so while youre drinking your gallon of coffee and listening to good music, be sure to watch the interesting clientele come an go (as well as the ever-changing art on the walls.) Free wifi on weekdays - they shut it off on weekends. This place is the highlight of Adams Morgan. I thank my lucky stars that its within walking distance from my home.
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Daria Livingston
Tryst is located in the trendy Adams Morgan neighbourhood in DC. Its probably one of the oldest coffee houses in the city, having opened in 1998, and has insane opening hours from 6.30 am every morning to "way past your bedtime" as their website puts it. I may only have been to Tryst once, but that visit catapulted it into the top spot on my list of favourite coffee places worldwide. I cant quite explain what it was about Tryst that I liked, only that the combination of space (about three times the size of the largest London coffee shop Ive been to), earth tones, comfortable seats, friendly servers, relaxed crowd, great coffee (served with animal crackers!) and delicious cakes just made me fall in love with the place within minutes of my sitting down. Tryst is a great place for those looking to well and truly chill out. They even provide power points so that customers can plug their laptops/notebooks/iPads in and work all day. Also, I gather wifi is available as well, but not on weekends. Tryst can be pretty noisy, though, so its not a place to come to if youre trying to study. I really wish I had had more time in DC so that I could have returned to Tryst once more - either for a cappuccino or a cocktail or both!
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Allison Guarino
Tryst is the homey neighborhood coffee, breakfast, lunch and lunch-for-dinner spot. Pros: Lots of seating. You can get a couch or a table depending on your purpose and company. Menu has great variety. Breakfast and lunch. Healthy and decadent. Drinks are delicious and they serve animal crackers with them. Many menu items are yummy, some are so so. Outdoor seating in summer Cons: Extremely busy on weekends during brunch, and weekdays for people working in lap tops. Wifi is spotty and they dont post the password anywhere. Very hard to figure out where you can plug in lap top. Service can be very very slow. Servers do not have any sense of urgency. But you are in a coffee coffee shop so the message is "RE-lax" Overall, love this place over Starbucks any day to support local everything.
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Leigh Rawls
Tryst is an awesome local favorite that has excellent coffee and really fantastic atmosphere! It can feel a little hectic when you first get there because its a seat-yourself situation with couches, random tables and chairs, armchairs, lounges, etc. strewn all over the place. But dont freak out, just find a place to sit and make a friend if you need to share a table or something, and a server will find you (you may have to flag them down if its really busy). Everyone Ive met there is quite friendly and accommodating. If you cant find a spot or youre in a hurry, you can get take away - just order at the counter. If you like Tryst but want to avoid the crowdedness, check out their sister restaurant The Coupe in Columbia Heights, or you can always go to The Diner next door.
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Vivian Chan
Interesting set up at Tryst--at night (which is when we went), it blasts dance music, but no one is dancing. The space is pretty much split between cafe/bakery & bar...with a ton of couches and tables sprawling over an open space. We got a table right by the opened window, so we were basically sitting right up against the nightlife in the street--but conveniently shielded from the rain. T got a peach nectar iced tea and I got the masala chai, despite her warnings that itd be milky/watered down. It was. Boo. We also shared a mulled cider, which was sour and sweet (odd combo..) I say most of its points come from the ambience...Ill have to try some other drinks next time I go. Definitely skipping the masala chai....
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Change & Pass
Five stars because this is a great place to come crash for hours and work with a coffee or tea. Ive been around a few times and the service is great - just call over a waiter or waitress when you want something else, dont magically expect them to appear right when you want them. Id skip the desserts, the brownie I had could have come from the stack of chocolates and crap you usually find at a grocery store checkout line. BUT the drinks are perfect. I ordered a hot apple cider and it was quite large and delicious. Lavender Hot Chocolate was also delicious and exactly what I wanted on a cold day. Great Wifi, and Ive never had trouble finding a seat or a plug. Love it!
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Adiba Chowdhury
Visited on a weekday morning and wanted to get some studying done. The decor is great and the internet was an ok speed. But the speed of service left much to be desired. Its a popular spot even on a Thursday morning but not that crowded that we shouldnt get good service. The tables are not ideal for working with books and a laptop unless you sit on one of the bigger ones. Outlets are hard to spot so I had to walk around looking for one. I had waffles and a coffee, which were nothing to rave about. In conclusion, nothing stood out that Id return to the place, especially as its not metro accessible (bit of a walk & there are other cafes closer)
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A Private User
The "manager" of this place tried to rip me off. She saw that I had a cup of starbucks on my table. She did not say anything about it UNTIL after I ordered and went to say "Starbucks is devil.. haha, you cant have that here..." oh really, my stars. I told her She should have told me BEFORE I ordered. She wanted me to give up my coffee to stay and eat her food? She gave me hard time about it, then was all "sorry" about it. I do not appreciate her attitude. I would have understood if she said something aobut the coffee before I ordered. But no, with her attitude and bad service, I have no interest in coming back to this place ever again.
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Matt R
I like this place. The food is pretty solid and the drinks are pretty solid. Its always crowded so it may take awhile to get service (they have this "sit anywhere and well get to you" policy that upsets some people). My main complaint, aside from the fact that it can get very busy and thus its hard to find a place to sit, is that when the sun shines into the front windows, it can get REALLY hot inside. Pro tip: They shut off the wifi on weekends Pro tip 2: Apparently the bathrooms at Tryst are one of the most popular places to have random sexual encounters. (I have not confirmed this myself.)
