Busboys and Poets

Nice atmosphere, great food & drinks. I’ll be back!

Food is always great, but the service is a hit or miss. If service was consistent, would be 4 stars.
For brunch I always get the french toast and a side of the hash-​browns.

The food was good. I ordered the house salad with kale but they were out of kale. That was the only downfall because the waitress did not inform me until it came to the table. Overall good service and nice atmosphere as well.

So, it took us a little over an hour to get seated on a not-​so-​busy night. Part of that was our fault since I was in a party of 13 expected people and they wouldn’t seat us until at least half showed up. My friends are not exactly the most timely people. However, when 6 finally made it, it still took about a half hour for them to put some tables together.
Service was okay. A little slow. One of my friends was convinced our server was copping attitude with her and purposely ignoring her since the server spent more time on my end of the table. I’d take my friend’s opinion with a grain of salt, though, since she’s paranoid (but at least she was on time).
The food wasn’t that great. My fried chicken was really dry. My gf’s panini had an uneven spread of chipotle mayo. So, it was only slightly spicy until she hit the motherload, at which point she began breathing fire. Drinks were pretty weak. I had some mango thing and a drink called the «Grown & Sexy» because I wanted to order a drink called the «Grown & Sexy.» It wasn’t as grown or as sexy as I hoped for.

Yum. Eat here and leave with a full belly & happy.

Friends took me here since I am a bibliophile. Loved the vibe and the books. Great place for a girls day shop and stop, or night out or just hang out and chat.
PROS
Perfect place for vegan or omnivores
Excellent organic and well-​thought-​out balanced menu
Huge space with a vibrant yet cozy atmosphere
Cute seating arrangements
Food is very good and portions are medium to small (if you come here starving you might have to order a few things to fill up)
CONS
Their drinks are obscenely overpriced (hot tea=$ 3.50)
The staff is lacking in their CS finesse and training especially waitstaff (my waitress forgot my fruit and never returned to give it to me so I paid for something I did not get) I also had to beg for water every chance I saw her because she was not attentive
The ladies bathroom’s door latches are broken/​old and do not close, the bathroom is very poorly designed and the space is small
Parking is very challenging as there are a zillion places that compete for business
I would recommend their savory breakfasts and any of their salads. Be mindful of what you receive as my order was wrong and they had fix a new one for me while others ate…

Busboys and Poets is one of my fav spots in DC and I love that they have a location in Hyattsville. The brunch is really good, portions are just right for a meal for me. The passion fruit mojito is awesome. This last time I tried the blueberry tea latte and sweet potato hash which came with wild rice and a poached egg. The Blueberry Tea latte was amazing, I got it with soymilk and you could definitely taste the blueberry, it was a nice fragrant addition to the tea latte. I really like the nice open space and inspiring quotes on the walls, there’s also an outside patio when the weather is nice.

I’ve been here a lot for brunch. There’s something for everyone, they keep the coffee coming, and they’re really good at splitting checks. I’ve never been disappointed in the food, and I would recommend this location as well as the one in Brookland. Around the Hyattsville/​CP area, this is probably your best bet for a sit down restaurant.

Pros:
–Nachos might be the best I’ve ever had.
Cons:
–Drinks are way too expensive.
–Went on a Sunday and TVs show Al-​Jazeera. Waitress said they don’t want sports airing on the TVs. This is disappointing since DC is a pretty big sports town.

I love busboys and poets. I really do. The food is always amazing. They yse really good ingredients and it always taste amazing. They have a good selection of drinks which aren’t that expensive. the staff is always amazing as well.
but on the flip side this why I can’t stand them.
Let me give you an example. Today I was craving my favorite dish in the world which was their salmon on a bed of rice with lemon butter sauce and asparagus. I had some friends visiting and I was willing to take the trip all the way from Towson, until I remember their fifty million rules. On the weekends they don’t serve appetizers before 3pm and they don’t serve entrees before 5pm. That’s entirely too much to think about. To me having limited options would not only stop me but stop other people from going.
so remember before you go especially on the weekends know you can’t get what you want depending on the time

I love this busboys. The vibe here is a unique combination of mellow and electric. I feel the neighborhood more at this location than any of others that I’ve been to and that’s a huge part of why I love it. The food is good (the catfish is amazing), the waitstaff is usually attentive and I’m a fan of Andy Shallal’s business practices. The waitstaff get paid a living wage!!!

First let me just say that I am giving this place a 4 star rating not because of the food, but because of the establishment itself. This place is pretty awesome as far as how they have it set up and designed. Now for the good stuff. Put on your reading glasses, grab yourself a nice hot beverage and something comfortable to wrap up in and get ready to read my review.
There was once this magical place called «Busboys and Poets’, in the land of Hyattsville. In walked these two Greeks, one was a king and the other was a Queen. As soon as they walked in, they were greeted with such kindness and sweetness. They could smell the food in the air and smiled with joy, which turned into an evil grin. They servant told them to follow him to their seats, and they did. After they were seated, they said to the young man «thank you peasant, now leave us be oh peasant one». The servant sent his slave to care to our needs and take our orders. The queen order Nachos chili with beef & Shrimp and Chorizo pasta. I the king ordered a simple burger and fries. The slave asked me how I wanted my meat, I said «why most bloody of course like you’ll be if you mess up my order». He quickly ran to the back to put in our orders because he feared for his life, as he should. It wasn’t long at all before we received our feast for the night. We laughed and smiled with happiness as we ate our food and spilled our drinks like a couple of wild wolves. Our laughs turned into an evil grin while looking at each other with such a harsh gaze. The food was so good, as if it had magical powers that would later in the night leave us filled with drunken romance know as (the idis)!! We also got some bread pudding to go, for we would need one last feast before laying down in a bed of freshly killed doves.
Moral of this story… Man the food was amazing! The place is awesome and I love the fact that we can go up on stage and spit some knowledge. Oh you better believe that I am going to spit some real knowledge when I get up there.
This place is a must go if you’ve never been!

I visited Busboys and Poets on 12÷28÷15 with a friend for a late lunch.
Before I go into why this location of Busboys and Poets is receiving a low review from me, let me say that I have yet to have a bad meal at Busboys and Poets. I had been to every one of their locations except Hyattsville, MD.
My review here is solely based on the service my friend and I experienced. Our waitress was frankly slightly incompetent; and, could probably benefit from watching and learning from a more experienced server. Our waitress addressed our table took our drink orders and came back with our drinks 10 minutes later. I ordered a sandwich and a side soup (for an appetizer). She brought out my appetizer of soup (which was lukewarm) and 30 minutes later brought out my main meal. I was surprised to see my main meal (sandwich) had bowl of soup with it. The waitress seemed surprised when I asked if switch could out my side. I was more surprised she did not mention that my meal also came with a soup when I ordered the appetizer.
My friend ordered a side of sweet potato fries which did not arrive with her meal. The waitress had to go back and put in another ticket for the fries.
The final straw was when we tried to flag her down after we had finished our food (we sat for about 30 minutes, before we realized she was not going to come to us) and we couldn’t find her anywhere. I had to find another waitress to bring us the check.
In a nutshell, I will continue to go to Busboys and Poets because their food is excellent; and, I have never had a bad meal but might skip this location based on the service I experience.

Just a note! You guys are still one of my favorite restaurants to go to. After two disastrous attempts to eat dinner at two other restaurants in Hyattsville, we came to Busboys and got wonderful customer service & amazing food … You guys are always consistent! Thanks for ending our night on a positive note! :D

Fantastic place, love the food service was ok we could have order more, quinoa salad a must try
My son Erik picked the place and he did a great job

I spent a lot of time at the Busboys in DC and I always find myself comparing the two.
Here parking is just as nightmarish. There is a lot in the back but the lit is almost always full and the tow truck driver is usually lurking nearby to grab your car if you take any liberties with the parking policy.
The bookstore is nice but a librarian or regular
Bookstore owners worse nightmare. None of the books are traceable on any kind of book tracking database or system. The bookend are kind of divided by genre but not really. Kind of divided by author but not really. It makes my inner library page twitchy.
The food is ok. They options are varied. They have great vegan options and great meat lover options. My vegan friends love this place. The sweet potato fries are heaven and I haven’t met an entrée I don’t like. Steer clear of the bread pudding though. Trust me.
Overall it’s a great place to people watch and have brunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
The

This is first BBP branch I’ve ever been to, and I really liked it ever since.
First, the service is always great. The servers are so nice, and they take care of you but not too much so you have your privacy.
The food: they have a big menu with many options (also for vegetarians, yay!!!). usually the food is good, though I had few failures (for example, the poached pear salad. it sounds great according to the menu! but the dish itself is very poor. I regret I didn’t say anything about the fact that they gave me a small spoon amount of cheese — it was ridiculous), but overall, the food is good and the portions are decent (or super big if you choose to take nachos).
I think it’s a great place to go to when you want to eat outside, but don’t want to pay too much.

I love coming to Busboys and Poets especially this location. Last night was perfect because it was cold! I wanted something good for dinner and something that wasn’t like a typical chain restaurant. The place is very cozy, not so dimly lit or loud. We were quickly seated. The menu isn’t so extensive and I wished they offered breakfast around the clock. We got there late. I was not in the mood for like a main course meal since i really wanted breakfast food but we ordered: hot wings, shrimp fritter balls and blue nachos. Meanwhile, I browsed around the bookshelves and saw a lot of good reads. I picked up a few.
Our meal comes and the food comes out. The wings were ok but we did ask our waitress how hot were the wings and her reply was its not that spicy or hot. I called her bluff. Those wings were hot and peppery my friend chugged the water so fast. I could handle the heat but it made my lips tingle.
Nachos: not my favorite. A mountain of hard blue chips all stuck together with pico de gallo and guaco. Melted nacho cheese came on the side. This was a big disappointment. I like my nachos to have the trimmings separated. I also asked for no beans. I didn’t dare to try the nacho cheese. It seemed like it came from a can.
Deep fried shrimp fritters were my favorite. It didn’t last long. The lobster sauce that it was in was tasty. I just wished they offered more. I only got 4.
After we ate, we moved over to the comfy sofa chairs and read books. I’m not into reading book since graduating college. They really had a lot of good books. Too bad you can’t borrow or purchase them.
The service was good. Our waitress was attentive. I will return again for brunch and during breakfast time.

I’ve come here many times over the years. It’s over all a vey solid place that has an extensive menu. It also has vegan and vegetarian options. The place is large and has very visually interesting décor.
The menu… It is extensive. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their breakfast is pretty ordinary. Nothing to different. Eggs, bacon, fruit. The lunch and dinner menu is nice. I love the nacho appetizer. They also have a good crab cake sandwich with an Old Bay tartar sauce that is delicious. Another favorite is salmon is good. They also have burgers and pizzas. Both of which are ok.
They have a pretty decent alcohol menu too. The drink DC tap water is good. And they have flavored tea as well.
The staff is always nice and helpful. They never make you feel rushed. The only down side is it can be a bit pricey.

Very great place for brunch which is the only thing my family and I have indulged in here. The entire ambiance is very hip from the seating in the waiting area which could pass for a hip retro library. The hostesses are always friendly which is needed when waiting on a table because it is ALWAYS a wait at least when we attend.
The food is always pretty good we tried sweet potato pancakes the last trip and the fact that they serve veggie sausage, turkey sausage and chicken sausage and NOT just PORK :-)
They get a WIN in my book for the many veggie options they offer for a person like me who don’t indulge in land animals. The server offered is bread pudding as a breakfast dessert for some reason he knew my husband was on a bread pudding hunt so we accepted the challenge. The bread pudding was tasty it just wasn’t warm enough as there is art to bread pudding it must be warm and served with a nice ice cream.
The only thing i dislike about this place is the fact that the service is slow. The servers all have the don’t worry be happy attitude like the islands which is a WIN /​LOSE if you know what I mean.