Chatman’s D’Vine Bakery & Cafe

Very nice pastries and the owner is amazingly sweet and attentive to customers.

closed

This place served great cakes and pies, though it could be pretty difficult to get them. I lived just three blocks away and over the past couple of years, it has been almost impossible for me to find a time when they were open. The owner was really nice, but she said she keeps it open from 1 – 6 pm on most weekdays. Those are strange business hours, and it’s not surprising that a bakery doesn’t have much business when it is hardly open. Over the past few months, it hasn’t been open at all and this weekend I found out why. The city posted a letter (you can read it in photos) on their door stating they’re being evicted for not paying their rent since October 2007. They owe their landlords over a quarter million dollars. Though I loved the baked goods at this place, it really colors my perception of anyone who would be willing to take up space and not pay rent for that long. It’s sad because it could have been a fantastic bakery. I’m not sure what went wrong, but something clearly did.

Not partial to pies (in general, nothing against Ms. Chatman), but my favorite Chatman’s treats are the lemon ginger cake, BUTTER BRICKLE cupcake (yes please), and red velvet. If you have time, the brisket lunch is definitely worth it.
Anyway, right now she’s doing holiday hours: Wednesday thru Saturday, 3 to 8pm.

Having read some reviews before I decided to come here on a Tuesday night, I knew what to expect.
The place was dark and the doors locked when I stopped by around 5:20 pm, but the owner saw me, unlocked the door, and greeted me with such a cheerful welcome and smile. I asked, «Do you have any desserts left?» noting the empty display cases. She proudly rattled off a list of cakes and cupcakes and asked what I was looking for. I told her I just wanted something to feed three people, and she suggested a slice of three different cakes. I don’t remember what the slices were but judging by what my boyfriend, his brother, and I sampled, one was a chocolate cake with vanilla-​maple-​y syrup, another was a coconut cake, and another might have been a banana pineapple cake. The three slices of cake cost $ 14.85. So far, we’ve had the first two.
The chocolate cake was a little dry, and the guys found the frosting too sweet. We all agreed the coconut was the better of the two.
I definitely will be coming back here on a Saturday to check out the All Day Breakfast menu; I’ll also consider this place again when I need to pick up a dessert keeping in mind the hours posted aren’t set in stone.

The Southern version of your mom’s cookin!
Chatman’s was the last stop on my cupcake tasting tour of DC. I was greeted by the nicest southern woman who makes all the cakes that same morning, and (as everyone said) they are unfrosted. You can request frosting, she takes it into the back, and trasforms it into something wonderful.
I had the banana pudding (thanks for the recommendation everyone) which was topped in rich vanilla frosting with sprinkled vanilla wafers. It was tasty, and had the mark of a true cupcake (the cake is BETTER than the frosting). It also had a little bit less frosting than cake, but the flavor worked better to have less frosting.
Why not 5 stars?
Service is SLOW! She’s definitely running on Southern time, and it took make 5 – 10 minutes before I was helped.
Also, the hours are only pretty much open for lunch (noon-​6pm on weekdays). Not easy to take people here to enjoy their cakes.
I would go back to try their pies and their cupcakes, but Baked & Wired wins over this one.
Rating 3.75÷5

Updated Store Hours: (Different from Unilocal)
Tue — Sat: 11 am — 6 pm
Sun: 11 am — 4 pm
Closed Mondays
Delicious Pulled Pork Sandwich! I’m drooling about it as I write this review. I ordered To Go over the phone and I was pleasantly surprised the tangy bbq sauce was placed in a separate container so I wouldn’t get soggy bread when I received my order. I haven’t tried their Beef Brisket because it was sold out when I called.
Great customer service! I called 30 minutes after the stored closed and Debra, the owner, was more than happy to take my order. (She was preparing baked goods for tomorrow) My advice is if the store is closed and you still want a delicious warm sandwich, call in advance!
The coleslaw side was crunchy and sour, just how I like it. There macaroni side salad was creamy :)
Location is amazing for someone who is only in DC for conferences. Chatman’s is connected to one of the large convention centers and surrounded by hotels. If I am ever back at DC for a conference, I will DEFINITELY stop by again!

WOW. We attended the Fancy Food Show at the convention center, which started on a Sunday, which coincidentally also fell on Father’s Day. We needed to get bread for our display, and all bakeries were closed (of course, what were we thinking??). I called Chatman’s on a desperate attempt, and it just so happened that Debra, the owner was there, even though they were closed. On her own, she offered to defrost some dough, bake it for us and cut it up for our display. Amazing, it’s just so AWESOME to find this kindness out there still. Thank you once again Debra, and I forgot to tell you how many people (and there were thousands past our booth) commented on your excellent bread. My boss was impressed!

Simply the best cake I have had in ages. Ordered the Birthday cake and picked it up later on in the day. It was made that same day. Amazing frosting (not that hard type that I cannot stand). Chocolate, raspberry and frosting heaven.
Owner is Deborah and is just a very pleasant person.
I will be back.

I LOVE this place! It really upsets me that I constantly drove by Chatman’s and only stopped by for the first time recently. I am totally hooked though. The pulled pork sandwich is SOOO good. The baked beans really surprised me too — complex and tasty, it’s the perfect side for the pulled pork. Her baked goods are AMAZING as well. I’ve had the coconut cupcake and sweet potato pie — both are outstanding. I love that she sells cake by the slice. It’s sad how hard it is to find solid, unpretentious desserts at great prices in the city. Her bakery reminds of the kind of desserts I grew up on in NC.
What takes this place over the top though is Debra, the owner. She is everything a business owner should be and more. She’s passionate about her products and it shows. She is so incredibly friendly and goes above and beyond to serve her customers.
Chatman’s is a rare find in DC… Debra has found herself yet another loyal customer.

Had the Pulled Pork and the Beef Brisket Sandwich and it was AMAZING. You really don’t need any sauce for these sandwiches! A generous serving of juicy and flaky meat comes with each sandwich — you’ll savor every bite!
But the highlight of this establishment is the customer service. Ms. Chatman is a very genuine woman and truly cares about her customers. Make sure to drop by and

Can’t go wrong with nothing you order here. Awesome food and treats with awesome service to match.

This place is awesome — I’m especially stoked because I live only a few blocks away and was looking for a place to roll over to on the weekend to grab a sandwich or late breakfast. This place definitely fits the bill, plus it’s super cute and the owner is a really sweet lady.
I got the Ultimate Grilled Cheese with bacon, tomato and grilled onions — it totally hit the spot, and was seasoned perfectly (might have just been salt and pepper, not sure). Plus at $ 7.75 for the sandwich plus a bag of chips and a soda, can’t really find a better deal. My boyfriend got the chorizo and egg wraps with hash browns, which he really liked — a little dry, in my opinion, so take them up on the offer of ketchup.
Will definitely return! Glad to have found this place. Didn’t try the cupcakes or pie, but will definitely hit it up in the future,

Toffee Bread Pudding. YES… amazing…worth the (prob) 700 calories it contained. Not to mention they saw me, unlocked to door, were very kind and sold me this perfectly delicious treat at 11am. You people aren’t lying, these are some nice ladies with some awesome sweets! Can’t wait to try a sandwich.

Being the sweet tooth that I am, I can usually spot bakeries pretty quickly. We passed by Chatman’s D’Vine Bakery on the way to dinner. From the window, the colorful menu caught my eye. It was colorful and fun. Felt the friendly atmosphere from the window. Hanging from the window was a banner that advertised that it was voted to have the best sweet potato pie. Never heard of sweet potato pie, but I love pie and i love sweet potato. I was curious. We ate dinner and rushed over here with 15 minutes to spare before closing hours. I was disappointed to see that the bakery was already closed. I guess my disappointment and puppy frown was so evident that the next thing i knew, the owner was walking towards us. She opened the door and welcomed us in!
After saying that I wanted three pieces of pie, she explained how one just came out of the oven. I decided to buy the whole pie after she guaranteed me that they were delicious. I added on a couple of sweet tea orders to go.
She was so sweet! Her sweet personality was so evident when she was talking to us. Even after closing hours, we conversed for about 10 minutes. After instructing us to let the pie cool for an hour, she made sure that we had enough forks and knives so that we could enjoy the pie on the road.
The pie was sooo delicious. Not too sweet. Tasted just like sweet potato… no preservatives and very fresh.
If you are in the area, you must stop by! Amazing sweet goodies, and I don’t say that a lot.

Holy sweet potato pie!
We had our eye on this cute bakery on our way to dinner. It was almost decided that this would be our sweet bite afterward.
When we got there, the shop had its close sign on. We were heartbroken.
The owner caught one look of my sister’s clearly disappointed face and opened the door for us. Looking for sweet potato pie, we were told that there was one fresh out of the oven. Score! We opted to buy a whole pie and a couple of sweet teas. The first bite of the pie was amazing. Writing this review makes me wish I had a slice right now.
The shop itself is adorable. A huge blackboard with pastel colors makes up the menu you order from.
Debra, the owner is probably one of the nicest store owners I met. The fact that she let us in after hours really says a lot about how sweet she is.
Too bad I don’t live in DC. This definitely one place I would be a regular at. Highly recommended if you’re in the area. You won’t be sorry!

It has taken me many months to write this review, basically because I am a lazy mofo. I went to Ms. Chatman’s divine food establishment back in March when my BFF came to DC and decided that we would be partaking of our own personal cupcake challenge. This was the first spot we tried since I was driving around downtown showing my BFF how much things had changed since she moved away so long ago. It was a sunny yet cool Saturday afternoon, and we were hungry. So, we figured, eh we’ll stop at this cute little place and get something to eat. We ended up getting grilled cheese sammies for lunch. Now, lemme tell you something about this grilled cheese — it had grilled onions on it. I was not aware of this when I ordered it (probably ’cause I fail at reading sometimes). Fortunately, I love me some grilled onions. I am a grilled cheese connaisseur and lemme tell you… the words «off the chain» are not sufficient enough to describe the yumminess of my sandwich. I tore that joint UP. Easily one of the best grilled cheeses I have ever had. To make it more heavenly, you can get it with bacon on it. Nothing says «love» like crispy pork products and cheese.
We noticed the cupcakes for sale so we were like okay, we’ll get a red velvet and a banana pudding and split it. The red velvet was very good — the frosting was not too sweet nor was there too much of it. I would definitely purchase again. However, let me wax poetic about the banana pudding cupcake. I have uploaded a picture so that you can witness with your own eyes the awesomeness of this dessert tidbit. Basically, you got yourself a nicely sized vanilla cupcake drizzled with banana pudding on top and then topped with smushed Nilla wafers. I may be first generation city (my father’s family is from Alabama and my mother’s family is from North Cackalacky), but lemme tell you… I know me some fine Southern baked goods and this is one of them.
Instead of throwing your money away at overpriced places like Crumbs and the other various cupcake places (except Hello Cupcake and Baked and Wired… I will allow you to go there), spend your hard earned greenbacks here and help keep a small family establishment in business.

I only have a bit of advice for you. Go to Chatman’s. Say hi to the owner, Debra. Eat her baked goods. Smile.
There are so many things about this café that will make you feel good.
My first time visiting, I poked my head in to see if it was open. It was almost 1pm and the door was locked. As I scanned the windows for information about hours of operation, Debra came from the kitchen, unlocked the door at let me in just as a noticed a sign indicating that the bakery would not be opening until 2pm.
Despite the sign, she still let me in, walked me through all of the freshly baked cakes and cupcakes and chatted with me for a solid 15 minutes. She was so warm and engaging I didn’t want to leave.
Before leaving I purchased one banana pudding cupcake. All of the cupcakes are un-​iced initially so that you have the option, so she took one to the back, iced it down with fresh, cream cheese icing, topped it with a vanilla wafer and sent me on my way.
The cupcake was simple but delicious; incredibly moist, manageable and delightful. These cupcakes will remind you of ones that your mother might make.
I love the lime green walls and the simple, colorful accents in the café including the technicolor graffiti art on the wall to the right as soon as you enter. It just added a cute little flair that made it feel very local to me.
I will most certainly return in the near future.

This is a cute cupcake shop that I hit up before an event and the Long View Gallery. I really like the banana pudding cupcake, yum! The staff is very helpful and friendly too!

This place is great! I had the red velvet bread pudding and it was very good.
They also have free Wi-​Fi so I was able to sit there for six hours on a Sunday and crank out work.

It’s a little dangerous living so close to this place. I stopped in one day merely for a vitamin water (why is xxx so hard to find?) and woah. mistake. i felt like a fat kid in heaven. lol. banana pudding, sweet potato pie, cupcakes… lots of tasty looking treats. i managed to somehow stay away from this place until my parents came to visit this past weekend. when parents are in town, calories don’t count, right?! my mom and i went in and she had the sweet potato pie and i had the pudding – it was fantastic! there’s nothin fancy about it – styrofoam (ick! bad for the environment… maybe i can talk the owner into going green), plastic forks and a two-​person show – one on the register, one in the back. It was a little expensive, however, the owner bakes everything herself – and you can tell. I would give it a go if you’re in the neighborhood.

for all ya’ll from south of the Mason Dixon line…
They got all those desserts that populate ya’ mom’s, aunt’s and grannies sunday dinners like banana pudding, peach cobbler and various cakes for you to take to the local church meeting. The ones i tried are damn close to what my momma’dem make, so it makes me feel less homesick instead of waiting till i visit them 900+ miles away.
The place is very basic but neat, it’s a spot there to eat your stuff in peace and reminisce about running barefoot around the yard and trying to cool off by using the water hose.
Yes they got cupcakes too. they are very moist and above average taste but average size. They got weird hours (closed monday and tuesday and open until 7 weekdays and sundays?) but it’s worth it to fall thru and snatch a cupcake or Dessert when u’re around the Convention Center.