East Street Cafe

This place is kind of difficult to find as it is in the 3rd level on Union Station. I dined here at 4:30pm on a Tuesday and the place was empty. I had the curry laksa noodle which I had never tried before. I'm not sure if this is how they serve it normally but it had two different kinds of noodles. The soup was a bit salty to my taste but it was filling and overall quite good. I would definitely go again if I have to wait before a train.

Very disappointing experience at East Street Cafe (Union Station) on March 2, 2026 at 11:38 AM. Table 11. I ordered Nabeyaki Udon, iced tea, and shrimp tempura with vegetables ($31.06). The soup tasted like plain hot water with no flavor, the iced tea was just water and ice, and the tempura was cold and frozen inside. Completely unacceptable quality for a $31 meal. Service was just as poor. The server (James K) was on his cellphone and didn’t even notice I was waiting to be seated, despite the sign saying the restaurant was open. I had to approach him myself. As travelers passing through Union Station, we expect decent food and basic respect. This was mediocrity in both food and service. I will not return.

I was happy with my lunch here. We got a couple of dishes to share and an appetizer, and it was all good. My favorite part was the pickled cabbage with the Manila pork BBQ dish. We also got general Tso chicken and fried lumpia.

This is one of the better restaurants in Union Station. Their service is efficient and consistent which is helpful if you want to catch a train. I find the fried rice particularly tasty. You can also tell them how much spice to add in the dishes and they are very accommodating. The basil based dishes are also very good. This restaurant will satisfy your Chinese/Thai cravings.

So tasty, what a gem!! I ordered the CURRY LAKSA NOODLE Soup, pictured. It can be all plant based - I asked for mushrooms, spinach and broccoli to be added/substituted for the chicken, and with no hesitation they accommodated me! I'm so pleased with this Union Station fast casual option, located on the second level. If you take the stairs opposite the Amtrak ticket counter, you'll find it with big open air seating. This dish also includes tofu, vegetables, rice sticks & egg noodle combination in a coconut curry broth, with bean sprouts, fresh! green beans, and corn. Amazing, and spicy warm. They have non spicy foods, too. I'll upload the current menu.

I arrived to Union Station hungry and I am reviewing as I inhale my food so it may be biased. But to say the food is good is an understatement. This might be one of my top 15 meals I ever had. I ordered the Curry Luksa Noodle soup. It was delicious and arrived within 5 minutes of ordering. Had veggies, tofu, chicken and noodle - well rounded meal. Flavorful as well. Excited to stop by here again next time I am at Union Station.

Eat in Union Station. Hot and fast Asian cuisine. We got dumpling soup and the Hong Kong Soup. Great service. Sweet view. Not too pricey.

A really pleasant surprise in Union Station, an alternative to sandwiches, fast food. Very diverse oriental menu. Both my and my spouses dishes were very tasty, served up quickly, and really ample (burp!). Most tables out in the open of the station so ambient noisy is present. We were in transit and this place will be on our list of where to eat.

This place tends to be our office's official retirement celebration venue due to its close location, reasonable prices (for Union Station area), and quick turnaround on orders. It is conveniently located on the 2nd floor of Union Station. They have a wide array of dishes from Asia--Chinese, Thai, Philippino, Malay, and Vietnamese. Good lunch combos, but everything else is ala-carte. Expect to drop $15 - $20 per person for lunch. Recommended if you want Asian food and are in the downtown D.C. area.

East Street Cafe is one of the nicer sit-down options at Union Station. Located on Level 2 (Mezzanine), it's a little more secluded from the hustle and bustle of the lunch hour rush, and with their open seating, you still get to people-watch at a busy train station. I ordered the Singapore Noodles to-go for lunch. It comes out to about $18 after tax. They bagged up my order and included a fork and napkins. I thought $18 was a little steep for lunch, but you're paying sit-down restaurant prices (food is made to order) and the portions were quite generous. These are more family-style servings - great for sharing. The Singapore Noodles came with shrimp and chicken, which were nicely cooked and very tender. There weren't heaps of protein, but there was enough to know it was in there. The Singapore Noodles had good flavor and came with carrots, cabbage, and onions mixed in for texture. I would order this again. I've also enjoyed the crab rangoons here, but they have gotten pricey for the serving - over $8 for three pieces - but I guess that's DC/Union Station prices for you.

This was a quick lunch after a busy morning and East Street Cafe accommodated our large group with ease. Our server was efficient as she took our orders and got us started. The food came out quick and delicious! I had the cilantro rice with chicken and it was filling and quite good. Our group enjoyed our food before a long train ride home!

I had over an hire wait for my train set I stopped in here. I had spicy Thai fried rice, which was delicious, with plenty of seafood. The service was friendly and not suffocating. This is a nice option when you're in Union Station with a little bit of time on your hands. It's comfortable for a food court atmosphere.

Quick and easy food spot inside Union Station - great place to go to if you're killing time. Got the miso soup and side of veggies. Staff are nice as well.

We sat at the bar and we were looking for a great Asian meal which this was. On the down side is that they must not have a liquor license because they can't serve any alcohol at all. Food was hot and the portion was quite generous. Service was great and you could tell they were pleased we really enjoyed our food. Packed up the leftovers for another day. We will get two meals each out of these portions! Delicious. Would be five stars if we could have had a drink but otherwise it was great food.

I've been coming here for a while and I've always had wonderful service and good food. They have also been very kind with making adjustments to the dishes, just ask! It's a good spot to grab a bite before you have to jump on the train! I enjoyed the tofu dish and added some extra veggies and they gave me rice instead of serving with noodles.

We ordered the crab ragoon and Singapore chicken. I knocked them a point because they were out of the crab ragoon and we were really excited about it. We spilt the Singapore chicken, it was very good, huge portion. The gentle serving us was incredibly sweet. Loves the view from our little table people watching at Union Station.

I've been coming here for years and everything is still great. The service was very quick and the food was amazing. I wish they never got rid of the calamari though *inserts sad face* The crab wontons were amazing and the fried rice was delicious!

I was first skeptical when deciding whether to east at this place - all the fast eateries are in the lower level of the Union Station and this is the only place in the upper level. It seems like a sit-down restaurant but I worried that it will be just slower not necessarily nicer... I finally decided to order takeouts for myself and my colleagues here because I saw it's menu - it's not just Chinese but collectively Asian with many choices from Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Filipinos, etc. It was actually very fast to get our food and the Filipino BBQ chicken I had was pretty decent with a large portion of meat, and vegetables plus fried rice. The price ($16) is pretty reasonable too nowadays for a nice lunch box.

The food was filling, the portions were huge. The only drawback was the slow service. During the lunch rush all I saw was just one waitress. The menus were made of paper and looked as if they came off of a personal printer. I think that is for Covid , non reusable, directly placed in the trash after every customer. If they can get some help, I'll come back.

I end up here fairly frequently because groups of co-workers eat there. Food is ok. We have some issues because vegetarian and vegan co-workers can't tell what has fish sauce, and wait staff don't seem to know (and have given us different answers). So if going with a vegetarian, your guess is as good as mine if they have anything that is actually vegetarian. Menu is no help.

This is the 2nd time I've eaten here while waiting on a train. It's consistent, delicious large portions, and beyond reasonably priced for the quantity and quality. I had the shrimp and veggie tempura, and it was both delicate and delicious! I will be back for a third, and a fourth, fifth, etc. time!

The food at this place is great but the customer service is terrible. I've been here more than once and have never had a pleasant customer service experience. I've come on different occasions to the bar area when it's both busy and not busy. They barely acknowledged me and would often seem irritated to be spoken to, just very abrupt. I usually sit in front of the cashier and wait to see how long it will take for someone to say hi and ask me if I want anything. The food is prepared fast and the price is very reasonable especially since you can have shrimp added to your meal for under $13. The meat option is included in your price. I personally wouldn't recommend this place because I can not recall a time when their customer service was positive towards me. I've seen them greet other people fairly quicker but it's generally hit or a huge miss. Although the wait time for a table or food is fast, it takes a while to process your payment. However, I notice they are quick to pic up the receipt and holder to see if you leave a tip. I think that's a little odd. All in all, I will not be returning to this establishment due to the poor customer service.

On my visit here this evening, the service was warm, welcoming, and efficient. I found the ambiance to be charming, and the yellow curry vegetable dish I ordered was delicious. If I lived in the area I think I'd be a regular customer. I highly recommend this cafe.

Food was tasty, we ordered Singaporean noodles and red shrimp curry and it was excellent, service was also good and the cafe was clean and well maintained, loved the ambiance, overall recommend the place.

Really good asian cuisine cafe! I say asian, because they offer plates from all over Asia. Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc. This place is very lively and located inside Union Station. The restaurant is on the second floor and has plenty of seating. The staff are amazing and very attentive. I ordered the Thai drunken noodles, which were very spicy and very delicious. Friend ordered the teriyaki chicken and another bistek. Food tasted fresh and hot! As soon as we ordered, the food came out very quick! Restaurant was clean and great for groups and people watching. Prices are very reasonable and get a good amount of food!

This is one of the better restaurants in Union Station. Their service is efficient and consistent which is helpful if you want to catch a train. I find the fried rice particularly tasty. You can also tell them how spicy to make the dishes and they are very accommodating. The basil dishes are also very good. This restaurant will satisfy cravings for Chinese food.

The food was decent--nothing super special honestly but also not bad. I had warm ice water (3 cubes of ice in warm water) lol but by the time my food came, the water became cool. I ordered the curry shrimp fried rice--no veggies or protein, just egg and it was priced decently for the portions. The portion was HUGE. Tasted exactly like what one would envision fried drenched with curry sauce. My egg could've been fried a little harder though. Nothing bad or notable to say.

Suffice it to say, they have 4.1 stars on Google, survived the pandemic and I keep going back. The noodle dishes are good. If an unrushed lunch at union station makes sense, it's a mid priced sit down eatery that's a good place to talk over lunch

Bad, bad, BAD! For my entree, I ordered the grilled lemongrass salad. The chicken was absolutely inedible. Not only dry but tasteless. The crispy spring rolls were awful as well, but at least they were edible. The only thing I ordered that was good was the Chinese beer.

After gallivanting around town we decided to check out what is to see insdide the union station and check as well where we our catching our amtrak for tomorrow's trip to Newyork. i can give 3 star but because of the service a solid 2 star is okay.... We tried this place by the second floor,looks appetizing asian fusion but when i am checking the menu its like more of a Filipino restaurant. Service is very average,i think the server is already tired,but the place is not busy ,only 3 tables were occupied, We went over the menu and decided to try on the fallowing dishes; Shanghai roll-it is a Philippines crispy mini rolls of ground pork and veggies served with sweet and sour sauce---- nothing special with this roll very ordinary---but it was fried very good and crispy though. I had the Thai fried rice- it has chicken,shrimp,pine apple chunks and eggs seasoned with spices and delicious thai sauce,this one i liked the blending of flavors is so good and the saltiness is just right for my taste buds,we also tried the adobo fried rice- Philippines shredded pork adobo in soy-vinegar sauce-very ordinary most likely i can prepared it better than they do...no taste at all it should be garlicky and brown color because of the soysauce but this one nope....... For our soup we had the chicken corn soup-this one is an egg drop soup with minced chicken and corn, and the tom yum soup which is spicy and sour soup with chicken and shrimp and lemon grass mushroom with a dash of chili oil..Both soup tasted very good we loved it very timely because the weather is so cold. Only few restaurants inside so there is not much of a choice.... service aside from it is just average the server insinuates that tip is like 15%,maybe she thought we were asian touring around,i felt so bad that i jokingly said how much she wants $50 or more?she just laughed knowing that i insulted her. Not a very pleasant experience,when i will be in the area again for sure this restaurant will never be in my lists......

Was there with a friend and ordered the Spicy Basil Fried Rice. The worst ever as it was old,chicken dried out, rice dry and Basil curly, appeared something they warmed up and served. The only that appeared to be fresh was the shrimp. When I pointed this out to the server, elderly Asian women, she didn't apology or appear startled. Her response was what do you want me to do. Wth... as I gathered she knew and didn't figure I would discover as we got there at 11:45 am and was early for lunch. I had Bern visiting this place for many years and this was my favorite dish because it was freshly made. If you go there go back and watch to see if they are preparing your food fresh. This was the end for me. Bye, bye, bye

I should have known this place was going to be less than tasty when my "Thai iced tea" tasted like a semi-watered down chocolate milk. :'( Came here for an early dinner one night (around 530pm), and we were seated right away. I decided on the drunken noodles (flat rice noodles topped with ground chicken, onions, bell peppers & basil in a sweet & spicy sauce-$10.25) and a Thai iced tea. The drunken noodles were more sweet than spicy (I'd prefer them more spicy than sweet) and didn't pack much flavor in them. I've only had drunken noodles with beef before, so having it with ground chicken was a first. The ground chicken wouldn't have been so bad if it was seasoned better. To wash down all this deliciousness (sike!), I had a Thai iced tea. This definitely has to be the worst Thai iced tea I've ever tasted. It's sad when what a restaurant calls Thai iced tea is a more like a watered downed chocolate milk. What a disappointment! Maybe other items on their menu are better. But, I sure won't be back to find out if that statement holds true.

I feel I was unfair to East Street last time I reviewed, so I've come back to update. I still hold that trying to serve 3-4 different cuisines is usually a mistake and some of those cuisines are poorly made. However, the noodle dishes are good.

Surprisingly good food which I didn't expect from the reviews. It really goes to show that reviews and ratings are very subjective and may not be accurate. I visited this establishment during a business trip down in the d.c metro area and while waiting for the Acela back to NYC I stumbled across this restaurant in union station. The service was okay. Nothing to complain about and nothing that immediately stood out. The flavor of the food was very authentic and piping hot when it was delivered to my table. I would keep this restaurant on my list when I'm craving asian at union station. One thing that was not so good was the Viet iced tea. Definitely needs some work..too sweet and watered dow

I work nearby and ate here quiet a few times. The food here are not that bad. Food portion is really and you will be full for sure. Service is pretty quick and the location is pretty peaceful busy Union Station . I'm surprised about negative review, but I'm guessing most of them are tourist who has higher expectations while on Vacation. To be clear, this is not an fancy Asian cuisine. This restaurant just serve the purpose for your Asian food craving with average quality food.

Great bang for your buck here! We ordered the tempura appetizer and it was pretty good. I had the spicy ginger beef house special which had just the right amount of spice. My boyfriend had the bbq chicken and while the chicken portion was smaller than expected, it had decent flavor. We were regretting not ordering the friend rice because the portions looked huge and amazing. Would recommend this spot if you want a reasonably priced sit down meal at Union Station!

I'vee been a couple of times in search of good Thai curry. This isnt the place for it. However, I'm sure there are other good things on the menu. It is crowded for lunch. I'd go back and try something different. Lots of countries represented on the menu.

I was a bit suspicious due to the location at Union Station. Thought it might be a Tourist trap and I wasn't too wrong. The food is Asian and they had all the better known dishes on the menu. We tried 3 different dishes and none of them were convincing. To make matters worse I thought the drinks had a strong taste of chlorine. Whether it came from the water or the cups I don't know. So a bit disappointed but I guess i should just have stayed away in the first place.

Located on the 2nd floor of union station, east street cafe has some of the friendliest and most accommodating staff I've meet in DC. We had a large party and they were very happy to help us. In terms of the food, very standard assortment of Asian cuisines. The food was good but nothing was exceptional.

Below Average experience.. we came here waiting for the 6:30 night BigBus tour. We had a late lunch, so came directly to the bar. Sat down for a few minutes and was asked for 10 feet away.. "what do you like?" Glenn Ellen Cab please.. and a Michelob light. A few minutes later the Cabernet was served in a chilled dessert wine glass.. whatever, this really isn't really the place to complain, there wast a proper full bar in Union Station to go to, I was glad to just get a drink. Flat, wasn't surprised by the size of bottle it came from. Can't review the food, didn't order any.. I'm sure it's tasty

Decided to try this nice looking restaurant in Union Station overlooking the beautiful spiral staircases. The prices were reasonable ($11.25 for Vietnamese noodles) although the Vietnamese spring rolls were $6.75 for two so a little pricey. My husband got a spicy rice meal (Spicy Basil) for $11.25, too. The spiciness was not overwhelming at all but both were very tasty! We couldn't eat it all so are taking it home. Definitely glad we chose this place! However, they ARE understaffed, although since we weren't in a hurry it was fine. Seated, ordered and ate in 45 minutes. Try it! Really, the food tasted great!

Bland, unimagined Asian food from various regions. Like others have said, they try to do a bunch of different East Asian countries, without specializing or trying to make any of them very good. It's one of those times when a someone tries to branch out to a new region, drums up something from a cook-book doesn't have any experience or first-hand knowledge of the recipe, and tries their hand at it to see what it's like. That's what I feel East Street Cafe is like. I came here knowing that's what it would be like, but came anyways because believe it or not, this is the only place that serves wok-fried noodles in Union Station. They also serve filipino food which I was real interested about. The results: the pancit was soggy, and the pad thai doesn't taste anything like Thai. The pork adobo was flavorless and the meat didn't taste very fresh. I'm surprised this place has been open for as long as it has, it's away from all the other eateries and on the top floor, so you have to know about this place to go there. Why they have regulars is beyond me.

I'm surprised to see positive reviews. If you gave this place more 2 stars then you don't know good Asian food or welcome the need for pesto bismol. Let's start with the appetizers when the first word that comes to mind is frozen. Elements of the dumplings and soup had frozen vegetables. A similar issue with the entrees. Frozen garnished vegetables lead to defrosted muddled sauce. Pad see ew noodles were frozen together topped with hot stir fried protein. Visually it looked like spaghetti and meatballs. 1 minute into the meal you can notice the sauce and defrosted water from noodles mix.

Good Ginger beef, fried banana with ice cream. Fast service. Small place so there's a bit of a wait during regular lunch times.

The green curry is worth licking the last drop out of the dish :) Promised as three chili "very spicy" it was a solid American medium but no more than that. I tried mine all veg, it also had fried tofu in it. Huge dish of food for $11, really enough for 2. Odd jumble of choices at East Street Cafe: Korean Bulgogi but no Bibimbap, Japanese Udon but no sushi, Thai drunken noodles but no somtum, Chinese Mu Shu but no won ton soup. Also Philippine adobo! Vegetarian rating is 4 stars, you might try that same green curry I lapped up, plenty of other options too if you don't like spice: fried miso tofu, veggie fried rice, grilled vegetables and veg tempura. It's upstairs in Union Station, same level as Uno. Nice dining area under the curved high ceiling.

Great Green Curry. Not super hot but great flavor. Service was good and the price was fair. There fountain drinks suck. The carbanion is way off.

I love this place and don't understand why it's rated so low. They have something for everyone, lunch is fast, wait staff great and efficient, you can reserve tables up to 12 people, and there are healthy options and good vegetarian options. Try the tom yum soup and lemongrass chicken salad and pad Thai.

Underrated gem in Union Station. Can't speak on all of their dishes but my go-tos are always great. I usually get a vegetarian version of the spicy basil fried rice at least once a week and it is delicious. The staff is also great...attentive, friendly and efficient.

One of the Asian restaurants who is jack of all trades but master of nothing. It serves a multitude of cuisine but none of them shine. The service is nothing to be written of, it is there. You are seated, your order is taken and you are served.

The hours aren't amazing but the food is pretty good considering they try to cover everything from Japan to Singapore. The thai fried rice is quite good and portioned.

Loved the ambiance in the middle of the train station. Was very busy at lunch time but the service was good and fast. I loved the middle and beef dish I ordered. I ate almost every bite.

Excellent food inside Union Station. Been coming here for years when in DC and love the curries and other dishes. Nice spot on upper level above the fray (especially away from the food court madness). Staff is very friendly and aims to please.

The food is good $ fast and pipping hot and well priced. The 3rd floor of union station keeps the crowds away. Don't be so hard on this place. It's not high Asian food. But it is good.

Good location and comfortable setting for lunch. Service is good. Food is not outrageously priced for a lunch in Washington but the food itself, while not bad, is nothing special. Considering all - location, price, service, and food, it probably merits three stars.

Highly recommend this place. We got the Curry Laksa and the Singaporean Noodles. Both were delicious. I liked the Curry Laksa better. The Singaporean Noodles is a large portion of stir fried noodles, with plenty of meat and veggies, and a light curry sauce. If you are a fan of curry in general, then get the Curry Laksa, the broth is curry based with coconut so it has a different but still very good flavor compared to the curry you find with Thai or Indian dishes. I really don't understand all the other bad reviews. We almost didn't come here because of the other reviews, but the variety of the menu was too tempting. The menu is huge, with dishes from thailand, vietnam, philippines, china, korean, singapore. I don't know if they have one type of food they make better than the others, but I do know the two Singapore dishes we got were amazing. We came on a Friday night, service was prompt, the food came out fast, we didn't have to wait more than a few minutes for water refills. Located in Union Station, on the 2nd floor.

Great service and one of the better sit-down restaurants in Union Station. We came here for lunch and the food was inexpensive, service was quick, and food was good. They had a lot of options ranging from salad, to beef, pork, chicken, to seafood. It is your typical Asian cuisine and seems to be a new favorite of those grabbing a quick business bite in the area.

I'm rarely compelled to leave a one star review, but their service is so terrible that I had to call them out. I took a seat at the bar, much to the chagrin of the waiter/busboy sitting at the end (who, instead of greeting me, glared at me then went back to reading). Eventually (at least 5 minutes), someone finally comes over and asks what I want to eat. As I had never been there before and am not a psychic, I ask for a menu (again much to his chagrin). The food was fine (spring rolls, hard to mess up), and I catch sight of the guy (who is now sitting by the entrance to the restaurant) to let him know I want to close my check. He prints out the check at the register....then goes back to sitting. I finally alert him again that I would actually like to PAY my check, not just stop adding items to it. The whole vibe of the place was that they could not be less interested in taking your money. I always leave a tip (side effect of being a waitress one brief summer), but I left this one very begrudgingly. I'd rather take my chances with the middle school tour groups in matching t-shirts than come here again.