St. Elmo's Coffee Pub

I come here regularly to meet friends, team members and clients. It’s a nice central location in Del Ray. They serve Stumptown coffee, which is not my personal favorite, and it usually is a bit sticky/dirty at tables (this was true pre-COVID too) but not unbearably so. Staff is not always very friendly (kind of has the snobby coffee shop vibe, if you know what I mean) but they work fast and do a good job!

Used to live by them years ago and it was much better. It would take a lot to get me to visit again after the latest experience.

St. Elmo’s operates as if all customers are local and have pre-existing knowledge of items not listed on the menu. So for out of town folks, know that the cashier who rings you up is solely responsible for your order. This is not a team or cooperative environment. If you’ve been waiting 20 minutes for your order, approaching other staff will not be helpful - they feel no responsibility for the failures of the other workers. Every person had to approach the staff member closest to a serving area. I think the only satisfied person in the 30+ plus minutes was the dude who got a black coffee.

Edit: this place is so frustrating. I’m taking away two stars from my previous review, because this location is just never staffed enough. Today I ordered at the counter to prevent the chaos of their online ordering process (see below) And after 20 minutes of not getting my order, I went to the counter and they told me they were out of the bread option I chose. I should not have had to approach to give them my second option. They must not have been making anything because it was another 20 minutes before receiving my breakfast sandwich.
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We get coffees (and sometimes breakfast sandwiches) from this location every Sunday. And for the most part our experience is always great. BUT if you are ordering ahead it’s not well organized. There’s nowhere to go to for “online pick up”.

Scenario 1 is you go to the regular pick up counter but there’s only ever a person there if they are giving a coffee to someone else so you have to jump in and tell them your name before they run off again.

Scenario 2 is you go to the register to tell them you have an online order but there’s always a long line to order so defeats the purpose of ordering on line.

I’ve asked them the best way to pick up and they just say to wave anyone down but when it’s busy (weekends) that’s easier said than done.

St. Elmo’s should add a location on the side of the regular pick up counter for online pick up.

Best chai I've had in the DMV area!! Great space to sit and work, then reward yourself with any of their sweet and savory treats for getting things done.

Visiting for first time and shopping local. Amazing hot cocoa and coffee. Best I've had. Had several muffin flavors as well and perfection. Service was nice n friendly. Price reasonable as well so highly recommend.

Beautiful and quaint coffeeshop located in the heart of Alexandria. It' a fairly old building which gives the shop a really great ambiance, making it a great place to get some work done.

There's really nice seating options, especially at the tables in the window bays. This is a spot that's really enjoyed by locals, perhaps too enjoyed as it gets really busy in the mornings and seating, while nice, is pretty limited. There are lots of food options and all of it is really good and pretty reasonably priced.

Street parking is available, but unpredictable. It's usually better to find something in the surrounding neighborhoods.

First time in this coffee shop, and I hope to be a regular! Super cozy atmosphere with plenty of comfortable seating. We ordered a breakfast sandwich, the Mt.Ida sandwich, a chai latte and coffee. The breakfast sandwich is huge, and absolutely delicious! I saved half of it for lunch. The Mt.Ida sandwich was absolutely delicious, flavored meatballs on warm soft and crisp bread. The chai latte is unlike any other I’ve had before, really creamy and not too overwhelming on the spices. The staff is extremely nice and even gave me a free refill on coffee. 10/10 for everything! Can’t wait to come back here!

Coffee was good... but the food was cold in the middle 😩, eggs cold and sausage was cold in the middle. I didn't get my apple cider donut with my order too I guess cause it was so busy. Was my first time going not saying you should go but be aware of what happened to me so it wouldn't happen to you...

Very cute place, good coffee, good food

Cute location, but mediocre offerings and terrible service. They don't have a process in place to keep track of orders coming in and the employees always look confused. I purchased an almond latte with pumpkin puree for online order pick up. When I arrived to the store, the order was not ready and after standing around for 8 minutes, I was finally able to get someone's attention. The man, again looking confused, had my coffee done in less than a minute. He put regular milk in it and did not add the puree that I paid extra for. Will not be returning to this location – Old Town North is much better!