Dc Cafe - Washington, D.C.

This place transported me back to Turkey where I lived/worked for 6 months). The doner wrap was one of the best I have ever had even in Turkey). Make sure to get the orange sauce with it it is mild/spicy/sweet and a perfect complement for the wrap). They also have AYRAN a traditional sour yogurt drink that is very hard to find outside Turkey)! FYI Ayran definitely requires an acquired taste, but once it gets you, you are hooked. Finally, the BAKLAVA! When I took my first bite, I said to myself, wow this is the best Baklava I've had since Gaziantep the world capital of Baklava). When I asked the server where they get their Baklava, lo and behold, they ship it from Gaziantep! No wonder! If you want the best Baklava in the world, here is where you can try it. The only very slight drawback is the prices seem a bit high $16.99 for a wrap). But it is so good that I would 100% pay for it again and again. This place is a gem for authentic, fast casual Turkish food. Go here. Now!

I have waited 20 years to find a proper Doner Kebab here in the US. I cannot count the number of times I have been disappointed by so-called 'gyros ' or 'doner kebab ' here in CONUS, only to find out it is the same old Kronos brand processed meat that everywhere else sells. That was not the case at Capitol Doner! THIS IS LEGIT DONER KEBAB! I could not have been happier with the food or service. I ordered 9 sandwiches to feed my entire extended family, and everyone loved the food. The staff artfully prepared each sandwich to perfection. The only downside to Capitol Doner is that it is hundreds of miles from my home and requires driving into Washington, DC to get it. I would recommend this place to anyone that has ever eaten a real doner kebab in Europe and longs for real cuts of lamb and beef cooked to perfection on a vertical rotisserie.

The donor was really good. nice add-on options and sauces. And the pistachio baklava was really good. I went back on a Saturday when they had just received their baklava shipment from Turkey, so I'm updated the baklava photo. Great baklava!

They deserve five stars but am giving them only four because I want to motivate them just a bit more. They are not quite 'Berlin ' level Döner but the ingredients, the building blocks, are all there to make a Berlin-Level Döner. First of all, I love supporting a local 'mom and pop ' restaurant! This is a Turkish family restaurant through and through. Their service was excellent and the restaurant ambiance is very cute and European. Second, the ingredients are fresh. Everything from the freshly baked bread, baked on-site, to the veggies to the beef/lamb meat on the rotating spit: these are the freshest ingredients I 've had on a Döner, in the United States. The 'Berlin Döner ' is my benchmark and I consider myself to be a Döner connoisseur. Third, less is sometimes more. The meat-to-everything-else ratio was a bit off. With less meat and more sauce and veggies, the Döner would have been even more enjoyable! I 'd suggest removing about 33% of the meat they gave me! Yes, that much! Make room for more sauces and veggies! Fourth, in true Berlin Döner Bude fashion, when a customer orders a Döner, the cook should ideally make the Döner 'with ' the customer. What do I mean? The customer waits at the counter and works with the cook to make the customer 's ideal Döner. To start the order, the cook should grab a piece of (freshly baked bread, split it, then slide it into a bread warming press to get the sides crispy and warm. While this happens, the cook slices meat from the spit, ensuring the freshest, warmest meat is used. (Some Döner restaurants in Berlin take it a step further and cook the freshly sliced meat on a side griddle, along with a special marinade and sauteed vegetables. Think Gemüse Kebab. By the time the meat is ready, the cook then removes the bread from the press and lathers the inside with the sauce(s of the customer 's choice, usually garlic sauce, tzatziki sauce, spicy sauce, Kräuter sauce, curry sauce, or special secret sauce, etc. Once the inside of the bread is covered in sauce, the cook then adds the meat (or meat and vegtables for a Gemüse Kebab , and finally asks the customer what they want on their Döner: lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, white cabbage, onions, etc. Once the customer adds what they like, the cook often finishes it off with a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and maybe red chili flakes or jalapenos if the customer wants some spicy heat upon request. The Döner is now ready to be served or packed to go. Fifth, I recommend they eventually add a chicken meat spit for those that don 't eat beef/lamb. Falafel is already an option for vegetarians. Sixth, the French fries, lentil soup, Turkish tea were all tasty and on-point. The fries even tasted exactly like what I 'd eat in Berlin! Finally, I suggest the owners take a business trip to Berlin. Go to the mountain top! Write it all off on their Schedule C as a business expense! Go to Rüyam Gemüse Kebab on Schönhauser Allee/U-Bahnhof Eberswalder Straße. See how the perfect 'Berlin Döner ' is made!

A warm, welcoming, homey atmosphere. Delicious fresh food prepared as you watch in the open kitchen. My Doner Plate was enough for two, so no dessert this time. Salgam (spiced fermented purple carrot juice), was a new drink for me. Definitely not for everyone. I'm glad I tried it, but will probably have a yogurt drink or tea next time. Conveniently located close to the Dupont Circle Metro and a couple of blocks from the Phillips Gallery.