Mitsitam Cafe

I stop here and get a Latte every time I'm here and they're open.
Amazing coffee. Very friendly personalized service.
A gem of a coffee spot.

Update: the food still isn't as amazing as people once said it was but the prices have remained the same five years later
so I feel like you get a good amount of food for the price. If you're super hungry while strolling the Mall, this isn't the worst option. It's definitely better than the food trucks that rip you off. They didn't have fried bread while was there but the menu is about to change. Hopefully they bring it back.

What a tasty little place. Creative menu with a wonderful serving staff. I had the Bison Chili and Cornbread. Denise had the Wild rice and Cranberry with cornbread. Deliciousness
Thank you

Mitsitam Cafe was a nice surprise. I didn't intend to have lunch at Mitsitam Cafe, but am glad I found out about it while checking out the National Museum of the American Indian. And it seems like it's one of the more popular spots around the National Mall to do dine at.

While I was getting more information at the National Museum of the American Indian, the friendly staff told me what to check out at the museum, and to not miss the award-winning cafe here, the Mitsitam Cafe, which has a rotating menu of Native American foods.

On a weekday during the lunch hour, the place was pretty busy! I noticed that many of the patrons here weren't just visitors, but it looked like a lot of people who work in the area came to Mitsitam Cafe for lunch. The day I visited, they featured an Indian taco, which is fry bread with chili and other toppings. I was stoked when I learned this because it's something I don't often find where I'm from and secondly, it reminded me of my time in Arizona where I last had an Indian taco, which is something you have to try if you haven't had before!

My lunch was filling - and delicious. The fry bread had a good, soft texture to it, and easily soaked up the chili and green chile! Other toppings included shredded lettuce, diced tomato, pickled jalapeno, cheese and sour cream. It was a favorite at the cafe. However, they have many other intriguing options, such as a lamb stew and a buffalo burger! I can see why Mitsitam Cafe is a popular eatery, not just for those visiting the museum, but for the locals. Glad to have visited this eatery for a cuisine I don't often eat, but enjoy.

This restaurant is inside the Museum of the American Indian on The Mall and serves authentic Native American food. I dined there for lunch a couple of days ago. It is cafeteria style and I chose the lamb stew (a cafe favorite) with fry bread meal for $16.45. It also came with a fresh sliced avocado half. I added a tall glass of Aqua Fresca for another $3.80.

The lamb stew was very good taste wise and had plenty of meat and vegetable content in a savory brown sauce. That large piece of fry bread was equally delicious and paired with the stew very well. Finally the avocado half was fresh and enjoyable and everything together made for a filling meal. The drink was deliciously refreshing too. In the dining area there are large windows overlooking a low waterfall outside for your viewing pleasure.

Mitsitam Cafe is probably one of the best museum cafes in DC. It's unique in that is serves specialty food along with regular items like burgers and chicken tenders. I understand the Indian Tacos are also another favorite.

This is a tasty restaurant located on the first floor of the Museum of the American Indian. The options range from very standard (fries, chicken tenders, slices of cake) to dishes inspired by First Nations recipes.

I ordered the chicken tortilla soup, which was pretty straightforward. It tasted good, but nothing unique--you could make a similar meal in a crockpot. The stewed hominy was outstanding! The flavors and the textures were so good. I also enjoyed the calabasa salad! Squash and pepitas are a great combination.

The service was not great, which is not dissimilar to other experiences I've had at Smithsonian museums. The cafeterias are often short staffed, which makes lines long and tempers short. It's a relatively standard setup, and there is ample seating in the cafeteria too.

I was looking up which Smithsonian museum had the best food and apparently the Mitsitam Cafe in the National Museum of the American Indian is on every list. The food was different than the average cafeteria food since they have Native American cuisine. We ordered the Indian taco (chili, cheese, tomatoes, onions, green chilis, fry bread), the bison chili dog, and the bison burger (Monterey jack cheese, bacon, tomato, green chili aioli, potato bun). The hot dog and burger both came with fries. The best dish was the Indian taco. The portions were large and the food was tasty but too expensive even for a museum. It was convenient to eat there but I would rather go somewhere further for cheaper and better food.

Over the course of the last dozen or so years, I've stopped by the Mitsitam Cafe for lunch. While I greatly enjoyed the Turtle Soup, I haven't seen it around over the last several years, and I don't know why. Maybe it's the result of the COVID pandemic, lack of demand, or some other reason...? I've come here alone, to connect with colleagues from other offices and organizations, with out-of-town guests, and, more recently, with our office interns. I've always had positive experiences here. While it's not fine dining in the traditional sense (it's a cafe after all), the offerings are varied and tasty. "The Cafe features Native foods found throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso America and the Great Plains. Each of the five food stations depicts regional lifeways related to cooking techniques, ingredients, and flavors found in both traditional and contemporary dishes." (https://washington.org) There are a number of vegetarian and vegan options here. Many of the selections here, outside of the fry bread, fries, and a couple of other things, seem like they'd be on the healthier end of the spectrum. I greatly enjoyed my selection this trip, which included the salmon with blueberry glaze (I asked that the glaze be on the side) and two sides of my choice (pictured). While the prices can be on the higher end, Federal employees receive a 10 percent discount when they present their PIV cards.

Surprisingly, food at museum's cafeteria can be good. Everything was very well seasoned and delicious. The rib has a sweet taste from the sauce that they brush on top. The salad the comes with it is very good. The goat stew has somewhat a strong goat smell but it is fine for me, and the meat is really soft. Dipping the fry bread in the stew is really tasty. Dessert is the only thing that is disappointing.

I remember this place had a grilled bison steak with a couple of hot sides that was wicked good. Also memorable was a wild salmon platter served on a cedar plank. But that's not happening anymore.

Their current menu is limited, with items like chicken tenders, burgers and fries. No doubt this is due to the pandemic. There's a few cold side dishes and salads that are Native American, plus fry bread and desserts. Overall, I find the food to be below average.

My most recent experience was so-so. The wild rice salad was overly hard, not flavorful; the grilled jicama salad was served with too many onions; the chicken tenders were par; the apple tart was overbaked; and the only beverages offered were aqua fresca and beer (drink dispensing machine was out-of-order).

Located on the ground floor, the dining room is unique and pleasant, one of the best of the museums on the National Mall.

My hope is that Mitsitam Cafe can revive its former self.