City Oasis: The Portico Cafe at the National Portrait Gallery

national portrait gallery porch

Aren’t fall afternoons lovely? I spent a relaxing afternoon meandering Penn Quarter/Chinatown recently, and my boyfriend and I wound up in the National Portrait Gallery. After visiting the Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keefe exhibit we wandered upstairs.

Needing a break, we stumbled upon the Portico Cafe on the second floor. The Portico Cafe is a second-floor oasis overlooking F street and the International Spy Museum. Sunny, warm and surrounded those ever-so-cliche DC columns, it’s the perfect place to take a breather and watch the city go by.

iron at the national portrait gallery porch

Visit the National Portrait Gallery (free) at 8th & F Sts NW, close to the Chinatown Metro Station and Metro Center Metro station. The Gallery is open from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Photos taken by Flickr user needlessspaces.

Katie moved to DC in 2007, and has since embarked upon a love affair with the city. She’s an education reform advocate and communications professional during the day; at night and on the weekends, she’s an owner here at We Love DC. Katie has high goals to eat herself through the entire city, with only her running shoes to save her from herself. For up-to-the-minute news and reviews (among other musings), follow her on Twitter!

One thought on “City Oasis: The Portico Cafe at the National Portrait Gallery

  1. oooo, cool. I love going to the Kogod Courtyard there but had no idea about the Portico Cafe. I’ll have to check it out for a relaxing lunch break while the weather still holds!