Inside the historic Eastern Market building on Capitol Hill, The Market Lunch has run as a no-frills, cafeteria-style food counter since 1978: order at the window, grab a seat, bus your own tray. The format hasn't changed in decades, and neither has the appeal — straightforward breakfast and lunch built around local seafood and regional comfort food.
The blueberry-buckwheat pancakes and "The Brick" breakfast sandwich are the dishes regulars order by name, while crab cakes anchor the lunch side alongside fresh fish, soft shell crabs, shrimp burgers, North Carolina BBQ, and fried chicken. Weekend brunch adds specials like shrimp and grits, chicken and waffle, crab cake eggs benedict, and Johnny cakes.
The spot has drawn coverage from The New York Times, Southern Living, The Washington Post, Conde Nast Traveler, Washingtonian, and Food & Wine over the years, and remains as much a fixture for Capitol Hill locals as it is a stop for out-of-town visitors passing through the market.
The blueberry-buckwheat pancakes and "The Brick" breakfast sandwich are the dishes regulars order by name, while crab cakes anchor the lunch side alongside fresh fish, soft shell crabs, shrimp burgers, North Carolina BBQ, and fried chicken. Weekend brunch adds specials like shrimp and grits, chicken and waffle, crab cake eggs benedict, and Johnny cakes.
The spot has drawn coverage from The New York Times, Southern Living, The Washington Post, Conde Nast Traveler, Washingtonian, and Food & Wine over the years, and remains as much a fixture for Capitol Hill locals as it is a stop for out-of-town visitors passing through the market.