Oby Lee, Roastery, "Winery," and Creperie at Clarendon Centre - Washington Blvd. in Clarendon

[Bob Wells]

Oby Lee had a really good coffee shop/roastery in Rehoboth Beach for years. He could make disgusting-sounding flavored coffees taste really good. Their sticky buns were legendary. We heard he lost it in a bitter divorce. Anyone been to his place in Arlington?

http://www.obylee.com/

[ktmoomau]

No, but it must be right by one of my two nail places, will have to stop in.

[Bob Wells]

Thanks, when Oby Lee was down at the beach his place had good crepes, so those are worth trying too. DC is definitely under-creped!

[DonRocks]

[This is one of the oddest places I've tried to locate/categorize in a long time. I must have driven by it last night, and I didn't even know it was there.]

[Bob Wells]

Don, I was amazed to see that it got 48 reviews on Yelp in just a few months, but otherwise seemed totally under the radar. Anyone who visited Rehoboth Beach up till a couple of years ago could not have missed Oby Lee's coffee house -- it was right at the turn off from Route 1 onto Rehoboth Ave. There's another coffee place there now that is still good.

[DonRocks]

Don, I was amazed to see that it got 48 reviews on Yelp in just a few months, but otherwise seemed totally under the radar.

Clarendon is Yelp Central Station.

Anyone who visited Rehoboth Beach up till a couple of years ago could not have missed Oby Lee's coffee house -- it was right at the turn off from Route 1 onto Rehoboth Ave.

We can call the old place Oby I.

[RWBooneJr]

It's where the Quiznos used to be at the corner of 10th and Washington. I haven't been yet (despite it literally being across the street), but a friend of mine likes it.

[Nick Freshman]

Clarendon is Yelp Central Station.

No shit.

Stopped in once for coffee and a quiche; both were good. That was months ago right afte they opened. I don't envy them that location.

[adjen]

They have lots of by the glass wine pours too. I was there in the fall and had a veggie-laden quiche with a very flaky (even though reheated) crust. I liked it and made a mental note to go back, but I remember wishing they had wifi and a larger selection of sweet pastries to go with the coffee.

[TSchaad]

After reading the above posts, I stopped by Oby Lee this morning. The owner was just getting his Sticky Buns out of the oven (thanks for the tip, Twinsdaddy!), so i ordered a raisin bun and a latte. Great coffee and an outstanding sticky bun. While I was there I saw beautiful breakfast crepes being prepared, and will be back to order one soon. The decor is white and red, with lots of window light and a layout that makes a modest space seem roomy. No one has mentioned this yet, but Oby Lee is closed on Mondays so they can custom roast all their coffees, which are also available for sale by the bag.

There is a patio area that should get a lot of use this spring and summer, and a menu large enough to encourage a number of trips back to try out the various savory crepe combinations. The real suprise for me was seeing the 'wine fountain' on one side of the space. It's a circular freestanding station that allows you to self dispense about sixteen different wines from the enclosed bottles to a glass. There are three different volumes for each wine dispenser - you just press a button to choose between a tasting portion, a half or a full glass, with the price for each serving on the button itself.

This looks to be a great casual dining addition to the neighborhood.

TSchaad

[dcs]

Oby Lee closes in Clarendon, Vietnamese restaurant expected to take its place, March 7, 2023, on ARLnow.com.