I don’t often go to coffee houses in South Arlington, but when I do, I go to Idido’s (pronounced, I believe, like a Spanish word). Their website is here.
At this point, I’ve probably been here over a dozen times, mostly for carryout, but sometimes to use their WiFi. Just this morning, I had a fresh-baked croissant (I suspect their croissants are purchased made, but not yet baked, from a vendor). The Spinach Croissant was a bit on the heavy side (it also had a bit of cheese in it), but it’s a better product than you’d expect from a single-store coffee house who isn’t baking from scratch. A Large Americano here is consistently good (they use La Colombe beans, which are perfectly fine).
However, what sets Idido’s apart from many other coffee houses is their invariably friendly service – no matter who is taking my order, they treat it with love (that may sound a bit much for a cup of coffee, but it’s true, and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about the first time you go).
There’s one, precious parking space immediately in front of the building (the second one is a handicap space), but there’s also a lot of parking on side-streets and other parking lots less than 50-yards away.
Idido’s is immediately south of Rite-Aid (now a Walgreen’s Pharmacy!), and you’ll miss it if you’re driving down Columbia Pike – if you are, make sure to detour 1/2-block down South Glebe, and try this wonderful place.