We arrived around 1pm and the cafe was not too busy. The space is light but there is limited seating and people tend to linger. By the time we left the cafe was packed, we later learned classes let out at either 1:30pm or 3pm which accounted for the increased traffic. You order from the counter, receive a number, and wait for someone to bring your food, we did not wait long for our food to arrive and the students working front of the house asked if we needed anything and quickly attended to our needs. The fired artichoke hearts were the standout. Perfectly breaded and fried, they were spectacular without the dipping sauce! Don't get me wrong the sauce was great and added layers of taste but you didn't need it to make the dish better. The street Corn Salad was generous but it a salad. It's not that I wouldn't recommend but keep your expectations low! read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Salad - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

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Had the Croque Monsieur and the BBQ Brisket Sandwich. The BBQ brisket sandwich was a bit salty to my tasting. The Croque Monsieur was cheesy and good. Also had 3 desserts, the raspberry tart, honey lemon blueberry donut, and strawberry ganache. All were delicious and fresh. read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - BBQ brisket sandwich, Croque Monsieur, and the 3 desserts - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

The culinary school doesn't disappoint! The portions are generous, the prices are affordable, and there's no tipping required. We ordered the Caribbean beef stew and the short rib grilled cheese--the stew was delicious, though the grilled cheese was a bit on the salty side. The pastry selection is also impressive, with plenty of tempting options to choose from. Overall, I had a great experience here. Just note that during lunchtime, the line can get long--you might need to wait around 10-15 minutes. read more

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Okay, so out of all the offerings at CIA, this was just average. Overall it's best to remember that each dining facility is a classroom lab and learning experience for all of the students. I do wonder though if the things get smoother (i.e. did class just come into session when I visited?) the food offerings were good but the management of ordering flow was a bit of a mess. I don't know if they set things up with a weird flow and then hopefully the students figure out the flaw, but it certainly feels like they're set up with a disadvantage. You can only order pastries right at the pastry window, but they can't check you out. You then have to go to one of the other checkout registers, but then it feels like you're cutting someone off who just wanted to order a coffee. I've never walked into a bakery with this level of disorganization so it was like really? I'm hoping this is a matter of training for the students, but from an outside entity walking in, it's confusing and it doesn't display the institution in the best light. read more

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Good but not great. 4 of us at lunch today. 2 of us were served timely. After a 10 minute wait we asked about the remaining food we ordered. The attendant went to the kitchen and she and one other attendant came back with all four orders. When I said no, two of us had already been served, the original server noted that she originally missed the other two orders. No apologies for the botched service. Not sure we would have received the rest of our order if we had not asked. This is a learning college, so I'm only posting this as I hope they're aware of the situation and use it as a teaching moment. Food was good. Everyone enjoyed their lunch once served. Chocolate chip cookie was hard and a bit eh...Nothing exceptional. read more

The apple pie bakery is the place you take friends and family to when they're visiting or when you want to treat yourself to an all around Hudson Valley experience. What do I mean by that? Well the culinary institute of America, locally known as CIA, is Wriggly built on a cliff overlooking the Hudson River. The views are spectacular and there is ample parking in a garage that is adjacent to the building that houses the Apple pie bakery. The apple pie bakery serves as the café for the CIA chefs-in-training. There will be a limited special menu ranging from salads to soups to entrées. And a very enticing pastry counter. HOW IT WORKS: Park in the garage and take the elevator up to the rotunda. Leave time to take photographs because the views are spectacular. Enter through the main entrance to the stately building. If you have time, do not miss the gift shop. Information centers on your right Proceed through the double doors and make a quick right and an immediate left to enter the Apple pie bakery. More than likely there will be a line so plan ahead. Typically you'll see a menu outside of the main entrance to Apple pie bakery, which gives you time to make your selection. You'll order first, then be seated at one of the available tables. Although you won't have a view of the river from this outlet, there's a beautiful interior courtyard view from many of the tables. FOOD: remember that this is a learning restaurant. It is a teaching institution so although most days you will find your food to be well presented and very tasty, there are the occasional service glitches. Please be patient while they are learning the business. It's difficult to know what to recommend because most of everything they serve is absolutely delicious ALLIUM-FREE: for my allium, free diners, make sure that you advise the staff upon ordering. They will provide you with suggestions or recommendations. They may also be able to make accommodations to the final product so you can experience the chef specials as fully as your dining partners. Do not leave without fresh bread and pastries. Each pastry is a work of art. You will pay accordingly, but it will be worth the wild factor. The bread is spectacular. Truly some of the best bread you will taste in the Hudson Valley. Why? Because this is where grand chefs and Masters are teaching future chefs and Masters. Visit my other reviews for the other dining outlets/restaurants at The Culinary Institute of America. Bon appétit. read more

What a great place for a little snack. Stopped in today and had a vanilla bean lemonade. Which was excellent. And then my wife and I split a very hard to describe, but most delicious dessert. It was dark chocolate surrounding a peanut butter filling with a vegan brownie on the bottom. It was really amazing. The chocolate was delicious. The filling was delicious. I really liked all of the painted plates with the faces of famous chefs and the placemats that told you the names of those chefs. read more

Reached at 8.05 am while they were still bringing their breakfast cakes out. We ordered a Southwest breakfast burrito and 3 cheese breakfast burritos. Both were delicious. I loved the southwest burrito more since it has a lot of veggies with eggs. The staff was really sweet. I was confused about what cake should I order and with their suggestion ended up ordering peach cornbread cake that was good and a bit dry because of corn flour but peaches complimented it well. The ambiance is beautiful. It feels like you are walking in some fancy restaurant space. read more

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This place is amazing the food the people and meeting some of the students was great

We had lunch here yesterday and it was fantastic! I am a huge Caesar salad fan and it was fantastic. But here's the thing and I hope they read these reviews and fix it--lots of items on the menu are prepackaged in the cold case to go BUT when I asked if that was my only option for a Caesar salad they said no, that they made them fresh for dining in! This is not made clear anywhere and the menu and setup implies the items in the case are only made to go. So I got a freshly made Caesar salad that was delightful! My friend got a freshly made beet salad and we both had the unsweetened black currant iced tea. The students working there were very friendly and professional and helpful. We very much enjoyed our lunch! They really should put something like (to go or dine in) next to the menu items that are offered to go but are also made fresh for those dining in. read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Chicken Caesar salad and unsweetened black currant iced tea - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

When we go to the culinary for lunch we get to come to this incredible bakery. The bad news is we take almost everything we can see! Maybe that's the good news also. This time around we got the pistachio thing don't even know what to call it! Also got a blueberry crumb cake or pie and a chocolate bobka. All YUM read more

Stopped in here for a late lunch with some friends. Good thing we got there before two because that's when they stop making hot food. They seemed to be out of the things that I wanted to try but I was very happy with what I ordered. The chicken pozole soup was AMAZING! Lots of chicken with tons of flavor and a little kick! The broth was full of flavor too. Loved it. The cauliflower pizza was also great. The little honey drizzle sweetened up the pizza more than I'd like normally but it was a nice touch. For dessert (I finally made it), I had a huge biscotti half dipped in chocolate with a cappuccino. A perfect ending. read more

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Went back to our alma mater for a fresh taste of deliciousness and old memories. The service was excellent, even for an informal cafe! The food, excellent! I always love coming back home for real food! Thanks AP! read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Fried green tomatoes, Asian beef tacos, gnocchi. - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

I had the best cortado I've ever had...ever...this past week when visiting this bakery at the CIA! The chocolate dipped almond biscotti were also amazing! I would drive back from RI just to have a couple more!! Thank you for the friendly service and a delicious snack! read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - THE BEST cortado I have ever had and amazing chocolate dipped almond biscotti! - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

Stopped by for dessert after eating at American Bounty. We got the last available apple pie and it was one of the best I've ever tasted. Must try! read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

Excellent Bakery! Been here numerous times for breakfasts, meetings, coffee or to chat. There are no reservations required. This bakery changed since like 2010 - it's now more modern and has less tables. It seems more geared towards Culinary Institute of America students these days, too. When I came here 4 weeks ago at about 11am the baked goods were already sold out! What gives? Get those bakers and cooks to make 10 more items a piece so that the public, staff and visitors don't come here and leave disappointed. That's important!!! Even if superiors and superintendent think they can not afford the sugar, flour and spices.. Bake a few more items in the morning, instead of running out and looking like deadbeats to the public who want to visit and walk away with nice memories. Running out of breakfast items during breakfast at a Culinary Institute is, well: unacceptable! Review: 5 read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Apple Pie Bakery (Culinary Institute) Poppy scone - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

Went for lunch on Monday (the restaurants were closed so we were very glad that the cafe was open). We made it just in time and even though it says take out only, they do have an indoor area where they let people sit. We both had the lemon chicken with orzo, which was delicious, and I'm not a big orzo fan. The soup came with their crusty rolls (saved that for later). I ordered the cauliflower flatbread, which I was expecting to be vegetarian. I didn't read the list of ingredients close enough because it turned out there was prosciutto on it. It looked beautiful, but gave that to my friend since I don't eat pork. Instead I ordered the tomato tartine, which was on great bread! For dessert we tried a couple of baked goods. I had the beautiful lemon tartine (even the top was edible!) and my friend had this lovely concoction with bananas. The massive chocolate chunk cookie was for the road. I would definitely like to go back and try the restaurants as well as return to the cafe in a different season. read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

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Wonderful CIA establishment for great food and fun. Excellent desserts and great service.

First time back here in a while. Greeted right away when entering the building with a friendly student to help direct non students. Went to the bakery- beautiful space flooded with natural light. Display case of bakery items looks inviting. I was looking for a sit down lunch meal as I had last time I was here. I was disappointed as most items were cold in a cooling display case. They had 3 fresh items to choose from- pizza, pot pie or soup. Non of which I wanted. I wanted a freshly made salad and was unable to get that. I went with two chips and dips as to grab something. My guest was there for the bakery items. They had many options. The sweet treats had beautiful presentations to them, but while eating they would fall apart and did not wow us. I unfortunately will not be returning. I do love the culinary and will select one of the sit down restaurants as opposed to the bakery. read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Sweet treat and chips with dip - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

This place is amazing. Every dessert and pastry is to die for with such a steal price. The intricacy and uniqueness of each of the cake were impressive. The lemon cake had such a unique flavor of spices that I never thought would pair so well - lemongrass and ginger. The apple cake had really nice filling in the inside. Croissants weren't bad but definitely better quality than most places. I would past on the small Ferraro rocher cake. The bigger cakes are definitely a better value. They're only open Monday thru Friday and sells out quickly, come early! read more

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We stopped for lunch in a lark. The ambiance was informal. The student server was helpful and very professional. The gumbo was delicious, flavorful and with just the right amount of texture. We had the Basque Chocolate Cheese cake for dessert and it was divine! We will be coming back for more. read more

We'll of course I wanted to love this spot. D walking around the building looking at students cook us great! That said I had a small order:sesame bagel and coffee. Bagel was very very hard to chew. Coffee was fine. You want to go, so do it! Five stars on atmosphere! read more

Visited this sit down restaurant during our tour of the CIA. Our group was not very pleased with the quality of the food the students delivered that day, but we'd definitely give it another chance the next time we're driving through town! Depending on what time of day, you'll likely miss out on a few menu options because they sell out of the most popular items. Our group tried a variety of mini desserts (~$3) and regular options (~$5-7). The mini desserts included the carrot cake and macron, while the regular options included the chocolate chunk cookie and apple pie slices. Since we arrived around 2pm, they were out of several other dishes. The macron was tasty, but none of us were fond of the carrot cake or cookie. They lacked taste and were both pretty hard to chew. Still worth a stop to learn about the school and famous chefs that got their starts! read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Chocolate chunk cookie - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

I don't really recommend. I once lived in Hyde park NY while my BF attended the culinary institute. So went back for a visit. That day the bakery cafe was the only one open. I got a premade chicken wrap. $13. Huge (too big) chunks of chicken. Cut on the wrong grain (direction) making them very difficult to eat. Not really very good. You'd think a culinary institute would know how to cut up chicken!! That's all I had so can't comment on other items read more

Finally got to go to Apple Pie Bakery Cafe, which is only open on the weekdays. This is the last of the 4 CIA dining places - already been to the American, French and Italian restaurants... and this was the most disappointing of them all especially having been to the all the other 3. Although service was good, food was just ok. Décor is nice with the plates right and left of the chefs...see if you can name them all. If not, the place settings will tell you who they are. For me, the best dish was the sweet potato fries. Had the philly cheesesteak and this was actually the worse of all philly cheesesteaks I've ever had. Sorry, but please do not use mornay cheese with a philly cheesesteak. Presentation of the sandwich was not great either...the cheese was thick and overspread the sandwich. Don't ruin a classic sandwich by using cheese that doesn't appeal with the taste. please come up with something more creative esp given this is the CIA. The bread was also over toasted - it was hard and hard to eat. Classic chips were just ok. Short rib tacos were cold. Guess the most popular dish is the duck gnocchi as it was sold out by the time we sat for lunch at 12:45pm. Service tip for the CIA students: If someone orders soup with a dish and asks to have it served 1st, it should be served as you would an appetizer dish. It should not come out with everyone's main dish. Shisito peppers were ok - some were not spicy and some were. Desserts: Many of them were sold out by the time we got to dessert. so if you want dessert, go early and do take out! Seriously! Brioche pecan sticky bread - hard to cut at it was hard like a rock and a bit dry...baked a little too long. Grasshopper was better - mint, chocolate and raspberry. Cute design, but very small dessert for $7. read more

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We got there around 10am, and even though the Café was open, the dining area was still closed. The dining section don't open until 11am. But, you can still get their baked goods and sweets from there, just have to find a place to sit to eat them. They had muffins, scones, croissants, cookies, etc., etc... And of course, desserts! Very fun, colorful, elegant and all looked really good! We got a few drinks and desserts, went outside by the beautiful fountain with several benches. We got hot Café Latte and an Earl Grey Tea, which came in a HUGE paper cups. For food, it somehow ended up being all desserts...LOL. Blueberry Cobbler Cheesecake, Raspberry Grasshopper, and Milk and Cookies. They were all beautifully made and tasty. Cheesecake was very elegant and tasty, high quality dessert. Grasshopper was a-ok, I wanted more of the mint and Crème de cacao flavor. Milk and Cookies reminded me of Cookie Monster for sure. It had brilliant blue color, which transferred onto your finger and anywhere and everywhere it touched. It needed a really good, thorough, long wash time with soap to get most of it off... The student staffs at the Café were not very friendly...but rather cold. Maybe they are not morning people??? Anyways, I am glad I got to try out their beautiful and tasty desserts! read more

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Love the architectural details of this campus. The food is good and the students/staff were very friendly. I had the vegetable cream soup. Great read more

A small cafe located within the CIA. We dropped in to pick up pastries to go. My two daughters and wife picked up four different ones to try at home. I went with a bag of salt & pepper potato chips. All were very tasty. Everyone were informative, helpful, and friendly. No idea of the cost since my oldest daughter treated us. There were hot and cold sandwiches as well as other light options for a meal. Plenty of tea and coffee options. The small interior was nicely decorated. We love to return to try all the other pastries. read more

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Please make sure to get their signature apple pie macaron. It is so delicious! It has apple pie filling in the center and the buttercream filling tastes just like apple pie. The other treats were just as good but the signature macaron is the clear winner. It was recommended to us by the student in The Bocuse and he was absolutely right! read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Menu - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

It's like being a kid in a candy shop, but with wonderful baked goods instead. I wanted to try everything, but had to control myself. The lemon tartine was my favorite, very light texture and a very fragrant lemon and lemongrass flavor. Get a few pastries with a cup of coffee and it's a perfect way to start the day. read more

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i guess i expected alot but this time were kinda disappointed?This is my 2nd time here, last time was 10 years ago, there used to be alot more pattessieries to choose from, not this time. Lunch menu is very simple, mostly pizza and cold salad. The pumpkin tart has nice texture and flavor, but a bit too sweet for my taste. Pork tostadas is loaded with pork, but the cheese ans the green sauce are soooo salty that covered all other tastes....parking is ample and self seating is ok but no one was there to wipe the tables.......wish they have some outdoor seating though. read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - pork tostada. $11 for 2. - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

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Delicious pastries and beautiful space, as always. But they need to salads and sandwiches on plates. Packaging these and so many other items in plastic containers is terrible for the environment -- especially when people are buying food to eat at the tables. It is also a bad model to promote in an institution of culinary education. read more

Apple Pie is the quaint, casual cafe/bakery at the Culinary Institute of America. The place is staffed by the school's pastry students! You give your order at the counter, take a number, and your food will be brought to you. No reservations are taken. The line can get very long at lunch time but is shorter or non existent at off hours. Apple Pie serves a variety of items including coffee & sweets, soups, sandwiches, salads, and a few entrees such as MAC & Cheese, Crab Cake, Quiche, & Carnitas Tostada. Going into Apple Pie is like going into a candy store. All the items displayed are absolutely beautiful! The pastries are so pretty that they look Louie works of art you do not want to ruin. I guess CIA is doing a great job in the pastry department! 12 year old and I stopped at Apple Pie for a little afternoon pick me up. We shared an Orange & Yogurt Savarin: a gluten free vanilla cookie, Greek yogurt panna cotta, citrus jam, with puffed grain granola. It was with it's edible gold it was much prettier than it tasted. The Red Velvet Macaron was much better. It was elegant looking and pleasing in taste and texture. My son got a Bubble Tea. It was not a frozen drink and I have had better boba. These boba were very chewy. I went with the special Granita of the day, Vanilla/Grapefruit. I thought it was an interesting combination and yes, I could taste both flavors. The drink was frosty but light, and very refreshing. We ended with a French Press coffee which was excellent. It reminded me that I should be ordering French Press Coffee more often. The prices at Apple Pie are very reasonable. If you want to visit CaiA, but don't want to spend a lot of money at the more formal restaurants, you can still try some quality items here. read more

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"If you pay less to get your hair cut by stylists in training at a beauty school, why do you pay more for a sandwich made by chefs in training at a cooking school?" That was my friend's question as he munched his roast beef sandwich during our lunch at the Apple Pie Bakery a couple of weeks ago. Good enough question. Easily answered by looking around at the incredible infrastructure of kitchens and campus and the lovely setting offered diners. We were very happy to have enjoyed lunch at the Apple Pie Bakery as part of a visit to the remarkable CIA campus. Buildings, views of the river are all incredible and it is particularly "cool" that you can wander the halls of the building where the restaurant is located and see in the windows where the chefs are working. We came away with mixed emotions about the food though. Two of our party of four are serious "foodies" and the other two not as much but we all had the same outcome about the food...some hits, some misses. I guess we were expecting all hits and so it was not that we were disappointed by anything but aside from one sandwich we weren't "wow'ed" either. Mac n cheese was good, roast beef sandwich was good enough, banh mi was great, tempura calamari stuffed with crab and chorizo was a miss - from texture to the separation of the coating from the squid to the temperature at service.. Desserts were great through (two choices - chocolate bombe and lemon tart) and the bread on the sandwiches top notch. As one might expect given Apple Pie Bakery is associated with the pastry chef training It was evident that the servers were all in learning mode. No worries though, because we know that is the point of this - to learn - and table service in "order at the counter and we'll deliver it to your table" places has a different standard no matter where one goes. As for mechanics, at Apple Pie Bakery you... ... take a menu at the entry and signs ask that you have choices for order made before you get to the counter. (The menu does a great job of describing the items and helps move along the long line not to have folks asking the counter staff "what's in this...". :-) ) ...will find tables are first come so a tip is if you're with multiple folks have someone snag a table on the window side of the room where you'll be able to look into the lovely courtyard. ( Be prepared for "sardine can" seating.) ..may find the experience most enjoyable if you go earlier in the lunch hour when crowds are less. ...have the advantage of "no dress code" as in some of the other restaurants. We hope to return to CIA and visit the American Bounty restaurant for lunch next time. But we recommend Apple Pie Bakery as a good lunch or "coffee and treat" location. And take out from the bakery is a very good thing to plan to do!. ... read more

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By far the most casual and least expensive of the CIA's four restaurants. No dress code here and we ordered a bunch of different things where our total came out to under $40. By comparison, we previously had to dress up a bit for lunch at American Bounty and our tab came out to over $80. No reservations at Apple Pie Bakery, so brace yourself for a long wait. For a minute, I wondered whether I was standing in line at the soup kitchen. But, at least students come by every few minutes offering you samples while you wait. The strawberry shake (special that day) was awesome and the dark chocolate was good as well. About 20-30 minutes passed before we even got through the front door, then another 5-10 before we could order, then within 5-10 minutes of sitting down, we progressively got served. It was kind of like a strip tease, but with food. Everything on display is visually appealing. It was truly difficult to decide what to order despite the small menu size. Other than the Apple Pie, the menu seems to change pretty regularly so there's probably no use in telling you what we loved and what we weren't overly thrilled with, but here goes anyway. What we loved: Truffle parmesan fries Stuffed pretzel (with andouille sausage, garlic, and peppers) Apple cider What we just liked: White bean and pesto soup (soup of the day) Mac and cheese (overwhelmingly heavy; heart attack in a bowl) Apple Pie (Remember, they call themselves Apple Pie Bakery, but they don't even have vanilla ice cream to give you the option of Apple Pie a la Mode.) Similar to my experience at American Bounty, I left here just as surprised over how little the students serving us knew the menu. We asked some questions about the food in both places and none of the students knew off hand. (No, I wasn't being a jerk and quizzing them; I was really just curious.) Would I go back? In a heartbeat. Assuming it doesn't stop beating from the mac and cheese they served me. read more

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Great quality sandwiches, salads, and sweets on the wonderful campus of the CIA. Students are waiters and they do a great job. read more

Apple Pie Bakery Café - Bakeries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

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This cafe used to be my favorite place to go before the "renovation". I am beyond disappointed at what has happened to this once cozy CIA cafe. The quality of food here has gone down dramatically .Their menu used to be fun and full of variety. After the renovation it's now boring and low standard. There are only sandwiches and some very standard salads. I had the burrata salad yesterday and it was hardly anything but a piece of very hard burrata on a bed of bland zucchini. There is nothing worth coming back for anymore. Their Belgian fries also used to be amazing and they used to give you generous portions. Now for $6 you get a tiny portion that would rival maybe a McDonald's happy meal. I'm so so sad about this place but I won't be coming back if the food stays this way. Its obvious they're pinching pennies. It's also doing a huge disservice to their students, I guess they'll only be learning how to assemble salami on sandwiches from now on. This review is so wordy because this cafe was really one of my favorites and it made me genuinely so upset to have such a bad experience here. Service has also become dismissive, not so much with the students but with the man who is in charge of the main dining area. Nobody seems to care about the dining experience anymore and these new changes will do nothing but lose them valued customers. read more

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Tried their donut today and had to add a star...delicious!! So was the apple pie! The tofu sandwich was nice and flavorful. We also tried the heirloom/pesto/mozzarella dish which was delicious, just wish there were bigger pieces of the mozzarella. read more

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Great soup and sandwiches in the sit down cafe. The Mac and cheese is extraordinary. Smooth and creamy and not too heavy. Services is friendly as well. The bakery next door has great treats as well. The crueler and the sticky buns were our favorites! read more

Management is cranky, and it results in a stunted work environment - only fueled by the social energy of the students. Engagement between workers and patrons is sad, not a single student seems to feel comfortable enough to build any sort of rapport with customers - likely a result of the hawk-eyed tight ass managers. Food is okay, most items are overpriced and subpar. Example - these $12 pork belly bao buns. Dry, empty, and sad. I've been wanting to leave a review of how disappointing this cafe is for a while, but these bao buns are what finally did it. No hate to the bakers that call this place home - it's cozy for what it is, but spending money here is really hard to justify. Do NOT recommend other than for students using meal points. read more

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