I've only tried their large iced vanilla latte but its my go-to on campus. It has literally fueled me through multiple midterms leaving me shaking from caffeine after pulling all-nighters. As other comments have said, the service is a bit slow but is definitely worth it for the best coffee on campus. read more

Their Thai tea was a bit bitter than other places. I would add more sweetener. Service was good. read more

Café Espresso - Thai tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

Service was very slow and the cashier was very rude, no sense of urgency, no common sense about customer service read more

Café Espresso - I will now recommend this place too family, or friends - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

$21 for a lychee tea and this grilled chicken sandwich the tea was great and the girl who helped me out was really nice.There is just one little problem. The grilled chicken sandwich doesn't seem to have any CHICKEN there is only bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes and pickles... I took it back to confirm that I got the right sandwich and I did - I was eating with my friends. I took a bite of the $15 sandwich I got had them all try it and they asked me where I got my BLT ... none of us tasted chicken. read more

Café Espresso - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

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Watch posted hours. Place not always opened when it should be. It sure how coffee is as they were closed during my visit. read more

Café Espresso - Not coffee.. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

As an undergrad at UCI, I spent a lot of my time in the Science Library or Rowland Hall. There were never many food options in this area besides Cafe Expresso and Starbucks. When you have to study or just get to the next class, you settle for whatever's around. I've tried only one thing here and that is the breakfast crossiant. Is it overpriced for what it is? Yes. Is the staff painfully slow? Yes. Is it a good crossiant sandwich though? Yes. It gets the job done and I preferred this breakfast crossiant over the sandwiches at Starbucks. It's definitely worth trying if you're in that area. read more

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This is one of my favorite spots on campus. The food is always delicious. I love that everything is made fresh. The specialty drinks are also always so good. The staff and the service are always great too. It's nice to support a small business and I love the vibe of community I feel when I'm here. Highly recommend if you're on UCI campus. read more

The chorizo burrito was so insulting...it wasn't even chorizo. I've never had a chorizo burrito with those fillings before... The breakfast croissant sandwich came in sourdough bread instead of a croissant. The caramel macchiato was alright, the thai tea was good. Everything was pricey all together and the portions were small. read more

Food variety and quality are good,A little pricey but enough to fill you up. Small operation read more

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Right outside Rowland Hall and Physical Science Lecture Hall, Cafe Espresso is no stranger to the science area! It is a small shack with various breakfast items and drinks. It does range on the pricy side so I only go occasionally for a sweet treat or to catch up with friends. The service can be slow, but I cannot blame them for being busy and one of the few food spots within the area (UTC can be a long walk from here lol). It is more of a convenience to visit here, but be ready to spend when you do. I found the Thai Tea with boba to be too sweet for my liking, but the iced matcha latte and lychee green tea are pretty tasty. read more

Unbelievably unprofessional. You would think a college campus amenity would be well adapted to the environment of high volumes. I ordered a caramel macchiato and waited 20 minutes before following up with the employees. Of course I understand the wait is not their fault, especially considering that it is one of the first places people go to after class. However, when following up with them, one of the employees said my drink was coming. I waited an extra 10 minutes before following up again, and asked when I should be expecting the drink. To her reply, she reiterated that it was coming but then as I was walking away to my waiting area, she called out for me to ask what my drink was again. My issue is not with the employees' attitude. I am just disappointed the employee promised my drink was coming without actually meaning it. In total, I waited around 30 minutes for a caramel macchiato. read more

I want to like this cafe. The food is good and the people are nice. BUT the service is way too slow. I get that they make everything fresh but the wait is RIDICULOUS. I waited 20 minutes for a bagel with cream cheese and there was only one other person there. I watched as someone waited 5 minutes for a drip coffee. You can't blame it all on the student workers because they're not being trained to work with a sense of urgency. read more

This is such a great place to stop for lunch or coffee. They have the best customer service, very friendly, and the coffee and food is so yummy! Definitely recommend! read more

Great food and friendly service. I highly reccomend Cafe Espresso. I ordered a Turkey Sandwich, Vietnamese coffee and a coffee cake :) The ladies there are always so nice. read more

This is actually on the UCI campus next to Reines Hall. I thought this little permanent cart place only sold coffee! I haven't tried their coffee though...But to my suprise, they have food items. Their sandwiches are delicious especially the croissant breakfast ones. They have a new chicken teriyaki bowl which is surprisingly good! The chicken didn't look like how chicken teriyaki usually does but it was yummy! It came with a "salad" with bell peppers and such and TWO PICKLES! yay! Haha. The ladies working were really nice also. My only complaint is that it's expensive....but there's a sign that basically says since the owner's price went up, everything is inflated 10%. Lame. But, quality ingredients, fast, fresh & convenient. read more

Café Espresso - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

I sometimes come here for lunch because it's next to my chemistry lab. I've gotten some wraps and a sandwich before ($10-$13), and I liked the wraps better. I knew beforehand that most of the wrap is going to be lettuce, so if you like salads then this is for you! The wraps were very tasty and while it's mostly like a salad, it was pretty filling. I have only tried one drink here before which was the matcha latte and I wasn't a big fan (so I can't say much about other drinks). The service is pretty nice and since there's only a couple of workers, obviously it can be slow when it's busy, but I get my food pretty fast when it's not that crowded. I like how there's free water and condiments offered on a table next to the shop, and every time I've been here, the shop always has some Taylor Swift song on which I love. Whoever has the aux slays read more

Café Espresso - Chicken Club Wrap - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

This place is good, but it's mystifyingly slow, almost intriguingly slow. Like, I want to know "what's happening back there?" The problem is that if I order at half past the hour, and I have to teach at ten-till, I will *just* make it in time to carry the order to my classroom where I have to sneak bites in-between classes. Some of the issues are consistent. For example, if I order a sandwich and a drink, they'll (eventually) announce the sandwich, but the drink won't be there and I have to order the drink again, essentially. They're nice people. They try to respond if they notice they're going slowly. But what's weird is that it never gets better. No system is put in place to correct for efficiency or consistency. It's just the same problem over and over. The location is close to where they teach some of the physics classes, so maybe this is some kind of Good-Will-Hunting thing where if you solve the challenge, some world-famous mathematician will come out and demand to know your name. Today, I ordered a sandwich without cheese, lettuce, and a few other things. I heard them conferencing in the back, sounding confused about why I didn't want pickles. I felt judged. They did produce the sandwich at last, and there was lettuce on it. I think they were trying to encourage me to branch out a little? Not be so close-minded when a little lettuce might do me some good? I will continue coming here, because it's convenient, but if you're looking for a quick fix, this is an intra-dimensional time-suck. You'll get your order, but you'll be older and you'll feel older. But if you're in the mood for a decent sandwich or a nice latte and a philosophical moment where you'll be reminded that your death is approaching, this is your ticket. They should rename it Memento Mori. read more

Last time I will be coming. Sandwiches are delicious, but it's just too long of a wait every time despite ordering ahead. I always wait 30 minutes for a sandwich. The last time I went, I mobile ordered my sandwich ahead of time. I waited for about 20 minutes before asking for my order because I could tell it wasn't being made. They lost the tag, which is understandable, and then rushed my sandwich out for me. However, once it was ready, they let it sit in the basket for mobile orders for 10 mins despite knowing I was there already. I just needed someone to PASS me the sandwich from the basket behind the counter. I had to ask for my sandwich twice before they would finally just pass it to me from the basket. I wouldn't necessarily say the customer service is bad (except from the tall white man taking orders, he seems like he hates his job and I always have bad interactions with him) because everyone is working really hard and at least they tried to rush my sandwich out when they lost the tag, but clearly there are issues. It's just not worth the wait and the price anymore. It's more cost-effective and faster to just make it at home. read more

Relatively decent coffee stand if you want to take a break from any of the four Starbucks locations on the UC Irvine campus. Cost of brewed coffee nets you your choice of several different choices of flavors - but while that's a plus, the downside is that there is no cream. At least there wasn't a jug or bottle of creamer available when I went this morning around 9:15am. Cost for a Medium brewed coffee was $2.40 They offer sandwiches and other snacks as well, but I'll review those later when I try them. Shop also offers scantrons and blue books too. Staff is friendly. read more

I got the $11 Chicken Club wrap and i expected it to be mostly chicken but 80% of the wrap is lettuce. There were only a few cubes of chicken breast and crumble bacon. read more

I had a strawberry fields smoothie. It was very tasty. The service was excellent. This will definitely be one of my go to breakfast spots when I'm at UCI. read more

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Looks like all the reviews below are all complaints about the drinks, but since I've never had them, I'll talk about the food! I love grabbing a quick lunch at this place because their ingredients are so fresh, tasty, and healthy! -Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($7.54): Grilled chicken, melted cheese, avocado, tomato, bacon, crispy lettuce, all on toasted bread. So simple, but so perfect. -California Breakfast Bagel: It always comes out fresh and steaming hot with melted cheese, egg, avocado, tomato, and bacon or ham. I usually get ham. So delicious. -Turkey Sandwich: Again, such a simple sandwich, but the freshness and quality makes it so good! -Chocolate Chip Cookie: Okay, so I picked one of these up. They were laying next to the cash register and wrapped in plastic wrap. So I thought to myself, "Ooh! -Homemade cookies!" and bought one before hurrying off to discussion in MSTB. As I took a bite, I cringed in disgust. These cookies tasted like feet. Ugh. Never get the cookies... they were kind of crumbly, too. Overall, pretty fast service to me (except you have to wait a bit longer for the grilled chicken). I haven't had a problem. Sandwiches are delicious! I love escaping to this place whenever I need a quick fix of fresh sandwiches (because Subways doesn't cut it for me). read more

ZOMG quite the secret food place! So I don't drink coffee or anything like that really, so I always ignored this "coffee stand." One day while waiting in line with someone else who was buying something, I noticed they have sandwiches and other stuff on the menu. I ordered a turkey wrap and WOWOW! Everything was super fresh and tasted as good as any other sit-down place! The service is a little slow but I guess some of that could be blamed on the fact that they are actually preparing the bulk of stuff right there on the spot. I think they could definitely use some lessons in operations management to easily speed things up 30% or more...gosh you would think being surrounded by people studying things like this they would be able to run at max efficiency lol In any case, they have a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches, drinks, etc., and never really a very long line. Good stuff!! read more

Oh man! I love these guys like crazy. If I'm craving breakfast this is the only place I go to grab some. Their breakfast croissant is like no other. They have sooo many choices of breakfast and lunch options. You ca customize it any way you want. Absolutely my favorite place at UCI. They out beat any other place on the campus! read more

The Razzle Dazzle smoothie (strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, orange juice) tastes EXACTLY like a gigantic, never-ending Strawberry Starburst. It is just as sweet too. Will adjust the rating when I try other things here...but I'm avoiding the smoothies for now (2-star smoothie). Excellent service though. read more

On-campus eats at UC Irvine are far from exceptional. After being a grad student here for nearly five years now, I've experienced it all and have developed a discerning taste for Cafe Espresso alone. They are not a dining hall, but just a simple coffee cart sitting outside Reines Hall in wait of the myriad of caffeine-driven chemistry, physics, and math grad students that lie within (they know their consumer demographic, and I count myself among it). In addition to the reliable coffee and various coffee drinks, they serve up fresh homemade sandwiches, salads, and wraps (among other things). I cannot even tell you how often I've consumed the cashew chicken, the California wrap, the BLT+avocado, or the turkey club....and I never tire of eating them. So many options for bread, cheese, and toppings! You do have to be very specific what toppings you want on your sandwich, because otherwise they default to putting a large plethora of things that may or may not mesh well with the particular sandwich which you have just ordered (example: I don't want banana peppers, mustard, and pickles on my BLT...). Also, if you ask, they'll toast your bread for you! I also enjoy their pastry selection (not homemade, but still good), with the strawberry croissant and the turkey croissant being my hands down favorites ("want warm up?"....YES PLEASE!). This cart is very much family run, and I always feel happy when I come here since I recognize most of the small staff. Note: Normally they are open till 7pm, but during the summer they are only open till 5pm. read more

Their croissants are freaking good, but after going to Irvine for 3 years, I've noticed a considerable change in prices. Up and up and up. le sigh... I used to eat a ham&cheese croissant before/during class at least 2 times a week. Now, I probably stop by 2 times a month. Service is fast, coffee is strong (which i like) and their wrap/sandwiches are really good! Definitely a keeper on campus. read more

I used to frequent Cafe Espresso, but after they hired some new employees service has really gone downhill. The California wrap I always ordered comes with tomato, avocado, bacon, eggs, onion, salsa and cheese. It is usually delicious, but two times in a row it came with ONLY EGGS and a single strip of BACON. Additionally, the coffee and espresso are very bitter. Campus food isn't that great to begin with, but you are better off going to Pheonix grill or Java city. read more

Every time I come here and buy a drink I immediately regret buying it after taking a sip. Although this place is called "Cafe Espresso", save yourself 5 bucks and do NOT get any of their espresso drinks. I got a caramel macchiato during my break and it gave me a stomach ache. I have tried their french vanilla ice blended too and it just tasted like milk blended with ice. Also, I am pretty sure I saw them make their mochas with nesquick powder.. although it could have been a different concoction inside a nesquick container. Their pastries are from Costco, so just stick to their food and croissants (this is the only reason I didn't give them 1 star). Just beware that this place is ridiculously priced. read more

This place is very convenient since it locates right outside the PSLH building where a bio student will have many lectures in. The food is pretty decent even though it tends to be a little bit pricey. I like their apple fritters and breakfast stuff since they cook it fresh for you. They also have some sauces such as siracha, mustard on the side of the store and the coffee bar is usually stocked with creamery,sugars and such ( i don't drink coffee but it's good to know i have the options :D ). However, if you want to buy the Sobe or Lipton bottled drink, walk to the vending machine next to Steinhaus hall. It's cheaper over there (i don't know why). read more

It's okay. I like their wraps and grilled sandwiches. Never get the drinks, heard they were too sweet. The reason why I am going to give it a 1 is because they are stingy on the damn sauce. Lol. If you run out and there's green chilli sauce left, why is it so bad let us improvise?? Stop being cheap on the sauce man.. haha. My order was like super bland today. I kind of wish I had salt and pepper because it is so bland. Just bring your own sauce, seriously. Most of all just ruude ruude ruude service. Will never tip again. read more

I came here for a quick stop since I had 15 minutes to spare before class and was craving some coffee. I ordered their cafe mocha. oh my goodness. It tasted horribly burnt. Coffee is bitter, obviously, but this was the kind of bitterness that results from burnt coffee beans. I barely took two sips before I had to throw it out. I've never had such revolting coffee in my life! One star is for the nice lady who took my order. read more

PROS: Sandwiches and wraps are fresh and delicious. Croissants are good. Fruit shakes are good. Good location (right across from PSLH) for hungry bio/chem/engineering/ics college students if there's no time to go to Student Center Workers are friendly CONS: Pricey for a broke college student (Prices have gone up since my freshman year) I've seen insects where they store pastries Allows credit/debit for more than $5 purchase Service is really slow at times Overall the place is okay. I go there a lot because work and classes are nearby. I wouldn't recommend the coffee and icy drinks (too sweet). I'd definitely go back for the California wrap and BLT. If only the prices were lower. read more

A good place to chill but if there was an alternative I would go elsewhere. Things are pretty pricey, and their coffee is too strong. It doesn't take zotbucks, and there's a minimum charge for credit/debit cards. My main complain is that the other day I ordered a breakfast bacon bagel. It had no bacon. Nuff said. read more

I love coming here for a cup of coffee and a egg and cheese bagel. It feels good to support small business rather than chain places like Starbucks. The asian couple that own the place is friendly enough but don't expect a huge welcome with hugs and kisses haha. The pricing isn't too bad compared to the rest of campus so it's a good place to grab something quick. read more

Café Espresso is one of my go-to lunch locations on and around UCI campus. I don't usually indulge in their coffee and beverages, but I enjoy their various sandwiches and salads. One of my favorites is the grilled chicken sandwich on squaw bread. Their ingredients taste fresh and the sandwiches are filling. Also the Cobb salad has tided me over on many an afternoon when I needed to grab a quick meal from their stack of pre-made salads. Service can be slow sometimes, especially right when classes let out, so don't be surprised if you have to wait during the lunch rush. read more

food is really good, I can grab something in between classes if the line isn't too long. But if it is forget about it, they take so long to make simple sandwiches read more

I usually go here every day before work, but today I got the breakfast croissant with ham. I ate about 1/4 of the sandwich when I saw that the eggs were green. Not only that but it smelled so bad. I paid $6 for this, such a waste! It's disgusting and they shouldn't be using rotten eggs for their customers. I'm definitely throwing this out along with the $6 that I spent on this. read more

Café Espresso - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Irvine, California

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A little on the pricey side, but a great place to go if you're over by physical sciences and want caffeine. My favorite drink is the vanilla latte. They use Pete's coffee :) if you buy actual menu food, i.e. the breakfast/lunch sandwiches, be prepared to wait for it. If you want something quick and on the run, I really like the ham and cheese croissant! read more

A little expensive for the average college student, but sandwiches are tasty and filling. Good choice for a quick meal before class.