We are not students , but rather just a family looking for a good deal for a great buffet in the area. This did it for us! The salad bar was good, but there are also so many other options: pizza, burgers, Asian, Mexican, breakfast options, dessert, so many drink options, etc. So many choices, and the prices are right on par with Soup n Fresh (the new Souplantation), but with meat options! read more

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Visited for the first time on Saturday, February 4. Family and I wanted to try out something new and be spontaneous (was looking for an all-you-can-eat place), so we found this place. The last time I visited CPP was back in high school (2014ish) and would frequently dine in at the Los Olivos Commons. Bittersweet that a lot has changed ever since. Centerpointe Dining Commons is a very brand new dining experience for students, staff, faculty, and to the GENERAL PUBLIC! We stopped by during brunch time and it was $13.75 per person. Very clean and new inside, several seating options, restrooms inside, and healthy food options as well. We were a bit bummed out that they weren't serving sushi, the mongolian grill and pasta but would go back and try it out again! We ate: french fries, chicken tenders, and more. I am a fellow UCLA Bruin Alumna and will say that the dining halls at UCLA is way better (in terms of food options, there's also 4 different dining halls back when I was a student), while CPP only has 1 dining hall. There were also a lot of empty trays when we dined in here and it seems like a very high turnaround time for refilling the foods (I had to wait a while for the matcha cup cakes to come out). We paid for parking ($5 all day during weekends) which is not too bad. Unfortunately I didn't take much pictures but will update this review when I go back! read more

Centerpointe Dining Commons - 02/04/23 - Cafeteria Near Me - Pomona, California

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Burger- The bread is stiff, the cheese wasn't melted and it felt hard to the bite. The meat was like a chewy ball for animals. It was criminal illegal. My dog wouldn't reject this food. Breakfast- Decent, the sausage was good but the french toast was cold and soggy from each other's sweat from being stacked to tightly. Ice cream- It feels like frozen whipped cream, it has no heavy feeling to it, making it not taste like ice cream. Burrito Bowl- To make the meat decent, you have to add salt and a lot of tabasco and tapatillo to even get flavor read more

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As a student of Cal Poly Pomona for four years and a resident of the school's university housing for two years, I've come to Centerpointe to chow down on meals after long days and late nights. Eating here is definitely a one of a kind experience. But many people in the campus community and those outside looking in might wonder what eating at this college dining commons might entail. With this, I wanted to write a review about my experiences at Centerpointe. Starting with location, Centerpointe is at the edge of the campus next to the Student Services Building (the "spaceship"), Kellogg's historic horse stables, the recently constructed Residential Halls (Sicomoro and Secoya). Although it is closer to some of the main streets, it is somewhat out of the way for both students and the outside world. Because the commons is farther away from the bulk of the classrooms on campus, only few choose to make the walk downhill to the housing district of the campus. For visitors looking to eat here, the nearest parking structure is Structure 1 and about a 5-10 minute walk away. With an extra expenditure of 8 dollars required to buy a daily parking pass, getting here isn't the most convenient. Entering in, you would first be met with the front desk area where you would pay first before entering in. Prices may vary based on when you choose to eat and what payment method you choose. But on average, lunch is around $12.25 and dinner is around $13.50 per person. Although Centerpointe takes cash, credit, meal swipes, and meal points (during summer), take advantage of the fact they accept Bronco Bucks as the meal is cheaper by a dollar or two (Bronco Bucks are only for the campus community). After paying, you would enter the main part of the dining hall that has all of the food offerings and seating. Seating areas vary, giving you options to sit at individual tables, barstools, in lounge chairs, outdoors, and more. Just be sure to bus your own plates and trash on your way out. Similar to many dining commons around the US, Centerpointe is an all you can eat buffet-style eatery with 6 main stations: Sandwich, Pizza, Pasta, Grill (Burgers, Chicken Tenders, Fries), Fusion (usually Mexican, but other food during breakfast and sometimes lunch and dinner), and Global (rotating ethnic foods, Mongolian, and sushi bar). In addition to the main stations, there are a few extra non-manned areas such as the salad bar (build your own salad, soup), all-day continental breakfast bar (bread and toaster, cereal, yogurt bar, cut fruit), dessert bar (pasteries, cakes, soft-serve, occassional donuts); and three drink fountain areas with Pepsico soft drinks, sparkling water, iced tea, coffee, milk, and soymilk offerings. Though this may seem like a large number of options, it is good to know that these stations do not change their menus (with the exception of global, whose menu changes with each meal). Furthermore, certain stations have been operating on and off since the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. sushi bar, mongolian, pasta). All this now said, I'd argue the 11-12 dollar price tag for all of these offerings is a very great value price-to-portionwise. Even in the nearby Pomona, Walnut, and Diamond Bar areas, it is extremely difficult to find any other eatery that has this much quantity for cheap. Even if you're a visitor paying for a parking pass, 19-20 dollars still isn't all too bad. The catch of this eatery, and similar to other dining halls, is the quality of food. Though the food is consistent at most of the stations, the bar is set pretty low as the food needs to be produced in mass. For the rotating global station, the food can be hit or miss depending on the day. There have been days where the station serves flank steak and whole crusted fish filets. But on other days, smaller ticket items like potato curry and beef stew with little beef are served. Although figuring out when the good food is served is close to impossible, a good rule of thumb is to go during lunch time. The food is more fresh, the chances of getting a better dish is higher, and lunchtime is cheaper overall. Personally, I enjoy the food at fusion, grill, salad bar, and sushi bar. One Closing Note: If coming for lunch, try to avoid coming between 12-1PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays as the campus has a free period called U-Hour. During this time, Centerpointe is usually crowded with both students and staff alike. Lunch service does not end until 1:30PM, so coming in in that last half an hour means there is more food and less lines. From all my experiences eating at Centerpointe, there are days where the food is 5 stars and other days where its 1-2 stars. As long as you keep in mind that you're paying 11-12 dollars and that you're at a college dining hall, I think it can be worth the time and effort. Because the experience fluctuates often, I'd say Centerpointe deserves a 3 star rating. Not bad, is great sometimes, but could be better. read more

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good workers, always very kind. food is okay, some days you get lucky and it's good! the mexican food is a good go-to and you know you're lucky when it's gyro day. read more

Centerpointe Dining Commons - fun slideshow - Cafeteria Near Me - Pomona, California

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I first found this spot pre-Covid while taking a walk during work hours... and boy what a deal! It used to be just $8, cheaper than Souplantation but with more variety. Sure, it's not the best tasting or highest quality but the value is unbeatable. The last time I visited the price increased to about $13, but might be more with our crazy inflation. Still a good value with beverages (juices, soda, coffee, tea) and desserts (cake, cookies, cheesecake, cupcakes, soft serve). There's something for everyone to get full. Sure their sushi and pizza is awful, and their salmon and steaks are overcooked, but hey, that's cheap quality protein if you are working out! There's a ton of fruit, soups, sandwiches, wannabe chipotle bowls, salads, burgers, etc. Plus the facilities are clean and well maintained with a good student vibe. read more

Late Night with the custom pizza is so good. Raul Christian and friends are awesome. Late night should stay up to them! Please keep the coffee machine working please! read more

Cal poly has an awesome buffet really low-key. It has very good value and it's great food.

Writing from an outsider: food here is mediocre at best, very repetitive menu, bland food. Worst of all DO NOT go on heritage days..... they charge more for food they call "ethnic" lunch prices go from 13.5 to $17 in the name of "diversity" it's ironic price out people who want to eat somewhere coincidentally because it's a "heritage day" makes zero sense if anything prices should be cheaper. Nobody is coming for these heritage days, students come here to eat..... read more

Centerpointe Dining Commons - Cafeteria Near Me - Pomona, California

I don't understand the massively negative ratings. From the moment we entered, staff bent over backwards to explain the simplest things, came over & asked how we were doing. I am limited in what I can eat. They made me a "protein style" burger fresh (their insistence). The selection was very fair. I was able to work in a clean, peaceful & comfortable environment! For the price points, I was exceedingly happy. read more

I never knew college dining halls would be so bad. The silverware and cups are also never cleaned well you can pick up any single one and wipe some smudge off. The oil they spray their grills with looks terrible and the quality of their ingredients are cheap read more

I don't usually leave reviews or negative things, but this place is absolutely horrible. Are used to come to the dining Commons all the time when it was at this old location. And one thing I noticed was there was always a full-time management team and professional staff there. I noticed that they had a full-time chef that was always there, and the staff was always pretty happy to do their job. The food quality was amazing, the flow of traffic was amazing, and the choices were amazing. They always had condiments, you could order custom noodles and plates. They always had a lot of selection and high-quality food ingredients. Now I think they moved to a new location which cost too much money, so what I think they did is they fired the old professional management team, and they hired a bunch of part-time people to try to run this place. Now I noticed that half the staff, doesn't know too much about what's going on, and they don't seem like they want to be there. Now, it's really bad, now, none of the food equipment here works. The espresso machine doesn't work, the ice cream machine doesn't work, and, sometimes they have certain foods, sometimes they don't. Most of the food is very low quality, for example, they have margarine and not butter, and most of the time it's not labeled so you don't know what you're eating. They pre-make all the foods for you, so you cannot order what you want, I suppose this saves them a little bit of space, but paper makes a lot of waste and food preparation time takes a long time, so there's always lines now for mediocre food. Long review, but I had to do it because I used to love this place back when it was at his old location but ever since they moved, it is horrible absolutely horrible read more

Not a huge fan of this place, and I basically only eat here because I go to Cal Poly and have a meal plan, and it's the best bang for your buck. I've attended Cal Poly since 2019, and I remember the old dining hall, Los Olivos. When Centerpointe opened, I expected it to be an improved version of Los Olivos. I was wrong. Centerpointe has much less options than Los Olivos ever did, which sucks when you have to eat there all the time. Also, Los Olivos simply just tasted better, and was open for more hours. The interior of Centerpointe is more modern than LO, but LO was more cozy. The one thing I will say about Centerpointe is that they seem to be doing better with food safety than LO, which is very important. Also, it is nice that it is buffet-style, so you can get your food immediately and have as much as you want. They occasionally have events during holidays where they serve special food, which is fun. They once served alligator for Mardi Gras! Service is ok, it's mainly student employees. I still miss Los Olivos though! read more