Does UC Berkeley want to have the worst food of any UC? It really makes no sense. When you think of all the amazing research and health science at the school, how can they justify serving students the worst and most unhealthy food possible? There is simply no excuse for the poor quality of food at Crossroads. Can you hire a nutritional expert cook? How about getting Alice Waters to advise or oversee what the school is doing for food? Please - we are begging - please fix this!! read more

I have got food poisoning here twice. While I enjoy fractions of their meals, I am often disappointed by their undercooked meat, inconsistency with the menu, and questionable smells and tastes. Definitely not worth the money we have to pay with the housing plan. read more

My baby bros took me and Stephanie S. to Crossroads the last time we visited them in Berkeley, and I remembered why I'm glad I'm an adult now aka I can pay for good food. Poor (literally and figuratively) college students... I actually remember dining at Crossroads when I was in college and thought it was just whatever. This time was no different. The slices of salmon and pork were very bland. Quesadillas looked flat and sad. The saving grace was the salad. (And when salad is the best part of your meal, you know something is off!) The line for the Mongolian noodles, which actually looked decent, was longer than the Great Wall of China so I didn't even attempt it. I do think it's cool that you can check out what they're serving for breakfast/lunch/dinner on their app though! read more

Holy crap the vegi TACO meat, really tastes like real meat. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't meat but really, WOW. This review might be a little dated. Ok, who am I kidding, this review IS dated (i.e. 2005). Seriously though, crazy good fakemeat for TACOS. Also, I have limited idea of what meat tastes like, so I suppose it might not have actually tasted like meat, but it convinced me. FYI: TACO TACO TACO. read more

I came to Crossroads a while back for my community college's '"Cal Shadow Day" quite some time ago on a Saturday afternoon. Shadow Day was the opportunity for prospective students in shadowing Cal students in the day of the life at UC Berkeley and being informed about its aspects and services offered to students. We were treated to a late-afternoon lunch at Crossroads, one of the dining commons (DC) off the campus. It was the transition time between lunch and dinner, so there were a few limited options and many of the stations were closed, like the Blue Plate station. I sampled the pasta, pizza, and some of the Asian dishes. It was pretty bland, lacked flavor--to me, no flavor. Lacked love and spices, okay this is not one's home kitchen. No flavor, kind of, sort of reminded me of bland hospital food. Is this what food in the dorms and the dining commons are supposed to taste like? Salad bar is all right. Just know what you like and work with the offerings. Just my opinion, this is where they do redeem themselves. I did get to sample the chocolate dipped strawberries and frozen yogurt. A-OK there. Chocolate dipped strawberries were comparable to Godiva. The fro-yo was just as good, though I will go for Yogurt Park or Yogurtland, which are located nearby. I will say I am impressed with the interiors of Crossroads. Large, open, airy spaces. Great place for students to meet, mingle, and have study groups--definitely a communal and a community type of space. And a great place to give prospective students on groups a sample of what a Cal dining common is like. Though I do not really see myself here during my time at Cal unless I am invited and somebody else picks up the tab or we use their meal points. All 'n all, A-OK. If anything, one's parental unit need not worry about their college-aged son and/or daughter getting access to food to eat and meet people to socialize with at Cal. Fresh Yelp! Review #73 for 2013 read more

The food basically does all it has to - it feeds you. I ate here for about six days during a summer conference on campus. At first, the set up sounds brilliant. As much food as I want? Awesome I am going to be happy. Then you learn all the food is made by foot, or at least appears so. It looks like everything was mashed together in a giant tub by stomping. The salad looks like that, the mashed potatoes look (and smell) like that, the curry looks like that, everything looks like no one gave a fuck about how it turned out. I ate chicken that tasted like rubber, rice that tasted like pudding, and vegetables that tasted like limp socks. Bite after bite, nothing made me want to make full use of my buffet food ticket. And you can't take food to go, unless you take all your food to go from the get go. So you really have to stomach all the food you're willing to eat at once, or leave and realize you are hungry for real food, not this Crossroads bullshit, in the middle of the night, or in the middle of class, or wherever it is you were supposed to be not starving at. I would lie in my bunk bed late at night, my tummy grumbling, wishing I had eaten something fresh and wholesome for dinner, wishing I had gone to the curry place up the street, wishing I had just found some french fries somewhere. So hungry, so sad. Finally, near the end of the week, I discovered the sandwich bar. Tucked into a distant corner in the angry chaotic map of the cafeteria, I found a woman standing behind the counter. She asked me what kind of bread I wanted and I got whole wheat. We quickly skipped over to what kind of meat and vegetables I wanted. I sprung for some basic tuna and mayo with a slice of American cheese. There was nothing wrong with it. It wasn't something I'd make at home this way, but there was nothing glaringly repulsive about eating it. I ate the same thing until I left. It was the only edible corner. That, and sweet potato fries when they were available. They weren't bad either, when covered completely in salt. I also feel incredibly bad for the staff here. Imagine the hell they catch for the awful food they serve. The looks on their faces, of distress and apology: "I'm sorry I have to feed you this." Many of the kitchen staff were incredibly friendly, if perhaps meek and frightened. I don't want to blame them for the food. The big guys, whoever buys this shit and decides humans should eat it, they're to blame. Those people don't give a shit about us or their employees. read more

Food here is God AWFUL. $6.50 for lunch, $7.50 for dinner... YOu can get way better food for less here in Berkeley. You know, instead of doing a crappy job of cooking the food, why not just cook it right so people don't throw it away and waste it? The ingredients are fine, it's just a simple matter cooking right. Example: Pasta is overcooked. Solution: cook it LESS Example: salad dressing tastes like crap Solution: BETTER DRESSING read more

I have several complaints about crossroads. 1) I'm fairly certain they are allergic to flavor. 80% of the food served here needs to be doused in salt or hot sauce before consumption. When eaten plain, it's extraordinarily bland, and difficult to tell exactly what you're eating. 2) PLEASE DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR MEAT. Basically all meat served at crossroads is going to be dry. And not overcooked for 10 minutes dry, like accidentally left in the oven for an extra 6 hours with every drop of juice and flavor sucked out of it dry. 3) Please cook your vegetables using wayyy less oil. Whenever I get a spoonful of that cucumber veggie mix that they serve oh so often, there's a ton of liquid on my plate and it gets everything else wet. While we're talking about vegetables, please take the cinnamon glazed carrots off your menu. It's like eating baby-food-soft carrots that have been dunked in sugar. It's not gourmet, and it's definitely not good. 4) The Asian food (aside from the orange chicken which is a 10/10 when crispy) is so bad. What they call "pho" is actually just strings of thick, under-cooked, short rice noodles in bland soup with the uber dry meat they love serving. "Bimbimbap" on the menu might be the biggest offense. It's legitimately just rice, with the same shredded dried out beef they use for everything, and some shredded carrots. Has absolutely no flavor and should be avoided at all costs. 5) Pasta is very overcooked and bland. Pizza is bland. Here are some things I love about crossroads (I'm actually a nice person I swear): 1) The people! Crossroads workers are great, and I know they don't do the actual cooking/aren't in charge of the menu, so the extreme sub par food is not their fault. The workers are very nice and do a great job with what their handed. 2) The cereal bar. It's great, a lot of times I end up eating just cereal at crossroads actually. If I had one tip it would be please add Captain Crunch! They have it at Foothill and Cafe 3. Also Crispix is solid, please add it. 3) The french fries! So good. read more

I feel bad because whenever I come here I end up throwing away 90% of what I get. People always give me crap for pushing a plate aside into my trash pile, often attempting to give me those long, histrionic tirades that one would expect from your average pseudo-intellectual and issue driven UC Berkeley student, citing most likely incorrect statistics about dying children in africa, blah blah blah. To prove a point, I tell them to go get some and try it. They do so. They now see it my way. Although horrible, I'm pretty sure air dropping most of the dishes present at crossroads onto to an impoverished African nation could be misconstrued as an attempted genocide via food poisoning--brought to you by Cal Dining. read more

Crossroads is a residential dining restaurant particularly meant for UC Berkeley student residents. However, anyone is welcome and the dining experience is not exclusive. I wouldn't pay to eat here, even though some people do, but rather, I would use my own meal points or have someone use their meal points to "swipe me in." Food: Food is far from spectacular but not usually horrible. In general, it is a decent place to eat; their food is decent. It is set in buffet style, all-you-can-eat. So if you want to eat till you die but not really enjoy the food so much, I guess you can come here. The foods offered are of eclectic variety. "Asian, Mexican, made-to-order deli, organic salad bar, comfort foods, vegetarian/vegan, grilled entries, bakery and dessert selections, and a variety of soups, cereals and beverages." Their vegetarian/vegan selection, while it IS limited, is also not bad. And I guess it's better to have than to not.(for those veggies out there.) All food is "mass-produced" and so taste isn't a priority. Just expect to come, eat, and leave with a full stomach, and you just might be somewhat satisfied, somewhat. I guess one redeeming trait of the place is that they offer such a wide selections of foods that even though you don't like one thing, you will eventually find something else you like, or at least kinda-sorta do like. Decor: Large, cafeteria setting. No artwork or any special accomodations in this aspect of decor. They have a monochromatic floor, wall... Very simple setup here. Average. Like I said, it's just your regular college cafeteria---nothing fancy-shmancy. Service: Self-serve buffet-style cafeteria. So, that means your service to yourself is as good as you make it. I am so funny haha, I know. The people who work the different stations are generally friendly and (not in a sarcastic way) are happy to plop whatever food they're plopping on trays that day on your tray. Smile and they'll smile back. Compliment them, and they'll treat you well. Don't make eye contact and expect just your average plopping. Cost: The first price is in units of meal points and the second price is cash prices if you're going to pay that way. "Breakfast 5.50 $7.00 Lunch/Brunch 6.50 $8.00 Dinner 7.50 $9.00 Late Night at the Den A la Carte Pricing A la Carte Pricing Children 5.00 $5.00" Overall: Monday - Friday Saturday - Sunday Breakfast 7:00 am - 10:00 am Lunch 11:00 am -2:00 pm Brunch 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Dinner 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Dinner 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm Sunday - Thursday Late Night Grille 10 pm - 2 am Your run-o-the-mill buffet. Nothing bad but nothing usually great. They try to vary foods and offer different cuisines from different cultures. I guess that is nice at times. And sometimes, you just may be surprised with some occasionally delicious food. Don't expect lobster though. Just expect to be full. oh yeah, and the name, "Crossroads"? What the hell is that? I guess I'm just hating---my bad... but seriously...gives me images of a gas station or some cars whizzing by. I ain't no damn car filling up at a gas station! I am a person with feelings who wants to feel good eating your feel-good food. read more

It sufficed. I think that's a fairly generous and succinct analysis of Crossroads. But since this is Yelp, I guess I'll go into a bit more detail... Crossroads was the closest dining hall to my dorm (I lived in Unit 2 my freshman year). I went because I had to. Or because it was closest. Or some combination of those two factors. I had millions of points and no where to spend them except GBC, which was way too far from my dorm, one of the other dining halls which were all a hike, or Crossroads. So 99.98% of the time, that's what it ended up being. As far as buffet style dining, there were a lot of choices. But they got old, fast. The orange chicken was always good at the Asian station. Salad was always a backup plan. Cereal was the backup backup plan. The Mexican station was usually decent. I liked to get some salad and top it with the soy taco meat, a bit of cheese, rice, and salsa. I ended up doing that far too often because of the lack of variety and distaste for the majority of the other food. The main plate station was hit or miss, but the line was always really long so I tended to avoid it unless it looked really good. One staple of my dinner meals there...the froyo. Loved the praline froyo. yum! The one thing I did like about Crossroads was its ability to bring people together. it was a meeting place. A homework place. A planning place. And a source of nourishment (kinda). It was a place you never had to go to alone, because as dinner time came near, all one had to do was stick their head out their door and call down the hall "who's going to dinner?" and shortly half the hallway would be congregated ready to head as a group over to Crossroads. So overall it got me through my freshman year, but it wasn't fantastic. Mediocre at best (except for the froyo, I'd say that the froyo was above decent, good even). I don't wonder about the "freshman 15" when I think about this place, knowing that I myself probably gained 5 pounds my first month or two eating there (but quickly lost it all after that first month or two when I couldn't stand it anymore and survived off salads and sandwiches instead...) Crossroads is one thing I don't miss about college. It amazes and saddens me that most people don't realize all the great food Berkeley has to offer until they get out of the dorms, myself included. read more

Food isn't really all that terrible. Berkeley students complain a lot but this dining hall is better than the one at Unit 3. Clark Kerr dining hall might serve slightly better food but the walk up there is not worth it, neither is the one at Foothill. Honestly, Crossroads offers a huge variety of food. The salad bar is located on the first level, near the cereal station. Crossroads usually has two choices for the soup. Most of the time it will be black bean soup, chicken tortilla. Sometimes they might offer clam chowder but very rarely. The salad bar is comprehensive: lettuce, spinach, and mixed greens. Additions include: corn, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, peas, sunflower seeds, quinoa, tofu, cheese, edamame, etc. Pre-mixed Greek salad with baby tomatoes, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing is offered occasionally. The half-level up contains all of the main courses. There is a section for hamburger/hot dog and French fries (cuts varied almost every day), random section, vegetarian section, pasta bar, and sandwich bar. During the regular academic year, the Asian station at the lower level to the right of the dining hall is open. In the summers, it is closed. Finally, next to the cashier is a pizza bar. The pizzas are actually quite good and can be addicting. Flavors are rotate 4 at a time between pepperoni, cheese, sausage, combination, Hawaiian, and BBQ chicken. Because this is Berkeley, know that all of their dining halls are moving towards zero-waste! Only get what you know you can eat. If it's not sufficient, you can always come back for more. Best times to go: brunches are the best but lunches can be good, too. read more

I want the weed the people below me are taking because no sober person would rave about the food at Crossroads...which is fucking horrible. Seriously, they never refill the drinks, use crappy meat, and just have terrible food selections in general. It's pretty much the same shit every day. And to top it off, they always run out of food so if you come anytime after 7, chances are your 8 points are wasted. God, the food here fucking sucks. read more

One star for the horrible, horrible vegetarian options. The main problem with the vegetarian fare is that in order to cater to vegans, most of the vegetarian fare is vegan. This is obviously disappointing if you are vegetarian but not vegan. The other bad thing, is that this place has a really, really bad nutritionist on the vegetarian side of things. Seriously -- if you were to exclusively eat from the vegetarian options here, you would be in a lot of trouble, especially if you didn't eat the pizza (which, as far as I can tell, is how they expect you to get all of your vegetarian protein). Sometimes Crossroads as good vegetarian dishes -- especially in the "Fire & Ice" Asian section of the dining commons -- but on the whole, the selection is simply far from adequate. Not only is the food inadequate, there simply isn't a lot of variety. There's a dozen or so dishes in the vegetarian area, period. The Mexican food station always has the same options, and the Asian section has two or three vegetarian dishes that are served only occasionally. If you are a vegetarian eating here, you will eat all of the new food you are going to eat here in the first month or so. Towards the end of my second and last year in the dormitories they conducted a survey and focus group due to the overwhelming number of complaints by vegetarians, so things may have changed, but when I ate here a few times during the following fall things seemed the same here. read more

SO MUCH VARIETY FOR A DINING HALL!! I was so impressed when I first stepped into Crossroads! I mean, it looked pretty new and impressive from the outside but when you walk in...WOW! It was almost like releasing a child in a candy store! I just ran around looking at all the different types of food available and it's ALL YOU CAN EAT!!! It's like I died and somehow landed myself in Heaven! I got a little of everything and ended up overstuffing myself but it was worth it!! YUMMY!! Food: Parmesan chicken with pasta, Talapia with vegies and rice, tofu with vegies, apple, pear, frozen yogurt, and that's all I remember but it was amazing! I would have stayed longer and eaten more but I was on a time crunch. I'm definately going to go back there and stay for like 5 hours and eat as much as humanly possible! This is given that I starve myself 3 days prior to this food fest so I can actually accomplish this! Atmosphere: felt like downgraded version of what a nice casino buffet would be like. It was just a bunch of students. I mean, a dining hall is a dining hall right? No matter how high the ceilings are and how much food was available...and how good the food is...and *drools* the food...... Service: um...if I tipped myself does that count as service?? (You bus yourself!) price: GREAT DEAL for how much I ate! it's a BUFFET! GO FOR IT! YUMMY YUMMY crossroads! How I miss thee! I'll be back soon!! I'm soooo glad that I don't live close to crossroads or else I'd be like overweight and super FAT! I know where freshman 15 comes from now! Good thing it's close to the gym!! read more

Ah, Croads. A classic Berkeley staple. Sometimes the food can be great, others its...interesting. Pretty bomb breakfasts usually, not gonna lie. A lotta options--including a salad bar and multiple different kinds of food lines--so as a student, I can't really complain! read more

I will never pass up free food. NEVER. And this is the perfect example. After spending the afternoon galavanting around Oakland with fellow Buckeyes, I met my friend in Berkeley to catch a ride back to San Francisco. Before we hit the road, she offered to treat me to dinner at one of Cal's fine dining establishments. Who am I to resist college food? The aesthetics of this place puts many dining halls to shame. Very industrial, lots of cement, silvers and greys, natural light and oddly shaped rooms. There's even a fun courtyard in the middle but you are boxed in by walls of windows on all four sides. Don't sit here if you like privacy. People will be able to see the ratio of what you put on your plate and what you actually ate. Being that it was Sunday evening, I knew I wouldn't have the best pickings in the world. The pizza was a little cold, the "World Market" wasn't open and the salad bar wasn't anything to write home about. But the chocolate chip cookies were sweet and soft. And the Indian flavored chicken and rice were surprisingly flavorful. Oh, did I mention it was free? I ate everything I put on my plate. And then went back for seconds. Side note that only people from snow-bound hometowns will notice: the dining trays are abnormally small. They can barely fit two of the small oval-shaped plates Crossroads puts everything on. The reason I picked up on this detail is because I'm so used to stealing dining trays for sledding. When looking at this one, I didn't know how my bubble butt would stay on. Damn you Berkeley for subconsciously attacking my body image. Apparently I need to lose some weight if I wanna go sledding in California. read more

It was this time last year, when I was staying in the campus. This was the first restaurant I've been here. Left my best memories, with food read more

Crossroads - last year - Buffets Near Me - Berkeley, California

During my first one and half years, I got most of my nourishment from either here or Foothill DC. Clark Kerr was too far and I didn't frequent Café 3 until I moved to Unit 3 in the last half of sophomore year. Let's face it, this is dorm food we're talking about, so don't expect restaurant-quality stuff here. That said, Crossroads isn't bad. It just could do better on some dishes. Bacon can be hard as wood sometimes, and the veggie options are pretty bland. Well, actually, just about everything was pretty bland. But the omelets aren't too bad. And usually I helped myself to the salad bar, which, being do-it-yourself, can be as good or bad as you make it. As for the place itself, it's actually one of my favorite places to dine based on just environment alone. Plenty of seating (though there's never enough during regular dining hours) and natural lighting, with a pretty clean decor makes Crossroads a good place to eat and study. Just watch out when they serve up a special; once, they couldn't serve tuna fillets fast enough, and ended up undercooking them. Eck. read more

Come here only for LATE NIGHT!!!!!!!! At late night, everything is made per order.. prices aren't too bad if you're not a Cal Student, but if you have mealpoints, then even better!! However, the usual breakfast-lunch-dinner food isn't as awesome. Sometimes they taste weird, sometimes it's good.. Always a gamble eating here. read more

We came here during Family Weekend and I was surprised by how good the food was! It's the biggest dining hall on campus so they're frequently hosting events here. You have to have a meal plan or register with the event so you have access to the food. The staff was super friendly! There's a Peet's Coffee next door too :) read more

Only redeeming qualities of Crossroads: the brunch and the vanilla flavored frozen yogurt. The brunch here isn't actually that bad - you can't really mess up bacon, sausage and eggs. The frozen yogurt, particularly the vanilla, was actually surprisingly good one time that I tried it. Very fluffy and flavorful. However, most of the other food is pretty disappointing. Their vegan selection is usually some concoction of tofu or vegetables that is hardly appetizing. Their world flavors section is usually empty, or just filled with bad Chinese food or soggy pasta. Their pizza is actually alright, even though the cheese tastes really fake. Late night is another option that they have, and usually, you have to be a certain level of inebriation to appreciate it. I would suggest getting the chicken finger and fries with the ranch dressing. Things that aren't good: the quesadillas, pizza and buffalo chicken wings. Everything else is alright. read more

For buffet style dorm food... its good. Yea the menu gets repeated but they do try to add new things too. The salad bar eggs and sandwich making are especially nice features. I don't think you could find this kind of the variety not to mention health consciousness at a regular buffet. read more

Being one of the dining commons at Cal means constant bashing at the quality of food but always a stream of customers regardless of what they're serving that day. There is always plenty of seating so if you want to bring a group of 20, go for it as long as the freshmen have enough points they want to get rid of. I'm always a fan of their salad bar and I'm liking that they have infused water now. My favorite time to go eat here is brunch because of their made to order omelettes. read more

Crossroads - Praying over our meal at dinner time - Buffets Near Me - Berkeley, California

I've had good and bad days here, but today wasn't goo. I felt that two of the three staffers were pretty aloof today. Maybe they had some kinds of bad staff meeting or something, geez. They have lots of great purses here. read more

Barley risotto is evil, I tell you! Compared to the other DCs, though, Crossroads does have more variety. However, this can sometimes be a double-edged sword. To me, Crossroads is one of those hit-or-miss places; the food is either above average or inedible. On the bad days, though, a slice of pizza and some salad always saves me (but definitely not worth 8 meal points). What I dislike about Crossroads: -Barley risotto!!! -Harry's dad's bathtub chili (just the name grosses me out) -Autumn harvest wild mushroom barley soup -Beer cheese soup (haven't tried it but does not look good) -sad attempts at Mexican food -Chicken Piccata (last time I had it, it tasted like a block of salt) -Ratatouille -the lack of flavor in most items Likes: -Omelet bar -Tater tots -Salad bar/fruit -Red velvet cake -Pumpkin pie Furthermore, do they censor what comments to post on the comment board? A friend wrote one back in February expressing how she did not like her meal that day, and it was never posted! For the most part, all of the current comments are complimentary. read more

Their food is pretty good for what you get. I mean, it's not a five star restaurant but I would say its a notch or two above Denny's quality. The only thing keeping me from giving crossroads 4 or 5 stars is their hours. I STARVED SO MANY TIMES BECAUSE THEY ARE NEVER OPEN WHEN I WANT TO EAT :( This is a college town, not a retirement home. Late teenagers and twenty somethings don't stop wanting bagels and cereal when the clock strikes 10am. Likewise, many of us have class until 2 so forget lunch at crossroads. The worst was dinner and late night. If its 930pm on a Tuesday OH WELL. Overall pretty tasty food but really inconvenient hours and I wish they were open more. Favorite dishes: -MSC fish (lemon herb cape capensis, cod, etc) -veggie hot dogs (yay!) -spinach -chard -pasta bar -organic salad bar -mashed potato bowls -tuna melts -criss cut fries -tater tots read more

When I saw crossroads on here, I made a yelp account just so i could post my experience with this place. I normally avoid it, but when you live on campus they force you to buy a meal plan with your housing contract. Normally I just come here for breakfast. Almost every time I go, I end up with undercooked eggs. Sometimes they're so bad that it's like liquid soup with chunks of partially cooked eggs inside of it. Isn't this a health code violation? It's finals week, so I decided to come for breakfast again. Take a look at the photo I posted. Unsurprisingly, the eggs were again undercooked and part of my box was filled with raw egg on the bottom. The "sausage", although it looks overcooked, is actually so greasy that it's mushy when you try to cut into it. It smells rancid, and i felt sick just smelling it. The "hash browns" were soggy, greasy, and cold. The worst part: I paid the equivalent of 8.75 DOLLARS in meal points for this "food". I feel robbed every time I eat here. For $8.75 I can eat a great meal at many of the places nearby. We're paying good money for this "food", so why are we getting served such low quality slop? Even if I was going to make fresh scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage myself for breakfast with high quality ingredients, it would cost nowhere near $8.75 per portion. Why do people put up with this place? Not only is it robbing all the students blind, somebody is going to get really sick eating here one day. If this is how they cook something as simple as eggs (with such malpractice and obliviousness), I can only imagine what else goes on in the back when they're preparing everything else. read more

Crossroads - I am so sick of getting undercooked eggs from here. Isn't this a health code violation? - Buffets Near Me - Berkeley, California

I want to be buried here. Also I mistakenly thought formal attire required. It is not required. read more

Campus dining commons have a terrible reputation. I think it's mostly undeserved. Workers are pleasant and friendly but won't take your pompous attitude. Crossroads gets better and better every year and I can see that they care about serving quality food to a hungry student body. The grilled chicken sandwich is a must at the hamburger bar. Plus bacon! It's consistently delicious and filling. Mostly clean but gets very busy at 6. To avoid lines come before 6 or after 8. read more

The only thing I like about this place is that it is buffet style. If there is something you really liked you can get it over and over again. Other than that, the quality of the food isn't that great. But maybe it is because the food is massed produced. But yeah can't complain that much when someone swipes me in because it is free food. read more

If crossroads were an actual real buffet, they would go out of business in no time. First of all the price you pay is not worth the food. Lunch is 8 dollars while dinner is 10 but rarely are the items worth it. They are very inconsistent with the quality of their offerings. For example, yesterday's 10 dollar main dish was lasagna while other days its steak. Often times they will advertise things like "sushi night" and themed dishes like that. The food here is made for quantity, therefore the quality and taste of the food is severely lackluster and mediocre at best. When this place does have good items such as the Char Siu, they skimp the portions and give you one small piece of meat. Really now. For 10 dollars you only get one piece of meat. They should not be skimping on the amount of food they give you. Overall, if you're a student on meal points and live in the units, you're pretty much forced to either come here, cafe 3, or foothill. Its unfortunate that the food isn't that good. Tip: Check their website for menus to see if the item of the day is worth it~ read more

Oh, the memories... From Screwdriver Sundays to Finals Fridays, Crossroads was there for my first year of college. My digestive system thanks me for moving out of the dorms (and away from 2am mozzarella sticks), but I certainly miss feeling at home eating in public in my jammies. read more

I dormed at Clark Kerr my freshman year, so I never really had a chance to eat at Crossroads, but whenever I did, I was never too satisfied. Sure, there is definitely a LOT more variety than the CKC dining hall, but quality wise, it wasn't that great. I only go to Crossroads for late night, which is, by far, the place most college kids go to if they're intoxicated and want to sober up (I've seen many inebriated college students show up after 1am, looking for something to satisfy their cravings). Their buffalo wings are a must-have, and their clam chowder is really good too. Only go here for late night, but if you want a good dinner, I suggest you go elsewhere since the food here won't leave you satisfied. read more

I don't see why everyone hates this place with a passion. Granted, I had so many meal points by the end of the semester that clearly I didn't eat here too often, but I thought it wasn't too bad when I did go. Standouts: Sunday crepes for brunch were pretty good. Also, one Saturday they had this ginger catfish and I had three helpings. YUM. Other things I can remember being consistently good were the turkey, mashed potatoes, and breadsticks. You can check the menus for the week ahead of time and choose somewhere else if the menu really sounds that bad. But really.. they have a huge selection, and there is always the salad bar, pasta, and fruitif you really can't find anything you like. This is coming from a pretty picky eater too ... :P read more

I took this cup out of the shelf and it had a lipstick stain on it. They should take more care of this. This is so gross. read more

Crossroads - Buffets Near Me - Berkeley, California

Hahaha. Once you're not being forced to go here you sort of miss it as it offers a huge selection. Brunch and breakfast menus are the best but if you can splurge on special nights go for it. Feeling like those studies can't afford that trip down to Crossroads? Do some pizza take-out or a couple sandwiches to save. The options are nearly endless and how much you enjoy your dining commons experience is largely based on how creative you can get at putting together your own plate. Then there's Late Night dining! It's time to find someone with a meal plan to swipe you in. b^_^ Good ol' Crossroads read more

Eating in UCB dining commons can be a troublesome affair. It can range from amazing to just plain awful. Crossroads is mostly the latter but sometimes it's just what you need. The place is gigantic and the salads and main courses are mostly good. There is mexican food if you so desire and pizza is alright. The asian station has NEVER been good. Cafe 3 has better asian food... which is not a compliment. Special days are the best when the make the place totally awesome and give special food and have cloclate fountains and stuff. I survived off of late-night the 1st semester with fatty foods along with coffee from peets to use up those plentiful meal points. Still not as good as Foothill late night though. Still, it serves its purpose: to feed the masses. : / read more

I never ate at the dining commons when I went to Cal so my co-worker took me here for my birthday. I was told that dorm food has come a long way. Crossroads is a neat experience. $8 for adults, $5 for kids 3-12 and kids under 3 are free. On the day we went (a Thursday), there was the pizza bar, Fire & Ice noodle bar, deli bar, waffle bar, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob and mac & cheese, Bear burgers and hot dogs, dessert bar with popsicles and soft serve. There is always the organic salad bar and cereal bar. There are 3 beverage counters and one hot drink counter. The pizza and burger was quite good. I had pork chow mein and egg roll but it was a bit bland. The dessert bar had this coconut and chocolate chip bar that was yummy and how can you go wrong with soft serve? I wouldn't eat here everyday, but it is fun to go with a group or on the weekends. There is something for everyone. Check out the week's menu at http://caldining.berkeley.edu/ before going. Oh, the building is neat, architecturally, inside and out. It doesn't feel like you are in Berkeley. read more

Crossroads/ the entire cal dining meal plan system is the biggest fucking scam. First, let me just say, the people working there are the rudest fucking people I've every met. Like, excuse me, you are getting payed to be here, cut the attitude. If any other workers treated their customers as badly as croads did, they would be fired. They are rude, and unhelpful at all times even when you greet them politely and say please or thank you. For example, one time I asked a worker for a special vegan patty instead of their fish patties and she stared at me, rolled her eyes and then slowly walked to grab me a patty. I said thank you when she handed me the patty and I didn't get any acknowledgement or any confirmation about anything. Secondly, their food is absolutely disgusting. They don't have many 'healthy' options either, and the healthy options they do have are not very appealing (ie. steamed vegetables). Not to mention they have few vegetarian, vegan options and the ones they do have are pretty nasty as well. Also the hours of operation they have are ridiculous. All the dining halls, crossroads, cafe 3, clark kerr etc. have the same hours. Which means on weekdays, they're closed from 2-5, so if you have a class that ends at 2, you might not be able to get lunch ever. And I feel like they should at least have one dining hall open at all times so people who want to use their meal swipes are able to. The thing that makes me the most mad however is how much of a scam the meal plan is. This is the first year they're applying a new meal plan system. Before, the system was, you get a couple thousand 'flex points' which basically translates to $$, and you can use them at croads or bear market or the on campus dining. Each time you went in to croads it would be a few (I think 8?) points. However, they changed the system so now they have swipes and flex points. You only get 250 flex points a semester. and you get 12 swipes a week. But get this, if you don't use your 12 swipes that week, they disappear and you can't save them for later. Not to mention, you can't use your swipes to get other people in, you have to use your points to get them in and you're not allowed to swipe in more than once per meal. So on weekends when they have brunch from 10:30 - 2:30, you wouldn't be able to go get breakfast at 10:30 and then come back for lunch later that day. However I think the thing that makes me the most mad is the fact that, last year they had a system where you could either eat there or take food out in these little containers (that costed 5 flex points $5) so that way if you didn't have time before class, then you could grab food to go. Well I got a container handed down to me and I went to try to use it the other day, and apparently they've gotten rid of that system. So now, you're not ever allowed to take food out of the dining hall. If you're in a rush between classes or have an hour break and not enough time to sit down for an actual meal, then you're out of luck. Overall, I'm just really annoyed that not only do the people working their have the worst attitude, but the food sucks, and the whole meal plan concept is such a big scam. Swipes that disappear at the end of the week? That type of policy would only exist to scam people of their money. I'm sad that I've already payed for a meal plan for the entire year because I would much rather just support local businesses at this point. Fuck Crossroads and fuck cal dining. read more