Croutons has been a staple food spot for me for sometime. The business has been one of the longest standing at the Island Food Court in Carlsbad. More than 12 salads on the menu, several soaps per day and a selection for the panini sandwich. They have options for bottled and fountain beverages. I believe all salads should besides a lettuce or pasta, should have a nut or seed, a fruit or vegatable, protein and the perfect dressing tossed not poured. I usually go for the Granny Smith Chicken option. They have a couple locations, but this one is the best with indoor/outdoor seating just in front or you may enjoy the fountains, umbrella tables and adirondack chairs at the food court. Note: You will have croutons with your salad! #Croutons #Carlsbad #Salads #TheIslandFoodCourt read more

Croutons - Granny Smith Chicken Salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

got the same salad that i normally do but noticed that the add on of chicken was 2.5 on the menu but i was charged 3.25 which is fine if the menu reflected that. expecting to pay one price and getting charged another is poor business practice read more

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I found a new lunch spot! they have a variety of tasty, healthy, fresh meal options. I ordered the chicken pesto panini with the tomato bisque soup. Both were very flavorful and delicious. Victor at the counter was also very welcoming and helpful, he brought me out some extra condiments. The inside was clean and cool, I ended up eating outside, cause the tables outside has umbrellas, all was a great and delicious experience, I'll be back. read more

Love the food and service! The paninis are so delicious!! I definitely recommend coming by to get a quick bite!

I usually order the Mandarin Chicken Salad or the Thai Spice Chicken Salad. Great healthy choice in a world of burgers and fries. read more

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I love croutons! The soup and salad combo is my go-to. I love the chicken wild rice soup with the Sundance salad. So yummy. Very fast with take-out times and love how they're not stingy with the salad toppings. Thank you. read more

Not sure what happened but this place is now mids af. I had my go to southwest chicken panini and it was super dry and bland. I was bummed I wasted my money and calories on it. read more

Croutons - Southwest chicken panini - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Great spot for a quick sandwich or salad! They had a large menu of really great options. The paninis are delicious and so fresh, and huge! There is no inside seating but plenty of seating outside. Delicious sandwiches, perfect for a quick lunch. read more

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I have been eating here for 15 years. It's been a while and I was in the area so I decided to stop in and grab the tuna salad. I've always loved. It is still really good but 15 bucks for some mixed greens, 2 cherry tomatoes and a tiny scoop of tuna is wild. I know times are tough, but damn. read more

This place can be good but lately the pick up times have been after the original requested time. Also, very greedy with the veggies on salads I've noticed. read more

My work friend asked if i wanted anything and I ordered the Caesar Salad, although 2 other work friends told me that the Caesar dressing didn't sit right with them, I decided to try it anyways. Don't do what I did. This was the worst Caesar salad I've ever had. The dressing legitimately has an aftertaste that tastes like vomit. No kidding. read more

I ordered a chicken pesto sandwich and literally was one of the worst sandwiches I ever had. Barely any sauce, extremely dried chicken and nothing else. Even the the bread was tasted old. I would never go back there again. read more

I ordered the combo Margherita chicken panini and pear & blue cheese salad. First off, the portion size is amazing for little over $10 you get a small salad and half a sandwich. Half the sandwich is big enough as a whole meal, same goes for the salad. But....calling a panini is an insult to any real panini. It's a sandwich... With soggy bread on one side (because of the pesto and really really tough chicken. The chicken, I don't even know how old is it.... I ended up pulling off the chicken... And the sun dried tomato? Haha, basically none existent. There was one... In a corner... But that one bite was pretty good. The salad was pretty good for a salad. read more

Croutons - Pear and blue cheese salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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I work down the street from here and wow, i've probably eaten here 20+ times. I have never one time had a meal i didn't like. I always get the bbq chicken salad and i mix up the half sandwhich as i get the combo. I've had the pesto chicken, southwest chicken and buffalo chicken sandwhich and they are all so delicious. The bbq chicken salad is probably the best salad i've ever had. I even got my wife to make it at home. The corn bread croutons are amazing!!! read more

Nothing more disappointing than spending $3 extra for "double meat" and this is what you get. $17 later and I got the same amount of meat I would have gotten if I had just ordered it normal. I guess check your order before leaving. read more

Croutons - Absolutely not double meat. - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I work down the street so if I fail to mail prep (which is often) and I'm looking for a healthy meal, I make my way over to Croutons. Wide variety of sandwiches and salads to pick from. They also offer soup with tomato basil and chicken & wild rice being the regular daily options along with a different soup of the day. Lunch combos are available. Menu items are color coded so 2 "Brown" items comes out to $8.95 while substituting for a "Red" item adds $1.25 per item. I take advantage of the lunch combo and get a panini and salad. Because of the combo, the panini is only a half portion along with a regular size salad. It is a good value for the price. Panini is just large enough to be satisfied for lunch and I save the salad for dinner. If you do plan on saving the salad, just ask for dressing on the side so the greens don't get soggy. On a cold day, get the Applewood Three Cheese Panini and tomato basil soup to dip it in. You can thank me later. Service is always great. Cashiers are very friendly and helpful. It does get busy as the make your food upon ordering so I would suggest calling in your order if you don't want to be waiting around for a good amount of your lunch time. Oh and they give out free brownies! And they're delicious! Perfect compliment to your meal. Might not be every day but they usually have it at the pick up counter. read more

Croutons - $8.95 Combo w/ Margherita Chicken Panini and Granny Smith Chicken Salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Croutons is a bit hidden in an industrial business park but to businesses and locals who live by, this establishment is delicious. Try their panini, soups and salads. You leave feeling satisfied and put food in your body that is healthy. Call ahead and get to go in a jiffy! read more

Came in for lunch around 1:30pm. Wasn't too hungry and it was hot out so I didn't want anything to warm either so a salad sounded perfect. No line to wait in, went straight to the front and I ordered their small albacore tuna salad. This is one of my favorite items on their menu. Its simple, they give you a hefty scoop of tuna with small slices of cucumber, tomatoes and vinaigrette dressing. Tip: if you come in during rush lunch hours 11-12pm, they tend to get pretty busy so if you're only on a 30min break, it'd be wise to call in your order ahead of time. Tip 2: try the combo; half Applewood three cheese panini and a cup of tomato basil soup and dip the panini in the soup; you'll thank me later. read more

Croutons - Albacore tuna salad (sorry for the red tint- it's from the umbrella I was sitting under) - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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We came here on a Friday afternoon for lunch around noon and it was busy inside, with primarily a business-lunch crowd (I'm guessing from people who work in the office buildings all around this small strip mall). Since it's part of a food court, our family split up since everyone wanted different food. Two of us got Indian food next door, one person got a Japanese Bento, and one person wanted something from Croutons. Well, just to skip to the punchline, Croutons was the best lunch of the 3. We ordered the California Panini and were really happy with the portion size--yes, you get 2 sandwiches wrapped up in that crinkly brown paper, and they got thumbs up from my kid, who ended up eating both! The ingredients were fresh, the staff were friendly, and the service was fairly fast. There were a lot of people picking up orders and the staff were efficient at calling out numbers and getting people their food. PROS: impressed with the value--2 sandwiches in 1 order, great quality and fast service. CONS: I think it would be cool, given their name, to actually get a few free croutons with each order (one can dream, eh?), but overall no Cons I can think of. BOTTOM LINE: great little lunch place with fast service, a fantastic selection of paninis and salads, and the winner of our lunch competition. Next time we're here at the food court, I'm stopping in here. read more

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I'm curious how much money they are losing by not informing people they don't accept cash. I ordered for pick up over the phone, grabbed my $20 and headed to pick up. Got there, waited in line, overheard a cashier telling a girl they are card only. Let the cashier know I had pick up and I only had cash. Her response was, okay we will cancel your order and I was looking at my order awaiting pickup. So they prepared my food and have to throw away/give away and get no money. Seems like a horrible business model. Just start taking cash! read more

This place is great and some what of a hidden gem. I've eaten here a few times now and was waiting to do the review because I was too impressed the first time and I wasn't sure if it was from my starvation or if it was truly that delicious. I'm careful not to give just any establishments five stars. * Service: I usually try to give names here but I was in a rush every time. The service is fantastic especially for how busy they're. The young man who takes the orders is especially friendly in explaining what's on each panini or any hot sandwich they have. * Food: Hot Sandwich's that are above standard and under $10 are hard to find. The quality and freshness you won't find anywhere. The thin sliced chicken breast and their turkey are to die for. * Portion/Price: You get a bang for your buck with all of it. $4 cups of soup are delicious on cold days. $7-9 Sandwiches that are Hot & Fresh and made with good quality meat. Suggestion - Please make an incentive card or app and I will be here all the time. read more

met my wife for a quick lunch at the food court near her office. skipped my usual (a two-item curry plate from PUNJABI TANDOOR) and decided on a salad instead. i had a PEAR and BLUE CHEESE SALAD (romaine and spring mix, pear slices, blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts and poppy seed vinaigrette). everything was fresh and the topping portions generous. the wife-unit had the COBB (romaine with diced roasted turkey breast, applewood bacon, tomato, avocado, egg, crumbled blue cheese and herb croutons) but swapped out the usual dressing options (ranch or blue cheese) for a balsamic vinaigrette. again, everything was fresh and the topping portions generous. nice to have a tasty and hopefully healthier alternative in the food court. read more

Croutons - chopped COBB salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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The chicken pesto sandwich is life changing! People that work there are very friendly too.

Great food and area to enjoy an hour lunch. My work is 5 minute away from this area and it is exceedingly convenient for me. I've try a couple other restaurants in this area, but this time I was craving a salad. I don't know why I didn't try this place sooner. They have an abundance of salads and sandwiches on their menu in which you can combine- like a small salad and a half sandwich. For someone like me who doesn't get full off a salad :( this is a great option. I ordered their Mediterranean salad with a Vegetarian sandwich. The salad I enjoyed very much! The sandwich not so much..It was certainly filling but very insipid. I could taste the fattening from the cheese and butter yuck. It was just too much to handle. I saw a lady with their mixed salad and it was appealing to my eyes so I will come back and try that! *You can make any salad vegetarian/vegan just sub with avocado and remove any dairy products for vegan. *Having lunch next to a water fountain can be relaxing :) read more

Croutons - Combo Mediterranean salad and vegetarian panini - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Meh. Not great. Standard, boring salads. Standard, boring sandwiches. Prices are a little high for what you get, especially if you want a half salad/soup/sandwich combination. The sandwiches sound delicious - freshly grilled! But I can make better in my toaster oven. The bread is flavorless, the fillings are bland, and there's not enough of them. I'm just not crazy about big mouthfuls of bread. The salads are similarly uninspired. I think I've been spoiled by Urbane Cafe. Service is fast, but this place gets quite busy around lunch time on weekdays. I would recommend calling in your order and then coming in to pick it up if you're in any sort of a rush. If you're staying here to eat, the outdoor seating is great on a nice day. But if you want to enjoy the weather, check out a different food court choice. read more

If you're craving a salad and work near by, Croutons will suffice. I appreciate that they have healthy options in a fast food environment. I had the regular sized Berry Salad with chicken. I thought the regular size was a nice generous portion compared to what I would normally eat for lunch but I was extra hungry the day I was here. Given that, I also had chicken added to the salad but I could have used a better proportion of meat to lettuce. More meat please! Service was friendly and despite being during the 12 noon lunch rush my salad was ready quickly. I appreciate that they didn't over-dress the salad. I actually could have used a teeny tiny bit more dressing. My salad was good, but not great. I would return if I was meeting friends in this food court but this won't ever be a destination for me. read more

It says two brown items and when I ordered the combo it comes with small soup and half sandwich and when I mentioned it to the person at counter she said well we don't say it comes with small salad either. This is sad to fool the customers with incorrect messaging! read more

Croutons - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Everything I've ordered from Croutons has been delicious. I love the chicken pesto panini (it's better with no mayo, just pesto, in my opinion) and the buffalo chicken flatini. Each salad I've ordered has been fresh and tasty. Sometimes they put their garlic croutons in weird places (like on the granny smith chicken salad salad, where garlic DOES NOT belong), and sometimes the half flatini seems pathetically small, but overall, this food is delish. The small salads that come with the combos are large and they've gotten my order right every time. I feel the prices are pretty reasonable for what you get. The line out the door is a bitch, but call in your order and pay for it over the phone and you can just walk in, skip the line, and pick up your food. Easy-peasy. read more

My parents just had to take me to one of their favorite places that they learned about through my brother raving on how much he liked Croutons. Starters- Soup. TOMATO BASIL The basil is not as good as I have had. I wish it had more basil taste. It could have been richer IMHO. Was it still good? Good? yes, great? no. CHICKEN & WILD RICE Here we hit the richness mother load! Hearty good soup. Full flavor beyond just the tastes like chicken cliche. $ - the soup is not cheap. Yes- it is cheaper than a 3 Star Michelin starter soup but but more expensive than a can of Campbells. Is it priced fairly? Sure is. It is good to those that like the taste and you get a good size portion. Comfort food at it's finest. Is it better than Panera Bread- I think so. So money minded - this may not be to your liking- taste wise - you can't go wrong for the value of money in tasteyness. Entree- Larger Items Pear and Blue Cheese has romaine and spring lettuce with crumbled blue cheese, perfectly cut and prepared fanned fresh pear, candied walnuts and poppy seed vinaigrette. I know people can make salad at home- but this was more a work of art than just a salad. It looked amazing in the way the pear was perfectly prepared. Tasted wonderful too with the walnut crunch. Tuscan Roast Beef was great. The roast beef, roasted red bell pepper, caramelized onion, provolone cheese, garlic mayonnaise all came together in a great way that reminded me of a great gyro better than any Chicago Greek Town Gryo that I ever had. It was on a sourdough pita bread that made the sandwich come together in a unique way that I really enjoyed. I would order it again and again. I do wish that the roast beef was hotter temp wise but it was perfect other than that. Is it bistro style? Yes - It is quick service. It is not fast food but I would make it similar to bistro in the food choices and service speed. It can be take out for sure but I would still liken it to an Americanized version of a Bistro. Great quality food served quickly for those that have not been here before to know. Would I die and go to heaven if I was sick and someone brought me food from here? Yeap! I wish they had clam chowder the days we went- just more reason that I have to go back to have a taste. I think it would pair nicely with the good croutons (name sake) that have more herbs inside of them verses a plain breading. read more

Wanted to try Punjabi, but there was a long line out the door, so we decided to come here instead. It was my first time at Croutons, and I went with the pick 2 option. Got the caesar salad and the pesto chicken sandwich. The salad was standard imo. Nothing to talk about. The chicken was super DRY and nasty. Like seriously, I took one bite and couldn't eat the rest. I honestly should have gone with something else or returned it or something, but we had already walked back to work so it wasn't worth it to me. Kind of disappointing for a $10 lunch, especially since a handful of people who ordered after me got their lunch before me. My coworker was in front of me and ordered a sandwich too, and I saw people who ordered after me get sandwiches as well, so I do not understand why the person bagging the orders told me that sandwiches took longer...especially since it was just pesto sauce, a couple of slices of chicken, and a slice of cheese... read more

I love their salads. The lettuce is always super fresh and their daily soups are also great. Excellent spot for a quick, healthy lunch

I really enjoyed the "half" of the Californian sandwich (which was more like a whole) and my Santa Fe salad. I think next time I'll try the pear and blue cheese salad though. They both look great! read more

Croutons - Californian (requested cold) and the Santa Fe salad with the dressing on the side. Good choice! - Sandwiches Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I love this place. They have a chicken and wild rice soup that I'm sure have real angel tears mixed into it. It's that good. I've been here a few times and I can't believe I've never actually done a review. They are always busy, which is a good sign. They are in a food mall surrounded by a lot of offices so the wait can sometimes be long. But it's well worth it. My go to salad is the Granny Smith chicken salad. Love love love. Fresh, quality ingredients and the portions sizes are good. A mixture of chicken salad, salad mix, nuts, apples and an amazing salad dressing. My SO always has the mandarin salad. I've tasted it and although it's not what I'd buy, it is pretty good. Staff are courteous and friendly and the store itself is clean and well lit. The only thing I don't like about them is that they are closed on weekends. It kinda bums me out knowing that the only place in town with amazing salad and soup is closed for two very long days. Lol They do run a good combo deal. So ask about how that works. Prices are a little steep so those deals help in the long run. Can't wait till they open tomorrow. :) read more

Today was one of the few times I actually went into this location. Typically my work orders it at the office. Every time I have had it I have liked it. It seems to be one of the more "healthy" opinions in the Island. Again today I enjoyed my food but was not impressed with the person taking my order. The problem with him was I couldn't understand him. His English was not the best and it made ordering difficult. I didn't know what type of dressing I was getting until it came out, luckily it was good. I certainly do not mind who works at this location or their ethnicity, I don't not care one way or another. That being said maybe they should consider who is taking the order. I will definitely be back. read more

The chicken and rice soup is really good. The sandwiches not so much. I have had various sandwiches there. The bacon they put on there tasted rancid. I ordered the Italian Panini which is- Capacolla ham, genoa salami, tomato, pepperoncini, provolone cheese, garlic mayonnaise. It had turkey (or chicken) and no Genoa salami. The mayo was super runny and they grilled one side and barely the other. I keep trying, thinking it's a one time thing for them to make a bad sandwich but now I'm not so sure. Too many times. read more

Great location, parking close by but congested during lunch rush, food is good, place is clean, people people nice, prices are decent, seating is plentiful (outside only), cramped inside with very little standing room when in line and when waiting for order to be ready, menu is kind of unclear and difficult to read. read more

Croutons is my go to for my lunch break. I love the different choices they have for their salads and sandwiches. I have only tried their Santa Fe salad and their California sandwich. The Santa Fe salad is very filling. I love their cornbread croutons. It's basically the cherry on top. The California sandwich was bigger than I expected. When I first saw it, I thought it just had one slice of bread in the middle, but instead there was two so it was basically two sandwiches in one. The bacon was crispy and the avocado was very fresh. I thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich and was very full after. The only thing about the location is that the line queue is awkwardly positioned so when it gets busy, everyone stands around the door which makes it very packed inside. The price is definitely worth it for the serving size. I'm looking forward to trying other items off of their menu and will definitely keep coming back for lunch. read more

Love the food at croutons it's refreshing and flavorful. I definitely recommend it. They did move to a location just a few doors down from where they were previously the new location is a little uncomfortable because between the music and the people talking at the very live room acoustics in there and I could barely hear my friend and I like rock 'n' roll so don't get me wrong, but it was much too bright, so if there's a large crowd in there you probably won't be able to talk real comfortably between the music and that the service is always so so there I mean they're they're fine you know it's not really like anything friendly or they're not real helpful or when I called to ask a question it was just like talking to just a computer so they could do better by giving better service I did leave a tip but I leave more of a tip when people are really friendly or say hey let me recommend this or that would you like a brownie or something you know just sell it next time I go I won't be eating in the venue it'll be a to go order and if it's not hot, of course I'll eat outside at the island, but it just was not comfortable in there. read more

I used to visit the Croutons location in UTC all the time, I was bummed when it closed down. My office however is in Carlsbad/Vista and about a year ago, I was happy to see Croutons pop up when I was looking to have some food catered. In the last year, I've personally had Croutons catered about 5 times. Because everyone in my office was so impressed, I know that others have used them a lot since then. On 3/31, I needed lunch for about 14 people so naturally I called croutons. I called and was transferred to the catering gal, I believe her name is Lou. I told her my first name and my company, she immediately knew who I was and exactly what I needed to order. That's great customer service right there! She also remembered where my office is located and what type of salad dressing we liked to go with the roasted veggie salad. I always order the deluxe sandwich tray but knowing that I'd need to cater for a few vegetarians, I swapped out the tuna sandwiches for the vegetarian option. I usually just eat the salad (and a lot of it), this time I enjoyed one of the veggie sandwiches and boy was it delicious! The large salad is very large and always goes over well with everyone. I've ordered sandwiches & salads from Corner Bakery, Panera and other places in the area and when they state that something "feeds 12," there's never a bite left. I always worry that there won't be enough, that's never the case when I order from Croutons. The large sandwich trays comes with 39 sandwiches. They're about 3" each but they're pretty thick as they have a lot of veggies, meats, cheese and sauces in between the delicious freshly baked bread. Most of the time, 1 is good for a female and most males seem to go for 2. I've yet to physically go into this location as I live far from here but whenever I'm in my office and in need to cater lunch, Croutons is always the spot that I go to. I've never picked it up, but delivery is only $15. They also always include plates, napkins, silverware and condiments. Seeing that this is a casual sandwich lunchtime spot, it's definitely not a 5 star restaurant. But for its category, it definitely gets 5+ stars! They also have soups, desserts, chips, sodas and many other delicious sandwiches and salads to choose from. Wonderful customer service and I'm looking forward to having another meeting up that way, just so I can order once again! read more

This place is my go-to. I literally call them my cafeteria and eat take out from here at least once a week. My fave is the Sundance salad, add chicken and the Italian Chopped, but I've liked everything I've ordered from here. Their staff is so friendly and helpful and it's a super easy in-and-out salad experience. Love it. read more