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    Croutons Restaurant

    3.7 (107 reviews)
    InexpensiveSandwiches, Salad, Soup
    Closed Closed

    Croutons Restaurant Photos

    CROUTONS RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Croutons Restaurant

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    Southwest panini
    Laura J.

    Arguably the best place for food on campus. I have only tried their paninis but I absolutely love them every time. I have tried the Californian and Southwest paninis. The Californian tasted like a BLT but the the bread was super crispy and buttery, it was also loaded with avocado. The Southwest also had a very crispy and buttery bread. It was on the spicier side, but the tomatoes and avocado does a good job at balancing the spice.

    a chicken sandwich with lettuce
    Nell E.

    I had eaten at Croutons once before and enjoyed it. This time, I had a club pesto sandwich and a pear walnut salad. The sourdough bread tasted fresh. It had a crunchy outside. The chicken flavor was light, the pesto was creamy with a zesty kick, and the greens were a fresh addition. The sandwich is pretty filling, so I ate half and kept the second half for later. The salad, though simple, was really tasty. The pear pieces were sweet, the blue cheese added some nice flavor, and the greens brought it all together. Croutons, in the heart of UTC, combines taste, convenience and variety. A great spot!

    inside
    Grace N.

    Croutons is a great place to visit if you are on the UCSD campus looking for a quick lunch. Food comes out quickly and it is absolutely delicious. I've tried the chicken margherita panini, chicken pesto panini, tomato and basil soup, and the chicken and rice soup. Everything I've tired thus far has been AMAZING. So very delicious. The picture of the food TRULY does not do the flavor justice! Croutons is located in the middle of the New Student Services building. It can be difficult to find as it is hidden in the middle of the building on I believe the 2nd floor. Food: 10/10 Service: 10/10 The staff here are very nice. One time I was eating lunch in their seating area and their staff offered me a free chicken margherita sandwich!

    Pear and blue cheese salad.
    Ria D.

    Located on the campus of UCSD, this particular location can get really busy during the lunch hour. A lot of staff members go here for lunch and not too many students. I think it's because it's a little too pricey for what it is. The staff is efficient and friendly. The menu has a lot of salad options, panini options but not too many soup options. I just feel like it's just okay here. Anyhow, I ordered the pear and blue cheese salad with chicken. I ordered the larger size since I was going to share with the sister. In any case, chicken is an extra $2, so my lunch ended up costing me $9.99. It really is a large bowl of salad aka there's a lot of greenery for what it is. There was a little bit of blue cheese and a sprinkling of chicken. The dressing was very light, almost non-existent. I wish there was just a tad more than what they gave. Overall, it's not a bad salad. It just needs a little by more ump. Would I could back here? Maybe if I wanted a panini. But I think I'll just wait it out until I get bored of the other restaurants on campus.

    Chicken pesto and tomato basil soup
    Jennica S.

    Croutons is similar to that of Panera, Boudin, and all those other places with soup/salad/sandwiches. This restaurant is one of the cooler looking places on campus! Aside from that, the food is alright. It's good, but it's not the best. The price range is typical... It's cheap, but it's expensive for what it is. A little ole sandwich for almost $7 and a tomato basil soup, which equates to almost $13? I should've done the combo, but it was my first time and it was really busy, so I didn't know what to do hehe. I got the chicken pesto and tomato basil soup. Since the name of this restaurant is called "Croutons," I expected the croutons to be good. Indeed, they were huge and delicious! The soup and croutons were the best part about my meal. The tomato soup has too many chunks of tomato, though. The sandwich wasn't the greatest, and I couldn't really taste the pesto. Seating inside gets crowded because it's pretty compact, but there's seating outside also. They bring the food to you when you order in. The customer service was forgettable! I wasn't impressed.

    Granny Smith Salad and Tomato Basil Soup combo
    Andrea K.

    I can't believe it took me almost 3 years to try this place! I love soup and salads but I just never took the time out to eat here. Anyway, this Croutons is relatively small and when it's busy, the line will go out the door. I ended up getting the combo meal which allows you to order specific salads and any small-sized soup for a low price. I got the Granny Smith Chicken Salad and the Tomato Basil Soup. The salad was topped with apples, chicken, cranberries, and croutons and was so tasty! There was a perfect amount of vinaigrette dressing on there and it just complemented the salad so well. The soup was equally tasty because it was just so creamy and the texture of the croutons in the soup balanced out the soup. I seriously can't wait to come back and try more! TL;DR: Food: 4/5-- recommend the Granny Smith Chicken Salad Price: $

    Tomato basil soup
    Keith H.

    I stopped by croutons on a cold day through a recommendation of their basil tomato soup. I ordered half a chicken pesto panini and the tomato basil soup. The cost was a little under $10 Chicken pesto sandwich was pretty standard. Bread was buttery but chicken was dry. Not worth in my opinion So why 4 stars? The tomato soup was the best I've had. It was smooth and with seasoned with basil and other spices. The consistency was awesome It definitely hit the spot on a cold day before finals. I'm definitely coming back just to try other soups. I wish they had longer operating hours though.

    Chicken Pesto Sandwich

    While I enjoy Croutons there are some things I would change. One thing I would change is how quickly the food comes. Sometimes when you order in person it'll be quick but a couple of times when I have ordered in person it'll take 30 minutes for the food to be ready. When I went in today I ordered my food online in advance. It said online that my food would be ready at 11:20 but I actually didn't receive my food until 11:40, this is unfortunately not the first time this has happened to me even when ordering ahead online. If you're in a rush to get food then I wouldn't come here because the wait time is never really known. My favorite sandwich to get here is the Chicken Pesto Sandwich, the only thing I would change is the amount of pesto they give you. A lot of the times when I have gotten this sandwich they do not put enough pesto on which makes the whole sandwich. Overall good food but the wait time is really a disadvantage.

    Chicken Pesto Panini
    Ivonnie S.

    The famous chicken pesto panini was a huge disappointment. The pesto had very little pesto flavor and, despite looking very creamy (more like pale green Alfredo sauce than pesto) did little to alleviate the extreme dryness of the slices of chicken breast. The bread was poorly sliced and grilled - one slice was super thick and looked like they'd fried the outside of it to a hard crust, while the other slice was much thinner and wasn't grilled at all. I had to force myself to finish it because I hate wasting food, but there is no way I'm getting that again. There's a variety of other sandwiches and salads there, but none of them are worth it - like most of the on-campus, non-UCSD-affiliated restaurants, actually. But I'd much rather eat in the dining halls than at Croutons, whether I have dining dollars or not.

    Pear small salad (subbed blue cheese with feta)

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    Tender Greens

    Tender Greens

    3.6(1.1k reviews)
    1.5 miUniversity City
    $$

    They finally got back on track and are serving delicious salads! I noticed a decline in taste and…read moreportion at this location years ago so I stopped visiting. Have visited a few times in the last two months and all my food has been great! I like sitting in the outdoor patio, quiet when it isn't the weekend. Service is good for the most part, usually one cashier working and putting together orders.

    I rarely leave reviews, but this experience genuinely ruined my lunch break. I ordered ahead to…read moresave time and still ended up wasting 40 of my 60-minute lunch just waiting for my food. I understand there was a large order that caused delays, that part I can be patient with. What I can't overlook is the complete lack of basic customer service. The front-of-house worker I interacted with had a noticeably bad attitude. No eye contact, no effort to communicate, nothing. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone can't even look at you while you're speaking to them, especially when I'm asking about my own order. It felt dismissive and honestly rude. What made it worse is that instead of giving me a realistic update, I kept getting a vague "it'll be out." She could have easily looked into my order and given me an actual estimate. Even more frustrating, I had a drink included in my order, and not once did she think to check or offer it to me while I was standing there waiting all that time. That's such an easy way to show some level of care, and it just didn't happen. Delays happen, but attitude and lack of effort are a choice. Really disappointing experience all around, Especially since I eat here almost everyday for lunch. I am definitely not going to be a regular anymore.

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    Tender Greens
    Tender Greens
    Tender Greens

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    sweetgreen - Healthy Salads, Wraps, and Bowls

    sweetgreen - Healthy Salads, Wraps, and Bowls

    3.8(153 reviews)
    1.6 miUniversity City
    $$

    So I know I am impressed for wrong reasons. Cuz I asked the…read moreguy here what their most popular fish is, and they said it's harvest bowl, so I was like sure it's my first time here, let's give that a try. I don't care for kale or wild rice or goat cheese or sweet potatoes. Or apples in the salad. But once I ordered the bowl, the guy making the bowl is already reaching for kale, I am too late in the game. But this combination worked so well. I was really impressed with that. None of these ingredients were my favorite and I enjoyed this dish. So that makes me wonder what my experience will be if I did some research before coming here and order stuff with ingredients that I actually do like.

    Picked up my first order at Sweetgreen La Jolla (salads, bowls, plates, wraps), which has a clean…read moreindoor space and outdoor seating. While I appreciate the offerings are local, organic, unique, plentiful, and downright flavorful, I was disappointed with Portions appearing much smaller (almost half) than advertised. SERVICE Staff delivered my online order ahead of time, and placed it on the pickup shelf. FOOD Created My Own Bowl: 4.5/5 Organic spring mix, 5/5 pesto vinaigrette: fragrant and tangy 4/5 golden quinoa, 3/5 antibiotic-free miso glazed (flavorful) salmon (precooked, chilled so it's not as tender as freshly made) 5/5 miso sesame ginger: loads of flavor 5/5 umami seasoning: literal flavor powder 5/5 sesame crunch: sweet and nutty 4.5/5 corn salsa: flavored corn and tomato, not roasted 3/5 spicy broccoli: slightly overcooked, I didn't find this spicy, I do taste peppers though 5/5 nori sesame seasoning: seaweed flakes 3/5 Bread: hard, some what dry

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    sweetgreen - Healthy Salads, Wraps, and Bowls - Interior

    Interior

    sweetgreen - Healthy Salads, Wraps, and Bowls - Expected the bowl to be at least half way filled for almost $20.

    Expected the bowl to be at least half way filled for almost $20.

    sweetgreen - Healthy Salads, Wraps, and Bowls

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    Micheline's Pita House La Jolla - Pita Sandwich

    Micheline's Pita House La Jolla

    4.4(913 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$
    Vegetarian friendly
    Grab-and-go

    This review is long overdue! We've been coming here for years. This place is fueled by a love for…read moreauthentic Mediterranean cuisine and a desire to create a warm, welcoming space for everyone. Service is always on point! They're quick to serve and attentive to customers! The quality of ingredients are fresh, authentic, and portions are generous! I ordered the Greek fries with steak! And my wife ordered the Greek fries without protein! These fries are served golden and crispy, topped with savory, aromatic ingredients. The yellow Greek sauce is fire!!! I always ask for extra sauce- it definitely complements the fries with a zesty flavor profile! I can literally put that sauce on everything!!! It's that delish!!! Prices are reasonable! Limited seating areas indoors. However, they do have a few round tables outside to sit and eat. Overall, this place is a great spot to enjoy some lunch or dinner. You won't leave disappointed! And you'll be back sooner than later for more Mediterranean comfort food!

    I ordered a hummus bowl with ribeye steak shawarma, classic hummus and added chicken kabobs, and…read moreasked for tahini and garlic aioli on the side. The meats were nicely marinated though a little dry. Good thing I asked for the sauces on the side since the hummus made everything pretty salty and soggy once mixed in. Also wished there were more veggies and rice included. I also assumed pita bread would've been included since the online picture showed it. Decent food but we had issues ordering DoorDash delivery for a work lunch. The DoorDash driver only brought 1 bag of food with more than half of our food missing so a team member had to go in person to figure out the problem. Turns out another driver took our second bag so Micheline's remade the lost orders. They must've been so busy since they should've verified with the first DoorDash driver which orders were whose and some of our orders had missing or different ingredients. I might try them again but would order in person.

    Photos
    Micheline's Pita House La Jolla - Combo Plate

    Combo Plate

    Micheline's Pita House La Jolla - Falafel Cobb Salad

    Falafel Cobb Salad

    Micheline's Pita House La Jolla - Family Meal

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    Family Meal

    Hawaiian Fresh Seafood - Poke plate with three scoops (furikake salmon, garlic salmon, and shoyu ahi)

    Hawaiian Fresh Seafood

    4.5(1.4k reviews)
    3.9 miMira Mesa
    $$

    I always tell my wife that I will not get Poke at a poke restaurant. The majority just don't appeal…read moreto me and I'm a little scared at the staff not understanding how to properly handle raw fish. This restaurant though, I go all the time for lunch and my wife is surprised. This place is packed and goes through tons of poke and it's so fresh and tasty. I have no qualms or that normal kind of uneasiness I would feel with other places. These guys know what they are doing and the fish is fresh, smells good and tastes amazing. Although the pricing may seem expensive they give you a lot of food for the money. So it's definitely worth it. I normally get a bowl with choices and usually get one salmon / one tuna variety of the day. Always yummy so far. I haven't tried their cooked dishes yet but maybe I'll give those a try as well and update my review if I do. For now the poke is why I come here and it's definitely something that stands out and is exceptionally good.

    HFS has changed quite a bit in the past few years - on weekends, the lines can form right at…read moreopening and be busy during lunch time. If you want spam musubis, you'll have to order them at the register and they'll give you a pager when it's ready. You can choose from salad, white or brown rice for bowls, but I really like their yellowtail or Pearl Harbor poke. It's a convenient poke shop that gives you a decent amount for a bowl.

    Photos
    Hawaiian Fresh Seafood - 12/22/22. Indoor dining hall. It's empty because we arrived right when they opened.

    12/22/22. Indoor dining hall. It's empty because we arrived right when they opened.

    Hawaiian Fresh Seafood - Two scoop poke bowl

    Two scoop poke bowl

    Hawaiian Fresh Seafood - Fish taco

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    Fish taco

    Croutons Restaurant - sandwiches - Updated May 2026

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