Lunch for students? 1. Sorry we ran out of meat. There's only chips, white rice, and salsa for you! And yes I was already charged for entering for food! 2. Fried bacon and fried beef patty are all the options for entree! How healthy and how wonderful is the dining experience! Oh also did I mention these happen regularly? read more

You will make true friends here. This place is a danger for women and a gross violation of the Clery Act. read more

International House - University Housing Near Me - Berkeley, California

International House has an exhibit on the history of this building on the Berkeley campus. I was at an alumni event and we had a nice dinner and lemonade and lemon bars. Before the USC Berkeley game this year. Interesting historical building on campus by the stadium. read more

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Living at I-House has been one of the most wonderful, significant experiences of my life. I was a resident in the late '70s and early '80s. The friendships I made there still last, and we have all gained so much from our time there! Behind that beautiful building, living there is an experience that will change you forever in ways you cannot imagine. Thank you, International House. read more

TL;DR I-house has the best meal plan I-house is the best of the best of Berkeley's meal plan options. They are separate from Cal Dining and more expensive, but the food is so much better. The food is fresher, the flavor is better, everything is cleaner. You get a ticket when you swipe in, either with meal plan or cash monies, for your entree. Everything is buffet style. They have salads, soups, cereals, drinks, etc. Look up their menu online, it changes weekly. Their space is also gorgeous, reminiscent of Hogwarts, but not as magical. read more

International House - Beautiful auditorium for GSVC comp! - University Housing Near Me - Berkeley, California

International House is a great place to live in! While I don't go to Cal, my girlfriend has been attending Grad school here and I've had the opportunity to spend a meaningful amount of time here as a result. The building (which has been around since 1930) is beautiful and well-maintained. It has an old-worldly charm which you just cannot miss. The rooms are small but cozy. The heating is reliable and WiFi fast enough. The rooms don't have a sink area and you'd have to go to the nearest restroom for that -- not too bad, but good to know if you plan on living here. The food (which is my favourite part of Int'l House) is very good! As a busy student running between classes and other college work, it can be easy to forget to take care of yourself and spend way too much time figuring out a meal plan and living here literally takes all of that off your hands and lets you focus on what's important. I particularly love their brunch on the weekends and the Vegan Jook every morning is quite splendid, I'm told. They have Coffee Hour every so often with snacks from different parts of the world. This can be a great opportunity to meet other residents who are from different parts of the world. Being in the melting pot that is Berkeley, this place truly reflects the diversity of the Bay Area and I would recommend Int'l House with great pleasure. read more

Food is so much better than dining hall food. Why can't I be an international student? :(

International House, also known as I-House, is a dormitory for advanced undergraduates, graduate and professional students and visiting scholars. The House was created as a gift from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. specifically to foster relationships between students from different countries. It is notable for having housed many famous artists, scientists, and scholars connected with the university. I have never lived at the I-House, although my ex-wife, an old girl friend, and a few other acquaintance have. My experiences have been limited to attending High Holy Days and other events here and taking a few meals at the ground floor cafe. I love the architecture, the historic feel, and of course the Bay view down Bancroft. What impresses me the most is listening to those friends that have lived here, their stories, and how it truly was one of the best times of their lives. read more

My boyfriend and I met while we lived at I-House, so recently when it was time to look at wedding venues, I thought it would be sooooo cute to get married here. But then he reminded me, "Didn't we hate living at I-House?" Oh yeah, that. Actually we didn't *hate* living at I-House. However, the food did suck hard. My grad school friends declared it to be much worse than their various undergrad universities. The sad thing for me was having gone to Berkeley for my undergrad years, I knew this food was much better. Good Things About Living at I-House: -Crown Prince of Norway lived on my floor -Coffee/Cookie Night -Great Hall -Sunday Suppers (though you get over it after one year) -Ample supply of phonebooks to "phonebook" someone into their room (basically creating a wall of phonebooks for someone to wake up to in the morning when opening their door) Bad Things About Living at I-House: -Did I mention the food? -Room and board money going towards alcohol-fueled parties where people would get drunk and destroy I-House -Where to park on move-in day? -Too many blowhard law students -International students who move here just to commit suicide (we had two in one year and at one point I figured any one person's odds of doing that were 1:200) -Too much international friendship propaganda -Easy to start making stereotypes about whole nations after meeting a couple people from that nation -Drunken Brits who can't hold their liquor -French pukes whose only activity is smoking Anyway, back to wedding planning... The catering here is done in-house, which given my past here is frankly terrifying. I was reassured that the catering department is separate from the student cafeteria, but how I can I be sure? Also, I tasted the "fancy food" from the catering department on Sunday Supper night on several occasions and was never blown away. The Heller Patio is a decent spot for the ceremony, the Chevron Auditorium is nice though too large for some parties. Good prices though. read more

Awesome place to live if you get the chance. You will meet tons of friends from all over the world. read more

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We went to the I House for a meal upon a friend's invitation and were pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of the food. What I meant to say is, I expected the food to be a stinking, pathetic, unredeemable 1 star, but it turns out to be a mediocre, edible, not-as-bad-as-I-thought 3 stars. We saw our friend's bedroom too. Which, unfortunately, conforms to my preconception of what the I House room looks like - yes, it's a shithole! Tiny and stuffy, fit for rats. If you're a human, I'd imagine that you might want to spend most of your time elsewhere. Back to FOOD: Nice selection of salads, soups and breads - at least 3 types of salads, 3 types of soups, 5 types of breads to choose from. Lots of different fruits, too. The staff are very generous in giving away hams and cheese. You can, of course, go back to refill as many times as you like - it's a meal-card, cafeteria-style dorm food. As far as dorm food goes, it's not too bad... Be warned: Lots of MSG in soups and main courses though. If you're health conscious, you might wanna stick to greens and breads. Also, there's no service to speak of. The staff are indifferent and most of your dining experience is basically self-service. As expected. DINNING HALL: Beautiful European style. High ceiling. Very bright and airy. Lots of seating space. Relatively clean. I don't live in the I House but I assume that if you do, this would be THE place to meet people and socialize. Good vibe and diverse people speaking different languages - it's the International House after all! LIBRARY: Again, beautiful, old school European style. Not many books but has lots of magazines, newspapers and journals. Quiet. Like a super mini tiny version of the Doe Library. Not top-notch or awe-inspiring, but it's a decent place to read a couple of chapters or relax. Finally, the horrors - THE BEDROOM. It is H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E! Tiny as a shoebox and extremely stuffy. After you push open the door to the super small room, you'd see a pathetic-looking a bunk bed to your left and a miniscule closet space behind the bunk bed. To your right, there are two tiny desks and an ugly book shelf. This, is a room for two guys. I don't know how they manage to move and turn without knocking onto each other. Adding the mess and litters produced by typical college boys, and a small window with NO VIEW, there you have it - the horror of I House room. People love to live in the I House for a variety of reasons, e.g. the parties, the décor, outdoor BBQ at the patio, cool events and talks, diverse people from all over the world, and the lasting friendships formed over the years... OK I can understand them all. But very, very few, I would imagine, enjoy living in the I House because of its tiny, claustrophobic bedrooms the size of prison cells. Oh well. Overall, 2.5 stars. read more

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I like the vegan menus best. Loved the vegan mac&cheese!!! The chef really tries to interact with students, and always makes the best holiday meals. Last week we had Canadian, this week Mexican. Chinese and Indian menus come out at least every other day. read more

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My Update on International House. I met up with one of my friends inside of International House ("I-House") in front of the doors of the Chevron Auditorium where the the Center for Educational Partnerships ("CEP") welcome dinner was to be held for incoming students who participated in a CEP-related program. I-House holds dinners, receptions, and other Cal and non-Cal events such as weddings. I was surprised there were not too many tables inside the auditorium. There were under 20 tables with about eight-place settings each. I expected a much larger turnout of incoming Cal students attending the dinner. (I thought some of our mutual friends and transferees from BCC would be at the dinner also.) My friend and I were given a choice to choose our seats. I went for one of the front tables. We were joined by other students from Berkeley City College, Merritt College, and a student from College of Marin. And there were other transfer students and high school graduates at the dinner. The dinner was an opportunity for the attendees to be informed of many of the services offered at Cal and to start building community amongst ourselves. The evening started off with opening remarks and introductions of representatives from many of the key departments and colleges; the ones I remember were the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office, College of Letters and Sciences, College of Natural Resources, College of Engineering, Cal Corps, Cal Student Central, Office of the Registrar, among other service department representatives in attendance. Very important key departments and services for Cal students to know! The dinner buffet menu offered with a meat and a vegetarian option. Angel Hair pasta with tomato sauce. Chicken with rice and mushrooms. The dinner rolls with unsalted butter. Waldorf Salad: spinach, apple, and candied walnuts with an apple dressing on the side. And a mini dessert assortment of brownies, blondies, mini cookies, mini cupcakes, mini Key Lime pies, among other desserts. I sampled just about everything. I thought the food tasted pretty good. I went back for seconds on the chicken, rice, and mushrooms. The welcome dinner concluded with a Q&A student panel made up of Cal Students who either got admitted to Cal either from high school or community college. They shared their experiences of adjusting to Cal, finding their community and place at Cal, and imparting their words of wisdom along with their advice to the incoming students on making the most of their time at Cal. Hearing about their experiences and their words gave me hope. I know I will be seeking a balance between studying and socializing in Bear Territory. And I hope I will be attending future dinners, meetings, and receptions at I-House. Go Bears! Update Lucky #13 for 2013 read more

I lived here for 2 years as a graduate student. They remodeled the bathrooms between my 1st and 2nd year, and it was much nicer, though the water pressure was lacking. Dining hall food is known to be pretty atrocious, and yet you're required to buy a meal plan consisting of at least 12 meals a week (other options are 15 - default, and 18). I got sick of the food after 2 days, even though it does change everyday, and there are brunches on weekends. I did enjoy the themed dinners though. Programs are great. There are retreats, free football tickets, presentations, Sunday Suppers, other fine dining events, dances, and more. I love living in I-Houses (having lived at UCSD I-House and Yonsei University I-House previously) because of the awesome international friendships made. You meet the best and the brightest students from their countries, but they're also fun and willing to go along with spontaneous ideas and trips you might come up with. They'll force you to be a tourist in your own city/state/country and get you out of your comfort zone. read more

Ahhhhh - I-House... A dissertation could be written about this place. Most things you hear about it are true. Yes the food inside the dining hall is less than desirable. At the same time it can be an incredible place to live. Many people love it and some come to hate it. What do you expect when you get 600 people from 80 countries living together? When I told someone once where I lived, the responded by saying that they heard I-House is all about "sex, drugs and rock n roll"... While there is certainly truth to this, there are only about 100 people who are real "active" in house activities, the rest do their own thing or form small groups and often friendships for life. I agree with the review by Kake. Like with most things in life, if you don't take things too seriously and if you are open to new things living at I-House can be a tremendous experience. If all you care about is being close to school (especially the law school) then go for it. If you want to develop community, then this is also the place for you. read more

The I-House, located grandly at the top of the Bancroft hill, is home to international students, as well as a pretty decent cafe. Sometimes I like to make myself up there for a coffee or a chat with someone, and then buy a sandwich in the process. I went a couple days ago and order the skirt steak sandwich. It was actually very delicious. The steak was very tender and well-seasoned and was laid on the sandwich in the right portions. The avocado on the inside was a great complement to the heaviness of the steak (I usually love love love the avocado and steak combination in sandwiches). The bread was toasted and buttered very nicely - I could've probably just eaten it by itself. read more

The I House in-house catering is fabulous! Veggie Samosa, Chicken Satay, Lox on Croutons, and much more. The presentation was beautiful. If I ever got married again (oh slap me), I'd have my reception at the I House. The event venues are lovely. Lost a star, the everyday dining commons sucks. read more

This is a review of the I-house food. Two of my lab mates live in I-house, and because they have racked up tons of meals on their meal cards which they have no way of using up before the end of the semester, I've been here to visit several times. The food here is essentially what you expect of cafeteria food--mass quantities of noodles, beef, rice, etc... prepared with little attention to quality. They could definitely add more variety to their salad options. The soup has been consistently good, but otherwise the food is overall mediocre. read more

Lived at I house this year and we had a lot of 'free meals' that were included with our room. Food was decent. A lot better than the other dining halls on the UC Berkeley campus. Theme nights can get very busy. Overall very convenient for a student. read more

The cafeteria food is great! I had friends let me in on guest passes and always enjoyed eating here. The rooms are quite terrible to say the least. Fortunately, I didn't live here during my time at Cal, but if I did I probably would have gone insane. read more

I've eaten at the i house dining halls three times now. Each time I've had my hunger sated by fairly nice fold, but it has never been impressive in the slightest. The format is the normal dining hall style -- all you can eat from a selection of foods during the allotted hours. The hall isn't very big but there is a fairly diverse range of foods from pizza to curry. None of them are noteworthy. The pizza isn't horrible. I'd rate it at around the level of dominos. When I ate it it had far too many of those black olive rings that some people seem to like. For some reason all the pizzas had this characteristic. The waffles are also passable. It's kind of fun making them yourself in the waffle irons they provide but there are only two so it can take a while. One thing I quite enjoyed was the crumbed fish. This was better than average and very nice with some of the hot sauces available. Other than these offerings, none were very enjoyable for me but perhaps that was just my mood. They certainly weren't bad. The drink selection is quite good, with both soda, soda water and a range of juices. On the other hand the desserts are a little lacking, with just two flavours of frozen yoghurt. Overall I can't complain. While it's no fine dining experience, the i house dining hall offers a wide range of decent foods that you will be happy to fill up on. read more

I House boasts a long history of bridging intercultural friendship... many ending in marriage. Sign me up!

Don't care about your problems, or consider your needs. Wont even let you go without making you pay for your whole stay. Your money is more important for them than you as a person. read more

There's a lot of false propaganda about how amazing and wonderful the I-House is. I've been living at the I-House since August, and I don't think the I-House is that amazing and wonderful. First, I never got a good night of sleep there. Every time someone slams a door (which is very frequent even during the night!), you feel like a bomb went off -- I keep waking up during the night even with earplugs! There's also people talking in the hallways all the time, even at "quiet hours." Once I woke up at 2AM because someone was listening to loud music with the door of the room open. When I went there and asked the 4 boys that were in the room to keep the volume down and the door closed, their reply was "Do you want to join us?" I have called the RA on duty various times to no avail. Second, there's no privacy, and while some social life and partying is good, there is such thing as too much social life and too much partying at the I-House. It's impossible to have some peace and quiet if you need. Third, the I-House is very expensive for the amenities that you get. The rooms are tiny and a bit claustrophobic. Sometimes you need walk an entire corridor to reach the bathroom (there's no sink in the rooms). Furthermore, it can get even more expensive if you need to sleep outside the I-House when you really need a good night of sleep. At various points during the semester, I had to spend a night at a nearby hotel for my own sanity. I did that several times. Here are some examples of situations that led me to go to the hotel nearby: (1) I had arrived from a very exhausting trip at around 10PM and desperately needed sleep. I realized by midnight that it was going to be impossible to get any sleep for the next few hours since there was a huge party going on at various floors of the I-House. (2) Another time I went to the hotel was when I had an important meeting early in the morning the next day and there was still noise in the hallway by 11PM, despite my asking for people to be quiet. (3) After 2 days in bed with a cold and not much sleep because of noise, I decided to go to the hotel early in the evening and get a long good night of sleep that helped me recover. It has been very expensive for me to do this, and every time I spend the money I regret living at the I-House. If you want the "I-House experience," and by that I mean the events, without all the disadvantages of living there, just pay for the events you'd like to go. If they're only for residents, find a I-House friend to let you in (there's very little control!). Also, you might feel like going more if you aren't living there anyway. I'm so unhappy with the I-House (mostly for not being able to get good sleep) that I don't even feel like going. read more

Well, it's hard to write a review about a place that has basically been life for the past three months. I could go on for hours describing everything that goes down at I-House, but to sum it up: Yes, the rooms are small. Me, I'm never in my room. Yes, the food gets pretty tiresome after a while. It's not a huge issue, you'll figure out what you like. And lastly: Yes, it's totally worth living here. There is tons going on, you'll meet tons of people, there are tons of hot European chicks, and it's right across the street from campus. Plus, I'm going to the Netherlands and staying with a Dutch guy I met here for free this summer. See? It's already paying dividends. read more

This is literally the best place to be on Wednesday. They have coffee hour for different cultures on Wednesday's 9pm. Ihouse is just an amazing experience, you meet a lot of nice people. read more

Great place 4 lunch. the make your own sandwich kinda thing is fun and good. Get chips, it goes well with the sandwich :)

3 stars for the incredibly slow pitcher pouring. But will I still go here on breaks between classes to cram in a quick drink? Yep. And the pasta salads are yummy. read more

I came here before a Greek Theater show, and it was a great discovery. Delicious large chicken caesar for $7, great beer, really nice patio seating in front. Good for dessert too, with HUGE pieces of good looking cakes. Lots of sandwich and greek salad style options. Definitely recommend it for a casual meal on a nice warm evening. read more

Watermelon sparkling water on tap! Mango sparkling water, too! Unlimited entrees, salad bar, sandwich bar, soup bar, dessert bar, cereal and cookie and muffin bar, coffee and hot chocolate, what else do you need? Well, add an insane number of undergrads and other academia - elevated levels of noise and the decor and style design of the eatery is amazing inside and out!!! Oh, ... CASH ONLY!!! read more

3.5 stars. Very happening place to meet international students, visiting scholars, etc Food is slightly below average and the prices are really high compared to the area. A Pitcher is $15 and s a Grilled Cheese is at least 5.95. read more

I have lived there for a year. I give it two stars because of its proximity to campus and the few people that I spoke to regularly. As a student from the Bay Area and a student who had to work this place didn't offer much for me. The coutures of the people that live there are celebrated but it isn't truly an international house. Not every region is represented which I find a little insulting. Also the store in which residents can buy and get their dry cleaning from only take cash. It is incredibly expensive to live there. 8,000 a semester. It's a hike from campus. read more

Really like it here, not just because the food is good, but also that you can meet a lot of people here.

When I want to see the day's new headlines in languages I usually can't understand, I go to the International House. The ever-shifting boards of headlines from around the world that you can stare at as you wait for your food are a charming part of the place. The meat lasagna is always a good choice (nothing fancy, more like 'mom's cooking' which is why I like it) and I love love love the bread triangles that come with. The veggie lasagna is too cheesy and too skimpy on the veggies, but the price of the meals is pretty good, about $6.50-$7 for a main dish, a large chunk of bread and a salad with a nice (balsamic?) dressing. The cookies and bakery items are decent, nothing to rave about. Sit with friends, your laptop or a book during the off-peak hours and enjoy a lovely view of the bay, looking down Bancroft avenue when the fog isn't in the way. read more

i used to 'study' here a lot, esp with my cute girlfriends. if you're into guys with foreign accent, this is the mother-load. sadly, i can't comment on the drinks. i think the coffee was okay. read more

Went here during my lunch break, I ordered a Chicken Caesar salad to go and it took 15 minutes before my order was ready. When I checked my salad the chicken was missing, sent my order back and had to wait 5 minutes for the chicken to be added. When I ate the salad it horrible, the lettuce was soggy and the caesar dressing was gross. Waste of money and time! read more

I created a Yelp account just to say that I both lived at I-House AND had my wedding there, 10 years later. I didn't really love living there, but that was probably more about my outlook/attitude at the time than anything else. Living there has a way of making you not appreciate how cool the place is. It's kind of like how your family drives you insane, and then when you get some space and time away from them (and meet other people's families) they seem great! Having our wedding there was absolutely wonderful. The ceremony was on the patio which I have always loved. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced, as was the wine/beer, especially since they do not (are not allowed to) add gratuity. They really don't nickel and dime you at all. The catering dept will work with you to make whatever you want but they also have a lot of pre-planned menus. I would just caution control freak/"type A" brides (and/or grooms) that this might not be the place for you as sometimes they can be slow to respond in the planning stages. The flip side of that is that they are really laid back and relaxed. They also do not allow you to climb up on ladders making decorating pretty hard. However the architecture is so beautiful it doesn't really matter. They have a florist they work with regularly so if you want you can just have them handle the flowers, just tell them roughly what you want and your budget and forget about it. I loved that. Their tech people and equipment were top notch. The event coordinator is wonderful. And the staff and service during the reception were really professional. The only exception was the front desk staff who were pretty darn clueless and not very helpful. It's a really fun place for out-of-towners because there's a lot to do and see on foot and a lot of unique places to stay nearby (Bancroft Hotel, Hotel Durant, Berkeley City Club, Claremont Hotel). I would definitely recommend it for a wedding. read more

The place sucks. Noisy and messy, and the quality of staff is really bad. First, this place admits too many partying, smoking undergraduates, and exchange students who don't spend much time studying. Secod, bad food - the kitchen staff doesn't know how to "cook," so you are often served with overcooked rice, vegetables, or too saulty entries - either because they cannot tell the difference between good and bad food, or because they just don't care about the dignity of residents. The untensils are often not well cleaned so you have to be really careful using them. And then, the staff's attitudes towards residents are normally rude, despite of the fact that it's called "international house" and it's these international residents who pay for their salary. If you are well traveled and are looking for a rather decent housing, this place will definitely disappoint you, especially with the unreasonable high fee they charge you, but they serve you with annoying and stupid staff, small rooms, old facilities, bad food, etc. I'd say they just poorly use the money from residents to hire too many imcompetent and not well trained staff, most of them don't really realize what "international" values are and don't trust international visitors. I frankly feel the whole idea of "international hosue" is a scam, they actually only want money from international students and visitors. All of these factors make this place a very low quality place, definitely not recommend to people who want a decent place to stay. This place is the most awful experience I have in the United States! read more