This review is solely for the Edmonton City Centre location and based on attitude of both the front line staff and those that sit behind a computer. I took the time to add the business as this particular location was not listed on yelp, I did not want to lump it with another location and it's something I am passionate that I wanted to share my awful experience. I travel and eat out a lot and tend to bring my own container and utensils and coffee mug to help the environment and reduce wastage something I try to spread along with friends and colleagues. I was drawn to their make your own pasta station, which i had actually gone back to retrieve my own container so I could order one of their pasta when I found out the guy behind the pasta counter, Richard is his name according to the cashier refused to put the pasta in my container stating "health regulations" I had no idea it was a thing. I had written to Food inspections Canada and awaiting their response. I dedicate my lifestyle to reducing waste and try my very best to honour 0 plastic usage. I appreciate the containers their store offers with biodegradable paper options in their hot and cold stations. The store also have a special pricing for bring your own cup at the coffee and tea station. Furthermore, upon taking my bowl of pasta which he insisted slapping on a clear pasta lid I told him no he persisted as he says that's how I have to use to pay? Can't he just hand me a price sticker or just apply it to the side of the bowl? The attitude and rudeness will ensure I will not visit again. I also took the time to comment on their website and I got this response (see photo attached) I get it's in the discretion of business's own rights to do whatever they want, but don't use some sort of health regulation dismiss someone who is trying to save the planet by taking the time to bring in their own containers. There are so many food & beverage options, with this kind of attitude, this will ensure I nor my colleagues won't be visiting it ever again. read more

Olly Fresco's - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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As a hospital minion, I can't hide my jealousy that the AHS head office comes with a place like Olly's attached, although I can't say I'm surprised. Compared to the horrid rethermalized slop or fast food served in hospital cafeterias, Olly's offers some fresh, healthy, reasonably priced and made to order foods. Why isn't this offered in the hospital?!? Surely the client base is just as large, if not larger, at UAH or RAH! Anyhow, although Olly's has recently cut back on some of their selection, they still serve up some tasty and affordable food. If you work in the area and need breakfast or lunch, skip the fast food or the $15+ sandwich and head to Olly's! They have a great selection from a salad bar and hot self-serve (cost based on weight) to made-to-order sammies and ready to go full meals. There's even little containers of snacks and treats, like hummus, chocolates, veggies & dip, chips, jujubes - it's like a combo cafeteria and convenience store. Very helpful for the busy downtown worker, whether it's a meal or just snacks for an informal meeting. The $2.19 made-to-order breakfast sandwich is an absolute steal given almost all the toppings (except for bacon & cheese) are free, up to 4 selections. Try to get that at Timmy's or Subway! I also love that the food is discounted on Friday afternoon after about 1p.m. My spouse always picks up 2-for-1 soup or entrees for me to take for my weekend night shifts, and my friend who lives on a fixed income finds this is a great way to get some healthy meals that are within his budget. The entrees themselves are easily big enough for two meals - at $8 each and 2 for 1, that's $2 a meal. Wow. Heck of a deal for homemade food. Plus the head chef is a great guy, so if you like a particular dish, he might just tip you off as to when they will next make it, or make it part of their regular offerings. We really need this kind of food service in the front lines of healthcare! If the quality of the food that is served to patients was even close to the food they serve at Olly's, patient outcomes would undoubtedly be better. That's some real food for thought. read more

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The Edmonton 107 street location is a great place to go if you hate when staff acknowledges your presence other than to hand you the debit machine. Also, if you like being ignored by the cook at the order counter when you're the only person in line, then this place is definitely for you! (What are they, trained by GameStop?) Seriously, if you're a shut-in and abhor all human contact, then by all means frequent this joint, but avoid it at all costs if you need any sort of alibi. They're probably dog-friendly, because I can't imagine any staff member actually noticing that you brought in a dog and let it eat directly from the salad bar. They get two stars, though, because their cooler is cold and their food is good. read more

I don't think I know anybody who wouldn't like this place. We live in a world that is gogogo all the time so eating healthy is sometime more of an utopia. Olly Fresco's is da bomb. I only had the chicken and mushroom sandwich but boy, if they can make me such a great grilled panini I can't even imagine how good the rest of the food is. I read another post how they remove some options but man, it was my first time in there and they are not lacking options. Same goes for coffee. All sorts of regions and blends. If you're sick of the same old teen burger or even any other "healthy" fast food, this food fare will make you want to believe again in good food that is fast. Next time I'm trying their vegetarian Chili, yes they have the option! read more

Olly Fresco's - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

The food was so yummy!!! The line up was huge because it was during lunch hour but they had lots of cashier working the till so the line went fast. It was set up like a buffet style. Lots of dishers to choose from. I had rice and some type of curry, potatoes and veggies. My bf had the same. We both got coconut water with our meals. It came up to $22.75 for both meals, which is not too bad. I thought they had really healthy choices which is nice. There is a lot of tables to sit at, and although it was busy, we found a table. It's right down townish so don't expect free parking. I will totally be back for sure. It was fast, yummy and good price. read more

Olly Fresco's - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

A cafeteria of my dreams - so many choices of coffee, cold drinks, sandwiches, prepared salads, treats, and even small portion of nuts and candy - it makes my head spin! There is a buffet of hot foods sold by weight, a sandwich bar for custom cold and pressed sandwiches, daily soups, pasta, and more. I had an egg salad wrap that was absolutely packed and so fresh. I even liked the lettuce, which I normally don't, but it was crisp and doesn't have that weird taste I sometimes notice at other sandwich places. And the prices can't be beat - if you can avoid the lunch rush, the service is reasonably fast. read more

This restaurant is located in the South Tower of the 7th Street Plaza building. This makes it very accessible from other buildings in the area and accessible via pedway from Centre West. This deli has cafeteria style offering which are sold by weight, as well as cooked to order sandwiches. I rather like getting my container filled with a wide variety of foods for a reasonable price. The seating area gets rather busy for lunch but if you arrive earlier or later than noon then it is not quite so busy. Staff are pretty good at bringing out refills of the hot meal items as they are depleted. Pricing is by weight for the salad bar and the hot food bar which is nice. I like the fact that I can always find some items I am in the mood to try! Definitely a quality lunch option. My friends tell me that it is also good for breakfast so perhaps one of these days I shall try it for breakfast as well. read more

Finally a food court fresh food experience. I work at Canada Place and always head to the City Centre Mall for breaks. To my surprize this little gem was open at 7am..any size tea is only $1.25 ! Olly Fresco's have been providing affordable healthy food for the busy professional. If your schedule is too hectic to make a quality home-made lunch and you're tired of that same old fast food place, make Olly Fresco's a part of your daily routine. Food Court Heaven at last. read more

I came here for lunch with my friend and it was well organized, clean and lots of variety to choose from. The front staff were not as organized as I would have liked as there was a line up and some of them were cleaning and putting stuff away. They did not bother coming up to the till and help customers. Other than that it is a great place to grab a quick bite during your work lunch. read more

Been to Olly's a number of times, they have a nice selection at the buffet which rotates each day. A choice of meats which may be ribs, chicken, beef, or pork and fish. There is a selection of rice, potatoes, and veg. Again they aren't all available each day they change it up, one day may be ribs, the other chicken etc.. They do also have a sandwich and pasta bar that you can order from so you have alot of options. Their is a nice salad bar as well. Hard to walk through and not find anything to eat. You do have a number of healthier options which beats the fast food options of the city center food court. They also have a location on 108st just south of Jasper Ave. I like the place for a work week lunch and the prices are fair. read more

Tried Olly Fresco's for the first time today. It's located on 107 Street, in the Alberta Health Services Seventh Street Plaza, ground floor of the South Tower. It's kind of like Sunterra in that it's mostly self serve, though there is a soup (4 different kinds) and sandwich/panini/breakfast counter at the back. Lots of choices for drinks (water, soda, kombucha, etc), snacks (like individually wrapped cheese, $0.85 a piece) and desserts (cookies, candies). A decent-sized salad bar with a variety of leafy greens (all looking fresh) and lots of toppings (chicken breast, deli meat, other vegetables). The hot food self-serve area also has about 10 choices ($1.89/100g) - several meats (today was roast beef au jus, roast chicken legs with mashed potatoes and gravy on the side, butter chicken, and another Indian dish), a fish (I think it was breaded), perogies (with self serve bacon and sour cream... dangerous), and some veggies (steamed broccoli and cauliflower, roasted potato wedges), and I assume there is always a vegetarian dish - today's was lasagna. I may have forgotten about a few other dishes. Everything is labelled and relatively fresh - I saw them replenishing lots of dishes even before it got down to the very end undesirable bits. I enjoyed the mishmash I picked up. You use take out styrofoam containers so you can always bring home leftovers. The lasagna was cheesy and flavourful, despite not having any meat in it. The noodles were not as al dente as I would have liked and it was a touch salty, but overall I liked it. The broccoli was perfectly steamed to retain nutrients - still bright green and just a touch of crunch. The roast chicken was really popular - I don't know if it was legs only but I snagged the last piece of thigh in a sea of drumsticks - skin was still kind of crispy and seasoned with some herbs (indistinguishable though). A touch dry but totally edible still. I loved the perogies - they were very generic potato ones, nothing special but not bad (e.g., the right amount of dough and filling, not mushy). I loved being able to choose as much sour cream and bacon bits (real ones!) as I wanted. There's quite a bit of seating and a lot of people seem to get the food to go, so I didn't have any trouble finding a spot for two around 12:15pm (it was busy though!). After grabbing a bottle of premium water, my total came to about $13, and I was certainly quite full. You can spend as much or as little as you want to. I thought the food was decent despite it being made for the masses, and I love the variety of choices - I understand that they change offerings daily so I'd be interested to try other options. I think it's a really great option for the people who work on this west end of downtown (note it's closed on weekends). I will be back! read more

Olly Fresco's - Sample of Thursday hot food offerings. - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

This is my go to food for breakfast and lunch. They have quite a bit of variety in their buffet and is all fresh. They can also cook for you particularly the pasta. Their price is very reasonable even though they weigh it when you pay. Comparable to Sunterra which is way too expensive and food is horrible, I would recommend to try Olly Fresco. The cashier is fast and staff are friendly. I did this review I think Olly deserves 5 stars for me. Hope Olly Fresco will keep the same quality and new fresh food. read more

I usually like food from Olly Fresco's but have to write this review so the company is aware of this. This is the second time I am trying their "indian style rice" and it is completely uneatable! Today, I bought the Biriyani rice from the City Centre location and it has raw turmeric paste mixed in it! Even a person who has never tried this dish would know there's no way a recipe would call for raw turmeric paste mixed into something. The rice is so bitter and disgusting. It was totally a waste of money! read more

Olly Fresco's - a meal in a styrofoam container - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - Edmonton, Alberta

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Some of the food is edible and the prices are fairly reasonable, but the customer service is severely lacking. The cashiers are rude, and some of them struggle with giving you the correct change if you pay in cash. And often they don't even say Hello to you. Instead the first (and sometimes only) words out of their mouth are 'How will you be paying'. You also have to watch to make sure they don't turn your styrofoam container with food from the hot buffet upside down when they put the container in a bag. read more

Olly's is super close to my office so naturally, I swing by to pick up my coffee at least once week on those days I'm running late and didn't have time to make my own at home! While Olly's is definitely not fine dining by any stretch, but it is a nice option to more on the outskirts of downtown, especially in the winter when you may or may not want to make the trek too far from the office. I like that they have quite the selection of buffet style food as well as some made to order options. If you eat like a bird, the buffet isn't too horribly expensive. If you're looking to beat the lunch rush, try to show up before 11:20, as the line can sometimes get to be a little long! I do find the buffet food can be hit or miss depending on the time of day you are there. Sometimes the food has been sitting out for a while and is dried out. But when it's just been brought out, it's decent. I find the same with the coffee. In the morning, coffee turnover is pretty quick, but if you happen to go in the afternoon, order yourself a latte or one of the made to order drinks as opposed to getting a drip coffee as sometimes the coffee may have neen sitting out for a while and cold or lukewarm. read more

Nice little shop in the building. They have fresh veggies, fruit, sandwiches, etc. And lots of coffee on. They also sell kombucha tea.

This decent sized eatery is located at the bottom of the Alberta health services building and offers both a buffet style service and also other prepared foods made for you at their counter. The prices are my favourite part about Ollys as you can get a decent meal for under 10$ for both breakfast and lunch. While the food is not amazing it is not bad either. Ollys does not pretend to be an upscale eatery and thus relative to expectations it does really well!! Very friendly service and lots of room to sit read more

Love it! fresh, daily made, so many options! great staff as well! quick, easy in and out!

Good selection, good prices, but they don't bother to list allergens on their labels (beware coconut in the granola). When I politely called and asked them to label it (as they are required by law, coconut is a tree nut and as such is a priority allergen according to our government) I was met with confrontation and was told "it behooves you to beware of you own allergens"... a little tough to do when there is no indication on the label... I get that they just opened and I am sympathetic to that but the appropriate response by management is "sorry, we will make that change right away" not that its my own fault. *update* went again today and salads with walnuts labelled cashews, management clearly doesnt take your life threatening food allergies seriously. If you have them, just stay away read more

I went to try their hot breakfast and after filling my container with some eggs and potatoes, I noticed a squeezable ketchup next to it. So I grab a mini round plastic container and filled it. I make my way to the cashier where I promptly set my container down on the scale, but the cashier noticed my little ketchup container next to me and actually reached over to grab it and set it on top, raising my total by an extra $1 for the premium ketchup. Definitely not going back. read more

Absolutely the freshest food, breakfast buffets, lunch buffets, fruit sandwiches, salads, soups (made from scratch, no msg. Reasonably priced. Wonderful staff and management. Best coffee choices ever!!!!!!!! read more