THE GARDEN @ SDSU Parking is available at P3 or P4, and there's a small fee you can pay through SDSU parking. It's only about a four-minute walk, super close. This restaurant is all-you-can-eat and is located right above the sophomore building, Cuicci! I've been to The Garden a couple of times since my freshman year, and honestly, it's a hit or miss. The food selection is very wide. You've got your basic comfort items like pizza, chicken nuggets, and fries, but then they also switch it up with special cuisines. Last time, they had stir fry, corn, Mexican rice, tacos... so it really depends on the night you go. What I personally love most is the variety, especially the salad section. Coming from a culture that doesn't always prioritize veggies, I really appreciate that part. The bakery/dessert section, though... it's honestly the worst every single time. Every cake I've tried has been super dry and flavorless, almost like it's been sitting in the fridge forever. They used to have a soft-serve station, which I really hope is still there because that one was definitely a fan favorite. Overall, the experience is great if you're a student. I'd recommend stopping by at least once. I think it's around $21 on a meal plan to get in. The staff are very friendly, everyone serving is nice, and the ambiance is your typical modern all-you-can-eat setup. It's nothing super renovated or fancy, but they do have a balcony where you can sit outside, which is a nice touch. read more

The Garden - Buffets Near Me - San Diego, California

Rocio the general manager apparently doesn't think it's wise to update their website. This restaurant is closed to the public for another four months. Everywhere I look online there's nothing about that. Huge huge fail on the management. I have difficulty walking and I traversed the campus just to be told that it was open for wealthy private parties but not the public. Absolutely sucks. They still have a calendar from January on there. Just terrible and if you're teaching kids how to run a restaurant this is pathetic. read more

Wide variety of foods to choose from. There is something for everyone here. Atmosphere is lively and the restaurant is clean! Highly recommend! read more

SDSU has no diversity in terms of food. They only have restaurants that sell burgers, sandwiches, and pizza. The mea plan is also a scam since the money doesn't roll over to the next day. My friend and I went to the garden because we heard they were serving Japanese katsu. However, their "katsu" was basically American chicken tenders. read more

The Garden - "Katsu" - Buffets Near Me - San Diego, California

It was horrible quality, when I tell you I had chronic diarrhea that's an understatement, I had diarrhea in the pool in front of the girl I liked and she called me disgusting don't eat here unless you're looking to lose all your rizz (made me nauseous too) read more

Never had a dining plan and was urged by a friend to come to visit this place. Paid for lunch and was pleasantly surprised at the variety of pretty good food offered AYCE. Tom Yum soup, baked potato, cheeseburgers, salads, ice cream. As a buffet lover, I stuffed my face. Would rather go here than other restaurants in the area for the value alone. read more

This is a lot nicer eating option than when I was a student. I met a friend for lunch so I got a chance to eat here the other day.I was pretty happy I did. It's about 10 bucks a person for a nice buffet. It included Panko encrusted Salmon (typo as Pinko so I laughed), mac and cheese, chicken marinara sandwich, fresh cookies and other desserts. They also have a salad bar as well as deli meat if you want to have a sandwich. There were a few soups available too. It was nice to find out they are open to the public. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner on weekdays and brunches on the weekends. If you're near SDSU and want something to eat, give this place a try! read more

*cough* Dust off this page, 'cause Cuic needs a new review! There have been a lot of updates and renovations to the dining room and while I didn't eat there in 2006, I'm assuming it's pretty different than this previous review.... They've usually got some sort of special going on for lunch and dinner each day; things like pasta bar, toasted sub bar, pizza bar, open grill, stuff like that. Then there's always a hot food option (I like to refer to it as the "fine dining option") which is usually a protein and some sort of vegetable plated for you. Grilled chicken and sauce, grilled fish and steamed veggies, roast beef and potatoes, stuff like that. Then there's always a stocked salad bar, cereal bar, sandwich bar, fresh soups, etc, so you can count on that if you're not feeling the specials. Brunch on the weekends is obviously a breakfast/lunch combo with a yummy omelette bar (OR be annoying and ask for scrambled eggs; I prefer to be annoying), waffle station and other breakfast foods, then a sandwich bar as well. The quality of Cuic's food is actually really good! For mass-produced, it always tastes fresh and they try and limit the amount of stuff sitting under heat lamps for the most part. If the weather's nice, sit out on the back patio in the sunshine and enjoy the great view of the canyon. Upsides: Scrambled eggs, pizza bar, sandwich bar, waffle station, nice staff, they will bring you soy milk with a smile! Downsides: Pasta bar, desserts read more

See all

They recently rebranded this dining hall as "the garden", and I have to say that was a mistake. The concept is still buffet style, but everything now is make your own, but before there were little prepared dishes that rotated. Now it seems like it's just the same crap over and over for breakfast and lunch. Actually, they don't even have breakfast since they open at 10 AM, so I'm not sure what the students that want to eat before 10 AM can do. Dinner will have a rotating menu. There's a salad bar, a soup bar, omelette station, potato station and pizza station. There's a pasta station after 2 PM, but I'm not eating lunch that late. The food has gone from OK to mediocre. The pizza was just dry as all can be and there wasn't much flavor to it either. The desserts aren't a good selection, and the "fresh squeeze juice bar" is just sad -- you literally just press orange slices. I think the best thing to eat here were the tater tots, sadly. read more

See all

I've been going to Cuic since I was a wee first-year student at SDSU. Five years down the line, I can say that not much has changed. I think my increasingly negative disposition towards the Dining Hall has come with changes to my diet and a heightening of my standards. Go here for breakfast, if you do. The omelets are pretty good. That, and the pizza bar is pretty nice considering you put the toppings on yourself. Most everything else ranges from passable to gross. I would strongly recommend never coming here if you are vegan, and encourage you to weigh your options if you're vegetarian. Unless you just want to have an incredibly boring salad (seriously Cuic, still no spinach?) and cereal for 8-10 dollars, there isn't much else here that doesn't have meat in it. The vegetarian options feel begrudged, as though they were plopped out there to stop people from whining as opposed to the establishment actually caring about the quality. It's the meal plan that keeps me coming, for sure. I would never spend real money to eat here. read more

The garden is amazing. It is an all you can eat buffet and it has a variety of options. The omelette bar is definitely the highlight and the salad bar is also full of options. The staff is always incredibly polite and it is a great place to get some food at SDSU. read more

You can count on them having Pizza and fries at every hour. There will also be more carbs available in different forms. Occasionally there is a good day where they serve a nice protein option with veggies. If you are on the student meal plan then sure eat here on the good days. If you are not on the meal plan, spend your money elsewhere. read more

I can't even count the number of times I've been to Cuic, though I'm not sure I really want to know. The positives: The breakfast at Cuic is actually pretty good. The omelette bar in particular made it worth it to eat there in the morning. During the afternoon and evening, I'd say the best items were the french fries and the desserts. The cons: First, look up "cuicing" in Urban Dictionary. It didn't always happen to me, but isn't once ( I wish it were only once) bad enough? Second, most of the food served in the afternoons and evenings is very bland and sometimes downright disgusting. I've definitely been served undercooked or still frozen meats. Thirdly, it is incredibly overpriced given the quality. While all campus food is more expensive than real food, if you don't have designated Cuic meals, you should just spend the money in East or West Commons instead. read more

Oh Cuic. This 5-star review is based entirely on nostalgia. "Let's go to Cuic!" That was the usual battle cry when gathering the troops for a venture to the Cuicacalli Dining Hall. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet style joint that the meal plan conveniently covered. Sometimes it was great. Sometimes it sucked. Most of the time it was adequate. Some random memories here: 1) Breakfast bar was always the most popular night. Eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon. It was a pleasure. There were also waffles and cereal on a regular basis. 2) A nice dessert display was routine. One night they had something called Raspberry Mousse, which I think was just some kind of Jello cake thing but it was really frickin' good. They never had it again. 3) Everyone seemed to go crazy for the Pasta Bar. I just thought it was meh. Pasta is boring. 3b) When they sauced the pasta up, you had a choice of Marinara or Alfredo. For whatever reason people ordered it as "red" or "white." To the day I have no idea why this is. 4) One of the head chefs there was a fella named Vic. Hard worker in a stressful job for sure. The first night I saw him there he seemed so happy. Every night after that, though, he seemed to become increasingly more volatile and irritable. 4b) One time I was in line for whatever the main entree was and I was having a conversation with my friend. Well, I didn't realize it was my turn to order and Vic yelled at me to pay attention. My soul was crushed for the rest of the night. 5) For whatever reason I was the designated organizer for Cuic dinners in my dorm hall. If someone didn't get invited then I would get blamed, even if they weren't regular attendees. It's like, bro, you haven't joined us for Cuic in 5 months! "YEAH BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE INVITED ME!!!" Hur hur hur. 6) One time we invited this guy on our floor to Cuic and he said no, he's gonna eat somewhere else. This guy was nice but he was majorly passive aggressive and it's entirely possible he thought he was too cool for us. Naturally my friend spotted him at Cuic an hour later with his sports buddies. Reportedly he had this look like he knew he was busted. We did not invite him ever again. 7) Once a year they would have an "Aloha" cruise theme night and it was widely considered the best meal of the year. Naturally I missed it two years running because of stupid evening exams. 8) One night they had a seafood bar which I refused to partake in. Several guys from my floor wound up getting food poisoning and throwing up their meals later that night. Good times. 9) The manager was a guy named Chuck and he was really cool. He worked immensely hard to make Cuic a pleasant experience. There was another chef there named Jose. He was cool, too. 10) They occasionally served mystery meat but I didn't care. It tasted good. 11) A great social experience. I don't think I ever once came here by myself. The cool thing about Cuic is that you always had something to choose from. Every night the main entree was different and they would supplement that with a salad bar, fruit, pizza, and other options that were widely available. Honestly, it was a huge bang for your buck. The weekend brunches were also super good! So, plenty of great memories from Cuic. Obviously this review may be a little outdated but I love Cuic. I mean, I didn't love it enough to come back and pay on my own dollar when I was off the meal plan, but you get the idea. Cuic FTW!!! read more

Okay so if you go on Urban Dictionary & look up the word "Cuicing" you'll be disturbed by the food... This place has me up and down good breakfast, fresh fruit, you can make your own waffles, frozen yogurt soft serve, pizza is almost always good and you can eat.your face off.... But I come here only because I'm on the meal plan I'm impressed like shocked when anything else than the normal is good. now they have infused water I really like that but I mean this place isn't Appetizing, you'll probably never hear someone say "you know what I'm craving, cuic" read more

Ok so i tried the garden again when they had the Indian night 2 weeks ago, and the food was surprisingly good ,also the salad bar has great variety. They changed a lot since I visited them 5 years ago. Over all I recommend eating here. read more

Five stars for campus dining! I've eaten here a couple of times for lunch. It's always great quality food and a variety to choose from! Recently, my coworker and I checked out their menu online and chose to go on Thursday. They offered: grilled-to-order burgers (beef or garden), mac and cheese bar, cheese and pepperoni pizza, chicken nuggets and fries!! We had a taste of everything. It was so good and satisfied all our cravings. They also have a salad and sandwich bar but we didn't have enough room for that. We ran out of time and didn't get to the dessert station either. They had cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake and Tiramisu...maybe next time. Drinks? They have coffee, milk, juices and soda fountain...Oh! and it's all you can eat! I do want to try out their breakfast and dinner menus soon. For those of you that don't work or go to school here, you would need to park in a pay lot on campus or take the trolley!! read more

I wish i could give this place negative points. This place is the worst in the world. Reconstituted food sitting under a hot lamp. I had the pleasure of eating this crap twice while at training on campus at SDSU. I ate off campus everyday even though my meal plan was pre payed for a week. If you have to live on campus defiantly don't eat here if you value your health. read more

The best part about eating at the Campus Dining room (now known as 'The Garden') is being served by David Aponte Soto. David consistently delivers only the freshest ingredients with an A1 smile! David cares about the students who dine here. He makes sure the food is fresh and that the plates are presentable. Thank you David. I will be returning with my family soon! read more

Eat to your hearts content. Healthy delicious and yummy food waiting for you. Yummy yummy chicken breasts, good taco bowls, very delicious omelettes all for a low price of $10-$13 and you can eat forever. read more

Alright, where should I start? I had a video of a worm in my salad but I won't post it for legal reasons I guess!! I called and they said it happens (idiots)! So I went with a group, we schedule the event and they cut our time in half. Also I learned from their employees that they served the hamburgers, French fries, and Caesar salad on purpose because it was easier to cook and clean up. Also management sucks their and it shows in their employees too (very rude). Take a customer service training class. The hamburger was sand paper, French fries not fully cooked, and as I stated earlier the salad had worms. Don't bother, go to the student union or east commons. Better off eating two tacos and a drink from jack n box!! Good luck Go Aztecs!! read more

I wish I could say Cuic was good, like they promise all the students. They don't really have healthy eating options like they say (if you want something more than a salad or cereal), and if you try to get a healthier option for the omelet bar? Forget about it, the chefs give you dirty looks an grumble like you're inconveniencing them for getting the healthy option that the management promised you. I'd say watch out for the meat too, since if it isn't burnt it's rarely cooked through and food poisoning isn't fun. There aren't many vegetarian or vegan options either aside from salad, so if you're going to spend $8 (breakfast or lunch) or $10.20 (dinner), I'd recommend eating A LOT of salad. To be fair, they have tofu dishes sometimes, but they are extremely bland. It's as if they only make them to say they have options and they don't care if it's not tasty. read more

It's okay... But nothing to brag about. I give it a mediocre three stars. It seems like they try their very hardest. But sometimes you just miss the mark. Hang in their kid, we are rooting for you. read more

Breakfast, lunch, and brunch are the best part. The omlettes are amazing. I also believe that they put laxatives in their food so be warned!

This place is usually decent, except that one Mexican night they had. I got food poisoning, but I'm pretty sure it was because I ate the questionable smelling pizza. The omelet bar and belgian waffles never disappoint and pizza night is always pretty good. read more

Wait in line for 20 minutes behind hungover freshmen for a lousy omelette made by other hungover freshmen.