Was in town looking for a healthy place to nourish our stomachs and stumbled upon Urban Plates. Garrett was super helpful and friendly as we placed our orders and had questions. Excellent customer service is hard to come by these days and he made it more of an enjoyable lunch experience. Please recognize Garrett for excellent service! read more

Awesome service and banana cream pie is delicious! Thanks for all the help garret! We love coming here

First visit and took advantage of a Valentine's Day Special offer (3 course dinner for 2 for $59). I would classify Urban Plates as upscale cafeteria style dining. As you can imagine, it was very busy, but the line to order moved quickly and we were lucky to find a table without having to wait. The food was good, and the restaurant was clean. Parking can be tough in this area...on street or in a public lot about a block away, but it's an extremely busy area, so expect to hunt for a spot. FOOD: We ordered the following for our three-course special: Seafood Chowder, Barramundi Seabass with Beet Salad and Brussels Sprouts, Chimichurri Grilled Steak with Parmesan Mushrooms and Mac-n-Cheese. We finished with the Hummingbird Cake which was a carrot cake with a hint of pineapple. In addition, we ordered the Garlic Shrimp Plate with Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus ($15.99) for my mother-in-law, and a Shrimp Skewer ($5) to share. Everything was good, although a few items required a little seasoning (salt/pepper) for our taste. Plenty of healthy choices on the menu as well. Overall, a nice experience and I would definitely go back again and try some other menu items. read more

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11/25/2025 Urban Plates has been around for a long time, yet I've never ate here before. It is a fast-casual restaurant where you order at the front register, take your order number and a server brings your food to the table. THANKSGIVING PLATE (Offered during 11/25 - 11/30) Special menu for Thanksgiving week. They make Thanksgiving plates for individual orders. Each plate automatically comes with a side of turkey breast slices, mushroom stuffing, gravy, cranberry relish, rustic bread and a choice of one side. Turkey slices were tender and moist. The mashed potatoes with gravy were good too. The stuffing was not great and it was dry. Flavor was okay, but dry, dry, dry. Had to add the gravy to make it more edible stuffing. Cranberry was basic, but still a good tangyness added to the whole dish. I was missing a slice of the bread. Also, not sure what happened, but I wasn't told about the extra side. Wish they told me that when I was ordering at the front register. Overall, I did like my turkey plate, but because I was missing a few sides, it lacked a bit in overall experience. Ordered organic iced tea (only iced tea offered) and it was a clean flavor with no sugar added. Urban Plates also offer a full Thanksgiving Turkey Family Meal and Family sides to-go. Turkey Family Meal is available until 11/30. SEATS / AMBIANCE The tables and seats were comfortable and clean. The tables weren't too close together, but the design at this location was a bit odd. Some of tables were situated in awkward places and tables were turned a certain way which made it a bit strange to sit and eat. The restaurant was large and had many tables and seats both indoors and outdoors, which is a plus. The overall design is cozy, but it could be more modern in overall design. Never seen a fast-casual restaurant with so many tables and seats! The day I was there, there were lots of people dining indoors. PARKING Difficult to find street parking, as it is a busy street. There is street parking right in front of the restaurant. Street parking is paid parking only. There's a pay station on that street. Best to park in the parking structure on Lake + Del Mar. Turn into Del Mar and Pasarroyo parking structure will be right there. Urban Plates will validate your parking ticket from Pasarroyo parking structure for 90 minutes. Validation available at the front register. I parked at the 2 hr visitor parking on first floor, which was very convenient and a close distance to the restaurant. LOCATION On Del Mar Blvd. + Lake Ave. Right between Charles Schwab and Dunkin' Donuts. Citibank right next to Dunkin' Donuts. Susie Cakes right across from them. CUSTOMER SERVICE All the servers were friendly and smiling. It was nice to see them welcoming everyone walking through the door. Good and friendly service is so underrated now! I truly appreciate everyone who put forth the effort to bring exceptional service to all the diners there. I can see why this place was packed! There were so many customers coming in with online orders to in person orders. With this much friendly service, good food and parking validation, I would frequent it too! I liked my overall experience at this location. If I lived closer, I'd probably come here more often and try their regular menu items! One star taken off because the person taking my order did a poor job at explaining the menu and did not tell me about the additional free side. Also, forgot the rustic bread. read more

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Came in late on a Friday night for a quick and casual meal post-workout. They have a great variety of health-conscious meals with a range of proteins. I opted for the grilled chicken Cobb salad. The cashier kindly offered dressing on the side and the bowl came with a slice of grilled bread. Portion size was fair for a decent price. My boyfriend got the steak chimichurri plate, which came with a helping of mashed potatoes (gravy optional) and broccoli - a very well-rounded meal! read more

I love urban Plates!! Especially this location! Staff is friendly, helpful, and care about their customers. I want to shout out to Sara who helped me find my most favorite dish there! She was so helpful with the menu my first visit to urban plates, and was very welcoming and kind. read more

I was in the area and needed somewhere macro friendly to grab a bite. Sometimes it's hard to feel like you're not missing out on a cut, but Urban Plates did the trick for me. I really enjoyed the protein centered plates with local ingredients. The ahi tuna with ponzu and wasabi was great. I eat a lot of fish but I also hate the taste of it honestly, so I was really happy with how mild and fresh it tasted. The sides are fantastic and there are so many to choose from. One thing to note is that vegan options are priced very fairly-- a few dollars cheaper than animal based plates. Urban Plates' message seems to be about sustainability and I think that that is not a bad way to encourage more people to give those options a go. The interior is clean with lots of natural lighting, plants, and seating. Water, utensils, and sauces are self serve. They had little samples of hummingbird cake available at the counter, too. I really enjoyed eating here and hope new locations open up closer to me! read more

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Great food,Great service ,great ambiance!! Thanks Daniel Dinner with the family done read more

Urban Plates - Delicious - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

The blackened salmon was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I will be back again and again for it !!! And the flourless chocolate cake was superb !!!! Garrett and Javier were both amazing !!!! read more

Urban Plates - Blackened Salmon - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

I got the chicken with chimmichuri mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts. There was a bread that came with it. It was good the chicken was braised well as it was tender and soft and flavorful. I got the dragon fruit drink and it was so refreshing. They were slow to bring our food. Inside was a casual lunch vibe. read more

Urban Plates - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

I had no intention of going to Urban Plates a few weeks back, but thanks to another restaurant having a two hour wait, I ended up here with my wife and it was the BEST possible thing that could have happened to us. When you walk into this place, you see a ton of tables as well as countertop seating as well as an entry point into the ordering line. Similar to when you walk into a Chipotle or something like that, you get in like and make your way to the cashier to tell them what you want. You can get entree plates like chicken, beef, or pork dishes as well as burgers, sandwiches, salads, and even some chicken tenders if you want. I knew from the second I looked at the screen that I was ordering the Chimichurri Grass Fed Steak combi with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Once you order, you get a number card to place where you sit and eventually a staff member will bring the food right to you. When I say I was blown away with the quality of food I had, I feel like it's an understatement. The Chimichurry Grass Fed Steak was so juicy and had such delicious flavour I can honestly say it was better than some steaks I've spent $80+ on and liked way less than this delicious piece of meat. The side dishes I had with it were both top notch high end restaurant quality sides and didn't last long enough to see the inside of a take home container. Overall, Urban Plates is somewhere I'm going to come back to many times when I live in LA. The food here was absolutely delicious, the staff was great, and the atmosphere was nice to be inside of as well. Do yourself a favour and give this place a shot! read more

Urban Plates - Look at that Chimichurri Grass Fed Steak! - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE , good FOOD -great location ! Thank Garrett for made us feel GREAt!! Definitely coming back to Pasadena !! read more

Urban Plates - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

This is my second visit to this place and second delicious meal experience. The quality is outstanding and I would pay at least twice as here in other restaurants. I highly recommend Uraban Plates in Pasadena for a healthy freshly made meals. The only recommendation I'd leave is to improve a bit outdoors seating area read more

Great food! Fernando was awesome, Great service healthy food tasty drinks. We love going here after the gym read more

Urban Plates - Drinks - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

Great food. Great ambience. Never disappoints! Garrett was fabulous! He always has a smile and great service. Love this place.

This Restaurant is the best Urban Plates me and my girlfriend have ever been too. Lulu provided exceptional service during our visit to Urban Plates today, she was friendly, efficient, and made our day We were served instantly! read more

Urban Plates - Classic Hamburger , Turkey Avocado Club Sandwich - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Lulu was amazing !!! Customer service was 100/10 Food was amazing & came out super fast ! Definitely coming back read more

Lulu was super attentive and gave great customer service. Food is always delicious here and never a long wait.

Great food and wonderful service! Mari was friendly and provided exceptional customer service! Thanks for recommending the oatmeal raisin cookie! read more

Urban Plates - Front Counter - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

We had great servers Mari and Natalie! Steak plate was a little overdone but serviceable. All other foods, including sides, were delicious. Brussels sprouts were also amazing and I especially enjoy how good and well balanced their Mac and cheese is. Overall, this place has a decent bang for your buck in Pasadena, nice staff, and good food. Would recommend. read more

We always come to urban plates. Lulu was really great and had exceptional customer service. Thank you! We'll be back!

Great food & service I love coming here The staff is amazing and the food is always fresh and perfect. If you're looking for a good meal come to Urban plate. read more

We love Urban Plates! The best part is always the sides. We always go for the mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Service was quick and easy and Norma was great. They also have weekly specials that give you a discount on a few meals. Looking forward to coming back for a relaxing and healthy dinner out! read more

Natalie E. Cashier is friendly and has a great personality. And a nice smile. We love coming here for the cheeseburger And the chimchurri steak plate . Always great service and good food. read more

Had to stop in now that they have the seasonal BBQ ribs back on the menu. The meat is very soft and tasty. Highly recommend and of course can't go wrong with the cowgirl cookies. Jaryn was great in taking my order. read more

Urban Plates - Love this cookie!! - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

Had a great experience at Urban Plate! Fernando was amazing super friendly, professional, and provided excellent service. Definitely recommend! read more

I love Urban Plates, always have and been here many times......but.....3% surcharge now??? Will NOT be participating. Not good.

Food was wonderful! 100 percent of the credit goes to Uma who took our order and made recommendations. Do not skip on the bbq jalapeño burger add bacon. It was so yummy! Thank you Uma for giving us such a memorable experience by your kindness and warm hospitality. read more

The atmosphere at this place is urban just as promised. Lulu served us and was very friendly and helpful with questions about the menu. We got served quickly and the food was delicious read more

Fresh, Delicious, and Fernando Made Our Day! I recently visited Urban Plates in Pasadena, and I have to say--it was an absolutely fantastic experience! The food was incredibly fresh and packed with flavor. You can really tell they use high-quality ingredients, and everything is cooked to perfection. The portions are generous, and the menu offers so many healthy and delicious options. I highly recommend the cobb salad and the steak sandwich --both were amazing ! A huge shoutout to Fernando for making our visit so special! His service was outstanding--friendly, attentive, and he went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed. It's rare to find such genuine and helpful staff, and Fernando truly elevated our dining experience. If you're in Pasadena and looking for a place with fresh, tasty food and top-notch service, Urban Plates is the spot! We'll definitely be back. read more

Great food! Great ambience! We were helped by Nohemi, she was really nice! Super helpful!

Shout out to Monique for her customer service l! And she has a big pretty smile ohhh yea those cookies were read more

Urban Plates - Salad Near Me - Pasadena, California

Garett took good care of us and the food was great it came out fast and yes most definitely I would recommend a friend

First time here and the food was delicious! The steak with chimichurri is a must. The hospitality exceeded my expectations. Natalie was so friendly and offered great recommendations. Javier was very attentive and sociable, we actually thought he was the manager (he should be)! We will definitely be coming back. read more

We were traveling to Southern California and decided to check out Urban Plates so we took a little detour route. From the moment we entered the front door, we were greeted with a friendly cheerful voice and smile. We checked out their menu choices and decided on their steak and salad/veggies options and skipped the bread!! The chimichurri sauce was AWESOME!! Grass fed steak cooked to perfection. The salad was also delicious!! The employees walked around asking if everything was ok and if we needed anything. We had a very nice chat. At the time of the visit, there was a big devastated fire going. The gentleman thanked us for our support. Overall, an awesome experience. The food was fresh. A healthier choice. The quality was excellent. The service was superb!! The bathroom was clean!! Street meter parking. Nice looking patio. We will be back..... read more

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Love the cowgirl cookie! Fresh and good food. Love the salads and kids plates.....french fries are really good.

Always a great experience at this location. The satff is friendly and i appreciate Nohemi and Normas help on my visit!

Stephanie's service is amazing, she is a sweet lady and has a lot of patience during rush hour, Javi brought my food with great attitude and checked up on me the whole time. Stephanie's smile never goes away, thank you ! read more

Urban plates is one of my go to spots. The food is always fresh filling and really good great options and friendly service every time Lulu is an excellent server. read more

Fernando took my order and was super sweet, but what really inspired me to write this review was how he helped me when there was an issue with my order. I do enjoy the food a lot and with service like this I do intend on returning :-) read more