Jimmy Fifo Cafe

I guess this place has changed owners, and I don’t know what the new name is, but the food is unsurprisingly not delicious. Can’t be picky when you’re stuck on campus, but I corroborated my fear that campus eateries are far below par. I was stuck at Haas working on a project. When I arrived at the café I started ordering a salad, but then saw a sign with their specials and switched to the «jerk pork» sandwich, or so I thought. The cashier lady also didn’t seem to know what the item was, and kept walking back and forth to ask the chefs what the entrée contained. Even though we thought it was a sandwich, it turned out to be a rice bowl (probably something the kitchen decided to whip up with the ingredients on hand.) There is an ample amount of food, though I could get more for $ 7 elsewhere. The worst part was that the whole meal was rather bland, and I had to scatter salt on it to give it flavor.

Yuck. Just yuck.
I loved the old Jimmy Fifo (chicken bowl, asian food, so great). The new café is just way too overpriced, the food presentation is great (nice plates & compostable boxes) but the food itself isn’t very good. Seriously can’t believe it’s like close to $ 7 for a tiny burrito… I can feed myself at Chipotle/​La Burrita for that!
Also the decore is more upscale and I’m guessing they’re selling on the «atmosphere» but come on, busy students are looking for a good, hearty meal and this place does not deliver! Probably my only super negative review ever :(sad about the old owners leaving!

Aww I’m so sad this place is closing!
This is my go-​to lunch place on east campus. Ready-​made sandwiches are a mere $ 4.50, which for some are enough for 2 meals (for me, enough for 1). Their coffee is pretty decent and inexpensive. I’ve tried their sandwiches, burgers, quesadillas, and salads, and I’ve been impressed with the amount of food for the price as well as the quality. I’ll miss you, Jimmy Fifo.

So if you’re coming to this place then it probably means you’re probably running on a tight schedule and you don’t have time to anywhere else or you’re trying to find a place to study and have a quick snack. While there is an okay selection of food, it’s all overpriced and not that great. I usually get the cup of fruit ($ 3) every time I’m here doing work before class starts which is okay (you can’t really screw up on that). Today I decided to be a bit daring and order a Chicken Breast Panini which came with salsa and chips for $ 6.80. I was expecting something great but was majorly disappointed when I got what looked and tasted like a normal sandwich (bread felt old) along with a tablespoon of salsa and a few «chips» (7 small tortilla chips).
And I feel like this place doesn’t know much about hygiene. I go to sit down and at a table so I can do some work and eat while I wait for class only to find that the table is sticky and dirty. Umm okay… Let’s go to a different table then! Err same thing. Sticky… Fine whatever I’ll just make sure my hands don’t touch the table. While I was waiting for my «panini» I noticed the inside of the kitchen and it looked like a total mess. I just felt the horrible urge to go and clean it up (OCD?). How hard is it to keep the place clean people?
In the end, the place is: overpriced, unclean (dirty is too strong of a word), and bland

This is as good as it gets for a school cafeteria. The first counter has grab and go chinese/​korean food. I think the best values are House Chicken (served over a rice bowl) which is $ 5.50 and bibimpbap (sp) which is $ 6.50. You can pay cash right there at that counter and go on your way. They also accept credit card for purchases over $ 5, but you have to make your transaction at the counter by the soda machine.
If you want other cuisines, you can place your order for a burger, sandwich, wrap, salad, etc.
So if you have class at the Haas school of business or pass by this area during lunch break anyway, I would definitely suggest you try it out.
Note: their lease is up in November, so unless Haas students petition/​send emails to Susie, there will be a new cafeteria vendor come November/​December.

First in and first out? I don’t think so. Jimmy FIFO café can get really busy during lunch hours and a little slow. If you’re pressed for time grab one of the Korean BBQ bowls. It’s already prepared so you won’t have to experience the wait!
I have had the caribbean chicken wrap from here and a chicken teriyaki rice bowl with glass noodles. The Caribbean chicken wrap wasn’t that good. The combination of mangoes, chicken, and sauce did not combine together to make something extraordinary. Instead I felt unsatisfied with my wrap and barely ate half. It came with a side salad. It’s just your ordinary salad nothing special. The chicken teriyaki rice bowl was very chewy. The meat wasn’t tender and contained lots of fatty portions. The best part about the bowl was the glass noodles.
Come here only if you’re around Haas. Don’t go to great lengths to get mediocre food. If you’re in a rush grab a rice bowl. Bring cash because there is a $ 5 credit card minimum!

I admit, I’ll only come here when I’m pressed on time or feeling too lazy to walk off campus, but despite the reasons why I come, I am never disappointed!
Food: Tons of variety! You can grab something quick that is prepackaged like Chinese or sushi! You can go for a sandwich or a wrap (which are all delicious and they come with a side of salad or fries!). You can order fresh stir fry or some Chinese style option dish. You can get pizza! You can get a salad! There are so many options!
I’ve gotten a salad before and that was super yummy! I’ve order a turkey wrap before and that wasn’t bad. I’ve also had a sandwich before and they really top it off, you can eat half and save the other half for later! Easy on the pocketbook! :)
Ambiance: Very loud and kinda crowded but it’s a cafeteria…
Service: None, you bus yourself, it’s a cafeteria
Price: it’s all under $ 8 or $ 9 and most of the meals come with a drink! The food is pretty good for the price!
Overall, I wouldn’t make a special trip over here to try any of the lunch options but if you are around this area of campus and are looking for some thing quick and tasty to eat, you should try this place!

I got food poisoning from the chicken caesar wrap here. Three weeks later, my friend’s boyfriend got food poisoning from the chicken caesar wrap.
I used to buy food from here for the sake of convenience, but the food poisoning experience has kept me away.
Need I say more?

Hmm: this is the café at Haas. its alright. The only time I ever buy food here is if I’m ever dying of starvation and cannot make it across campus for other options. Lol! I like the name though: FIFO. First In, First Out (an accounting term, oh yeah!!) ;-D

3.5 stars. I just got the bibimbap from the Asian side of the café. The plastic box it came in was pretty small compared to a real bibimbap bowl. I think there were more bean sprouts and shredded carrots than rice. Flavor was a bit lacking but some sriracha sauce did the trick. I guess for $ 6.50 the meal was very average. I could’ve got more for the money elsewhere probably. For water, you have to ask for a cup and get the water from the soda vending.

4.5 stars for the food, 1 star for the wait = 2.75 stars average
My friend and I went had lunch here around noon and the service took forever to say the least. We ordered just a wrap and a burger and it took about 45 minutes for the people to prepare. Located in the heart of Haas, you’d think the café would cater to the fast paced people of the biz world. NOPE.
The chicken wrap that we got was toasted perfectly and the mango (surprising at this time of year as it was not the season for mangos) was a really nice combo. The chicken might have been a little dry, but they were very generous with the chicken and there was a delicious green sauce with it (possibly pesto?) that made the wrap very enjoyable to eat. At $ 6, this easily beats most wraps anywhere else.
The turkey burger was what my friend ordered for me and I thought it was really good. No sides are included at $ 5, but the burger was cooked nicely and seasoned well, the buns were very fresh, and the burger was better than somewhere like Bongo in my opinion.
If you’re not in a rush, I’d definitely recommend trying some of the food here, but if you’re on a time crunch, better give this place a raincheck.

The bibimbap was great (particularly the beef) and very reasonable. I also appreciated the huge variety. My only complaint is that the only soy sauce available (little packets) was watery and didn’t taste like anything more than salt water — very unpleasant! So I ended up not eating a lot of my rice because it had been contaminated. Get better soy sauce please!
But 4 stars anyway because it’s the only place that’s fast enough to provide an enjoyable meal during my 12 – 12:30 break. The seating outside is nice too.

I can’t believe I’m reviewing the café at Haas. Really overpriced; the parfaits are tiny and the fruit cups expensive. Great selection of Ritter/​Lindt chocolates and beverages. They have Ito-​En tea and lots of canned sodas! The variety of drinks in the fridges is pretty impressive.
Asian food stall inside the café is worth it with lots of yummy rice bowls.
The one thing I love from this café is heir corn quesadilla. I love my corn and their corn quesadilla is just super yummy to me. It comes with tomatilla salsa, sour cream, and pico de gallo.
I hate the five dollar minimum for credit card… it forces me to purchase an extra banana, or chocolates.

I would probably only give this place a 3.5, but I have no half-​star option):
Jimmy Fifo is great because of its location and its variety of foods!
Location: Pretty much the closest food option sold on the east side of campus if you don’t have meal points and don’t want to get ripped off at Ramona’s. Absolute best for people who are at Haas a lot.
Food: They offer like a million cuisines. Pizza, sandwiches, paninis, coffees, soups, salads, burritos, ETC. Not only that, but they have a speedy, cash-​only line where you can buy prepackaged Asian food. Also a great assortment of snacks.
Pricewise, I’d still say they’re on the expensive side. It costs like $ 3.80 or something for an iced white mocha (small), around $ 4 for a grilled cheese sandwich, etc etc. which in the overall scheme of things isn’t too bad. BUT if you consider I pay the same prices at like Starbucks, you can see that Jimmy Fifo is charging a premium. Hey, I know that $ 2 – 3 out of my $ 4 Starbucks frappé goes to paying for the brand, whereas Fifo doesn’t have as strong of a brand for me to buy into.
Service: Overall good. The Asian guy cashier is really nice.
Décor: I love the windy bar island counter on the left.
Regardless of price though, I’d still (and have) return here lots, because I love how close they are to my classes and how many options they offer!

4stars considering it is a on-​campus venue.
Jimmy Fifo serves the best food on campus. Its a mom&pop type place that serves great korean food (plus sandwiches, burgers, etc.) and has a bunch of packaged snacks on hand to hold you over during those awkward schedule breaks. The food is actually cooked by NICE real people and is nothing like all the over-​priced mass produced cardboard sold at the cal dining venues. You Haas kids have it good.

Best on-​campus food! Okay, granted, it’s not run by the Cal Dining, but that’s a GOOD thing. great for when you’re on-​the-​go and want an asian lunch or sandwiches. everything on the menu is made-​to-​order which makes it taste fresh!
i ordered the mediterranean chicken and it was so good i was surprised! it comes with tender chicken breast pieces, roasted eggplant, lettuce, tomato, and a sun-​dried tomato pesto. YUM! they serve it with a side of side of salsa and chips. filling and delicious for $ 6.50!
they also have very good to-​go hot lunches. they even have a separate line for this so you can just grab and go! they have chicken katsu, bulgogi with jap chae, house chicken, teriyaki chicken, curry, bibimbop, potstickers, sushi. everything is under $ 6, too! the chicken is tender and the bibimbop comes with an egg whose yolk is still runny — yummy! i’d pass on the potstickers though, i think they just use those ling ling potstickers from costco!

If you want a cheap but tasty Korean food fix, this is the place to go! Hot damn, their $ 5 to-​go bowls are a steal — huge portions, bowls are kept hot on a food warmer until you request which kind, pay and bounce within a few minutes if the line isn’t too long.
There are a bunch of different bowl options from teriyaki chicken to katsu to spicy Korean noodles, etc.
I got the teriyaki chicken with rice and japchae. I’ve had better japchae, but it was all still tasty. And big plus — they have huge bottles of sriracha around so that definitely made my lunch complete. I can’t do without some spice!
I probably won’t be coming here that often though, only because I hardly make it to this side of campus, but if I’m in the area and need a quick, cheap lunch, I’ll make my way over!

I always grab food from the to-​go table b/​c lunch times are ALWAYS packed. Have not tried the actual deli /​grill yet.
Food: I usually get the chicken teryaki bowl or the spicy korean noodle bowl. They are decent for just $ 5. A bit on the oily side, but whatever. Sometimes the chicken is a bit tough. But it will fill you up if you’re on the go and cannot run all the way down to south side for a Subway or something.
Price: $ 5 for lunch is a bargain!
Seating: I usually eat here by myself b/​c I am killing time between classes, so it’s fairly easy to grab a seat for a single person. The bar-​style tables are also good for single seating. Once noon hits, the line does get long and you’re more hard-​pressed to find a seat. I recommend heading upstairs to the Bank of America forum to sit if you want to. If it’s a nice day, eat outside!
Bathrooms: Since this is located in Haas, there are plentiful bathrooms. One is on the first floor just down the hall from this restaurant, or you can go upstairs.
Bottom line: I really like to study in the Haas Library, so I appreciate not having to leave the building to grab food.

I’m extremely happy with the changes made this past year. Granted my opinion is biased as I manage the place, but I am so happy to see people responding positively to the changes my team and I have been striving for. Keep giving me feedback people! I want to make Jimmy Fifo a place that the majority can be happy with. If you don’t tell me something is bothering you I can’t change it!
Note to our customers: The café closes for every school closing… spring break, winter break, holidays, thanksgiving, etc… We go by the academic calendar put out by the school. Just a heads up!

I never wrote a review for this place?! Gasp!
This is my favorite go-​to for when I want a quick and yummy lunch. Since I’m at Minor Hall all day with only 30 – 60 min for lunch, this is the easiest and fastest, and thankfully one of the cheapest meals I can get. What more could I ask for? I came here a couple times last year, but it never stood out to me, and I thought it was a little on the expensive side too.
But…ever since it changed ownership to the nice Koreans, I’ve been really impressed with how the place has transformed. They still have all the sandwiches and wraps as they did last year (Caribbean Chicken Wrap FTW… or Garlic Chicken Wrap?), but even better are the Grab & Go items. I am addicted to the $ 6 bibimbap (and if you ask nicely she’ll even give you an extra container of gochujang!) and most recently the $ 5 Korean curry. All their Grab & Go items are quite large portions — you could easily make it two meals (thus making it an even better meal than it already is), but it’s usually so good I can’t stop myself from eating it all in one sitting. Will have to work on that discipline a little more.
There was one time when I tried to go during spring break and it was closed. It was a very sad day when I had to trudge over to the Faculty Club instead…(which isn’t bad, but the new and improved Jimmy Fifo Café is so much better in comparison now!)