Café Espresso

DO NOT GET ANYTHING FROM THEM THAT REQUIRES TIME TO MAKE. They seriously took 30min just to make my tuna melt and it got to 15orders after before they finished mine. Aside from that issue, I guess they’re okay.

Yum! This is the closest thing to lunch you can get on ring road. The salads, sandwiches, bagels are all delicious. Is this the best food in the world? No, it’s not. But it’s the best you’re going to find inside the school, except the student fundraisers.
I always get their salads or the breakfast burrito. Yes, their eggs are fake. No, I haven’t gotten green eggs yet. (I only get eggs in the morning. This place closes at 5 and I would not get an egg item around then.) The tea selection is also good for when I forget to bring my own. The coffee is usually better than Java City but not as good as Starbucks.

I used to frequent Café Espresso, but after they hired some new employees service has really gone downhill. The California wrap I always ordered comes with tomato, avocado, bacon, eggs, onion, salsa and cheese. It is usually delicious, but two times in a row it came with ONLY EGGS and a single strip of BACON. Additionally, the coffee and espresso are very bitter.
Campus food isn’t that great to begin with, but you are better off going to Pheonix grill or Java city.

Café Espresso is one of my go-​to lunch locations on and around UCI campus. I don’t usually indulge in their coffee and beverages, but I enjoy their various sandwiches and salads. One of my favorites is the grilled chicken sandwich on squaw bread. Their ingredients taste fresh and the sandwiches are filling. Also the Cobb salad has tided me over on many an afternoon when I needed to grab a quick meal from their stack of pre-​made salads.
Service can be slow sometimes, especially right when classes let out, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait during the lunch rush.

I usually go here every day before work, but today I got the breakfast croissant with ham. I ate about ¼ of the sandwich when I saw that the eggs were green. Not only that but it smelled so bad. I paid $ 6 for this, such a waste! It’s disgusting and they shouldn’t be using rotten eggs for their customers. I’m definitely throwing this out along with the $ 6 that I spent on this.

The staff here are always friendly and the sandwiches are always delicious. Haven’t tried their wraps or drinks, but I love grabbing a sandwich when I’m passing by. This is a fantastic alternative to all the Aramark-​run places on campus, I’m so glad it exists.

Paid 7 dollars for a california wrap and it only had eggs and bacon in it. wat. Their sandwiches are pretty good though.

Honestly sounds like a lot of people don’t like their drinks for some reason. Personally though, I think they’re pretty good! Yeah maybe you like Starbucks’ style or taste but the drinks here are at least a little different and personally for their fraps, I like how creamy the texture can be. If you don’t like that, this place probably isn’t for you sine their drinks tend to be a bit on the thicker side. Also, if you have a sweet tooth, go for it! If not, opt for something else but I still think it’s a great place to at least try. In terms of food, I’ve never had any of them but I DID notice that people tend to order that a lot.

The worst coffee I’ve ever had! What a ripoff! It is not expresso more like worst tasting thing from old cheap coffee maker… save your 5 bucks and go to Starbucks…

Looks like all the reviews below are all complaints about the drinks, but since I’ve never had them, I’ll talk about the food! I love grabbing a quick lunch at this place because their ingredients are so fresh, tasty, and healthy!
–Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($ 7.54): Grilled chicken, melted cheese, avocado, tomato, bacon, crispy lettuce, all on toasted bread. So simple, but so perfect.
–California Breakfast Bagel: It always comes out fresh and steaming hot with melted cheese, egg, avocado, tomato, and bacon or ham. I usually get ham. So delicious.
–Turkey Sandwich: Again, such a simple sandwich, but the freshness and quality makes it so good!
–Chocolate Chip Cookie: Okay, so I picked one of these up. They were laying next to the cash register and wrapped in plastic wrap. So I thought to myself, «Ooh!
–Homemade cookies!» and bought one before hurrying off to discussion in MSTB. As I took a bite, I cringed in disgust. These cookies tasted like feet. Ugh. Never get the cookies… they were kind of crumbly, too.
Overall, pretty fast service to me (except you have to wait a bit longer for the grilled chicken). I haven’t had a problem. Sandwiches are delicious! I love escaping to this place whenever I need a quick fix of fresh sandwiches (because Subways doesn’t cut it for me).

Every time I come here and buy a drink I immediately regret buying it after taking a sip. Although this place is called «Café Espresso», save yourself 5 bucks and do NOT get any of their espresso drinks. I got a caramel macchiato during my break and it gave me a stomach ache. I have tried their french vanilla ice blended too and it just tasted like milk blended with ice. Also, I am pretty sure I saw them make their mochas with nesquick powder. although it could have been a different concoction inside a nesquick container.
Their pastries are from Costco, so just stick to their food and croissants (this is the only reason I didn’t give them 1 star). Just beware that this place is ridiculously priced.

It’s okay. I like their wraps and grilled sandwiches. Never get the drinks, heard they were too sweet. The reason why I am going to give it a 1 is because they are stingy on the damn sauce. Lol. If you run out and there’s green chilli sauce left, why is it so bad let us improvise? Stop being cheap on the sauce man. haha. My order was like super bland today. I kind of wish I had salt and pepper because it is so bland. Just bring your own sauce, seriously.
Most of all just ruude ruude ruude service. Will never tip again.

This place has the absolute worst Matcha Green Tea Latte I’ve ever had in my life! Diabetes overload in a cup and it had an off distinct smell. Took a sip and I felt like I was drinking pure milky green syrup from a cup. Way, way too sweet. $ 4.52 down the drain. So sad. Another thing, while you wait in line, a barista goes down the line and writes your order on a post-​it note. You take that post-​it note and give it to the cashier so they can make your drink. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t just tell them our orders directly. Y’all should save those post-​its! I’d much rather take a walk to Java City Kiosk which is nearby. But if you decide to come here anyway, just stick with your coffee. There are also some foods here too for when you’re hoongray! And don’t forget there’s a $ 5 minimum credit charge. K bye!

— Credit card minimum of 5 bucks
— Costco Pastries
— Slow Service
— Bad coffee.

Little expensive, but if this is all you have time for, I’d say go for it. I think the food selection here is better than Java City, but the drinks are only okay. This place can get crowded, especially at those awkward in-​between-​class times (ex. between 11:50 — 12:00 or 12:20 — 12:30) because people are hungry and want something quick, so try to avoid any of those times. Other than that, I’d say this place is just alright, but it’s a nice convenience to have on campus.

ZOMG quite the secret food place!
So I don’t drink coffee or anything like that really, so I always ignored this «coffee stand.» One day while waiting in line with someone else who was buying something, I noticed they have sandwiches and other stuff on the menu. I ordered a turkey wrap and WOWOW! Everything was super fresh and tasted as good as any other sit-​down place!
The service is a little slow but I guess some of that could be blamed on the fact that they are actually preparing the bulk of stuff right there on the spot. I think they could definitely use some lessons in operations management to easily speed things up 30% or more… gosh you would think being surrounded by people studying things like this they would be able to run at max efficiency lol
In any case, they have a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches, drinks, etc., and never really a very long line. Good stuff!

Their croissants are freaking good, but after going to Irvine for 3 years, I’ve noticed a considerable change in prices. Up and up and up.
le sigh… I used to eat a ham&cheese croissant before/​during class at least 2 times a week. Now, I probably stop by 2 times a month.
Service is fast, coffee is strong (which i like) and their wrap/​sandwiches are really good! Definitely a keeper on campus.

The Razzle Dazzle smoothie (strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, orange juice) tastes EXACTLY like a gigantic, never-​ending Strawberry Starburst. It is just as sweet too.
Will adjust the rating when I try other things here… but I’m avoiding the smoothies for now (2-​star smoothie). Excellent service though.

This place is very convenient since it locates right outside the PSLH building where a bio student will have many lectures in. The food is pretty decent even though it tends to be a little bit pricey.

I like their apple fritters and breakfast stuff since they cook it fresh for you. They also have some sauces such as siracha, mustard on the side of the store and the coffee bar is usually stocked with creamery, sugars and such (i don’t drink coffee but it’s good to know i have the options: D).
However, if you want to buy the Sobe or Lipton bottled drink, walk to the vending machine next to Steinhaus hall. It’s cheaper over there (i don’t know why).

This is actually on the UCI campus next to Reines Hall. I thought this little permanent cart place only sold coffee! I haven’t tried their coffee though… But to my suprise, they have food items. Their sandwiches are delicious especially the croissant breakfast ones. They have a new chicken teriyaki bowl which is surprisingly good! The chicken didn’t look like how chicken teriyaki usually does but it was yummy! It came with a «salad» with bell peppers and such and TWO PICKLES! yay! Haha. The ladies working were really nice also.
My only complaint is that it’s expensive… but there’s a sign that basically says since the owner’s price went up, everything is inflated 10%. Lame.
But, quality ingredients, fast, fresh & convenient.