Metro Cafe

I’ve been commuting to and from Union Station for almost 3 years now and didn’t know this place existed until yesterday. It’s an employee cafeteria open to the public. The food is cheap and good, and you cannot beat the atmosphere. It’s like taking a step back in time. Beautiful murals, high ceilings, huge windows with fantastic views of downtown. I highly recommend checking this place out. Cheers!

Metro Café is a really great environment with great food and service!
Their catering is really reliable and friendly staff to work with. It’s mostly Metro Station corporate employees who eat there but the café is very large, spacious and clean. Prices are great too!

Metro’s cafeteria may not have 4-​star food, but it merits one extra star for location and value. Just steps away from the East Portal of Union Station, this affordable employee cafeteria is open to the public for breakfast and lunch. Just enter Metro Headquarters (aka «The Taj Majal») and take the escalators up to the 3^rd floor. Turn left and you’ll be at the entrance. No need to check in with security, that’s only required for going up the elevators to the Metro and Metrolink offices. Note the beautiful paintings depicting the history of transportation in Los Angeles.
The Metro Café is open weekdays for breakfast and lunch and offers both hot and cold items. You can get a breakfast cooked to order, or choose from a large variety of cereals and pastries. There’s coffee and orange juice too. For lunch there is a sandwich bar and a salad bar. There are also the standard burgers and lunch specials, including Asian and Mexican dishes. My favorite is the cook to order station where you tell the cook just what you want. I had a very decent chicken and veggie pesto pasta with a drink for just $ 8.50 ! On a previous visit, I had a Mongolian beef and veggie stir fry with rice for a similarly low price.
The café overlooks the tracks at Union Station, so it’s a great place to go if you like to watch trains coming in and out of the station. The best place to view this activity is a couple of chairs and tables at the north window, just beyond the cashier. The outdoor deck is nice too, but you have to stand up, or be very tall, to get a good view.