The Café at the End of the Universe

This café is located inside the Griffith Observatory. They have mostly Wolfgang Puck pre-​prepared items like sandwiches, salads, wraps and hot items like macaroni and cheese. If you know me, then you know I went with the macaroni and cheese. It was warm, comforting, heavy on the cheese sauce but the noodles were a little too soft to my liking. It was pretty standard. The place was empty when we went since it was mid afternoon. They also have bottled drinks, hot drinks, and dispensed sodas. The service was okay. There are a few registers where you can pay for your snacks. There are plenty of tables to enjoy your food at inside and outside. The views are really fantastic. It’s convenient if you didn’t bring any food or drink with you and worth a visit if you are hungry.

Oh my. I am a big fan of Spagos and had my wedding at Granita which was a wolfgang puck restaurant in Malibu. This is no wolfgang puck restaurant or café or deli. What a way to damage a brand. More like a bad Taco Bell with pre made old Wolfgang puck sandwiches. If I was part of the Wolfgang Puck organization, I would want my name removed. Hey, maybe the Patina Group could take over and actually make a respectable café or restaurant out of what could be an awesome venue? By the way, I am not part of that group either. Safe to get: bottles of water and bags of chips. Skip the rest.

I’m glad that the observatory has food. But if you come in here too late, the fresh food is shut down and you are left with packaged food. Service is pretty slow and this place is generally littered with crumbs everywhere. The one table that was open had a plethora of cheez-​it crumbs everywhere.
If you’re just looking for coffee, soda, chips, or candy, then this is an a-​okay place. Be prepared to pay way more than what the food is worth though. Pricey!

We came here on Sunday at 5:30 pm, not at closing time or anything. They were out of mac and cheese! They had very good mac and cheese, my kids were really looking forward to it after 2 hour hike. Very disappointing. They were out of one soup and something else. Ice cream bars cost $ 4.15. Mocca tasted like hot chocolate. View of the sunset — priceless.

Very expensive food, very slow service and the floor layout of the café was not designed such that the flow of traffic will be smooth. Quality of food not so good as well.
However, the view of the mountains can’t be beat. The patio is relaxing and has a fantastic view of the city. Other than that, there’s really not much going for this place.

Total garbage food and way too expensive. I don’t expect anything fancy from a plate of nachos but I do expect the chips to not be completely stale and the cheese to be, oh I don’t know, cheese? Gross.

If a relaxing patio café with incomparable views of the Los Angeles basin is craved, then this End of the Universe is for you! Most of the quick salads and sandwiches are pre– packaged «Puck». There is a counter that makes a limited menu of hot entrees as well. More cafeteria style to serve the guests visiting or working at the Griffith Observatory.

Thank goodness there is a place to eat here! I was starving by the time I reached the Griffith Observatory.
The Café is at the Lower Level of the Observatory. You could reach it by the indoor elevators, the stairs indoors or by stairs outdoors.
The Café is a good size, seemed like plenty of seating indoors and outdoors, but I could imagine this place filling up easily. My sister and I were able to find seating the two times we came to the café.
As you walk in from the indoor entrance, off to the left they have an area where you can place a food order that is available listed on the board. Someone behind the counter will serve you. They do offer a kids menu… I didn’t notice the meal options nor the price for the kids menu.
We couldn’t make up our minds which to order because the selections sounded very good, but then again it could have been my stomach looking, my hunger taking over. We got a serving of the Garlic Roasted Potato salad, Mediterranean Salad and the Curry Couscous. On the way to the register my dessert radar alert went off and off to the right I went where some yummy desserts were displayed. We got a Lemon Bar, Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and something called Lamington (pound cake like, covered in chocolate frosting and sprinkled in the tiniest, shredded coconut I’ve ever seen.)
Everything is priced high, but I usually expect that whenever going to a tourist spot, so it wasn’t a too much of a shocker.
The food that we got were tasty, but even better when we added a bit more salt to bring out more flavor. Although the couscous could have used a pinch more of curry. The portions are small, my sister and I shared the 3 food items, as well as the desserts. The only items that we got for ourselves were the bag of chips. I insisted that we get our own since we all know, the bags are usually filled with more air than chips… it was the right call.
The desserts were ok to me, but my sister said the lemon bar was on spot. A little more tartness would have made me fight for the lemon bar. The Lamington was a nice surprise, but a little dry. The chocolate chip cookie (it’s a huge cookie) I could skip next time around. The brownie was dense, moist and tasty, thumbs up on that one.
The Café is very open and spacious. It does have a lot of natural light coming in from the large windows that also provides a beautiful view.
There are restrooms provided in the Café (convenient) but women, be warned, as always never enough stalls in the women’s restroom. I think there were 3, not sure about the men’s restrooms.
Also convenient is the gift shop right across from the Café. The service was good at the food station and at the register.
I would surely return to the Café when my stomach does the talking.

What a joke… I came here with my family after getting stuck in Griffith Park traffic for an hour. Came for dinner after checking the website which showed the restaurant closing at 9pm. Got here just to see a sign posted on the grill «kitchen closes daily at 7pm» unfortunately for those a of us that made the drive, it was 7:45 and the staff was absolutely unwilling to accommodate. They acknowledged that the website info was incorrect but said they they could not change it nor accommodate us in any way. I understand that this concession is on a publicly owned property, I imagine their agreement with the city is to stay open until 9. Hence, the website incorrectly shows them serving food until 9. Not OK.

The Café at the End of the Universe is significantly less cool than it sounds with a name like that. I guess expecting some intergalactic ambience and a side of Romulan Ale was too much.
I have occasionally found myself to be quite hungry while sciencing at the Griffith Observatory, so I figured the best bet was to head straight for the café and emerge with a plate of nachos. These are $ 6 nachos, by the way. The café is set up cafeteria-​style, and it does offer a pretty sweet view of basically everything.
The nacho-​procuring process is really slow, and they aren’t the best. They’re a plate of tortilla chips covered in fake cheese, guacamole and pico de gallo. I get that you don’t really come to the observatory for nachos, but the quality of nachos still heavily influences my opinion on any given location. These are definitely not the best. Definitely not OUT OF THIS WORLD, as it were.

Since you don’t have any other choices at the top if you didn’t pack a picnic, then this place is it… the Café at the End of the Universe.
They have a variety of items, from the grill or the fridge, but everything is overpriced and really not that good.
I believe I grabbed a turkey sandwich, a parfait, and a mocha — over $ 20.
However, I still recommend stopping there for a drink and a sandwich and sitting at the outdoor tables… which host a spectacular view of the LA basin. We ended up going twice that day… and it’s nice to know that you can sit at the inside tables too if it is too hot or rainy outside… and the lights inside remind me of stars.

Very busy on weekends, service is okay, has a nice gift shop, great view of the city.

Maybe this is the only place for people to eat at Griffith Observatory. You will have a good view here, but the food is not that great. Price is very high. There was only one waiter there, he is both the waiter and the cashier. I ordered a hot dog, and he only served me bread and a sausage, without any sauce. He asked me to serve the hot dog with sauce by myself. This kind of service is not worth nearly 6 dollars. Though this café has a great name, it is not great at all.

Wolfgang Puck’s café at the end of the universe is really quite underwhelming food is not very good the selection is bad the service is slow the venue however is absolutely amazing probably the most iconic site in Los Angeles from anywhere in Hollywood it’s a shame that such a beautiful venue doesn’t have better food to match I do highly recommend bringing your own sack lunch come on Observatory you renovated the most beautiful building in the city at least get food that somewhat matches Wolfgang puck sorry to say you’re no Academy award winner here

Man, can the prices get any higher? There’s nothing so over amazing about this eatery at the end of the observatory tour that makes you want to pay any higher than normal prices. You are just a quick ten minute drive down the hill to reasonable rates. So maybe you are paying for the view from the terrace seating. That def gets some more stars, but nearly $ 8 for a water? C’mon…I’ll enjoy the tour, pay for the movie, and by pass the snack bar.

With such an amazing view it’s a missed opportunity to have a more quality food selection. It’s comfortable and attractive, but a bit over priced and lacking in any culinary flair at all. I was able to find snacks for the kids but passed for myself.

It’s a deli that actually doesn’t seem to produce much of its own food, but rather outsources it and brings it in to heat and serve.
The sandwiches looked unappetizing, the salads were uninspired, and the pasta was so-​so. And the prices, well, it’s like being in an airport — expensive, but no other options here (any fast food would make a killing here).
The one thing they have going for them — an amazing view.

The hubby and I come here to have some snacks and refreshment after our hike up from the back of the observatory often. The futuristic looking café offers a wide range of soft drinks and snacks even some simple hot meals. We’ve never had hot meals here, so the review is for drinks and snacks only.
Basically, you pick up what you want and step up to the cashier to pay. I like the ice tea here. You can mix up to 4 different kind of teas if you like. Although the price is a little high, we continue to come here to rest and replenish before we go back on the hiking trail.

Great view but you can bring your own food and get a great view anywhere around the park.
The food and drinks are over-​priced even if they have ready-​made Wolfgang Puck salads.
If you’re taking a significant other, you’ll get more points if you pack a picnic basket and eat elsewhere.
If you have a family, have the kids eat elsewhere before or after

My date asked me what had I eaten earlier in the day, I replied «popcorn.» He said «that is not dinner.» We were about to enter a long line for a space lecture and just before it started, he led me here. Located downstairs in the observatory, near the gift shop it is set up cafeteria style.
Salads, juices, sandwiches, chips and cookies. The only vegetarian salad was a Greek one that he saw first and handed to me. The others had chicken in them.
I saw a sign that said tofu and broccoli, Szechwan green beans with fried rice. A hot dinner sounded better. How good or bad could it be?
Got up to the front to the cashier and inquired. Was told someone would get it right away. I watched and waited as a man went behind another counter. I was suspicious, he opened a steel door and behind there it was hidden. The hot entrees were stacked in trays. He scooped up the tofu broccoli and Szechwan green beans onto the plate. It looked mushy and overcooked.
I joined my date in line at the cashier. He got a tuna salad sandwich.
Sat down inside to eat, his sandwich was so big that he had to cut in half. I noticed it was meager on the lettuce. He said it tasted «ok.» I think I should have stayed with his first hunch, that Greek salad which looked fresher. The tofu broccoli and Szechwan green beans were indeed mushy, overcooked and way too salty, 1 – 2 stars at best.
While seated indoors, noticed there were chairs and tables with no servers or hostesses outside so it was a seat yourself basis. A marine layer had settled on L.A. so the outside view was not as spectacular as it could have been.
Nevertheless, a romantic spot, perfect for lunch/​dinner/​picnic for that matter. After the space lecture we came back out to this spot which overlooks the canyon and the city lights. Lots of canoodling couples in the evening. A 5 star destination in the evening.
Beware of wildlife to and fro this restaurant. A coyote ran across the very dark street on the drive down the canyon.