Norseman Restaurant

This place has pretty good food for a reasonable price. Service is kind of hit and miss as the «staff» are culinary students in training and not professional servers so I’m giving them a break. They are not open year around and the menu changes during the course of the academic year. If you’re in the area and have the time and patience, I would encourage you to try it out. It’s hard to find if you don’t know the location (right above the cafeteria on campus). Even most of the students don’t know where it is. Parking is in the lots surrounding the campus and cost $ 3 minimum at the self-​service machines. You will need the three hour pass at least. Just remember this is NOT a regular full-​service restaurant but a restaurant run by the culinary arts school so be patient and you won’t be disappointed. The «fixed price special» was $ 15.95 and included a selection from either soup, appetizer or salad, and an entrée and a dessert. Beverages are not included in the fixed price menu. You can also order selections individually.

Food coming from students that are training to become chefs. The food was well prepared and presented. Hand made drinks (I ordered the strawberry lemonade) as for dessert i went with the Honey crisp with strawberry glaze along with hand made crème.
my overall experience was very satisfying.
I highly recommend The Norseman Grill, if you enjoy great tasting food for a reasonable price.

Fabulous inexpensive fine dining. The food was good and the staff are very attentive. My 7 coworkers and I made reservations for this restaurant for our annual department Holiday Lunch because a few of us had been before and enjoyed it. Service was consistent and the courses flowed appropriately. My only complaint would be the dessert. Once seated with the menu, most of us chose our dessert before our meals. The menu had 4 different selections for dessert, but in the middle of dining, we were told that due to our group size, we would have one specially made for us, no other option. It was an apple crisp, not on the menu, but it was okay, just not what we wanted.

Very inexpensive. Obviously, students serving you, students cooking for you, and students leading the program. Overall, very good. The food is excellent, the service is top notch (all tips are donated to the school) and you can’t beat the prices. However, only open Tu-​Th. 11 til 1.

Some of the reviews don’t reflect the current setup. Here’s how it works as of 2015:
In the nice new HSF building on the Diablo Valley College campus, there are several places to eat. There’s a cafeteria downstairs. Upstairs, there’s the Express, the Pastry Shop, and the Norseman. The Express is good quality steam table food. The Pastry Shop is an excellent patisserie/​bakery. The Norseman is a sit-​down, white tablecloth restaurant. All of these upstairs eating spots are part of DVC’s culinary programs, so students are preparing and serving the food.
The Norseman is a mix of casual (because it’s on a college campus, staffed by students, patronized by whoever’s around) and schmancy (excellent ingredients, interesting dishes). The prices are low because it’s a learning experience for the students. If you’re in the area and have $ 3 for a parking pass, you should give it a try.
You can order ala carte or do the prix fixe option, which is a great value. Everything I’ve eaten here has ranged from «fine» to «outstanding».
P. S. M-​Th lunch only, short hours.

I don’t know about the 5 star reviews… the Norseman is exclusively a cook /​chef in training staff.
They often have some really good items to offer, but sometimes inconsistent, which is to be expected since they’re learning.
Prices are great for what you get, and it’s even cheaper when near closing time.
Some of the staff are very inefficient and seem lost, floating around here & there, basically getting in the way and making the line move slower…, but, again, they’re still learning.
Overall, it’s good, worth it, and better than a bag of chips from the bookstore.

They need to advertise this amazing place. You will be treated well with great service and delicious food with a good deal.
You pay $ 3 parking if you want to park near the restaurant, but it is still a good deal. The restaurant is open between 11 am to 1 pm. Finding a parking spot is not hard since the students are coming and going all the time.
The menu changes every week, I think. This week I had Miso Marinated Salmon, refreshing rolls (ultra-​thin sliced cucumber rolls with Julienned carrots, Daikon radish, and avocado) with soy-​based dipping sauce, Miso soup, and green salad with sesame dressing.
Miso soup was simple, but had a deep Umami flavor. I felt so satisfied. Much better than the regular freebie miso soup at the Japanese restaurant. Refreshing rolls are so pretty in presentation (imagine «vegetable Sushi rolls without fish, seaweed, or rice). I wanted to eat more of those. It was an appetizer so there were only four of them. Salmon was so good! Perfectly cooked, and miso flavor worked well. It came with Udon noodle and vegetables with ginger sauce. it was a great company for salmon.
I wanted to try Sushi rolls that I saw at the other tables nearby, but whole service took more than one hour, and I felt so relaxed and satisfied already. I will try Sushi next week. I hope they have Sushi again. Oh, you should know that the service was done by the DVC culinary students, and the food was done by the students as their class. If you think the serve is slow, this is why. But they are doing a good job every time I go. They are always polite and they do it right. I go to eat there not only to support the program, but also I love the whole experience.

High class food served with pride at a low cost. Defintely worth the experience. everything was perfect. Calling ahead for reservatons good idea. parking $ 3.00.

Wonderful service… The food was outstanding! I had Baked Salmon with
Sour Cream Sauce. My friend had Chicken Schnitzel Caprese with Irish Mashed Potatoes. Each priced under $ 8.00. As they just re-​opened for this season it is a must if you like good food. Only open 11:30 — 1:00 pm
Tuesday, Wed. and Thursday. They only accept cash. Parking is $ 3.00
in lot #8…I asked why no web site with menu as the selection changes
each week.

Loved this place. Servers struggle, but heck it is a learning experience. The food is wonderful. I want to go back more often. Even after an entire glass of iced tea was spilled on me. Felt sooooooooo sorry for the waiter, he really tried hard. We went with a party of 6 and had wonderful food and a great time.

~CASH ONLY~
There is the «buffet line» (often a fan) or if you have more time, then try the «sit down» menu with FULL Service wait staff (haven’t tried it yet).
The buffet style menu is simple and FAB. In general, the food is perfectly cooked and usually kinda bland. I’ve never added salt, but often hoped for some kind of spice or something.
*The various Salads are 95% on point; the house-​made dressings are delicious and the greens are ALWAYS very fresh. They occasionally get super chinzy on the portion size (even as an individually purchased side).
IF you’re hungry between 11am-​1pm head to the Norseman (looks over the fountain); for $ 1 you can get something delicious to hold you over until the next class *wink*
IF you’re really hungry then get the Entrée + 2 side for $ 4 and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’ve NEVER had never had a «bad meal» here. Although the portion sizes are often on the small side.
I’ll try the «sit down» restaurant and let you know…

Culinary students run this café. Aways the best place to eat before they are sent out to the real restaurant world where their dreams of chefness are corrupted.

Seeing that I am a graduate of this program I am going to be a little bias, but when it comes to good food at a cheap price this is the best deal in the east bay.
There is no other place in the area that you can get White Table Top service for under $ 10 per person.
The menu is on a rotating basis, that lasts about 2 weeks.
The biggest thing to remember when you eat at the Norseman is that this is a learning experience for all the servers and cooks, so just be patient.

Want a cheap fine dining restaurant? Always wanted to be served high class food like the monopoly guy? Well then this is your answer!
This place is great, finally a fine dining restaurant that I can go to with a t-​shirt on. Run by students, cooked by students, served by students, and definitely priced for students. Definitely ask your waiter what’s good that day, because the menu is always changing and you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes the student cooks will turn out a bad dish, but sometimes you’ll get someone who really knows what they’re doing and you won’t be able to compare your meal to anything else.
Yes, definitely reserve a table and spend a few lunches at the Norsemen. I’ve enjoyed every meal i’ve had there

If you are a student at DVC or work near this college campus, you need to check out this hidden gem!
It’s been about 15 years since I went to DVC… but now my Mom is retired and going back to school to get her culinary degree as a pastry chef. We stopped in here today to check out their restaurant because my Mom heard really great things about it. It’s a restaurant ran by the hotel and restaurant management teachers and students.
Today they were serving a French menu. For an appetizer we ordered the fried gnocchi and shared a beet salad. Wow… for college campus food it was phenomenal! I was totally blown away by how good it was!
The beet salad consisted of red and yellow beets marinated on top of spinach salad and yellow cherry tomatoes with a sweet vinaigrette dressing! YUM!
The fried gnocchi was devoured quickly. Little bites of gnocchi fried and drizzled with a browned butter sauce with garlic. I couldn’t stop eating them. Very very good!
My Mom and I both got the Beef Wellington rare that was served with florets of broccoli and mashed potatoes that were not your ordinary mashers. They were crispy on top and mashy and tasty in the middle. Mmmmm!
We got dessert too and had the strawberry crêpe filled with strawberry yogurt and drizzled with butterscotch.
Service was excellent as well. Catering students were taking orders and serving meals and our server did a marvelous job although he seemed sort of nervous. Instructors were also in the room too asking people how they liked their meals and of course my Mom was telling everyone how excited she was to be coming to school here in the Fall ;) Such a bragger!
Our amazing meal came to $ 29.50. Deal! A meal like this anywhere else would have cost over $ 100. You are not going to get romantic ambiance here and the décor is so-​so but for good college food, this is a must to try out sometime!
I will definitely be back… they are only open Wed and Thurs from 11am to 1pm.