Caffe Mac

No, Caffe Mac ISN’T why I decided to work at Apple.
But if I had only known — this place is AMAZING!
Caffe’ Mac is the cafeteria at the Apple campus. There are technically two locations, and both have similar food quality/​type — though they both tend to serve different things on any given day. There’s a wok area, pizza, salad, pasta, a huge variety of desserts, a grill, a health food area, soup, etc etc. Sadly, you can only get in if you’re an employee (or friends with one).
Caffe Mac is reasonably priced, with an amazing variety of food, and open relatively late. The food is SO fresh — and literally everything that goes into each dish is listed, so you don’t have to worry about hidden things you’re allergic to, etc.
Bonus points for having LOADS of vegetarian options!

This is only for employees, why is it on Unilocal?I came here to eat because I found it on Unilocal,but I was not allowed to enter because I don’t work at Apple :/

I wont even lie and say that when contemplating taking the position on campus, Caffe Mac was my 2^nd thought! Its very comparable to the Cupertino location (minus the outdoor grill), and it was a delightful surprise.
The variety is so refreshing and nothing is «food as usual». The staff takes pride in service, presentation and taste.
Coming from retail to campus was such a step up from mall food court «food» to real fresh ingredients.
If I can figure out how not to buy two cookies a day… I’ll be great. Thank God for the onsite fitness center!

Ate here several times in December and it’s hands down one of the best workplace cafeterias. Tons of varieties and different types of cuisines. As an FYI to anyone visiting while they eat here (such as my case), only card is accepted for payment.

Great food and convenient. Wish there was a way to pre-​order your food such as email, text or call — the wait can be pretty lengthy is the only reason for not getting the 5^th star.

Compared to most workplace cafeterias: 5 stars
Compared to «normal» restaurants/​diners: 4+ stars
Yes, this place is fantastic, even when judged on its own merits. Good, fresh food prepared well. The pizzas are some of the best i’ve –ever– had. Huge variety, and even a good selection (every day!) of vegan and vegetarian options.

Fantastic!

I waited until I’d had at least 5 meals from Caffe Mac before writing this review. Firstly, I am extremely lucky to work for Apple. That being said, I usually avoid the local vendors in the workplace. I typically bring my lunch to keep things healthy on the day-​to-​day. Amazingly, Caffe Mac’s talented chefs manage to dish out deliciously health-​conscious meals three times a day with other options (free apples for employees) available during off hours. They use organic, local ingredients when possible… On any given day you can have pizza, sandwiches, tacos, burritos and salads made to your specifications right in front of you. In addition, there are «bistro», «veggelicious» and «health» menus that changes daily. The prices are fantastic as the business is very special due to its location on campus. After multiple visits and tests of almost all of the genres of cuisine available, I am safely 5-​starring this amazing establishment.

Very funny to see a workplace cafeteria on Unilocal.But you know what, this place is really, really good. This would be an awesome place to eat if it was a restaurant ‘on the outside’. Salmon dishes for $ 7, lots of veggie and vegan options, and incredible deserts (gran manier chocolate granache cake, c’mon!!). I look forward to eating here when I’m visiting Apple for business. Cash or employee badge only.

Best corporate food I’ve ever eaten! Very reasonable (where else can you get a huge vegan burger for $ 3??) and the quality’s just amazing (fresh, local and organic ingredients). The Temptations Rotation station (strategically placed right in front of the salad bar) is to die for! I am sure the same desserts would sell elsewhere for at least $ 6 – 7 a piece. At Caffe Macs, you can enjoy them for $ 2−3/piece.

I’ve been contracting here for six months and the café is like no other company cafeteria you’ve ever seen. There are chefs at every station, there’s fire-​roasted pizza, freah pasta, salad bar, burger bar, texmex station, and a bistro station. All are great, but the desserts are literally theicing on the cake! Entrees are a steal at $ 6 – 7 and desserts are just the right amount of food at $ 3. If you know someone who works at Apple, you can join them as a guest. You won’t be disappointed!

If you know someone who works at the Apple campus — am I the only one who didn’t know there was an «Apple Campus?» — get them to invite you for lunch here.
If you know that the best subsidized corporate/​institution/​museum/​hospital cafeteria places can be hidden gems, you’re gonna think Caffe Mac is Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
If you’re really smart and like wearing jeans and not shaving, then why aren’t you working for Apple and eating here all the time?
If you want to make really attractive women laugh as you’re signing in for a computerized guest badge, whip out your iPhone and say, «Look, I’ve got one.»
If you can’t decide among the half-​dozen food group option lines to stand in, go for the one doing the special entrée of the day — Salmon Negril with plantains for seven bucks will make you feel the gentle waft of Jamaican MacBook air.
If you really like gawking at incredible desserts that remind you of The Venetian and have to seriously resist trying them all… I’m not even going to finish this thought.
If you’re suddenly conscious of all the four and five star reviews you’ve been posting on Unilocal lately, you need to start hanging out in crappier places.

I’m glad Apple brought their great café to Austin. Great chefs, local ingredients, cheap prices.
Their food stations:
Bistro (fresh, local, and sometimes inventive on their ingredients)
Health (focused on fresh, local, and healthy)
Veggielicious (focused on vegetarian and sometimes with vegan options)
Grill (burgers, fries, grilled cheese)
South Of The Border (Spanish influenced meals, agua fresca)
Al Forno (pizza)
Pasta
Salad
Soup
Temptation Rotation Station (cakes, tarts, cookies)
Today’s lunch: Roasted ½ chicken with herb gravy, served with rustic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. (from the bistro)
— The potatoes were a little strong on the mustard seed, but it gave a great ‘potato salad’ feel and I ate it up quickly. They have always cooked the asparagus to perfection. I’m not a huge fan of chicken, but the meat was cooked perfectly. Juicy and tender, melts in your mouth.
Other great features:
— Faith, their pastry chef. I don’t know how to describe this talent, other than saying her creations are beyond amazing. Her dishes always flavorful and not overly sweet but decadent at the same time. Something you’d expect to make a reservation and pay $ 20+ for. All around the price of $ 1 – 3. Today I had the Caramelized peach financier with quince mousse from her menu. O.M.G. YUM!!!
— Agua Fresca. They only offer this bi-​weekly during the summers but they are worth getting. I think my favorite was the ginger peach with local Fredericksburg peaches.
— Their pizza is stone oven baked, and they sent their staff out to California to learn how the Cupertino café makes them.
— Although it’s not commonly found, they will have house made pasta on their menu. As somebody that makes her own pasta at home, it’s great to find places that will do the same. And with a tomato allergy, they have easily made a delicious sauce to match the dish for me.
— When the café first opened they had a Vegan chef dedicated to making vegetarian with vegan options. Her cooking was phenomenal, making me eat her dishes without thinking twice that there wasn’t any meat or dairy in it. She has since left, but they have worked to maintain a few options for those with vegetarian and vegan diets.
— They change their menu every day, so eating there everyday makes that an important feature. Also with each dish I find them perfectly seasoned, no need to ‘cover it up’ with salt and/​or spice.
Sometime in mid-​late 2009/​early 2010, the café underwent a remodel. Although the time during the remodel was long, it was a worthy investment. Before the food was really cheap, but fit directly under what you’d expect in a cafeteria. Everything scooped onto a place, nothing made to order, nothing obviously local or fresh caught. Not many options with allergies or dietary choices (vegetarian). After the remodel, the menu was completely revamped. Menu changed daily, and was made to order. I’m able to eat fresh, local, delicious fish and vegetables on a daily manner. Dishes run around $ 6 – 8, which for what you get is very low priced.
My only complaints:
— They’ve objected out of having pork on their menu, along with the California café. Their intentions were to lead a healthy lifestyle, but I find they could still find healthy ways to serve pork.
— The lines and waiting for your dish to be made is crowded and confusing. I’ve found myself in one of two lines for one station with only one chef. When you wait for a pizza to be made, you find yourself in the Spanish station. The staff try their best to work around it, but I find the café poorly designed for this.

You know, this is where I work so I am a bit jaded. They try really hard to come up with unique Apple quality dishes but some of them simply leave me scratching my head and wondering wtf they were thinking. I tend to stick to the tried and true dishes here and steer clear of the oddities. There are some winners in there for sure but there are some big losers too. I praise Caffe Mac for having A-​1 and Cholula in stock 97% of the time.