Crystal Cove Cafe

This place gives you the bang for you bucks in Irvine! You can get a healthy and filling meal for under $ 8. Most places around the area would price this amount of food for $ 12 – 15. Come try this place for breakfast and lunch! You will come back for their healthy food selections.

Very hidden gem! Came here because I worked down the street and saw how cheap the pricing was. Good food. Very friendly people.

Thank you Unilocalers!!! Had no idea I’ve been working for over three years so close to this hidden gem! Would not have found this reasonably priced café if it weren’t for the pics, directions and reviews. You all are the best. This will be a go to lunch spot where I can grab a bite and get a nice walk all in one lunch break.

Breakfast Burrito FTW.
I used to work in the same plaza as this café which is located on the side of the SkyWorks Building. I used to go here for lunch and could usually get a decent quantity of food for below $ 6. Not bad.
Nowadays, i moved outta this complex but am still in the area, so when I get the hankering in the morning, I may drop by from time to time to get a breakfast burrito (red potatos, eggs, bacon and salsa). All for under $ 4 and pretty good. This is a clean burrito, not overly oily and the salsa really does top it off.
If I had to say, one downside would be the ventilation int he place sometimes is bad. I’ll come out smelling like the place and because i go in the morning, I subsequently smell like it for the rest of the day. Ugh.

Hard to find breakfast in the UCI area. Good fresh food and incredibly inexpensive at this hidden spot! Had a delicious cooked to order omelette and my husband had a great breakfast burrito. In the «Skyworks» building in the Irvine/​UCI/​Broadcom complex. Very helpful, friendly workers.

Hidden little gem for those working nearby for lunch. Their taco tuesday lunch special is sooo worth the hunt to find this place. This place is funny because it’s totally a cafeteria specifically for the company/​building but word is out and work neighbors hit this place up like it’s their own. haha When you come during lunch time you can witness random workers playing ping pong or watching TV during lunch — how fun is this work environment?! It’s a nice little break being able to just even people watch here. Love that you can just walk in because it’s sooo worth the $ and hope it stays that way.

My review on the Crystal Cove Café. The food is great and always a variety of choices u can choose from. The staff is very friendly also. For the price the food is good

Affordable eatery… in IRVINE!!! That’s some kind of oxymoron right?
And the food is _​consistently_​good to boot.
WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED? — It’s just as the below Unilocalers have said; this place is hidden. No sign on the building, no sign on the door, you get nada.
WHAT DO THEY SERVE? — This cafeteria serves a variety of foods, daily specials, and all decent portions. Their specials range from Italian to Mexican to Chinese, but they always offer American items. Everything is customizable, so don’t hesitate to ask for a different side. Don’t have change for a vending machine? Come here; they take card and have a large assortment of drinks. Annnnd the bread is fresh baked there!
OTHER SUGGESTIONS? — I also recommend that you sit at the outside benches to grub. After all, this place is a cafeteria, so you might have that «cafeteria smell» on your clothes if you stay in there too long.

definitely a hidden gem, as one would not think a restaurant would not be located in an bona fide office building, but alas, perhaps it is better this place is hidden from the masses. The menu changes daily (just like in elementary school: P), yet unlike elementary school, no tater tots or pizza bread is served here. the food hits the spot, and it is very inexpesnive. today, i ordered a veggie burger with a side salad, and the total was $ 5.48. i have convinced many people to go here instead of specialty’s, and not one person has been disappointed. :)

Yes it’s an office cafeteria, but it’s closer than my own company’s cafeteria the food is better and the prices are lower too.
The entrance is located at the back of Skyworks. They dont seem to mind if you are an employee ir not.
Daily specials are a good choice if you just want to grab your food and run. Portions are good sized and they don’t mind if you substitute steamed veggies for fries.

Yes another 5 star for a office cafeteria. Ha its my office cafeteria thats why!!! I eat here at the café and play UNO almost everyday and I just recently found they had a Unilocal review and so I had to leave one of my own.
As mentioned in previous reviews the menu changes every week. They offer breakfast and lunch. For us that work at Skyworks we also order lunches buffet style during meeting. For a office cafeteria the taste of the food is pretty damn good. I have my favorites that I get excited about when I see it on the weekly menu, like the Fideo soup, Crispy Chicken Salad, Rib Eye, Carnitas all are yum!
The staff here at Crystal Cove are the best!!! Friendly and always accomodating. If you come here enough they will remember your name and what your likes/​dislikes are (like no tomato or onions) if you have any.
It does get crowded here some days more than others. I guess it depends on whats on the menu. Very reasonable prices and a nice change for going out to the bluffs.
During the World Cup’s games we have the 2 big screens on so that we can catch the games from breakfast through the afternoon.

Went there on the advice of Unilocalers. The crew and I are always looking to find new and exciting places to eat. After searching the parking lot, we were directed to the nondescript entrance and proceeded to look at the specials. While the food choices were similar to what we could get at Checkers Sandwich (
) near our offices, my MVF buddy and I saw a turkey cranberry sandwich. Now this was creative, although the turkey was store bought, I had to give them an «A» for creativity! It was not too bad, but fresh roasted Turkey this close to Thanksgiving was what we would have expected…
The MVF buddy also was liking the Jalapenos in the salad bar and the selection of Habanero salsas. Not too many places go beyond Chalula or Tapatio… xtra point for this place!
The tuna sandwich I brought back was really almost tuna flavored mayo! It never made it out of the sandwich container…
$ 30 for 5 people (5) sandwiches, one soup, four fries and 4 drinks…
Would not go back… Why drive when we have Checkers across the parking lot…

Fair warning… you will wonder why I am rating an office cafeteria five Unilocal stars. Read through this review and understand why… this cafeteria is truly a needle in the haystack of a place to eat for people who work in the area.
I do not work at the Skyworks offices where this cafeteria is at, but as far as I know, I am welcomed to go to this cafeteria as an outsider. By no means is the food the best in the world and it definitely should not get a five star rating on the Zagat’s Restaurant Rating Book, but I’m rating it high on my Unilocal stars is due to the prices and decent food that comes out of there for so little money.
For the people who work in the area, they are familiar with the Bluffs and the University Center where spending $ 10 for lunch is not uncommon. I can go to the Skyworks Building where the Crystal Cove Café cafeteria is and get a decent breakfast or lunch for less than $ 5. The is a HUGE SCORE for the people who work in the vicinity.
Thanks Crystal Cove Café… although you are a quick five minute drive away… you will get busier as I tell people in my office… don’t you go changin’ on us!

Crystal Cove Café is getting better an better w/​their menu!!! Forget Lori’s Kitchen. sorry Lori. I fall in love w/​the hot food w/​Crystal Cove Café. I’m eating corn beef and cabbage today. it’s as always $ 5 including the tax. I should take a few pic of the kitchen and post on Unilocal!There was salmon pasta, rack of lamb, pork loin… roast beef even. There was a while we thought they were going out of the business since they don’t have much clients. so we start to get nervous when the menu email didn’t show up the first thing when we open our emails on Monday morning.
The staffs are very friendly and they know us by name now. hehe. since my co-​worker and I go there at least 2 – 3 times a week and Angel even know that I don’t like carrots in my plate. hehehe.

Hidden cafeterias or food courts sprinkled throughout business parks is generally a secret, catering to nearby employees and to those «in the know.» I remember going to a few of them when I was working my first job fresh out of college, and actually enjoyed some of the food. But now, I’d be hard pressed to tell you exactly where these spots are located. Chalk it up to old age.
But thanks to fellow Unilocalers, this little eatery will be a welcome addition to my list of affordable places near work to eat for breakfast or lunch. Ever since the roach coach left the friendly confines of the company parking lot, things haven’t been the same. My Spanish had dramatically diminished as a result, and I was tired of eating the same overpriced fast food.
So today, I decided to check this place out and ordered the steak tacos with bean and rice. Two tacos were generously topped with guacamole, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and carne asada that could use a bit more seasoning.
There was just too much food for the corn tortilla to handle, as trying to pick it up with bare hands proved to be futile. Everything broke apart, so I had to eat the tacos with a fork and knife, which is kind of sacrilegous. Double tortillas next time, for sure. By the end, I was full and satisfied, which is all you can ask for $ 5.
The «chefs» behind the counter are friendly, although the cashier lady doesn’t seem to want to be there at all. At a prior visit, I asked for the weekly menu list and she seemed annoyed. This time, I asked for the punch card and she seemed downright reluctant to give one up. She finally went to the back and got one for me. Who knows how she will react when I ask to sign up for the email list on the next visit. Por favor?

Been there several times now for breakfast. Their breakfast burritos are top notch and only $ 3.25 (that’s $ 3.50 with tax… or two for $ 7). Every Tuesday they have juevos rancheros (and tacos at lunch). Saweeet.
Going there to pick up breakfast for myself and some people at work in just a few…