Lemonade

LOVE this place! Fresh food, quick service, great lemonade for these hot days!

Lemonade offers your choice of # of items or sandwiches or soups! I typically stick with the 2 – 3 item potion and it’s plenty of food for me. My 2 item came out to around $ 7 for pretty healthy selections.
I went in and got greeted and served right away. I got the Kale and Kumquat Salad and Brussels Sprouts. The server was nice enough to also ask if I was allergic to anything and if I cared for anchovy because the Brussels Sprouts has anchovy in the sauce. I am not sure if they ask everyone but the fact that she asked was a plus because I don’t like anchovy but she reassured me it was just the sauce and there is no taste. Both items were very very good!
I’ve now been to Lemonade several times (Manhattan, El Segundo, Pasadena, and Irvine) and it has not failed me. This might sound odd but the one I’ve been to the most is the one at the LAX Airport from traveling (Terminal 5).
Ready to go back and try more items!

My 5 year old son and I went to Lemonade for a quick dinner because he wanted mac and cheese and I read online that their white truffle mac was good. So we order the food and the mac and cheese looked like it was stirred all day long until is looked like macmush. My son was wondering what this «stuff» was and that it didnt’ look like mac and cheese. I tasted it and I shook my head, thinking this is «truffle» mac and cheese? I think Olive Garden has better mac and cheese!
This place is way over-​rated!!! I couldn’t believe I had spent what I spent for this meal. Also, the beet salad I picked looked great but when I tasted it, the beets were RAW!!! It was like eating raw carrots! YUK. I was so disappointed. Even their lemonade was off — way too sweet and concentrated. Plus their brussel sprouts were marinated too salty. I’m not coming back ever.
This restaurant is not worth it.

Lemonade has many choices of salads. This is wonderful. However, their salads — which are supposed to be healthful — are way too sweet and way too salty. Ditto with their veggie chilli soup. They need to cut down the salt and sugar in their food.

The key to getting good value at Lemonade’s are to eat with someone else and get the 6-​item portion from the marketplace for $ 12.50. I’ve saved numerous other diners the mistake when they order two separate 3-​item plates which is an additional $ 3. Doesn’t seem like a ton but it’s the cost of one of their signature drinks. I’ve also noticed that the portion size is larger for the 6-​items if you dine in instead of get it to go, as it is a larger container.
Speaking of their lemonades, I find most of them pretty sweet. I recommend getting the sugar free and ask to blend a little of one of their many flavors of regular lemonade.
Their marketplace items are hit or miss. The ones that we’ve always liked are curry cauliflower, Israeli couscous, and roasted butternut squash which seem to be permanently on the menu. The lemongrass chicken slaw is a new favorite out this winter, a lot of chicken and good flavor. They’ll usually have a leafy salad such as spinach or arugula with mild fruit and a sharp cheese.
Their sandwiches contain a healthy amount of contents, or you can opt for a healthier citrus-​poached salmon filet or seared ahi tuna for the same $ 6.50 price. I’ve tasted their braises and never have been too impressed, either not enough flavor or an overbearing amount, but the nice thing is they’ll let you try just about anything.
Only gripe can be the pace of the line. This location doesn’t seem to staff enough at the marketplace and registers, so the line can move slow at both. It moves quicker at the Fashion Island location even with a busier crowd.

Food is very good. I had the Turkey BLT sandwich which was great. $ 6.50
The buttermilk baked chicken and cheddar cheese sandwich looked rather sub-​par.
We got a bunch of different sides, my favorite being the watermelon radish + seared ahi.
Guava lemonade is fantastic. $ 3
If you’ve never been here, the flow of picking the menu is rather sporadic. If you come in thinking ‘sandwich,’ then see the delicious side that are first, but tell the person you’d like a sandwich, you’ve basically forfeited your opportunity to pick a side or two, as you’re whisked down the line toward the sandwich zone. You then say «hey, I’d like a side with that.» They roll their eyes and you have to elbow your way back up the line towards the sides to pick them. Best of luck.

Food is mostly healthy and unique. Thing that stood out the most for me was the Truffle Mac n’ Cheese, otherwise it was wayy too expensive for such little food. Lemonade’s were alright, nothing too special.

It’s healthy and it offers plenty of options. I do admit that the price is high here.
Brussel sprouts: Only the roasted brussel sprouts. The salad didn’t have the right
Truffled Mac n cheese: My favorite. Honestly, you have to get this whenever you come here.
Salmon stuffed avocado: My go-​to meal. It’s quite filling for it’s size and I admit that you can make it home
Lemonades: My favorite was the blueberry lemonade but honestly I love all flavors.
I wouldn’t mind coming here again and food is good with lots of options. Prices are totally a downfall though.

To expensive. It’s built like a cafeteria but charged like a mid end restaurant. No bueno. Lemonades are too concentrated and don’t truste like real fruit. The meats are good.

I decided to give lemonade another go, and decided it wasn’t as bad as I had thought before. I got the 4 portion for $ 9.50, which included Israeli Couscous, Wild Mushroom, Parmesan, Lemon Truffle; Kale, Mushroom, Kumquat; Orecchiette Pasta, Tomato, Perline Mozzarella; and Cauliflower, Golden Raisins, Almonds, Curry. Overall, everything tasted delicious and it was a better experience than I had previously.
There are only two things that I still stand by:
–Price: A little expensive, but they did pack my container to the max
–Sauce: Too much sauce in each portion. After I finished eating, the container was coated with sauce. I would maybe suggest having the sauces on the side so that people can add however much they’d like.
Overall, okay.

I love this place! It’s only FOUR stars (I’d give it 4.5 if I could) though due to the prices (expensive) for a non-​sit-​down restaurant (it’s buffet-​style). Excellent food!
FOOD
Diverse and fantastic. Every dish I have had here has been great. There are so many fresh dishes/​sides. Meat, tons of vegetable dishes (both cold and hot), soups, lemonades. Everything is amazing. It’s a buffet-​style restaurant where you go in and wait in a buffet line and pick up your dishes and pay at the cash register. But, don’t let the buffet-​style fool you. ALL the dishes are made fresh and they’re all good.
SERVICE
You don’t have a waiter — you pay after picking up your food. The helpers are fine, but there’s not much to do (or screw up).
PRICE
Expensive for the amount of food you get, but it’s high-​quality and it’s a different treat for once in a while. I couldn’t afford to go here everyday. It’s no McDonald’s (in terms of price). It rivals sit-​down pricing, but without the waiters.
LOCATIONS
I have been to the one’s in Pasadena and Irvine (Michelson Drive) and both are good. The Irvine location is much newer and has more of a «chain-​restaurant» feel. The Pasadena location is more fun/​unique, but both locations are equally great.
FOUR Stars!!!

Love this place. Has lots of seating. Service is a little slow. Food is good! However the last 2 times they haven’t had lemon bars? The fashion island location seems to have more options though.
Seasonal sides are always great and you can sample all of them to see which one you would like. Generous potion sizes when you eat in. Literally ½ the size when you take it to go.
Yum! This parking lot is nice on the weekend but awful during the week. So be prepared.

I’m so glad Lemonade keeps opening more and more locations so that I don’t have to travel as far! I had been waiting for this to open and it fell off my radar but my friend works where all the law firms and corporations do here and so, this was the natural choice once I discovered that it had indeed opened. It was my first time in this plaza and I actually missed the plaza entrance so I made a turn onto Jamboree thinking another entrance would open up and ended up being forced on the freeway. Don’t make the same mistake!
I was excited to see which sandwiches they would have since that’s always been my thing. The sides and soup are delicious-​but I never felt like they’re worth the money since as we all know, Lemonade is pretty pricey. I ended up choosing the «El Tijuana» sandwich since it was my first time seeing it and I wanted to try something I hadn’t tried.
I patiently waited for my order and was so surprised to see them bring out a plate I did not even recognize. It was entirely different from what I had seen on display and moreover, it looked like a sandwich that would be sold in a high school cafeteria. I was shocked, but I didn’t want to make a scene in front of my friend, so I ate it.
I can’t say it was the best sammy I’ve ever had at Lemonade, but surprisingly, it was still pretty good. So simple and yet, classy. Would I ever order it again? Nah. Should you ever order it? Nah.
I also couldn’t resist the temptation and ended up getting a coconut cake slice. The slice was huge, so much so that my friend and I couldn’t finish. It wasn’t too sweet, and had just the right amount of coconut taste. One thing that sucked was that they leave it in a refrigerator/​freezer so the temperature is pretty darn cold. Regardless, it was definitely worth trying and if you’re into coconut, you’re gonna love this!

3.5 stars!
I have loved Lemonade since my LA days and the food, of course, is on point. The restaurant is definitely spacious and gets very crowded during peak meal times. I think the workers could manage this line a little better, and move people through more efficiently. Other than that, I am still a fan of Lemonade (all due to the food!)

I’ve always loved lemonade. I’m so glad there’s one closer to Irvine now. Before I’d always have to travel to Newport fashion island, but now there’s one in the Michelson plaza! (Yay)
What I love:
+ everything is seasonally based, so whatever is in season — is what is offered. Currently loving:
1. Squash spaghetti
2. Kale salad
3. Tomato beet salad
4. Cucumber mint lemonade
5. Gluten free chai almond cookie
* is pricey for the portion size :-/​ (could make it myself and make it taste a bit more flavorful in my opinion)
Lemonade seems to be a place for the lazy healthy people. (Lol)

I just feel very average about Lemonade, to be honest. I’ve had it since it first opened in Venice near Santa Monica and always thought it was a little overhyped for basically overpriced hipster food.
They’ve opened up a few other locations since in OC, one at Fashion Island (Newport Beach) and the other one here in Irvine at the Jamboree/​Michelson Plaza.
I’ve been here a few times now with coworkers for lunch and although I like this location the most out of all 3 I’ve been to, I still find the food to be good, but not amazing for the price and decent, but not delicious.
Also — the format of how you basically go to three different kinds of stations (appetizers-​esque, sandwiches, and hot foods) can get really confusing if you’re not familiar to this layout and you can end up over-​ordering from the beginning.
Ample seating both indoor and outdoor and I like the spacious and open interior feeling.

Don’t waste ur time and money…
10 $ for one small piece of chicken no sides or anything is ridiculous!
I was so happy that this place was conveniently located within a mile from my house so I could come here between my study break for a lunch, but so disappointed!!!
With same price you can for sure get a quality food with wayyyy bigger portion!!!

After finding out that a Lemonade opened in Irvine last night, I had to come today for lunch. I made sure not to come during lunch rush though. I arrived to the plaza around 1:30, it was still busy, but not to the point that I had trouble finding parking.
The restaurant is located on the side with The Counter. There was plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.
Watermelon Radish Salad: Also contained seared ahi, snap peas, black sesame, ginger. Light but flavorful. I really enjoyed this. I read a review about how the serving someone recieved had almost no ahi, so I was a little worried. My serving came with a good amount of ahi.
White Truffle Mac and Cheese: This is the reason why I came here. The truffle flavor in this is strong. The only negative about this is that the macaroni is sooooo soft, but on the bright side it’s super easy to eat.
Watermelon Rosemary Lemonade: After trying the guava limeade, I went with this one. The guava limeade really sweet. I wasn’t sure I would like this, but ended up really enjoying it! The rosemary isn’t overpowering.
Pistachio Macaron: HUGE. I’ve never had the macarons here before since I’ve only gone to Lemonade at Fashion Island and they have ‘Lette. I was excited to try this today. I think that the texture is great. Soft and moist on the inside. The ganache has pistachio chunks in there and is really tasty.
Service here was good! Everyone was positive and friendly. I was able to try a few salads and lemonades.
I would come back to try more salads and get more lemonade!

First visit to this Lemonade location! It gets super crowded during lunch hours because there are a lot of office buildings around. I went at 12 and the wait was at least 20 minutes not including parking. I didn’t find the service here as friendly as at Newport Beach but it wasn’t a big deal.
My only complaints about Lemonade are that you can’t see the options at the front of the line before you order and the portions are super small for what you’re paying. I had cauliflower, pesto pasta, and a piece of salmon for about $ 13, and while they were good they didn’t justify the price for me so I probably won’t be coming back. It’s just very overhyped, although if you do go the cauliflower and macaroni are a must try!

There’s a new Lemonade location in town. This one is located by the Mother’s Market off of Jamboree and Michaelson. If you’ve never been to Lemonade, think of it as a glorified, healthy version of a cafeteria. You grab a tray, go down the line choosing which of the different salads, multiple protein options, braises, soups, mac & cheese, sandwiches, desserts, and drinks you want. The options are endless and you feel better about your lunch or dinner upon eating. I’ve had really fantastic meals here and I love that you can sample in case you’re unsure about what your getting.
I had the couscous with cherries, feta, and herbs along with the beet and melon salad. I also grabbed a cup of the mac & cheese because I deserve it. They had a seasonal raspberry hibiscus tea in the bubbler and I ordered a cup of that. My date also had the couscous, kimchi soba noodles, and the miso braised short rib. He also opted for the blood orange lemonade. We both really enjoyed our meals which were way healthier than any fast food option. You can please just about any picky eater here. The staff was really nice and the place is spotless. It’s a great dining option for the health obsessed citizens of Irvine.