Bridge Cafe

One of the best places to eat on Penn’s campus! Wonderful staff, great food, and a pleasant café setting. The only unpleasant thing about Bridge is that you will have a bit of a wait if you go during a peak time, so try to go not between classes!
Definitely a must for breakfast :)

Bridge Café is good for a quick bagel or bag of chips but its really nothing special. The selection is rather boring and their soups aren’t too good. I do enjoy the omelet station ($ 4 omelets are a pretty good deal) although the line is usually ridiculous. The staff at the omelet station is very friendly but that’s not necessarily true for the staff at the other counters.
They also have a sandwich bar which prepares fresh sandwiches but on several occasions I’ve been told to pick up the pre-​made, refrigerated sandwich if available. I’m a little disappointed that Bridge Café replaced Au Bön Pain. I think ABP was inviting to everyone, even those who don’t go to Penn. Now, however, I think it’s mostly hungry students grabbing a bite between classes.

This place use to be Au Bön Pain but now it’s this place. Ehh, not feeling it. Not the food, seating or the student crowd. Just seems like a shabby cafeteria for students now with limited options of food.
BEFORE: it was inviting to everyone. The public, faculty and students. They had a large variety of bake goods and the soups were always yummy. Not to mention the sandwich options. The seating was arranged with more common sense and now it just looks like they were playing musical chairs and said «yup, this is it! Let’s leave it like this.»
If your not a upenn student or apart of the campus, don’t waste your time here, there plenty of better options in the area.

Normally don’t write reviews on Unilocal,but I just have to do this place justice (despite all the mediocre reviews, it’s still the best place to eat on campus IMHO).
You just can’t beat the price/​quality of egg sandwiches/​omelettes!!! I’m also a fan of the Rebel nutrition bars.
What really makes this place special is the AMAZING STAFF. I’m on a personal name basis with Shay (who is sadly leaving for another location in center city) and Carlos. They make omelettes 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, but you would never be able to tell by their enthusiasm and constant banter.

I used to be a big fan of the Avocado Scramble dish they offered here, but it doesn’t look like they make it anymore.
I come here for one reason only: omelettes. Affordable ($ 4) and filling, Bridge Café is just an extremely convenient place for me to get a quick meal since I live in the high rises.
Honestly, it seems like only the breakfast options here are worth your money. Everything else is of average or sub-​par quality and overpriced.

To find this place, imagine that you’re looking for a troll. Go to the Locust Street bridge and look directly under it. You’ve found The Bridge Café.
The Bridge is massively better than its predecessor (the world’s worst Au Bön Pain), but it’s still just okay. The freshly made egg sandwiches are the highlight ($ 3.00 or so for a egg and cheese on brioche; bacon or turkey sausage is an extra $ 0.50 or so). Add whatever veggies you want (spinach, tomato, and onion are always available) for free. Be prepared to banter with the omlette dudes, or to pretend you’re VERY BUSY on your phone.
Alternatively, check out the soups; the selection is small but the quality is aight. The premade sandwiches are vaguely Mediterranean-​inspired and are overpriced (pushing $ 7) but basically fine. There are snacks; the coffee is hot; the checkout line moves quickly. This place gets the job done.

If you’re a female undergraduate, you’ll receive a lot of attention from the guys at the omelette station. If you’re a guy, you’ll be ignored or treated rudely. It’s an unfriendly, unwelcoming place with terrible customer service, so it’s not all that different from Au Bön Pain.

Where to begin…
It’s better than Au Bön Pain (ABP, as we fondly dubbed it in past years);
however, it’s worse than our expectations.
It’s open later than the Plaza Café upstairs.
The omelette chef keeps hitting on /​teasing people.
The food selection is decent in terms of diversity, but none of it really gets anyone excited.
The roast beef sandwich in pita-​like bread is surprisingly pretty good.
The marketing is not great. I didn’t even see the Bridge Café sign until I was sitting in the café for 20 minutes and realized it was on the back wall behind the coffee guy. There is also a sign outside on the window, but I never walk in that way (I might walk out that way).
I have never heard anyone refer to it as «Bridge Café» besides the Student Life Dean who announced that we were naming it as such.