Oh So Good Eatery

The food is pretty good here, but the buffet is Oh So Expensive. That is not a big issue though, because you pay for what you get. The appalling thing is how they hold the utensils and napkins hostage behind the counter and only relish one measly napkin and fork for a purchase.
The most shocking thing that I experienced was that they charge for lemon wedges and pads of butter. This is the epitome of bad customer service in a restaurant environment. This eatery truly nickels and dimes you for every little convenience that is free at ANY other eatery. Since they charge so much for their food, I would assume that they would have some respect for their customers.

When I come here, I usually get a protein from the hot bar and something green from the cold bar. The quality is adequate, but it’s one of the only few places within walking distance of the office to get a reasonably priced low-​carb lunch.
Today I went in and got a piece of salmon (also pretty adequate) and complemented it with some sesame green beans, watercress, and shrimp salad from the cold bar. As I made my way through the beans and watercress, my eyes caught a glimpse of an elliptical object of the size, shape, and color of an edamame bean.
«Hmm… I don’t remember getting edamame,» I thought to myself.
Upon closer look, I noticed six little legs springing from the side of the edamame bean.
«Oh, so not an edamame bean,» I thought. Instead, I found a not so little friend in my bean/​watercress salad. I mustered the courage to flip it over with my plastic fork to verify that it really wasn’t an edamame bean. Its two little eyes looked innocently at me from its immobile frame. Although I do not like to waste food, I did not eat the green little friend (could have been a good source of protein), nor the rest of the food.
I’ve been here more than a dozen times and, to be fair, this was my first experience of this kind. However, today is the day Oh So Good turned into Oh So Scary for me. I’m a bit too traumatized to eat ever again, so I’m not sure when I will be back. This experience has inspired me to stick with the cooked/​fried food items in the hot section of eateries like this in the future.
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UPDATE: In case anyone was wondering, my coworker informed me of what type of bug it was. Chinavia hilaris — scientific name for «green stink bug.» Needless to say, I did not find this very hilaris.

Awesome breakfast buffet. My per lbs box was $ 15 in the end with a bottle of water. Turkey bacon, regular bacon. Breakfast wrap, eggs, and more eggs. Some veggies to top it off. Yum yum.

Ugh they raised prices again! Now $ 7.50 for the grilled paninis when they used to be $ 6.50, then $ 6.75…
Read the rest of my prior review for more details on food etc.

I go here for convenience more than anything else — I work in the same building. So on those days where I’m pressed for time, forget my lunch, or whatevs, Oh So Good is perfect.
The buffet is great for both breakfast and lunch, quite the variety of both. I LOL everytime I’m there for breakfast though because I want to know who the people were to cause them to put a sign on the bacon that says «LIMIT 5 PER PERSON.» High five to that bacon lover! The breakfast buffet is your standard breakfast variety food. Hot lunch buffet is a variety of Chinese, American, and Italian selections. There’s also the cold salad bar and even some sushi! I almost always get Chinese food and have always been pleased.
On top of the buffet, they have the sandwiches and grill, and that’s where it gets a bit iffy. They normally have 3 or 4 lunch sandwich specials that are usually quite good. I’ve found out however that if it is grilled chicken of any sort, run far far away. Every other sandwich I’ve had here has been fine, but if it has grilled chicken, it’s terrible. I had a bad experience with a grilled chicken sammich here but then a few weeks later they had a panini with grilled chicken and I know they do paninis well, so I gave it a shot. Nope, grilled chicken killed it. It was the soggiest messiest panini ever and borderline inedible. Not sure what it is about the grilled chicken that they can’t figure out. But just trust me, everything else is fine, just steer clear of the grilled chicken.
I’ve had quite a variety of the special sammiches — cheesesteaks, ruebens, paninis, fish sammich, I can’t even list everything because I’ve been here so much.
Cashiers are always super friendly. Sometimes it takes a crazy long amount of time to wait for a sammich, especially if it’s smack in the middle of lunch time.
Now that the weather might be warming up, I probably won’t be here as often. It’s def a good place for «it’s freezing and snowy outside, but I need to get food and don’t want to leave my building.»

I am an idiot in the morning and breakfast is pretty much my last thought. Oh So Good helps me with their breakfast buffet. Most convenient breakfast options are in the form of baked goods. I know I will just be hungry 30 minutes later if I choose a bagel. At Oh So Good, they have a good variety of breakfast options like scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and french toast that keep my belly full till later in the afternoon.
I have not been a fan of their lunch buffet. I have tried quite a few times, but I still can’t find a reason to go.

I don’t know how good the food is but the website is unusable. The «contact-​us» page does not work, the «about us» and «location» pages are in Pig Latin, and the only email address for contact for «Peter» came back as undeliverable TWICE.
I am looking for a good caterer for a party and the reviews for this place are high, but with such poor website design and maintenance and no contact information at all, I cannot afford to wait on the phone for them to get back to me. Shame!

If you’re indecisive and it takes you forever to pick what you want to eat for lunch well this is the place for you! They have everything here. So far i only have tried the pay by the pound salad bar and i am officially hooked. They have healthy salad/​food options which I have not seen much in the city as well as a large variety of hot foods. You really have to check this place out and it is not expensive at all! I got a nice massive piece of salmon with salad and potatoes and a side of fruit and ended up paying less than $ 8, you really cant beat that. This place is a hidden gem for lunch and it doesn’t get too busy. They also offer seating.

Oh So Good, (Or my adopted nickname for it is the trough!) it’s quick and convenient and right across the street from my building. I use to come here everyday for about 6 months, there was so much to chose from. I think the best time to go is right around 11 – 11:30pm. The food is fresh out of the kitchen and piping hot, if you go later, they switch out the platters as needed so some of less popular food could be sitting under the lights for quite a while.
It’s reminiscent of the Manhattan bordegas where you can get a variety of food on every neighborhood street corner! The choices are vast, salad, sushi, chinese food, turkey and mash potatoes, fresh fruit. there is a little bit of something for everyone. The made to order sandwiches are nice too, i personally like the tuscany panini! I’ve heard the cheeseteaks are good and the fries are delicous!
It’s a good place for the question «What do I get for lunch today?» when I leave the building undecided. I wouldn’t rave about the food is oh so delicous and I can’t get enough of it, but the food here is consistently solid.
It’s priced by the pound so be sure to shake out the water in the greens if you are getting a salad! it adds up!
They do a nice breakfast spread as well, again get their early, because the eggs get oily under the lights, great breakfast sandwiches and good coffee, did I mention cheap coffee too? I’m floored when I pay next to nothing for a large cup!
I’ve never had a sitdown lunch there, but it had a facelift a couple years back, there is now a nice flatscreen tv to pass the time.

Oh-​so-​mediocre. This place is not terrible, but also not terribly good. Food is overpriced and, although there’s a lot of variety, pretty boring. It’s pretty much just a food court for people who don’t want to leave their office building (it’s located inside 1700 Market Street). For any of the food here, I bet you can find a better option within two blocks.

Oh so Meh…
I think that the format is one of total convenience because the food is no better or worse than a buffet line at somewhere like Old Town Buffet. Maybe it was because we were there during (the end of) breakfast service. The selection is decent (i.e. fruit selection, 3 or 4 different kinds of omelette’s, etc…) price is based on weight…
This place is good if you are in a hurry…

I jokingly call this place «Oh So Mediocre» but it really is pretty good.
It’s the typical pay per pound hot & cold food bar. The earlier you come — during the weekday lunch hour — the fresher and less «picked-​over» the food is.
You can get salads, pasta, chicken, sushi (pre cut rolls) and chinese foods.
Not bad for a quick take out.

Do you run into this problem when trying to decide what to eat for lunch?
Bud 1: I want chinese food … mm like chicken w/​broccoli or lo mein.
Bud 2: CHEESESTEAK!
Bud 1: Ridiculous. Only cheesesteaks worth eating are in S. Philly and we don’t have time for this nonsense.
Bud 3: I’ve been feeling really fat. Can we get salads?
Bud 1 & 2 (rolls eyes) You don’t get a vote because you said salad!
Bud 4: I could eat a panini or maybe a hoagie
Bud 1: you are so boring. go away
Then you decide on something and ultimately, 1 – 3 of those buds are unhappy? Okay, PROBLEM SOLVED!
OH SO GOOD Eatery is basically a smörgåsbord of yummy dining options for the indecisive — group or individual. On any given day, you can choose from their made to order grill options (hot/​cold sandwiches, pressed paninis, etc), variety of soups, or from their 5 or so bays of hot buffet foods, salad foods, fruits and grilled veggie foods (pay per pound model).
My personal FAVES include:
*fried chicken wings — crispy and ever so slightly tangy. not sure how they do it, but it’s awesome.
*beef stew — tender chunks of beef in a hearty gravy. sometimes i spoon it over brown rice to make myself think i’m eating ‘healthy” (they don’t have this every day, sadly, but i think something like every other day?)
*lobster bisque — seriously, can you even get this anywhere else for lunch without going to a sitdown restaurant? it’s creamy, savory and ab fab rich and yumz.
*asian grilled tilapia — surprisingly unfishy and HEALTHY!
*chicken w/​broccoli — def better than other chinese food options in center city AND you aren’t limited to just eating this. Because, let’s be honest, this is an awesome dish, but somewhat boring just on its own, no?
*cheesesteak — okay, c’mon i know. it’s not south philly, but it’s a pretty good local option. Plus, they use awesome cheese.
I have to call this out, because Oh So Good has, hands down, the BEST FRUIT section. I used to get fruit salad from AuBonPain or those fruit carts in the morning but NO MORE. Pineapples, mangoes, blueberries, strawberries etc etc etc … everything is super fresh and always perfectly ripe/​tasty.
Oh and for those salad eaters out there (seriously? WHY), they have like 8million dressings. It’s crazy.
PS — i go here frequently, but just recently discovered their BREAKFAST, which is even better than lunch. Egg Whites, reg scrambled egg w/​sausage and cheese, pancakes, waffle maker, turkey sausage … like I said, SMORGASBORD.
The most surprising thing to me was that the QUALITY is really key here– as is customer service. They have a ridiculous number of beverage options and the drinks are always supercold. I really appreciate that because sometimes, on a hot day when I get a refreshing beverage and get one that’s been stored at 45+ deg F cases, I get angry.
AND I recently found out their cheesecake slices are Cheesecake Factory (!!!) — I don’t know why they don’t advertise this. It’s silly. Where else can you get cheesecake factory without having to drive to KOP mall (the horror).

who doesnt love a secret lunch spot? the variety is great with plenty of healthy options. everything is prepared fresh for the day and daily specials are a great option too. do your body and your wallet a favor and try it! i especially love the brown rice, tofu dishes, and grilled string beans.
would i go back — yes

Oh So Good Eatery is «Oh So Convenient» but only so-​so in food quality. I work in the same building and my employer has an arrangement to subsidize employee meals with this business. Therefore I’ve had plenty of opportunities to eat here over a long term.
As a budget lunch buffet it is what it is: convenient, quick and cheap. The problem I have with the place is that the buffet almost never changes. The exact same dishes are on offer 52 weeks of the year. Sure there’s variety because it’s a buffet. But even that gets old after eating there several times.
The breakfast buffet is actually decent in the morning and for food quality, your best bet remains ordering off the menu and having something prepared while you wait.
Oh So Good Eatery is also convenient for grabbing a quick drink or ice cream novelties. Just be sure to check to see if the ice cream treat feels alright before taking it out of the freezer to pay for it. On more than one occasion I’ve discovered they were ruined because the unit lost power, everything melted and refroze.

It has a catchy name. I will give it that but I don’t think it is good at all. The seats were covered in some kind of greasy sticky stuff. Coffee was a dollar. It was bitter and not made well. I think there are better options.

So Good, But certainly not the greatest. Oh So Good is the best place in Philadelphia for a by the pound food raid buffet. Especially since it dishes out all kinds of veggie options and has one of the best all around Breakfast buffets that I’ve seen outside of the Ritz Carlton. But when it comes down to it Oh Sood Good is a place that hooks up quantity over quality. And when it’s a place that charges by the pound it falls into their advantage.
Sure you might find four kind of sausage and 3 kinds of bacon during their breakfast. True you’ll find sushi and Chinese food under one roof on a lunch time. And you will come across a good serving of veggies. But when it comes down to the extensive list of items that Oh So Good Offers, you’ll find far better options at the places that are specialized in serving them (Vic for sushi, Honey’s for breakfast etc). and in most cases your wallet and belly might end up feeling a little better (why did I go for 3 kinds of egg and 2 kinds of sausage with hashbrowns?).

Ok, so it had a perfect five star review and it was one block from my work– I just had to try it. What a letdown. Sure the variety here is great, ranging from veggie salads to chicken to chinese to sushi to fresh fruit to egg rolls to squid salad to salmon its all there. But maybe the problem was that there was TOO much variety… it can only lead one to wonder just how fresh all that food really is… it took me back to the days when I lived in NYC and every gourmet corner store had a food bar like this… As I picked up a soggy grilled eggplant from my plate, all I could think of was how I wished I was at Dibruno’s…with other more appealing options nearby, I doubt I’ll be returning anytime soon.

You’ll tell all your friends you know this «secret» lunch place hidden deep within 1700 Market with fresh and delicious food (try the turkey burger). But of course, «only you can take them there.» So one brisk Tuesday afternoon you’ll gather your purse and walking stick and guide them to this lunchtime oasis. You’ll smile with satisfaction as they excitedly scurry off to the buffet line. You’ll casually shrug when they ask how you found such a wonderful place. With meals purchased and bellies full, they’ll hoist you on their shoulders, chanting your name with glee as they parade you down 17^th street. You’ll be their lunchtime hero.
To clarify, it didn’t quite play out this way with my coworkers. But I’m still holding out hope for my out-​of-​town friends.

Hidden within the confines of 1700 Market is a place that will satisfy my lunchtime needs in case the Corporate Cafeteria™ in Liberty Place ever shuts down completely.
Let see. Salad? Check. Sushi? Check. Chinese food? Check. Delicious homemade-​style food? Checkmate!
This place works on a per-​pound basis which is interesting but you can also get sandwiches and the like if you want.
What a hidden little gem that keeps things on the reasonable side of lunch time although it will not dethrone the cheepy-​champ that is Café Spice Express.
Good to know this place exists. Thanks Unilocal