Olive View Cafeteria

Carmen P. is one of the kindest of the cafes workers; she sometimes works the food cart on the second floor, and is always diligently stocking the salad or taco bar. Always welcoming everyone with a smile. Carmens’ husband passed unexpectedly yesterday. We created a fundraiser page with Give Forward; you can donate any amount or just visit to post your thoughts/​prayers for her and her family.
Carmens’ Fundraiser Page Link:

When I gave birth to my daughter not too long ago, I was hungry & unsure if I should go to the cafeteria to eat. Because, you know, usually hospital cafeteria food isn’t always the best. GOOD THING I decided to try the breakfast ! Let me just say, without exaggeration… the breakfast burritos here are SOOOOO GOOOOD! for the price you pay & the quality of it is just amazing! In my opinion it’s one of the best breakfast burritos out here! I look forward to taking my daughter to her appointments cus that means I could treat myself to a delicious breakfast burrito under $ 5! Lol!!! even if my daughter didn’t have an appt, I would still drive here JUST to eat a breakfast burrito because it’s THAT good! Yes I know I’ve said «breakfast burrito» many times in this review, but it’s definitely a MUST TRY! Trust trust trust me! If you ever need a breakfast spot to take your special someone THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO! he/​she will thank you, then you can thank me later. LOL!

Decidedly pleasant: Healthy, fresh, happy atmosphere — who knew! Given that it’s out in the middle of nowhere, it’s a nice surprise.

I really enjoy their turkey burgers. Overall a very nice cafeteria for a hospital. They’re trying very hard to the menu interesting. friendly staff and nice environment

Bought the meatloaf, green beans and olive whipped potatoes for lunch today. The green beans tasted OK and the potatoes were surprisingly good. I’m giving thus review a 2 stars because it says on their menu board meatloaf. But sad to say it didn’t taste like meat at all. It tasted more like stuffing loaf. It was bread like not meat. I was just disappointed because I tried their meatloaf before and it was very tasty, far from the meatloaf I had today. Wasn’t able to finish it. Hope they will not use this recipe anymore.

I have worked and eaten at many hospitals around the country and the cafeteria here at Olive View is far and away the best. It regularly serves authentic delicious Mexican food that contends with some of LA’s best taquerias. The lunch entrees are reliably excellent. My favorite is the chile relleno. The «Latin bowl» though is the best. Delicious chicken and meats, amazing salsas, and perfect beans and rice. I feel so lucky to have regular access to such healthy and delicious food that always tastes fresh and homemade — in a hospital!

We all know hospital food tends to be meh. Even during rotations, each of the hospitals I went to had bad to acceptable food. Here they actually have healthier choices and pretty decent food.
Surprisingly, the fat pizzas are good, always moist and cheesy.
The hamburger is meh
The chicken sandwich is good, with a full healthy grilled chicken breast
The chicken wrap has potential, but the one time I had it they used a piece of chicken that was sitting for a while so it was tough and dry. MEH
The Pozole $ 3.19 (only Thursdays?) is pretty good, but super salty.
The turkey burger is okay
**The best thing here are the FISH TACOS, which I always get (only Fridays). Problem is they do run out so buy it before 2−3pm. $ 2.50 each and very filling
Coffee, starbucks, usually very good, make sure you have a Coffee Club card, after 9 coffees/​stamps you get one free.
Prices are reasonable-​slightly pricy for the type of patients we had and students who are broke. They should reconsider the prices.
They usually clean the grill around 2pm? and it will last over 15 minutes. If you are short on time, come back, don’t stand there and wait.

This is the greatest hospital cafeteria of all time. If it wasn’t 20+ miles from my apt, I’d go here regularly. My big piece of advice is to stick to food on the grill. My second piece of advice, is to be sure to double check that the grill is going to be open when you go. It seems to be closed frequently throughout the day. In addition, my orders seem to turn out better when I ask for them in Spanish: D.
Breakfast:
— You have to try the breakfast burritos. You can get chopped sausage/​bacon/​chorizo in it with spicy peppers, hash browns, cheese, and delicious sweet salsa. They cook it right in front of you.
— Get the burrito again
— And again
— and again
— OK you’re tired of them? You can try the delicious blueberry pancakes. Also a very reasonable option.
— They also have decent omelettes which come with just about anything. Get it egg-​whites only with peppers, bacon, spinach, and cheese. MMMM!
Lunch:
— They do something different each day of the week. They have a few steady favorites like the burritos, burgers, fries, chicken fingers
— the best day is Friday: Fish tacos!!! Yes!
— They have a taco/​nacho bar open for $ 7 that seems to be reliable
Dinner:
— Pretty much the same as lunch, but they also have chicken fingers available.
— Steer clear from the salad bar, it’s not so great.

So my friends and I have become regulars here. It’s a hit and miss. They do have a large selection of healthy (and not so healthy) options.
I’m fond of their tuna melts. My friend often opts for the fish of the day. Breakfast is quick and prices are really reasonable.
I was not a fan of the gravy and biscuits. Nor was the grilled cheese sandwich anything worth talking about.
They have a large dining room and outlets to charge your phone.
Service is quick and cafeteria setting.
Check it out if you’re waiting for an appointment. You might be surprised how good hospital food can be.

Don’t let the fact that this grill is located in a hospital cafeteria deter you from giving it a try. Excellent (and very filling) made-​to-​order breakfast burritos, Starbucks coffee, water and OJ for two people, nice/​peaceful patio dining with trees and a water fountain, all for $ 18 with tax. Their lunch sandwiches looked really good too. Will be back to try out more of the menu. Recommend!

Huh? Five stars for a hospital cafeteria? Let me explain. When you think cafeteria you think «eww, hospital food» but there are fresh choices! Been here since 1am had lunch and dinner here. Both times I was pleasantly surprised! Yes, I walked in with low expectations and I know that Richard Irvine isn’t in the kitchen, but it’s good! Just an overall wonderful experience here at Olive View!

Try the omelet in the am, my fav. Props for the specials fish taco Friday, or the lemon Tofu, eggplant Parmesan, and the chicken breast for lunch. Salad fresh made everyday. staffs friendly and courteous. doctors and nurses respectful and professional. top notch care and one of best hospitals in LA. 5 stars everyday.

Why review a cafeteria? Well, hospital cafeterias can bring up horrible memories of gross childhood elementary school cafeterias where the powdered diluted mashed potatoes are plopped onto dirty dishes.
This is definitely NOT the case with the OV cafeteria. It has undergone both cosmetic and substantive improvement since I started dining here 3 years ago. Back then, things were a little more run down, the foods a little older, staler, greasier. However, they really have made an attempt to brighten things up, work on presentation of the food, and make things healthier.
The salads can still be expensive, but some of the main entrees are much more affordable and are actually well-​made! Soups can be amazing. And best of all, the breakfast burritos are killer.
Seriously. Ask for «Breakfast burrito with sausage links, mushroom, onions, and hash browns,» and you will get what I have gotten there over the years. It will satisfy your deepest cravings and last you until dinner.
Yum!

Synopsis: surprisingly delicious food at a county hospital
I’ve been eating here just about daily for the past three months… which makes sense because I work here. It’s a decent establishment and makes my tummy happy…
It’s on the first floor of the hospital, and is variously called the olive view-​UCLA medical center cafeteria, the Morrison café (after the foodservice company that runs it), the olive view café, and the olive branch café.
DON’T MISS:
— cilantro-​lime dressing. I can’t figure out which days the chef decides to make this, but look for the green goo at the salad bar. Delicious with fries, sandwiches, chicken tenders…
— flatbreads. Their pizzas proper are forgettable, but there’s a different flatbread daily – mushroom, chicken/​tomato/​Parmesan, good ol’ pepperoni… these are thin, slightly crispy, and have relatively few calories…
— parfaits. Somehow everything served in a cup with a dome lid on top is labeled a parfait. I ain’t complaining… choose from pita-​hummus parfait, brownie bite parfait, cheese/​crackers/​grapes parfait, jello parfait… and yes, yogurt parfaits too…
— random hot food items. These includes dishes like carrot soufflé with walnut and pureed turnips. Yum!
— breakfast burrito. Your choice of fillings may include scrambled eggs/​whites, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham/​bacon/​hot link/​turkey sausage, refried beans, cheese… always served with salsa on the side!
— chilaquiles ain’t bad
NOT SO HOT:
— salad bar by weight. Don’t know the exact price, but too expensive. (Premade salads are, on the other hand, pretty reasonable at $ 4.59).
If you have to be at the hospital for some reason, don’t miss it!