New Tender Greens At UC Irvine

Fast Casual Food has become my new obsession. I no longer think of it as Burger King or McDonald’s because the quality of fast casual food has come a tremendously long way.

Recently UC Irvine opened it’s doors to one of my most favorite fast casual restaurants called” Tender Greens“. I reviewed the one in the Irvine Spectrum last year and was instantly hooked so when I found out there was a new one opening in Irvine I couldn’t wait to try it!

The location is very conveniently located as there is parking right out front. It’s next to Trader Joe’s.Trader Joe’s.

Tender Greens UC Irvine

Interior

The interior is spacious with a lot of seating, and they have an area to sit outdoors as well. Considering they are newly opened, the ordering process/quality of the food/service were all great.

Food and Drink

Upon entering, they have paper menus available for you to peruse. You then walk up to the register and put in your order/give them your name (you don’t pay here, though!). You then shuffle down the line and get to see them tossing your salad, preparing your food, etc. At the end, they will verify your order and you pay there.

I loved how all of the veggies were up front and you could see everything you want to order. I am a visual person and it really helped me decide what I want to order.

I brought my friend with me and we started off our meals with some refreshing drinks! I love their natural sodas so I got the root beer and my friend had the aqua fresca. Both were thirst quenching.

For my main entree I chose the backyard steak, butter lettuce and creamy mashed potatoes. The dressing on the salad is amazing and I wish they sold it in a bottle. I would buy it all up! My steak was tender and the mashed potatoes were outstanding. They were creamy and delightful and I was informed they are made with creme fresh.

I also tried the Roasted Roma Tomato Soup with basil oil and ciabatta croutons. It was very comforting and had a really nice flavor to it.

My friend had the seared Ahi with Romaine Lettuce and the mashed potatoes. I had a bite of her and it was equally as good! The Ahi was flavorful and she thoroughly enjoyed the salad and mashed potatoes as well.

Dessert

To end our meal we each had our own dessert. My friend had the homemade pop tart which was awesome! It had made from scratch jam inside of it and the frosting was so good. I enjoyed the chocolate brownie but It wasn’t as sweet as I would have liked. I have had the citrus olive bread before and cannot recommend enough good things about it. I highly recommend that .

Tender Greens is a top notch restaurant and we were in and out in 30 minutes. The service is great, the food is great and the location can’t be beat!

For more information visit Tender greens on Facebook and on Twitter.