Date of Visit: 2/27/2015 Overall Score: 85/100 Become a Regular (X), Make a Visit (), Skip () General Review: I went to Croutons with my SO after a long bus ride down to LA. She had eaten at Croutons before and thought I would love it. Well she was right! I got the full size of the "Californian" and it was probably enough food for two people. It was really good and the staff was insistent that the meat came from Boar's Head Meats and that it was all local and fresh. My SO got the Chicken and Wild Rice soup. I tried it and it was flavorful and creamy. Everything we got was good! Pros: -Fresh local ingredients -Friendly and helpful staff -Easily accessible location -Plenty of seating -Close to a lot of other shopping and attractions -Plenty of options Cons: -A bit spendy but not too bad Conclusion: I would definitely go back to croutons. This is a great spot for a quick bite that is fresh and fairly healthy. read more

Croutons has the best croutons. For real. They are like honey cornbread something. Anyway, I recommend croutons if you need a salad fresh and quick. You can call it in or sit inside or at the shared complex tables outside. Service is great! Prices are high - about 8-10 bucks per person. It is always busy with business people coming from Executive Park across the street. read more

I'm totally in love with the vegetarian panini. We come here about once a week for lunch and I always get the veggie panini with the vegetarian soup of the day. It's easy to have a meatless lunch here: there's always at least one or two vegetarian soups, which are clearly labeled, and lots of meatless salad options. Veggie sandwich choices are limited beyond that panini, but I don't think I'd come here without ordering it anyway. Vegans may have a more difficult time, as nothing is labeled vegan. I haven't asked anyone at Croutons about vegan choices, but I think several of the vegetarian options could be made vegan just by ordering a different dressing (there's a list of them on the wall) and/or leaving off the cheese. The staff here are generally very friendly and I think they'd be happy to help. Most of the food is pretty healthy, and it's easy to not consume an overwhelming number of calories for lunch. There are meal calculators and nutrition info on Croutons' website so you can make a plan of attack before you go. read more

Been here a few times since it is close to the office, but it's never quite as good as I hope. The salad and sandwich deal is good and there are lots of choices. I've had the Mediterranean salad, Mixed Berry salad, balsamic chicken salad, turkey artichoke panini and vegi panini and all were standard tasting. read more

Croutons - Sandwiches Near Me - Irvine, California

Perfect place to get your soup and salad... The menu is pretty decent and price is not that bad. Service is very quick and effecient. Indoor seating is quite limited. BUt you can always enjoy sitting outside with the sun (of cos' during sunny weather). Lines tend to get bery long during lunch hours. Great place to bump into your co-workers. So please don't gossip too much. read more

This is a perfect stop for a quick, casual and healthy lunch! I had their turkey & artichoke panini which was light and tasty and a cup of the Southwestern Corn Chowder - AMAZING!! Paired with cornbread croutons, YUM! I'll be back to try their salads :) read more

I just loved this! I'm a flight attendant and I grabbed a quick healthy salad and the large is such a great price!

I love their lettuce wraps (chicken and egg salads) along with their chicken soup. But the best part was always those little brownies!! Love it. Their salads were all bland (or maybe they didn't give me the right dressings??) Their paninis and sandwiches never drew me in and make me buy them. read more

Great lunch spot. I love the blue cheese pear salad and turkey panini! It's worth it to call ahead during the week. It's a pretty hot spot for all the local offices. read more

First time visit, called ahead and food was ready in 8 mins. Got the granny apple chicken salad and the margherita chicken panini combo. The sandwich was very good but dry. The salad was excellent. Definitely going back, good value. read more

The best place!! I get their barbecue chicken salad and it's perfection in every bite including their custom croutons. If I'm ever in the area, this is my go to place for salads. Fresh and savory with every bite read more

Great fruit, walnut salad. I especially loved the cornbread croutons that accompanied the salad; excellent combination. I also ordered their tomato basil soup, which was FANTASTIC! I loved the extra-crispy, garlicy/cheesy croutons that came with it, great pairing. This was my first visit to Croutons while doing an on location shoot, they should open some stores in Los Angeles! I talked to the cashier, she said most stores are in San Diego and Orange County. Hopefully they keep their northern path on into Los Angeles. I'd go ;) read more

Finally popped in here for lunch during work with a coworker. They have a large selection of specialty salads as well as sandwiches and a few flatbreads. You can also do the combo of half sandwich/half salad. At first, I think you may think the prices are a bit high. However, the food served is a higher quality than you would get at Boudin/Panera. The size of the salad also makes up for it, my gf was saying how she could've just gotten the salad. I, on the other hand, ate everything I tried the chicken pesto Panini sandwich and the Pear and Blue Cheese salad. The sandwich could've had a BIT more pesto for my liking but was cooked well, chicken was juicy and had a nice sauce. The salad was delicious, large fresh slices of pear and a tasty dressing. Service was prompt. Also nice that there are so many available tables outside to enjoy the people watching of the lunch rush for neighboring restaurants. read more

New favorite lunch spot. Lots of food for not too much $$, really fresh salads and a few actually healthy options too! Service is always quick and friendly even during the lunch rush, great spot with plenty of outdoor seating as well. read more

Can't say that the salad was spectacular. It was good. But the roasted vegetable salad lacked something extra. I'm all about texture, so not having something crunchy to compliment the greens and soft roasted vegetables made eating the salad rather boring. However, the creamy balsamic vinegar dressing was amazing! I'll come back if I'm in the area. read more

My favorite spot for lunch in Irvine. Order for take out on a regular basis, they are consistent and I know to expect healthy quality food! You got to try the Chicken Curry and super chicken soups, both are amazing. The Frank Spinach salad has the best balsamic dressing and the Buffalo Chicken flatini is worth a try. Shout out to Cory as he is one of the hardest working employees, and regardless how busy they get he is always on top of things. read more

Best BBQ chicken salad! The croutons really do make it! Ask for extra;) Quick & friendly service during lunch hour is awesome.

Had the buffalo chicken salad. It was deliciously great. Was very impressed with the salads. Tucked away in a food court setting, this place gets very busy for lunch, and with very good reason. Check it out for yourself, you will not be disappointed. read more

This place blows Specialty's out of the water! I've tried various salads and sandwiches and they have all been really good, fresh, and perfect portions. One of my favorite combos are the spinach salad and the roast beef panini. The location is small and parking can be a beotch so be warned. read more

I make better salads at home then this place. Overpriced for a salad. I got the tuna albacore small salad ($7). When I got the salad, it looked like they just grabbed greens from a bag through it in plastic container and added 1 scoop of tuna. BLAH! Make your salads more appealing please. read more

We have just arrived at John Wayne Airport, hungry and tired. We look to Yelp (who else?) for local food options and love the reviews we are reading for a little place called Croutons. Salad sounds good to me and Panini sounds good to my niece. Ordering is fast and efficient. The staff are friendly and very competent. I am new to this place, so I ask a lot of questions (what are these salad sizes? Can you put extra avocado on my panini? Does eating in include the patio outside that seems to be shared among about 5 or 6 restaurants? I ordered a Mandarin Salad with a lovely Sesame dressing. It had slivered almonds and chicken and mandarin oranges and good crispy Romaine lettuce. It was huge and I wasn't able to finish it My niece ordered a chicken panini with extra avocado. They sent out 2 whole sandwiches and we were truly perplexed. Were there supposed to be 2? Did they mistakenly give her 2? Or were these just the sandwich version of my giant salad? No matter, they were very good and my niece couldn't finish them. All in all, a great choice for lunch. read more

I wish I didn't have to give a one start but damn. I ordered a cobb salad and the amount of tiny bits of turkey and tiny bits of eggs is NOT worth paying 11 bucks. How cheap of the owner to be serving this amount in heir salad. Not worth it at all!!!! read more

Found this place on Yelp...used google maps to try to find this place and it took us to the backside where all the office buildings were. Quite confusing. The address was right so I'm not sure why the directions that were given were wrong. It was frustrating. After I called the place, they gave us the right directions and we finally found it. There's a lot of different combinations of salads and paninis and other sandwiches and a few choices of soup. Everything looks good and fresh and healthy. I really like these kinds of places, wish there was one closer to me to get fresh food. My Californian panini was good, it was like 2 sandwiches it was huge. It was nicely grilled and hot, with turkey, bacon avocado..yum! My BF's salad was filled with goodies, fresh nuts, fruit, avocado and of course, greens! staff was friendly and place was small but clean. read more

Croutons - Californian panini - Sandwiches Near Me - Irvine, California

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Nice variety of salads and great soups. Soups flavors rotate in/out, so it adds variety. Located in a business lunch area. Way better alternative than a greasy burger or sauce-laden pasta. Don't get the side panini roll, though. Rather blah and not what I expected. read more

Tried this place for the 1st time today and I was happy. I had their BBQ chicken salad which was amazing. My husband had the albacore sandwich which was also amazing. Food is really fresh and service was good. Best part was we didn't have to wait long for our food to be brought out to us. Down fall is parking is a little overwhelming give yourself good timing to park. It can get a little crowded. read more

I usually don't like salad for lunch because its just too much greens or its not fresh. Croutons really changed my mind, I came here with a couple of co workers and everyone really enjoyed it. The salads were really fresh and they had a lot of options for healthy dressings. Their paninis are really filling so I usually opt for half salad half panini. The paninis are really good too. I also haven't tried a soup I didn't enjoy. The tomato basil is my favorite, its also vegetarian if you have any vegetarian friends you come with. It's a bit pricey but worth it for all their fresh ingredients. They only have two locations one at UCSD and Irvine, so sad they need to open more branches. read more

Delicious fresh food for a reasonable price! I had the 2 item combo for $8.95 and ordered the artichoke turkey flatini and Mediterranean salad which were both delicious! Definitely going back! The customer service was also really good, and they were managing the Friday lunch crowd really well! read more

I've been here once before. Stellar berry salad!! Quick service. Friendly service. Recommend. :) read more

Croutons - Berry salad. Yum! - Sandwiches Near Me - Irvine, California

Love the buffalo chicken salad. & damn, they have the CUTEST waiter named Antonio who's super friendly and sweet and has this amazing energy, I wish I could take him every where w me such a cutie. Made my meal so much better just being served by him. Food is great but the server Antonio was even more great! read more

Yum! One of my favorite lunch spots. Californian panini and buffalo chicken salad! Call your order in ahead of time during lunch to skip the lines. They are super quick with the to-go orders. Highly recommended! read more

At the office, Croutons is now in our weekly rotation. Great menu, great food quality, one of the better values around Irvine. A must go to place if your getting bored of everything else around here. read more

I've tried almost every restaurant in this little complex, only because I just started a new job and don't know anywhere else to go for fear of getting lost and ending up where mac arthur and mac arthur intersect. I decided to go for the $7.75 combo with a chicken salad salad and a margheritta panini. The chicken salad was delicious with the granny smith apples. I did not like the overwhelming punch to the face smell of vinegar though. The margheritta panini tasted good with the sauce, I just wish there was more sauce. I'll definitely come back and try more of the salads. read more

Great quality and service. Recommendations: Napa Salad Southwestern Panini Tomato Basil Soup Freshly Brewed Tea Brownie bites read more

For this strip mall food court, croutons is a delightful place They have a wide variety of sandwiches and salads and soups all of which are delicious. I usually get the pesto sandwich or the Buffalo chicken. Both of which have a lot of flavor. The soups can be very good as well if you're looking for something different I very much like that they have options for iced tea that is made fresh. If you're in a hurry and you come during the week around lunchtime, good luck parking and orders will take a little while. read more

Great lunch spot but plan on arriving by 1100 to 1130 if you want an indoor table. Plenty of outdoor dining in a shared food court area. Fairly busy with lots of to-go traffic - but well worth any troubles you might endure in parking, etc. I've tried to work my way through the menu and everything has been awesome! Love the Super Chicken soup with Kale and veggies. As the name suggests they have a plethora of salad options to choose from and I've yet to find one that didn't please the appetite. Great part is you leave feeling satisfied without that heavy after-lunch effect from some dining experiences. Give it a try! Located in the food court on the northwest corner of MacArthur at Main. read more

Croutons - Albacore Salad and Lemonade - Sandwiches Near Me - Irvine, California

Pros: Ordered the Pesto Chicken and added and soup and both did not disappoint. Cons: Plaza does get crowded due to the offices nearby so go early! Overall: Definitely stop by if you are a fan of sandwiches, soups, or salads. read more

This is one of the best place to go pick up lunch if you work in the area Mon - Fri, They have a great selection of salads, sandwiches and soups. My fave is the combo Pear & Blue Cheese salad w/ a half of Applewood Three Cheese panini or Chicken Pesto. They have a few tables and chairs to get your grub on but this plaza gets very crowded and parking is horrible around lunchtime but the prices are reasonable. read more

Croutons - Combo Pear & Blue Cheese w/ Applewood Three Cheese Panini - Sandwiches Near Me - Irvine, California

Ordered the Frank's Spinach Salad to go. While it sounded good with strawberries, goat cheese, candied walnuts, bacon and more, in reality it wasn't good at all. It had way more spinach than anything else, the cheese was bland, the walnuts tasted plain, and it was soaking in dressing. Very underwhelming for $9. At least the people working there were friendly. read more

Croutons - Franks Spinach Salad to-go - Sandwiches Near Me - Irvine, California

I've been here a lot. It's down the street from my work and perfect meeting spot for my friend who also works nearby. One star for being exceptionally clean, another for the wide selection of salads and sandwiches. However, the last time I got a bbq chicken salad, half of my salad was wilted and spoiled the whole meal for me. I was too busy picking out wilted, rotten lettuce from each fork full. Very unappealing and because of this I refuse to eat here since. My friend still dines here when we meet up and would like this today for her birthday lunch. It will be my first meal here since the unforgettable rotten salad incident. Wish me luck. There are better options for salads and sandwiches for the money you would spend here. read more

Just had a combo with the half chicken pesto sandwich and half Mediterranean salad. This is not a real chicken. It's the cold sliced processed you would buy at the supermarket. You cannot feel any pesto sauce. The salad is far from being fresh. Shame on you. read more