Finally a breath of fresh air in Oakland! Great for college students because of both the value and quality of the food. For a set price, plus additional charges for meat, you can get a delectable salad with endless ad ins. They customize the salad even down to the size you want your bites to be. Definitely a must-try in Oakland, there is nothing else like it! read more

Ordered a takeout burger during rush hour, got home and had the wrong burger. Called them up and they couldn't have been nicer. Went back, the right order and two free cookies. Food is very good and they treat their customers well. Enjoy! read more

The salad bar selection is wonderful and the staff are friendly and fantastic! It is a nice atmosphere, kept clean, and overall appealing. I went shortly after it opened and then 2 weeks later and the staff still maintained the same friendly "Hello!" attitude. The only downside is the limited seating. This is a great option if you are taking your lunch to go though! read more

Of all the places on Forbes to stop and get dinner on the way home from work, this is my favorite. After working a 12-13 hour day at the hospital, I want something quick that I can pick up and take home, but I don't want it to be heavy and fried. The salad bar is ideal. You get to choose your lettuce then a myriad of toppings and a protein for about $9. The price is a little steep for a salad, but with the amount of food you get, I think it's well worth it. Personally, I suggest the citrus chipotle BBQ dressing. It's so good! If you're choosing between chicken and steak, choose the chicken. The steak I found to be a bit chewy and flavorless-but the chicken is delicious! I've also had the italian grilled cheese which was delicious. Can't go wrong here! read more

Had a burger, it was decent, fries are freshly cut. The soda machine features a company that uses pure cane sugar with is a nice touch. The salads looked better than the burger - very big. read more

Love the salads! Love the price! For $7-8 you can eat your heart out of every vegetable possible...they have great topping choices like red quinoa, bean sprouts, artichokes, kalamata olives, edemame. This is a vegetarian's dream.. Staff was friendly and accommodating and did not make me feel guilty about getting so many toppings. The only draw back is the wait...but it is worth it. read more

I'm a huge salad fan, so this place was right up my ally. I got the Mediterranean and have to say that I was very pleased. I never order dressing with my salads (I don't like the overwhelming flavor and they're usually pretty high in calories), so I was very surprised when I tasted how flavorful this salad was without it. Most salads are usually bland and unpalatable on their own, and rely on a strong dressing to provide flavor, but not this one. At the end of the day, it's just a salad, but one I would be happy to eat again. I can't vouch for any of the sandwiches or burgers here, but even if you think you're "not a salad person", there will definitely be something here for you to try out. At $7, the price is a wee steep, but that's to be expected from a restaurant like this. read more

Definitely call ahead for take-out orders off of the menu. This place is a madhouse, even before noon after all of the students have left for the summer. They were out of the dressing I wanted, but a manager came out and adjusted my order and gave me a free chili for my trouble. The power protein salad is totally my style. It goes well with the pesto dressing, although I bet I would have liked the lemon yogurt dressing better. The special sodas are a nice touch, but they are a little overpowering for someone who doesn't normally drink pop. It'll calm down once the ice melts a little. read more

Hello Bistro is extremely over priced. It's cool if you're trying to eat healthy, which I do. It is nice to be able to get a salad with so many options, but avocado is extra money and meat is extra money?? My salad without either of those was around $7. It was okay, but I couldn't finish it all. I left it in my fridge for a couple of hours and it was completely soggy and watery and gross at the bottom. It was really disappointing, because it was pretty pricey for just a salad. read more

I will not go back since they removed the Asian sesame dressing from the menu. Disappointing because before that I was a frequent customer.

Hello Bistro offers a variety of fresh and and amazing toppings for their salads. Whenever I go I usually make my own salad. The toppings are absolutely incredible and the salads themselves are so big you can easily get two meals out of it. However, please allot plenty of time as the salad bar line can take up to 15 minutes by the time it's all chopped and mixed. It is on the pricier side, but you get to put as many toppings as you would like. I highly recommend and it's one of the bests casual restaurants in Oakland. read more

Hello Bistro - My make your own salad. Absolutely amazing. - Salad Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I keep finding sand in my shrimp salad. I don't think the shrimp are being properly washed.

One of the best salads I have ever had. Perfect made to order salads. Good choices for toppings and dressings. About $8-9 for the salads but the portion sizes are big. Definitely worth the money. Not a big fan of their fries as they are oily. But overall good place to have salads in the campus. read more

This last visit was, well, my last visit. I've been going to Hello Bistro ever since they opened. I was glad when they added online ordering as the wait time is extensive. I tolerated the fact that I kept finding remnants of items I didn't order in my salad (luckily I don't have any allergies). I also tolerated that I wouldn't get all the ingredients that I ordered. HOWEVER, I CANNOT TOLERATE A HAIR in my salad. I should have known better when I went there last week, in person, early in the day to order my salad (and still wait a long time). The place didn't look clean and the staff looked very unprofessional. After my disgusting experience of finding the hair, I tried to call the restaurant to speak with the manager (this was take-out), but nobody even answered the phone. I sent them an email via their website, but nobody responded. This place is unhygienic. What a shame. Expensive, disgusting, no thanks. You've lost me as a customer. read more

I visited for the first time today and ordered the the Tandoor Chicken Salad. It has two items I hate, beets and kale. But surprisingly it tasted excellent, so Hello Bistro gets full marks on that. I also walked in literally two minutes before a line started forming, so I avoided the dreaded line. I liked the menu options and salad bar for those building their own salads is displayed well, albeit no labeling. The reason for knocking off a point however is, in my very last bite I either bit in to a stone or a raw grain. That was highly unpleasant. read more

I ordered online for the Oakland location and waited more than 25 minutes after the scheduled pick up time because it was during a lunch rush, but my ordered never came out. I asked for help, but had to wait another 5 minutes before an employee could check on my order. I was told they could still make my salad, but it would take another 5 minutes. My lunch hour was over at this point and I had to ask for a refund. It was frustrating. read more

Me and my GF ordered a salad and a burger today. Waited for a whole lifetime to get our food. I wish there's a 'negative star' review choice here. read more

I placed an order online and they claimed they didn't get it. They asked me if I ordered it to the wrong location and if I was early, which neither was the case and I had to show them for proof. They claimed they never saw the order even though I physically watched them pull it from receipts that had been put to the side. I had to wait an extra almost 15 minutes to get my new salad, even though I told them I'd be late returning to work now, and rather than the manager apologizing, they kept saying all they can do is make it now. I was asked to get in line behind people that had just walked in and I was told, "That's the best I can do for you" over and over again. Another employee then started adding into the conversation, whispering and making comments when I walked away, both rolling their eyes and looking at me like I caused a huge problem. Never once said sorry, recognize it was an inconvenience, and simply didn't care. Just rude. Not coming back here since the employees act like that. read more

Don't believe the hype. This place is a joke. Ambiance bad, restaurant acoustics are bad which makes it loud(!), not enough seating, food just so/so, EXPENSIVE(!) for what you get, etc. I think people's reviews on here are maybe skewed just by having a new place to go. I think the salad bar idea is good however the fact that a server/employee has to put the toppings on for you is silly. It made me not want to get a salad. I believe when the novelty wears off people will realize that this place is only so-so. read more

First let me say they opened last week so I understand there may be some kinks to work out but it was pretty bad. From the first moments inside we felt a sense confusion and of being rushed. I ordered a burger, fries and a side salad and told to go to the dressing station and someone will get you the dressing of your choice along with an order number to put on the table. I waited in line for 10 minutes at the dressing station before interrupting someone to get my dressing (my meal was delivered to me while waiting in line). The place was packed and we waited another 10 minutes for a table to clear. You could see many unhappy faces from the customers but the staff was remarkably upbeat. The food: Their marketing reads "Yes, we've been flippin' burgers since 1949 - you don't do something for that long without getting preeeetty good at it.". The burger tasted like a processed frozen burger from a cafeteria, it was bland & spongy. The salad was nice but the red wine vinaigrette tasted like something out of a bottle. Not what I was expecting. If you're looking for good burgers, walk a bit further and go to 5 guys. If you like salads they have a great selection but I suspect the dressings are pretty much off the shelf. Someone that I had lunch with told me said the food is straight from Eat and Park so if that's your taste you might like it. read more

Ordered a cup of their usually good chicken noodle soup to go. Walked down Forbes Ave for a while and sat down to eat and it was unbearably salty. Inedible. Walked back to get it swapped for something else (they were out of their other soups, as it was late in the evening). I opted for a $4 breakfast sandwich. The manager was unwilling to compensate me in any other way than by deducting the price of the soup from what I was getting (which was $1.50 more than the soup). He insulted me by offering an order of fries instead (which was worth less than the soup). I wasted 10 minutes twice waiting for the food and another 10 minutes walking back. You can't treat a customer like that. I wasn't asking for the world. I was forced to pay full price for something I didn't originally want after having walked back and forth and waiting for it to be prepared. read more

I work a couple of blocks from this restaurant. A couple of weeks ago several of us ordered our usual salads. The fine chop we asked for had whole lettuce leaves. My salad had the wrong dressing. There were several other items wrong or missing with our orders.We filled out comments on their web site, and they didn't even care enough to acknowledge any of the comments. We had frequented this restaurant several times before, but none of us are going back! read more

I used to really like them but i feel they have gotten kind of cheap. Not that i expect a ton of toppings but when you order a 10-12$ salad you don't want 90% lettuce. Also they now give out half slices of limp wonder bread as your bread on the side. read more

So I've only been here twice the items on the menu all sound great and their salads look awesome. The first time I ordered from here I tried calling 3 times and they never picked up so I ordered online and went to pick it up, when I went to pick it up they claimed they never received my order which was fine I understand computer systems sometimes mess up my grilled cheese was good. The second time I ordered from here I ordered a grilled cheese I just picked it up and I'm not even sure if they cooked it. It was buttery and not even crisp I'm pretty sad that every time I order from here something isn't right. So I paid 6 dollars for a buttery cheese sand which that wasn't even cooked... read more

Over priced and under filling. A $9 salad shouldn't be 95% lettuce. Save your money for somewhere else. Their saving grace is the beer.

This location needs to train their employees better. Had a terrible experience with employee Charles. He came over to the register after preparing a salad with gloves on, used the register and then started preparing my salad with the same gloves. When I warned, he changed them huffing and puffing. Then he spilled half of my tofu on the tray line and did not replace it, I ended up with 4-5 tofu cubes- much less than I normally get in here (I am no stranger to the place; I live on McKee and am over there at least every other day). I asked for more tofu and he refused. Then for salad dressing I wanted olive oil and turned his back and flooded an empty bowl with olive oil without asking how much I want. Normally, people here do the dressing in front of you and ask you to tell when it is enough. I was not happy and I said I am not happy with your service and he told me "I am not happy with you". Excellent service indeed. Can't you do better? read more

So they probably forgot about my order. Took 30mins to deliver one burger. And another one is missing! Now I am waiting for the other one. Hehe read more

Great place to get a fast healthy lunch. Their salad bar is amazing with so many options. I love the custom option that lets you add whatever you want for a set price (with the exception of some premium items like the meats and shrimp that cost extra). I really like how they will chop the salad for you to your desired size and add in your desired amount of salad dressing so you can get it exactly the way you want it. I found the medium level salad dressing to be slightly heavy so I'll probably go for light in the future. They also have some breakfast sandwiches (probably not quite so healthy). There is a soda fountain machine offering an interesting selection of natural sodas. The line can get pretty long during peak weekday hours but it moves quickly, but if you avoid peak lunch times then you can get in and out of there pretty fast. All the staff are friendly and the ingredients are really fresh. There is also a small seating area. read more

This place is super good! I got the BBQ chicken salad twice now and it's fresh and delicious. Generous size helping. Price is good as well. I also tried the chicken soup and it was good as well! Close to the hospital which is a plus! I recommend trying here ! read more

Terrible Service! Due to my short breaks at work I order my food online to spare myself waiting in a long line. EVERYTIME I go to pick up my food at the time it is supposed to be ready, it is never ready. My order is always messed up, I either have something missing or something I did not want added in (usually in my salad). If made correctly food is decent, but definitely not worth the hassle. I will not be going back :( read more

I stopped at Hello Bistro for lunch and was quite impressed. The restaurant facilities are nice and exceptionally clean, even during the busy lunch hour. The staff was friendly and efficient and the food was excellent. I chose to order a salad and was very impressed with the freshness of the ingredients, selection and size. When you order a salad you select from four different types of greens. You can then choose from more varieties of vegetables, nuts, bacon, ham and cheese then you can imagine. Of these, you can choose as many as you care to. Additionally, for a small extra charge, you can choose to have a protein added. All of this is packed into a quart size bowl. One salad is really enough for two. I highly recommend Hello Bistro. I'll be going back. read more

How much did I love their whole team? My coworker and I ordered salads, everyone there was beyond friendly! We went to the Oakland location and Fede was our chopper and she was such a sweetheart! Keep up the great work, everyone! We'll be back again and again! read more

I like the place, and the set up was cool, people were great. I just cant believe I paid $9 for an eat n' park cheese burger and some fries. read more

Have been here twice now and both times were great. I have yet to get a salad but I definitely want to, I love big salads with lots of toppings! I had the grilled cheese and the other grilled cheese with marinara and pepperoni, which was delicious. Quick friendly service, prices are great. I will definitely be making Hello Bistro a regular lunch stop! read more

decent salads. While generally friendly, the service at times resembles a bunch of degenerate middle schoolers running around lost in circles, which can be deeply frustrating. Granted this is Pittsburgh and stiff competition for those with fine culinary tastes is obviously absent, so you'll wind up here whether you like it or not. read more

Hello Bistro is an "upscale-fast-food-restaurant" that has a very nice choice of salads. The problem is that they are very expensive and you can't get away with spending less than $10 for lunch, which is just too much for a mid-day meal IMO. I got a burger and fries (for about $9). The burger was good, but the fries were AWFUL. They were grease laden and droopy... not crispy and light like I like. Really not good at all for the price. If you dine in Oakland, I suggest you get a cheeseburger hoagie at Uncle Sams instead - it costs less and is much more yummy! I would give Hello Bistro a much better rating if there were more low cost options.... the value just isn't there. read more

I've had the opportunity to eat here twice now while visiting from the suburbs. Staff is welcoming from the door. Everyone seems very knowledgeable and helpful. Loved the salad! Wish there was close by! read more

The staff is nice and the layout & vibe are very relaxed. Food is good, moderately priced. Been there twice and have had a good experience both times.Haven't tried the salad yet, but it seems to be there specialty. They have salads on the menu as well as a huge salad bar that you can use to customize your salad. If you're looking for a good meal in Oakland, check it out! read more

I feel like I can't accurately comment on Hello Bistro because their big selling point is the made to order salads and I ordered a burger. Let's start with something simple and talk about seating. We went down here for a late lunch (1:30) one day. The place was packed, as most places in Oakland are. We ordered take out. The problem with this is you have to find a place to locate yourself until your take out order is ready. There were no table and no barstools available so we ended up awkwardly asking a group if we could hang at their table for a few minutes until our orders were ready. Luckily they were quick and our order was up within five minutes. I ordered the avocado veggie burger and fries as a side. It was nothing special and I could literally make a better burger at home. Maybe I'm just kind of a burger snob because I find most burger places to be highly unsatisfactory (Burgatory, such a disappointment). This burger was just a standard veggie patty, a slice of swiss cheese, an overabundance of onion, two chunks of avocado and some ketchup. It was kind of bland. The fries were extremely greasy. My friend ordered a salad and her food was actually much better. This place is definitely at it's best when you get a salad. You can personalize it however you'd like. I had a few bites and the salad seemed to be a much tastier option. I was just lured in by the promise of a burger with avocado. Next time I'm sticking with salads and that's that! I think this place is a little bit pricey for the quality you're getting but it looks like I'm in the minority on that one. Not my favorite place in Oakland but not the worst either! read more

Coming into Hello Bistro with only 2 people in front of me I thought the process of getting a salad would be relatively painless, but I was wrong. I ordered a pre-designed salad WITH DRESSING ON THE SIDE. Not a complicated order. My salad then proceeded to sit on the counter waiting to be mixed for at least 15-20 minutes. All the workers were in the back/kitchen clearly just talking considering the restaurant had a total of 5 people in it. Someone finally noticed I had been waiting for going on 25 minutes now, they proceeded to dump about half a bottle of dressing on my salad. The worker unapologetically handed me the salad after the 35 minute ordeal. And of course, the salad was disgusting due to the gallon of dressing on top. It was more of a dressing soup. I would have been better off waiting in the lengthily chipotle line. I probably would have been done faster and at least my order would have been done right. Worst $10 ever spent. I will not be reuniting read more