I came here for my vegetarian friend's birthday dinner with about 13 people on a Friday night. Two of our friends went early before the dinner rush to grab a table, so that made it easy for us, but if you're coming with a big party during peak hours, expect to order out or wait for a table because finding a seat seemed next to impossible. We got in line and were pretty confused on how the menu worked so we had a lot of questions for the worker. I decided on the medium rare steak plate with Yukon mashed potatoes and baby spinach salad. I also ordered the mint lemonade which totaled to about $15. I really liked how the process worked, which entailed ordering, watching your food being prepared in a line, then ordering desserts and drinks at the end with the cashier. It made the waiting a lot more bearable. I was a bit concerned that the food wasn't going to be filling, but I was perfectly full by the end of my meal. The medium rare steak was very juicy and well-seasoned and paired perfectly with the mashed potatoes. I really enjoyed the baby spinach salad that had hazelnuts that gave the entire plate more texture. I didn't like that the goat cheese wasn't mixed in well and were getting clumpy on a few leaves. Overall I really enjoyed the plate, but I definitely couldn't stop thinking that a piece of bread would have made the meal feel more complete. A lot of people have raved about the mint lemonade, but I could have done without it. I was expecting more of a minty, refreshing flavor, but ended up with something that tasted more like Minute Maid. I really enjoyed everything, but I can't imagine coming again. Also, one of my guy friends said he wasn't full from the meal and we ordered the same thing. Definitely worth trying at least once, but I would suggest not coming if you're starving. read more

Tender Greens - Medium rare steak on Yukon mashed potatoes with a side of the baby spinach salad + mint lemonade came out to about $15 - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

We were in the mood for something healthy so our friends suggested Tender Greens. Hubby got the Fried chicken plate with mashed potatoes and a side of potato leek soup ($2 extra) and I got the steak salad. I tried a bite of the chicken and it was juicy, but hubby said it lacked flavor. It definitely looked crispy but not golden. My steak wasn't bad but I wasn't too crazy about my greens and the vinaigrette was too light I barely tasted it. Our cashier was nice and patient but everyone else looked like they didn't want to be there (my friends commented on this too). It was a Sunday afternoon and it wasn't too packed so not sure why they all looked so tired. For an average of $15pp with a drink, it's not at the top of my list for a "healthy" meal. read more

Tender Greens - Fried chicken with mashed potatoes - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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UC Irvine students- today is your lucky day. Tender Greens is a chain restaurant dedicated to healthy local food, with a big emphasis on salads. Vegetables are always fresh and meats are always deliciously tender. Every bite is fresh, flavorful, and savory. Drink menu options range from a variety of sodas that use actual sugar (as opposed to corn syrup), mint lemonade (with actual mint!), hibiscus tea, agua fresca, teas, wines, and beer. Also, don't consider Tender Greens as another one of "those" chain restaurants à la Applebee's or Cheesecake Factory. Every meal is made to perfection and you always leave feeling satisfied and healthy for a decent price (about $11.50/big salad). Desserts tend to be flavorful pastries or soft-baked cookies. This is a new location so the workers are still in training mode. The wait took about 1.5x as long as the other locations, but that is forgiven considering the context. I got the chipotle BBQ chicken salad, a mint lemonade, a lemon thyme raspberry almond pastry, and a potato leek soup. The chicken was so tender and I loved that I ate whole mouthfuls of avocado occasionally-just as delicious as the other locations. I loved the mint lemonade because it wasn't too sweet and was very refreshing, and I can't get over how they use actual mint in the drink. I also really liked my dessert- almonds kept it from being overly sweet and the raspberry gave it a nice fruity flavor. The potato leek soup was so good- it tasted like creamy mashed potatoes that were liquified into a soup with added butter. Simply indulgent Friend got the backyard steak salad, chicken tortilla soup, agua fresca, and hibiscus tea. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and I loved the beets that went with it. Everything he had was just delicious. I found the agua fresca to be a bit too sweet, like somebody added an extra heaping of sugar and flavor. Otherwise, everything was good. read more

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It's a cute little salad restaurant. The price is around $12 per dish on the menu. Nothing special, just chicken/red meat and salad. If you are the type to pay over $10 for salad at a noisy sit-down restaurant, this is the place for you. I had the Chinese Chicken salad, and it was good. It tasted just like salad and pieces of dry chicken. The employees (students) are so nice. It gets crowded after 6pm. read more

Tender Greens - Chinese chicken salad - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

I've tried liking their food but no... There's always something wrong. Their vegetables swim in oil- every time even when I ask less oil plz, the salmon is always raw on the inside even when i ask for well done. That slither of salmon could easily just not be included (yes I know fish is now expensive but I'm willing to pay more). Sadly, I've decided to not be a customer anymore. read more

Tender Greens - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

They were extremely busy on an early Saturday evening. My friend and I nevertheless managed to order and snag ourselves a seat. She had some sort of chicken salad, and I indulged in the skirt steak with mashed potatoes and arugula salad. My salad was delicious and my mashed potatoes were lovely, but the steak was tough and chewy, to be honest. I was a tad bit disappointed. Also, the hibiscus tea was overly sweet and I couldn't finish it. Next time I will just get water, and maybe choose another protein. read more

Had a lunch here and ordered the chicken harvest salad. It was a huge, delicious salad and was made quickly. I also had a chocolate chip cookie and it was tasty. I would go again and recommend to others. read more

Tender Greens was my favorite lunch place when I interned in the San Francisco office of my company. Missed it so much and had to come here when I saw it while visiting UC Irvine. Ordered the daily special of short rib eggs Benedict, blood orange agua fresca, a caramel white chocolate cookie. The food is amazing! Just like I remembered it. Since I was heading to the airport in the afternoon, also ordered a nicoise salad to go for later! So satisfied and happy with the food. read more

Tip: They offer free refills on their lemonade :) I am really impressed with this place. i went here with my coworkers for lunch. The ingredients are very fresh and unique. The menu is simple yet very clean. You can choose to order a salad or a hot plate or sandwich with a simple salad/ mashed potatoes . Also they offer 5 specials that are on a separate menu. I got the hot plate with salt and pepper chicken, baby arugula salad and replaced the mashed potatoes with grilled veggies. The chicken was pretty good. It was still juicy and soft. The flavors were subtle and not plain. You have the option to have the chicken skin removed. The grilled veggies were delicious. Sweet and savory. I loved it!! The grilled veggies contained: eggplant, spiky broccoli, green beans, corn and zucchini. WOW, spiky broccoli - impressed that they have that. New veggies hybrids to try!! nom nom nom... It tasted like cauliflower but softer. This place is self seating. I went around noon and there was surprisingly not too people. There plenty of open tables and they have outdoor seating. The staff are very quick to clean up and help. Personally i think $11.50 for lunch is pricey but it is worth it, once in awhile. It always looks like there is a long line but that's not true. Their cashier/place to order is very close to the front of the store which makes a line form outside. It is not fun waiting out in the sun. :[ read more

Tender Greens - Salt and Pepper Chicken + Grilled Veggies + Baby Arugula salad - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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We used to come here a few years ago, but haven't been in a while. Decided to check it out again this last weekend. Food is decent, but smaller portions. I was still hungry after my meal. Most of the tables were filthy dirty to sit at. Even though it wasn't busy, none of the tables had been bussed. Kind of gross eating at a table that still has water and food bits on it. Not sure we'll be back. No excuse for dirty tables. Might try another location. read more

I liked my lunch on Tuesday so much that I came back again on Wednesday. Each time, I had chicken plates: the salt and pepper chicken one day and then the barbecued chipotle chicken the next. I had mashed potatoes both times, but an arugula salads the first day and another green salad the second day. (A review has no value unless it's full of details, right?) I liked everything that I ate and drank here. This particular Tender Greens exemplifies the chain as well as the La Jolla Tender Greens in the UTC shopping center. (My home TGs is not quite at the same level!) A member of the Tender Greens team came around each day to ask our group if everything was tasting well and if any of us needed drink refills. My refill of agua fresca was as delicious as the first glass. read more

I am obsessed with the chicken Cobb salad here. It's very good! Huge portion so I can never eat it all in one sitting. It's my go-to when I don't know what to eat. The sandwiches and the entrees are pretty good also. I've tried the chicken and steak. You can kind of make your own meals with sides. I love that! read more

Overhyped. That really sums up this place. I've tried this place twice so far and it's always the same outcome. You think for the price you pay you would get better food but no. Let me explain. First time I went I got a crappy wilted salad with a small plop of chicken. Yesterday I decided to give this place another shot. I ordered the pacific bowl with katsu chicken. Omg ! I open the box and I see way overcooked (almost black brown) piece of katsu chicken. It was so hard I could barely eat it. It came with a small crappy salad and of course a ton of needless rice. 14 dollars for this????? My coworker even looked at my plate and asked what it was. I'm sorry ---strike two and your out for me. Never coming back here. Thanks but pass. read more

Great meal. Always a good dinner option! My son eats here regularly after his workouts for a graet protien choices and salads.

Service - good. 90% of the time the week s is good. Food- I come here pretty often and almost Always get the salmon plate. The food is almost always tasty. Salmon is good medium rare and is very tasty and Juicy. For sides: I like the butter lettuce w tarragon vinaigrette and the arugula salad. Price - good. read more

I used to get the barbecue chipotle chicken salad ALL the time from the Santa Monica and Torrance locations and it was legit my favorite salad in the world. I haven't had Tender Greens in a while since I moved to OC since they're too far from me now so I don't know if it's that the whole chain is going downhill or if the Irvine location is just no good but I just had the same salad from the Irvine Spectrum location and it was such a huge disappointment. It seems like they're cost cutting on the ingredients because the quality of everything was worse. The chicken was definitely lower quality and not cooked as well as I was used to at the other locations, the croistini quality was worse, etc. It's definitely not worth the money at this quality level read more

i sure did spend a lot of my tender greens here for like a half portion of a meal. waited around 26 mins for it to come out with nobody around me. it was a weird experience. there was also a guy in the seating area yelling out cooking instructions to the cooks, like training people from the seating area lol. that was weird. food was super bomb though. just make the atmosphere a little less weird and give me some more food for the 20 dollars i gave you and I'm down to come back read more

Came here on a Friday night around 8pm. Wasn't too busy and we were able to find a table right away. I couldn't figure out what to get and the cashier recommended the Niçoise salad. I hesitated since I don't like olives or capers but I decided to try it out (I asked for those to be removed from the salad of course). Basically every plate at tender greens costs $12 unless you get a small salad or soup. The salad was actually pretty good. Very light! The tuna was seasoned perfectly and went well with the dressing. Although $12 is a little steep for a salad, it was pretty filling. I'm going to have to go back and try something else! read more

Tender Greens - Niçoise salad - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

I love this place! Whenever I crave salad or something healthy. The first that comes to mind is "Tender greens" I recommend the chicken Cobb salad or the tuna Niçoise salad with the green monster drink or fresh lemonade. It's roughly a four $12 or $13 for a salad that's healthy and delicious. It's get very busy during lunch on the weekdays. I would say that the customer device is very friendly and take the time to offer refills for your drinks. Very well trained in taking care of their customers! Clean environment, clean restrooms and clean patio to go along with the clean eating. You won't be disappointed! read more

Tender Greens - Chicken Cobb salad - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

Tender Greens is a healthy and delicious option for lunch and dinner at the University Town Center. The biggest issue I have with this place is its price; a base plate can easily be upwards of $14. I get the salmon, steak, or chicken plate with romaine hearts salad (kinda like a Ceasar w/o chicken) and mashed potatoes. The food is all organic and tastes great. I have never really had an issue with the food or service in my time of coming here. Highly recommended. read more

Tender Greens - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

I love this place! Nice service, extremely fast, and a small menu. I wish there were more chains near me read more

Tender Greens - Salt and Pepper Chicken - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

I love Tender Green especially the one at Irvine Spectrum (now in SF too), but this one isn't up to par with the other location. Maybe because it's student run? Not sure why but the cooking isn't the same. I usually get the Tuna Nicose, but my fish always comes out different. Sometimes a get a huge chuck in the shape like a rock and sometimes I get 2 shitty little pieces. The steak is supposed to be medium rare, but sometimes it's cooked to much LOL. My favorite dish was when they had the salmon salad. Too bad it was only a special. I wished it was on the menu premenately. Much is needed for improvement at this location, but I would still frequent this place out of convenience. read more

Tender Greens - Steakkk (don't get the chipotle chicken it's dry) - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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There are few words in the English language with which I can use articulate my love of this establishment. Tender greens strikes the perfect balance between price and quality. The food and service here are first class, and easily ranks among the top restaurants I've personally been too. The entrees here are made in three distinct styles of your choice: on a hot plate, in a sandwich, or with in a simple salad. With a hot plate or sandwich, the entree also comes with a side salad of your choice, along with mashed potatoes or grilled veggies. Alternatively you can order a huge salad with various things in them. Check the menu! https://www.tendergreens.com/locations/624/uc-irvine/the-menu Near the check out stand they have an assortment of amazing desserts. The selection varies daily and never disappoints. My personal favorite are the cupcakes. The cake is fluffy and moist, and the buttercream frosting is simply unrivaled in flavor and texture. The cream is light and flavorful, yet rich in buttery goodness. Lastly, they have amazing beverages. Their agua fresca is made daily with a different flavor each day. Their lemonade tastes how homemade minty fresh lemonade should. Not to mention unlimited refills! Great food, great environment, great service, extremely convenient, great prices, and HEALTHY! What more could you ask for? Lastly, they have the best fried chicken. Seriously, try it. read more

Tender Greens - Fried chicken. Best thing on menu - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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BBQ corn $5.00: 2 corns only. Tasty though. I asked if the corn will be served warm or cold. The first register person said it's served warm. It was cold! Cold corn! Some of the servers' fingers looked gross. Please clip your nails shorter and keep them clean. Yucky. Small bowl of tomato Basil soup $5.00. Good. Small bowl. Tasty food. Clean restrooms. Strange purchasing process- you order first then pay the second person who handles your food. Dirty money mixed with food. E-coli anyone? The person who cleaned the table was so sweet and attentive. It would be nice if the rest were as attentive. He gets 5 stars. Pricey yet tasty food. Not a lot of vegetarian options besides salads. I would rather go elsewhere for more food and cheaper prices. read more

Tender Greens - $5.00 BBQ corn. (Not eaten yet.) Tasty but small portions. They didn't heat it up. It was cold corn! - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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My go-to order is the fried chicken plate with seasonal grilled veggies and a Caesar salad. I used to get a side of rustic chicken soup instead of the salad, but this one time we got it, it... tasted stinky? Like wet dog, which strongly indicates it may have been made and reheated from a previous day. Gross!! I never order that soup anymore, but everything else has always been consistently good. The fried chicken is crispy and not too greasy, and the thyme in the crust is yummy. The veggies are always cooked perfectly, and the salad is never wilted. The dressing is about what you'd expect for a classic Caesar. Do I recommend the soup? Hell no. Do I recommend the restaurant overall? Hell yeah. read more

Ordered online, came in store grabbed my bag to go then headed to work and opened my food to eat and no utensils. You would think since it's a to go order chicken and mashed potatoes that I would need utensils. Always check your bag if it's to go. read more

Tender green's kale salad changed my life. After having a kale salad from here, I found a new appreciation and love for kale. I usually order the herb brushed albacore on a simple salad (kale). The total for one salad here is around $12, which is pretty overpriced. However, you can tell that they use high quality/fresh ingredients, so that definitely makes up for the price. I personally think that the portion size is huge, so that's a plus too. The garlic vinaigrette on the simple kale salad is SO GOOD. I would seriously consider eating a bowl of leaves if it was drenched in that dressing. In addition to fresh and delicious food, the customer service is always great too. I love that the food comes out quickly after ordering. I'm pretty sure I've never had to wait for more than 5 minutes for my food. read more

Tender Greens - Herb brushed albacore on a simple kale salad - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

I really think this place is overrated...and over priced. I got the Chipotle Chicken Salad. While it is a decent size salad, I'm extremely pissed that their lettuce leaves are too large. I know this sounds completely crazy and neurotic but if I have to use a knife to eat my salad, there's a problem. I can't be the only one who hates large leaf lettuce in the salads! Aside from that, their chicken was tasty, not overcooked, and they give you a pretty generous helping of chicken. They're quite stingy with the avocado but I LOOOVE that they give you ricotta cheese instead of regular shredded cheese. The Cilantro Lime dressing was a tad flavorless but hopefully it was just an off day? Overall, it wasn't a terrible experience but I wasn't super impressed either. Plus, $11ish dollars for a salad just makes me sad. read more

So I tried this place for the first time on 6/22/16 but it was at the Spectrum location, and it was THE BOMB! I told my sister about this place and she wanted to try it out. Instead of going to the Spectrum location, I decided to try a closer location in University Plaza. This is the perfect feel good lunch place. My sister and I both ordered the Big Plate combo for $12 and $11.50 respectively. I got the same items I got at the other location which was the Fried Chicken, Butter Lettuce, and the Mashed Potatoes. My sister got the Backyard Marinated Steak, Tender Greens Salad, and the Mashed Potatoes. The Fried Chicken at this location was actually greasier than the other location. Besides that, the Butter lettuce and mashed potatoes were bomb! My sister loved her plate. She thought that the steak was marinated perfectly, the mashed potatoes were buttery, but the salad needed more dressing. Portions are fair, prices around $12 per plate and you choose if you would like your protein on a salad, sandwich or plate with side. The eating area is nice and clean. Although this place gets pretty busy, the line does move quickly. I don't recommend going here if you are starving, but a very nice light lunch option would be perfect. read more

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Very fresh, but kind of pricey (but what isn't nowadays?). I had their steak with potatoes and veggies. Quality was good, and I was actually full from the seemingly small plate...so I guess I can't complain. The interior decor is pretty cool too...it's like rustic-y (that's probably the wrong word to describe it). It was so good that I almost forgot there was a hair in my food. When I let them know, they gave us a free strawberry pop tart. The pop tart wasn't my thing, but I know it's good to people that like that type of stuff. I'm more of a chocolate-type girl! read more

Tender Greens - Steak w/ mashed potatoes and veggies - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

I'm a huge fan of tender greens. While I do agree it is a bit on the pricey side, I love that everything is so yummy but relatively clean. I love their steak and salads. Their Chinese chicken salad is my favorite! The sesame dressing is very well balanced. And I don't get how their mashed potatoes is so buttery and smooth but doesn't contain an overload of calories and fat. Although the service isn't the most friendly, the location is clean and you get your food quickly so no complaints from me! read more

Tender Greens - Chinese chicken salad to-go - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

Food here used to be good. This is no longer the case. This is today's steak. Will not be going back. read more

Tender Greens - Food used to be great. This is no longer the case. This was today's steak. - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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Pretty good Ahi Tuna Salad. Busy at Lunch but good. read more

Tender Greens - Haha sorry about blocked photo by sunglasses. Pretty busy on Friday at 12:30 - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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I'm not sure if I just got really lucky the first time I tried tender greens or what but it's continued to let me down every time. Service: really lacks. There was no excitement or really friendliness. They were just there to take our order. My brother had never been there so he was looking over the menu on the wall, there was nobody else in line but the girl at the registered seemed annoyed with us. And was very unresponsive while taking our order. Just took our order with no conversation and wanted us to move it along. She wasn't rude or anything just lacked enthusiasm and great customer service. Food: Fried chicken- the first time I had this I was OBSESSED, it was so good and today it was just not good. I didn't eat even a full piece of it and the first time I ate mine and wanted my boyfriends too. It was more on the burnt harder side and not fluffy and deliciously battered like before. Side of arugula - again, I remember this being so fresh and light tasting. Today it tasted sour and wilted. Mashed potatoes - texture was good, no flavor. Even my green juice tasted like water. So I paid like $4 for a green water pretty much. Over all our meal was over $30 and we could've gotten better chicken at Cain's. I choose tender greens because it's a healthier treat and I don't get to eat it often but this location had me questioning what I liked about that made me want to come back. read more

I was craving a salad on a Wednesday night, so I went over here about 30 minutes before closing! Lots of people still dining inside and outside. I ordered the chipotle BBQ chicken salad, and I waited less than a minute after I paid. Took the order to go and enjoyed it at home! It was delicious, but I didn't really care for the cilantro dressing. Very pricy for what you could make at home, but I'd get it again if I'm willing to spend $12+ for a salad. read more

Tender Greens - Chipotle BBQ chicken salad - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

Excellent Lunch! The plates here are very generous and the desserts are sooo good! I highly recommend Tender Greens. read more

Tender Greens - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

Excellent food and service. Price of food matches quality and portions of the food. The ordering process is a little different but manageable ;) there is an outside patio area and the inside is spacious.. Definitely will come back again. read more

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I love their tuna dish with tender green salad. The steak Sandwich is the best, The price is little higher, the food is higher quality too. read more

Tender Greens - I love their tuna dish with tender green salad. - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

Tender Greens is convenient when you want your food served quick without having to be seated and waited at a table. Conceptionally, it's like Lemonade and Urban Plates. Call it bougie slightly over-priced cafeteria food if you will, but I find still myself eating here with my friends and family time after time. Prices vary depending on the type of protein you select for your plate. I've tried it all except for falafel, but some favorites are the backyard marinated steak which claims to be made from antibiotic/hormone free cows, the grilled salmon that is drizzled with lemon, olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, and the free-range buttermilk fried chicken. I've tried the tender greens and baby arugula salads, both of which are good but nothing out of the ordinary. I've had the mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies as my sides, but I would like to point out that the mashed potatoes are quite tasty. Drinks are refreshing and refillable at no cost, so make sure to ask for one to-go on your way out. Although I find this place to be mediocre at best, I'm a returning customer. read more

Tender Greens - Fried chicken, baby arugula, and mashed potatoes - New American Near Me - Irvine, California

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Always been a fan of tender greens. It used to be our Thursday night place to go when we were sick of cooking but we stopped and tonight we finally decided to go back. I do agree that it is a bit of pricey side but the food is fresh and service is decent and friendly. Tonight I got the romaine hearts with steak. Make sure you ask for your steak cooked to your liking or else it comes medium rare and I think it's a little too under-cooked for my liking so I always ask for it medium. It's a good place for a somewhat healthy and fast meal. read more

Tender Greens - Romaine hearts with steak. Sorry I started to dig in before I took the picture - New American Near Me - Irvine, California