The food is bland and needs seasoning. We ordered the Cobb salad and the Bbq Chicken sandwich. The chicken at this place has no flavor. You might as well be eating raw chicken. The salad dressing on the salad tasted like vinegar and does not compliment the salad at all. I probably won't be eating here again... Sorry Tender Greens but healthy and fresh doesn't have to taste like cardboard. read more

Healthy. And the mint lemonade is a yummy treat.

Surprised they weren't better staffed over NYE weekend and Rose Bowl. This isn't your first rodeo TG. You've been open for a few of these insanely busy days with tons of visitors. You were out of silverware, out of water glasses, soup is cold, and it took 15-20 mins to go through the line. This model doesn't work for max covers over an extended day part like tonight. read more

The food here is too salty, it is my second time here and i decided to come back one more time to give the place another chance but nope, its like eating pure salt. I told the chef, but most likely nothing will be done about it. read more

Went here today with the wife as part of an afternoon jaunt to Pasadena. My wife saw the place and suggested we try it, as it was Farm to Table and Healthy, etc. Cute place, interesting concept, however , the execution left a little to be desired. The food was flavorful, but the temperatures weren't quite right. Additionally, the order taker took the order for a salad with no cheese and it had cheese on it. When it was replaced it was replaced by the Baby Kale salad that was suppose to be with the Special Plate of Herb Crusted Top Sirloin, which had a Green Salad of some sort. They both came with Garlic Bread which was over oily. The Top Sirloin while flavorful was slightly dried out from sitting out too long and should have been cut with a sharper knife. The Pineapple Agua Fresca was very good. I probably will try another one of these people's location and perhaps this one again. read more

Just had one of the best Pasadena dinners I've ever had. Chef Simon recommended the special of the day, which was a chicken meatloaf with fingerling potatoes. Not to overuse hyperbole but OH MY GOD I WOULD EAT THIS EVERY DAY. It was absolutely perfect. This place is one of my favorite restaurants for reasons like this. Great service and great food. read more

Awesomely good and healthy food. Wine is only okay. The salads are fabulous and they make the food right in front of you. Very fast. I have been 3 or 4 times and I love it. Kinda interesting art on the walls too. The Greek salad is my favorite. Awesome desserts, too. But that kinda defeats the whole 'eat a healthy salad' idea. I plan to become a regular. read more

I loved it. The meat was so tender and juicy especially the steak. The salad was fresh and the service was really good. You could even say the greens were tender (lol). read more

Excellent food. It's pretty busy so a bit noisy if you're trying to have a conversation. Food was fresh and quick to come out.

I was so excited to find a local organic restaurant, and dragged a couple friends over to try it out the other night. Not what I'd expected, but good enough to have me wanting to try more menu items. It's cafeteria style, you just walk the line, order and pay up at the end. Although not a huge pork fan, I decided to try the roast pork special that night ... a tad on the dry side, but I have to say it was some of the best-tasting pork I've had in many years. The lightly-dressed salad greens and mashed potatoes were delicious, as was the Potato-Leek soup-of-the-day. The only real disappointment was the side order of lentils which had no seasoning and were beyond unspeakably boring. A lot of the stuff I eye-balled looked good, so I have plenty of reason to go back and try more. We should be patronizing these restaurants that go to all the trouble to source organic, local and sustainable. I can't swear to it, but I thought I saw somebody grab something from a helper coming out of the kitchen that looked like homemade cobbler so, next visit, I'll be asking about that even if I again don't see it "on the line" ... read more

One of my favorite spots. I have no cons for this place. Fresh, fast, delicious. You order almost like fast food style, food comes out very quickky, but tastes like restaurant style when you sit down. I was craving salads when I was pregnant and bored with what I had been making at home and the local shops... so when we found Tendergreens it was a lifesaver. My husband likes the heartier meals, fish and steak are aways done properly, and I love the salad options. The vegan salad being a favorite. Staff are helpful anf friendly. Word to the wise, seating is self serve and in peak hours can be a bit limited - not for a quiet gathering or sit down unless you plan on someone reserving and staying at the larger table located on the patio while everyone else orders. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE! I would come every day if I could. You come, you order, you pay, and you get your food. All in less than 5 minutes! I hate waiting, and I love good food. This place has the best of both worlds. Like other yelpers have mentioned, it is very much so "cafeteria style". There are always employees coming around asking how the meal is, and before I even leave TG, an employee has already picked up my tray! I've enjoyed their steak, chicken sandwich, roasted veggies, and kale salad. I didn't really like their mint lemonade, but I'm not really a fan of lemonade to begin with. I didn't try my friends cookie, but I could tell it was really hard from the effort he put into breaking off a piece. Next time, I will definitely try their beers! Oh, they also have wi-fi! read more

Mac n cheese was super dry. Food not worth the money but I loved the Toffee Chocolate Chip cookies!!

I am never disappointed when I eat here. The greens are fresh and tender. The food is perfectly seasoned and cooked. The mint lemonade is perfect any day. Did I mention the staff is super helpful? read more

Great service! I typically order a salad with no avocado due to allergies. Well today, I sat down and realized I forgot to mention "no avocado" and decided to place a new order. The lady working the cashier and her manager recognized me and decided to give me a new salad free of charge. Very thoughtful and kind of them despite the situation being from my own mistake. Thanks Tender Greens employees for being really cool and kind! read more

Liked it. Love the interior. The ingredients are so fresh that I feel healthier after having it. Sweets need improvement.

At best a pedestrian meal. Cold steak and lukewarm potatoes with an average spinach salad. The tempranillo wasn't bad....

I've gotta say this particular tender greens has gone down a little since it first opened. The lettuces aren't quite as fresh, and I've had a few wilted pieces in my salads on my recent visits. I used to go to this Tender Greens all the time, like once or twice a week, since it first opened, but have been frequenting it less. For me, a place that specializes so heavily on salads really needs to have AMAZINGLY fresh salad greens. I mean, it's even in their name. I'll still come here and haven't written it off altogether, but I think this location needs a little more attention. read more

Souplantation refined! Love the Mac-n-cheese and those cupcakes hanging around the cash register end up in my belly all the time. The side dishes of meat and fish are priced very reasonably....get'em with a salad and veggies or the mac-n-cheese. Did I mention they have Mac n Cheese? read more

This review is lacking in one star only for the sole reason that sometimes the food here is dirty and makes me a little sick. Other than that this place has great organic super foods for a cheap price. Portions are large and filling. Ingredients are lavish and not cheap. Best place for a health conscientious money saver. Try everything, especially the shrimp, steak, chicken, albacore (the meats =P) Even their vegetarian option is damn tasty and all the nutritional values can be found on their online website. read more

My hubby and I go here about once a week. It's delicious food that's healthy. It's a hearty serving of veggies and some protein - how we as humans are supposed to eat. But being programmed for years and years of eating at supersized restaurants I can't deny I'm usually a little disappointed with their protein portions. I typically order a fried chicken plate with a side of roast veggies and mashed potato. It's the healthiest fried chicken around. To note is that it's always a piece of dark meat and white meat. I prefer the dark meat, but the white meat is good too. Their desserts are good. If I get dessert I stick to their tarts. I'm not as impressed with their cakes. I'd also suggest ordering an aguas fresca. It's refreshing and full of flavor. They also allow refills, so right before I leave I'll ask them to refill it in a to-go cup. It's great! read more

I love Tender Greens and am quite surprised that I have not written a review. My all time favorite is the marinated steak hot plate with mashed potatoes. The steak is extremely tasty and tender. The mashed potatoes are the best I have ever had, I guarantee you will not regret. Also, their mint lemonade is very tasty and great to top off your steak hot plate. Kind pricey for lunch but well worth it. read more

Ordered the steak salads!!!! It was amazing. The steak was seasoned perfectly and it was tender and not chewy. Greens were fresh and the dressing was not too overpowering. Also got the chipotle BBQ chicken and summer squash. Chicken was dynamite and the squash was a nicely charged with a little salt and pepper. Yum. Check this place out. read more

Nice place to go. Fresh arugula salad and really great service. Ordered seared albacore tuna. Really good taste. My husband had the steak. He was also happy with it. Healthy, fresh and well priced. The Pasadena location is fantastic. They honored my Yelp free drink and even gave a free drink for my husband. Will go back for sure whenever we go watch a movie at the Laemmle read more

I enjoyed dinner here BUT I did not think that it was all that and a bag of chips! Overall I though the menu choice were diverse. Which was excellent. However, when I ordered my food many items where not available. I would have enjoyed carrot ginger soup (oops - sorry we don't have it!) read more

i love this place, and you'll love it too if you want to eat like a goat~ i'm a huge fan of salads especially if they make it good, and i don't mean just like some lettuces tossed around with some ranch. almost everything on the menu are pretty tasty but i do have some issues with their consistency. sometimes the tuna tends to be barely seared. if you beat the rush hours and come here before lunch and dinner time for the classy business men and women, your portions of food are usually a little bit bigger. i didn't figure this out the first time i went there, but you can get your drinks to go and its free refills. so it really makes it worth buying a drink because you can ask them to get you an entirely new drink to go even if you don't finish the one you have by the time that you leave. if you're not a big fan of salads, go eat elsewhere. read more

I've been here a few times and the food is consistently good. I like the cafeteria feel of the place. The food always tastes fresh and I leave feeling satisfied but not overly full. I recently tried their Cobb Salad. I liked it but next time I'm going to ask for the dressing on the side since it was a bit much for me. Give it a try! read more

Love the steak, perhaps one of the best. For first timer, the menu comes with option of choose hot plate, sandwich or salad etc etc, avg check is about $12 per person, would love to revisit read more

Fantastic! I tired the Southern Fried Chicken salad and it was exceptional. Best fried chicken breast I've had in a long time. The salad was fresh, crispy and buttery all at the same time! It also came with a garlic toast. Really great quality food. read more

They ran out of steak and the romaine lettuce salad when I went on Thursday so that was a bummer. The other times that I've gone have all been great though! There's street parking and a parking lot behind the theater. $1/hour read more

I love their fried chicken hot plate which comes with a salad and a side. The chicken was perfectly fried and seasoned! There are several side dishes to choose from but the one I liked the most is the butternut squash! So yummy! I had lunch here last Saturday and it wasn't too busy. The line moved quickly. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, which is nice! Good experience! read more

After first experiencing Tender Greens in San Diego a few years back, I was very excited to learn that another restaurant was opening in Pasadena. I've been several times and have always enjoyed introducing it to friends/coworkers/family for the first time. Last Saturday I met up with some old coworkers (who had never been) and we all were very pleased with our experience. I ordered a bowl of the butternut squash soup and the kale salad with lemon shallot vinaigrette and was very pleased. I'm a huge fan of their mint lemonade. We chose to sit outside and had fantastic service throughout our nearly 2.5 hour lunch together. What a great place for breaking bread together and catching up with people. My mint lemonade was refilled throughout the afternoon and I even was introduced to the "tornado" which is an "off the menu" combo of their three iced drinks. It was fantastic! What a great experience. I love their changing specials and am always glad to be in a place where I can watch my food being cooked. Overall: fresh, clean, excellent service + worth the price for a good place once and a while where you want to take friends/family other than your usual places. read more

Peaceful easy going cafe w great food snd great prices . Quality food ingredients!

I just came here for the first time today. It surpassed my expectations. Food was prompt and delicious! I had the backyard steak hot plate with grilled veggies and arugula salad. The steak and grilled veggies were well flavored. I am only deducting one star because I expected the steak medium rare, but it came out more medium well. It's reasonably priced and you get a lot of food. I'd eat here over Urth cafe across the street any day. read more

Poor quality, nothing for vegan protein, and miserable service. Went there with my vegan wife. We try to eat mostly organic but of course Tender Greens doesn't source from organic farms. Still, they have a diatribe on their website about why "sustainable" is better than Organic. The food was of mediocre taste. In fact the special "Kale and Garbanzo" soup was salty, oily, and spicy, yet without any flavor, and mostly consisted of water. There was not a bean to be found in my wife's soup. Given that these beans were the ONLY thing on the menu qualifying as vegan protein, this was extremely disappointing. Oh I guess Hazelnuts count as vegan protein. But really - not much choice for a vegan who needs to eat protein! Most restaurants would have something with beans or tofu - not that we like tofu, but it would serve the need. It is also not a good place if you are a vegan who also avoids gluten (this vegan was not happy to see the main vegan entree first ingredient is "wheat.") I got the "salt and pepper chicken" plate with grilled veggies. In fact my wife also got a salad plate with grilled veggies. The amounts of veggies was very small, though the meat portion seems maybe too big. In any case the chicken and veggies were overcooked, though moderately flavorful. My wife inhaled her salad in about five minutes and was still hungry. Later we both had stomachaches - probably from the soup, being so oily and salty. Mind you, my wife uses a LOT of salt and oil in her cooking, so to hear her complain about this was a first. But I suppose that's the difference between using salt and oil as the only flavors instead of using them to complement other ingredients. I should add that there was some confusion when ordering - as the specials board suggested a special salad would "go well with the Ahi plate or Chicken plate" - so I tried to make it a part of my chicken plate, but then was informed that it is a la carte only. The menu is a bit confusing a it is too bad they don't have more appetizers, just one or two specials, everything else is a full plate or full salad or sandwich. The prices seem reasonable - if it was organic - but it is NOT - and for stale cafeteria food it is overpriced indeed. Yes it is a cafeteria - first one orders from the "host?" who berates you for trying to add the special salad to the plate, and maybe berate was too strong a word - because this young woman was completely aloof and could care less about customers. I've had better service at other fast-food restaurants. read more

OK food, really overpriced, especially the salad and soup.

My husband and I had dinner tonight at the Pasadena Tender Greens, and while I will admit that the food was good and thoughtfully prepared, they also ran out of the grilled Oxnard vegetables when I placed my order but DID NOT advise me of it. As such I was served an extremely meager portion of cauliflower and rapini, which, while good, wasn't what I ordered. I expected to get the full complement of butternut squash, parsnips, carrots AND the cauliflower and rapini. Despite the fact that there were clearly at least 10 people in the kitchen and behind the counter, no one bothered to replenish the grilled veggies until we were finished with our dinner. By that time I assume all other patrons were served what was listed. This is the mark of a very poorly run kitchen. We paid more than $45 for our meal (two entrees, two scant glasses of wine, 1 tiny dessert) and it really wasn't worth it considering one orders at and is served at a counter. The staff wasn't particularly friendly either. read more

Dude. So many people think this place is great, but that's because they're dumb. 1. Terribly uncomfortable. The whole cafeteria-style thing is inefficient and awkward! You pay for your meal and then stand around the cashier with a bunch of other patrons, unable to even TOUCH your tray until they call your name. Then you lug this unwieldy tray to your seat, winding your way through a sea of people. Guess what, the chairs suck too! Once you sit down, good luck hearing whomever you're with. It's loud. 2. The food sucks! The meat sits under a heat lamp, so unless you request a different level of cooking than default (which is usually rare), it will be cold. This has happened to me 4 times with different meats - steak, chicken, tuna. EW! 3. The drinks suck! Black iced tea doesn't taste like plain black iced tea. It tastes like some kind of flowery tea. Their diet Mexi-cola Mexi-sucks, so save yourself a few bucks and just drink water. Anyway, I will never spend money here again. I've patronized this cafe almost ten times, but I'm over it. BLEH. read more

LOVE their happy vegan salad... such simple ingredients, but somehow sooooo good!!! My first time at this location, had only been to Culver City before this. Staff are friendly... parking sucks. I love being able to get a healthy meal on the go here. I don't love that I found a piece of feta cheese in my happy vegan just now! also, not sure if their tabbouleh is supposed to have parsley in it... i found none, and in that area, you could use some work TG! No middle easterner will be impressed with this tabbouleh. I do love the hummus though and the hazelnut cranberry farro... Mmmmm, mmm!!! read more

A bit disappointed this time because the steak was overcooked and the saltiness of the salad was not consistent throughout. Last time I was here, this Backyard Steak salad was amazing! I think it just depends on who's working that day and how lucky you are. read more