I was a Gaucho for a couple of years and the UCSB dining commons are nothing but special to me. Pizza, burgers, pasta, sandwich bar, salad bar, waffle machine, unlimited soda, all-you-can-eat everything all with a simple card swipe! (or <$20 for non-students) Seriously, some of you guys' complaints make no sense. You really expect French Laundry quality here? Yeah right! This place's job is to provide us with glucose for our brains to complete our studies, and for that I'd say it's beyond satisfactory. Ranking of the DCs: 1. Ortega (sushi baby!) 2. DLG (late night cravings) 3. Carrillo (best breakfast) 4. Portola (too far, had it once)
Chris P.
Laziness, rudeness, crudeness, and s*** food. That's the first couple words that come to mind. You're literally repackaging food, how the f*** does it take this long to prepare some prepackaged food and put it into a kiosk. The workers are rude, the system for delivering food is filled with error. When it said my food was ready, I went to scan it and it said it was already taken. WTF. I had to wait an extra 20min for them to prepare it again.
Nathaniel Price
I don’t normally write reviews, but I guess as a student at UCSB I thought this might be a relevant experience.I have never eaten here so I can’t comment on the food quality, but the take out service has been terrible. Of the three times I tried to eat there, all three times were refunded. No reasons other than my Meal Plan was rejected, which is BS because I get seven meals a week and I pay for it.They also switch the times for pickup when you place an order quite frequently. Expect several hour waits; with cancellations if they find it difficult to meet your order.I don’t know if it was a bad day for them or what, but overall terrible experience.
Nancy Lynn
Waffles and strawberry cream cheese recipes pls. I’ve missed you class of 2014.
Joshua Affinati
Terrible, didint get to eat because they took to long to prepare my order and I had to go to class
Samuel Simons
More vegan and vegetarian options than any other dining commons but the food is pretty average most days.
Charli Haase
The staff was super friendly and helpful, especially Erik and Marco!
Allison Y.
the meat is so TERRIBLE and bland here; i ended up becoming vegan at sb. but i think i've learned to be more creative with the eh food options that i have here and i've turned my breakfast into something i actually enjoy coming to everyday - for instance, the peanut butter protein bowls made with 2 giant bananas and 5 scoops of coconut shavings on top are SUPERR delish!! also, yay for having a bubly sparkling water dispenser here!! and sad reacts: i wish they would have coconut shavings and green bananas at all meals, and more gluten free options :/
Ortega fails on all levels. Quality of food: 2/10. Quantity of food choices: 1/10. Atmosphere: 4/10. Service: 1/10. Price: $$$. In addition to all of these failures, Ortega has extremely inconsistent hours. After finishing a 4:00-7:00 pm on the last Friday of Winter quarter, I hurriedly put down my things at home and went to get food. I arrived at 7:15 and was told that it was CLOSED. Can you imagine starving after a 3 hour final and then being told, "Oh, you can eat here anymore."???? This was the only time all quarter that it had closed at 7:00pm on Friday and there was nothing I could have done to show up before closing. Ortega, you have lost a customer.
Ian Hinds
Good selection, good taste, but questionable dish cleanliness. A new investment in utensils should be carried out. My spoon today had battle scars.
Patrick Choe
Good for lunch; has basic burger stands, fries, 2 main dishes and at least 2 types of sushi. Wouldn't go for dinner.
Andrea Nonato
They always surprise me with their menus. When in doubt, go to Ortega!
Good food. Fast service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Horrible place
I was a Gaucho for a couple of years and the UCSB dining commons are nothing but special to me. Pizza, burgers, pasta, sandwich bar, salad bar, waffle machine, unlimited soda, all-you-can-eat everything all with a simple card swipe! (or <$20 for non-students) Seriously, some of you guys' complaints make no sense. You really expect French Laundry quality here? Yeah right! This place's job is to provide us with glucose for our brains to complete our studies, and for that I'd say it's beyond satisfactory. Ranking of the DCs: 1. Ortega (sushi baby!) 2. DLG (late night cravings) 3. Carrillo (best breakfast) 4. Portola (too far, had it once)
Laziness, rudeness, crudeness, and s*** food. That's the first couple words that come to mind. You're literally repackaging food, how the f*** does it take this long to prepare some prepackaged food and put it into a kiosk. The workers are rude, the system for delivering food is filled with error. When it said my food was ready, I went to scan it and it said it was already taken. WTF. I had to wait an extra 20min for them to prepare it again.
I don’t normally write reviews, but I guess as a student at UCSB I thought this might be a relevant experience.I have never eaten here so I can’t comment on the food quality, but the take out service has been terrible. Of the three times I tried to eat there, all three times were refunded. No reasons other than my Meal Plan was rejected, which is BS because I get seven meals a week and I pay for it.They also switch the times for pickup when you place an order quite frequently. Expect several hour waits; with cancellations if they find it difficult to meet your order.I don’t know if it was a bad day for them or what, but overall terrible experience.
Waffles and strawberry cream cheese recipes pls. I’ve missed you class of 2014.
Terrible, didint get to eat because they took to long to prepare my order and I had to go to class
More vegan and vegetarian options than any other dining commons but the food is pretty average most days.
The staff was super friendly and helpful, especially Erik and Marco!
the meat is so TERRIBLE and bland here; i ended up becoming vegan at sb. but i think i've learned to be more creative with the eh food options that i have here and i've turned my breakfast into something i actually enjoy coming to everyday - for instance, the peanut butter protein bowls made with 2 giant bananas and 5 scoops of coconut shavings on top are SUPERR delish!! also, yay for having a bubly sparkling water dispenser here!! and sad reacts: i wish they would have coconut shavings and green bananas at all meals, and more gluten free options :/
Restaurantji Recommends
The second best dining commons after carillo
Ortega fails on all levels. Quality of food: 2/10. Quantity of food choices: 1/10. Atmosphere: 4/10. Service: 1/10. Price: $$$. In addition to all of these failures, Ortega has extremely inconsistent hours. After finishing a 4:00-7:00 pm on the last Friday of Winter quarter, I hurriedly put down my things at home and went to get food. I arrived at 7:15 and was told that it was CLOSED. Can you imagine starving after a 3 hour final and then being told, "Oh, you can eat here anymore."???? This was the only time all quarter that it had closed at 7:00pm on Friday and there was nothing I could have done to show up before closing. Ortega, you have lost a customer.
Good selection, good taste, but questionable dish cleanliness. A new investment in utensils should be carried out. My spoon today had battle scars.
Good for lunch; has basic burger stands, fries, 2 main dishes and at least 2 types of sushi. Wouldn't go for dinner.
They always surprise me with their menus. When in doubt, go to Ortega!