Fresh Choice Restaurant

I live this place, but sadly they are closed sure to not paying their rent. For as much as they charged i don’t see why. Oh well I have dukedom of a now empty building.

This place is CLOSED!!! We tried going yesterday and there is a giant FOR Lease sign outside. It’s bananas because they had a coupon circulating for yesterday’s date. Everyone in the group was disappointed. C’est la vie

My friend Dan and I like to meet here for some healthy grub at lunch. Is it the best place ever? No, but for the price it is a pretty good deal. I like their Asian Chicken Salad and always get a big helping plate of it and then garnish it with some of the veggies from the salad bar. Some of the soups are delicious, some bland. You just have to try them and since it is a buffet, you can.
The desserts are not bad, but nothing special. This is the place to come if you are trying to eat more veggies and want a fair price.

We decided to go to this place cuz seems like the review was better than Souper Salad.
Boy… I was wrong. I was expecting a soup and salad place like Soup Plantation or Sweet Tomatoes.
The greens for salad did NOT look fresh at all.
The soup… oh… the soup. I just don’t know how to describe them.
Nothing good from any of the soups.
Oh… for my Unilocalers friends from Cali, guess what.
They have PHO soup there and it was HORRIBLE!!!
It taste like soap water!
Pricey as heck. I would not go back there even if my life depends on it.
I’d rather starved myself.

I was really disappointed. I had heard good things about this place, but it was an over priced Souper Salad! Lots to choose from, service was terrible. Very expensive for what you get, and the veggies didn’t seem very fresh. Sorta blah overall

Wow, more depressing than Luby’s. Seriously. I was there a few years ago and remember it being better than Souper Salad, and I’ve heard suoper salad went downhill. But this place wasn’t very good. The salads are meh, the soups are bland, the baked potato was just ok.
The people that work there are very nice and I did get 25% off my meal, which ended up being just over $ 13 for me and my boyfriend. Price is not bad, but I would rather go somewhere else next time.
Restaurant Health Inspection Scores:
Fresh Choice 9761 GREAT HILLS TRL AUSTIN 78 759 03/​06/​2010 82
Fresh Choice 9761 GREAT HILLS TRL AUSTIN 78 759 09/​01/​2009 89
Fresh Choice 9761 GREAT HILLS TRL AUSTIN 78 759 01/​26/​2009 89
Fresh Choice 9761 GREAT HILLS TRL AUSTIN 78 759 05/​27/​2008 89
Fresh Choice 9761 GREAT HILLS TRL AUSTIN 78 759 10/​05/​2007 80

If you’re looking for a salad bar to each lunch at, go somewhere else. Anywhere else. This place is terrible, from the food quality, to taste, to price, to service. This is one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve had in the past 5 years.
1. Price — $ 9 for an all you can eat salad buffet is ridiculously expensive, even when you add in pizza and dessert. No drink is included and the choices are extremely generic.
2. Taste — Put simply, nothing had any taste. I ate with 5 other people who said the best thing about their $ 9 meal was the bread. The mac and cheese was especially tasteless, as was the salad, soup, dressing, pizza, cheese.
3. Service — I’ve never had a cashier be openly rude to me, but this one did. Nery is her name, and you best watch out if you try to use a coupon, because she will rip your freaking head off.
4. Food Quality — Soggy salad, lukewarm soup. Pretty terrible for a soup and salad place that costs $ 9 per person. And get this. Their whole business is «Fresh and Local», but when you look at the fine print, you find out that Austin does not use local produce!!! It is neither fresh or local. You’re paying $ 9 for the same stuff you get at SuperSalad, and that’s just wrong.
Bottom line: Avoid like the plague.

Wow, this is my first one star review for a restaurant. That says a lot just so you know.
Where to begin? Well for starters, my coworkers and I are always looking for new places to go to for lunch. We heard about this place and signed up for their email list to get a 25% off coupon for lunch today. This is what the email said:
«Welcome to Fresh Connection, and thanks for joining! At the Fresh Connection you can look forward to receiving exciting news, offers and information on all of our great LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCTS… «
Sounds good right? Yes, until you get to the disclaimer: «LOCALLY GROWN NOT AVAILABLE IN TUKWILA & AUSTIN LOCATIONS.»
What?
So today was our first time there and when we arrived, we were surprised that they were charging so much for a salad buffet that didn’t include drinks or the grilled meat to put on top of the salads (everything costs extra). We should have left but decided to stick around since we had our coupons and all.
The salad bar didn’t have a very good selection, and only the premade salads had anything good. Unfortunately it was all soggy and not really appetizing. On the plus side, everything was very well labeled for people with allergies. But even then, Jason’s Deli and even Ruby Tuesday’s has more to choose from in terms of salad at a much better price.
Well, we loaded up our plates and were all set to go with our coupons. But some people cut the coupons out of their emails and our cashier Nery threw a fit. Apparently you have to have your name on the coupon or they won’t honor it. My husband asked why it mattered and she huffed and rolled her eyes at him and yelled at the other cashier in Spanish to check the names on the coupons. Is $ 2 off a meal really that big of a deal? Way to welcome a group of first time customers! She was ridiculously rude and made the Soup Nazi look like Mr. Rogers. And then she turned and was all angelic to my friend who was next person in line. Anyways, we were all afraid of her and my coworkers didn’t use their coupons. But we vowed not to go back and will tell all our friends to stay away!
I don’t know how Fresh Choice [sic] Restaurant justifies their name considering they have more varieties of soggy pizza and bland goopy soup than anything «fresh». It’s sad that their false advertising is aimed at people who genuinely want to live healthier. I’m pretty sure Cici’s is on the same level of this buffet (if not better), but at least Cici’s is honest about what you’re going to get.

I have always loved Fresh Choice for the variety of items they have on their salad bar. It IS somewhat pricy for a salad, but if you add the all you can eat soup, pizza, pasta, baked potatoes, bread/​roll bar and dessert bar, I guess it’s not that bad. It’s just really fresh and you can eat as healthy there as you’d like. Sure, you have to pay extra for your protein and your drink, but if you don’t want to pay extra, get water and add chopped boiled eggs and some sunflower seeds to your salad.
I have to admit that the tables do stay dirty a little too long sometimes and the cleanup staff is usually less than attentive, but I really enjoy the food and can guarantee you can eat enough to make yourself sick there. Just be sure to end your meal with a Blueberry Muffin and a Double Chocolate Brownie. You’ll be happy!
Oh, I almost forgot… sign up for their newsletter and you can get a recurring coupon; $ 1 off lunch or $ 1.50 for supper and each time you eat there, you get a receipt for 20−25% off your next meal if you call in and do their survey. I keep all of my receipts and usually have a coupon for all of my co-​workers when we go.

COULD DO WORSE FOR AN $ 8 LUNCH BUFFET
Unfortunately working downtown Fresh Choice doesn’t get on my lunch rotation as often as I’d like, but I have made it to Fresh Choice at least once a month for a few years now. While at times an item or two served may not be as ‘good’ as the last time (i.e. pea soup, corn bread, etc.) the numerous other items I put on my plateS (emphasize on the plural) make for an overall good meal for this vegetarian. How good is their salad bar you ask? Well unlike at most restaurants I’ve been to in Texas they have Thousand Island dressing!
I pretty much go through the same routine each visit whether for lunch or dinner. I’m going to pick one of the three big salads offered (2 usually without chicken/​fish), throw on some individual cucumbers, some broccoli obsession (I admit has lived up to it’s name with me in the past), and potato salad and/​or cole slaw. (While gluttony is not a crime I must disclose these are just «little scoops» on my plate!)
I then proceed to try one bowl of the four soups offered (at least 1 is vegetarian), pass the pasta aisle (I can live without mac & cheese and pizza for one meal), and gorge… err, «help myself» to a few pieces of the bread, rolls, and cornbread with honey maple butter. Oh and I wash it down with water. All of this for less than $ 8! ($ 7.53 to be exact if you take their short survey from the receipt and use the 15% off next meal coupon)
Ok full disclosure… I MAY go back for another bowl of soup or some broccoli obsession if the mood strikes me. It is called a «buffet» right? I will DEFINITELY go back for a chocolate muffin with melted chocolate chips in them. Mmmmmmm yummy! If I THINK I’m going to «work out» later in the day (and I use that term loosely) I will scoop out the middle of the muffin, add some chocolate syrup in the middle, top it with soft serve ice cream, add more syrup and whip cream (my version of a chocolate volcano!). And there you have it… how to gain a few pounds in one meal at less than $ 8! Oh and all of this «healthy» of course.
So carnivores, vegetarians and everyone in-​between you can enjoy a meal at the only buffet I frequent. There are definitely far worst choices (like Souper Salad) than this Fresh Choice!

Aye! I think this place is still the benchmark for generic salad bars, but it’s also become pricey if you don’t use the e-​list coupons they’ll send you. For three of us, it was $ 32 with drinks, using every non-​coupon discount we could come up with (AAA membership, etc.). All-​in-​all, it’s not that bad, but we’re essentially talking about fresh rabbit food here.
But I still appreciate their dual lines at the main salad bar, with all selections duplicated on both sides and ending with twin cashiers. It makes this salad bar experience faster than other places.
After paying, it’s efficient not to stop for more stuff in the next area but just go on ahead, claim a table, unload your tray, and then return for the soup bar, the pizza/​pasta bar, the baked potato/​bread bar, the soda fountain, and eventually the dessert station. I now formally mention the soup through dessert area has only small little bowls and tiny little plates available, unlike the normal plates at the beginning of the salad bar line.
So unless you enjoy watching an adult struggling to eat a loaded baked potato from a three-​inch munchkin bowl, break those salad bar paradigms: Go back to the salad bar, grab a big plate, head to the potato bar, arrange one or two split potatoes, back to the salad bar, layer some fresh mushrooms, florets, and other unique condiments, head to the soup bar, drizzle soup as sauce, head back to the salad bar, and practice your garnishing skills with spoons and pinches of bacon bits, balsamic, cheese, etc. Oh, BFD, who says you can’t?
I do the same thing for dessert by shredding their really good triple chocolate brownies and gingerbread (both located at the bread bar), and practice my plating and presentation techniques with artistic dollops and flights of soft serve, fruit bits, and dessert toppings. If we can’t have fun at a salad bar, then jeez, why are we watching Food Network?

Here’s the deal… it’s just like any other buffet place, only it has a larger salad bar. Most things on there… to me, weren’t super fresh. I was hoping to have this wonderful dining experience with all these super healthy foods… negative. However, if you’re just looking for a run of the mill cafeteria/​buffet, this is the place for you.

I’d had a huge craving for something definitely not McDonald’s, and since Chik Fil A is closed on Sundays… well whatever – I somehow ended up at fresh choice. Soup, a fresh salad, some nice bread, sounded amazing. Unfortunately the food wasn’t nearly as great as expected.
Cons:
–Caesar salad was soggy, croutons were stale.
–The food isn’t any healthier than McDonald’s considering all the macaroni salads are dripping in mayo and the bread is almost 300 calories a piece.
–The tabouli salad was extraordinarily bitter.
–Really expensive. 7+ bucks for a to-​go container from the salad bar, with a piece of bread. No drink, no soup!
–The Caesar salad had powdered parmesan… for 7 bucks at least give me the real thing!
Pros:
It seemed pretty clean, and the workers were nice, the potato salad was okay, although drenched in mayo.
But still far too expensive, the food was tasteless and the soggy salad was just the dealbreaker. Go to whole foods and get something fresher and cheaper instead.

Fresh choice has very good salad bar. I liked the fact that you can eat salad as much as you want, regardless of weight. Besides, it’s not just lettuce and all typical salad ingredient you see at other fast-​food place. they offer some pre-​made salads (such as asian cabbage coleslow).
Besides salad, you can also try soups, pizza, different kinds of bread stick and desserts like pudding, soft-​icecream.
Good place for trying to be on heathy diet (more salad focused diet?) without going too extreme.

If you’ve read my other reviews, you know I’m fairly health conscious, so this is one place I frequent often. I like it slightly better than souper salad (just the quality and freshness of the food is better and there is more of a selection), so this is a solid four stars. It is very very busy at noon so get there a little earlier or later or you might not have a table. The staff that clears your table is hit and miss, sometimes they are very attentive, sometimes you never even see them. It doesn’t really bother me though, because the drinks are self serve, and if I never see you, you’re not getting a tip. It just doesn’t seem fair.
The things I like on the bar — the fresh salad veggies, the fat free ranch dressing, the bleu cheese crumbles, when they have fresh pico, broccoli cheese soup, chicken tortilla soup, potato leek soup, greek artichoke and lemon rice soup, squash soup (and I usually don’t like squash), sourdough bread and garlic spread, and if I’m feeling splurg-​y, I’ll end the meal with either a gingerbread or orangsicle cake topped with some vanilla soft serve with carmel sauce, or one of their puddings (orangesicle is good).
The bad — charging extra for meat is disturbing, I mean, come on, 3 bucks for 4 cold shrimp? I just make sure I’m having more of a herbivore day when I head here, I refuse to pay extra for meat. The premixed salad bowls aren’t very good most times, the potato salads and pasta salads aren’t my thing most time (usually very bland). The soups they always have on the menu aren’t my favorites, so I’m at the mercy of the monthly selections being decent — which doesn’t happen all the time. The mac and cheese is bland and not worth the space in your stomach, the rice is awful, and the pizza? Not horrible, but definitely not a high point.
One tip — feeling like a carnivore but don’t feel like paying for it? Grab 2 slices of sourdough, grab some of the meatballs in marinara sauce, onions, olives, and some of the shredded parmesan cheese. You then have a mini meatball sub!

I NEVER eat salads, so I go here a couple of times per week to add some veggies to my diet. It works out well, since most of my friends want to eat healthy. Of course, while this is one of the best places to go to eat a healthy meal, few people actually end up skipping the less healthy items they offer.
The biggest objection most people had to eating here used to be that there is no meat. They now offer rotisserie chicken, which is better than at the supermarket. It’s $ 3 extra for half a chicken. The other complaint is the value for what you get, and adding the chicken hurts on this score. You can print coupons off of their website for a small savings.
If you want to create your own salad, I really don’t think there is anyplace else that comes close to the quality or selection of Fresh Choice. Their muffins are awfully tasty, too. That’s the good news.
The scant selection of fruits has always surprised me. The pizza is embarrassingly bad. My personal issue is that the sweet potatoes are always either raw or so overcooked that they’re disgusting.
So, if you want a salad, and some other pretty good stuff such as soup, bread, muffins, pasta, or potatoes, then this place is hard to beat. Keep in mind, too, there’s a huge difference in atmosphere and food freshness between peak and off-​peak hours.

My experience with Fresh Choice barely makes 3 stars. If I could, it would be 2.5 stars. Needless to say I’ve been to Fresh Choice’s before (other states and locations) and have had better experiences, but this one wasn’t all that was cracked up to be. Here’s the breakdown:
The Good:
— Salad veggies — — they were very fresh and good quality, you can make a nice salad there on your own.
— Broccoli Salad (for vegetarians) — — this was pretty good, light, not too much mayo
— Sweet pickles
— Desserts — — plenty to choose from (browies, lemon cake, bread pudding cake
— Chicken Noodle Soup — — a staple there, it was pretty good.
The Bland
— Mac-​n-​Cheese — — it looked good but tasted bland, needed more salt
— Cesar Salad (premade) — — looked good but was too oily
— The Potato Bar — — I didn’t try it, but it looked just okay to me, could have been more appealing.
— The Phở soup was way too bland (at least they tried but no points awarded for cre8ivity).
The Nasty
— The pizza was horrid, even when it’s fresh outta the oven it wasn’t good. The crust tasted horrible (can you believe CiCi’s pizza is better?)
— The potato salad was way too runny, too much mayo
— The booth seating — — you sit in it and it’s like you sank 5 ft, and they’re broken down and sensitive to movement, so if someone behind you moves around a lot you can feel it immediately. How annoying!
I didn’t try the spaghetti or sauces there, only the bland mac-​n-​cheese, and the potato leek soup looked like it hadn’t been touched for several hours. There’s also fruit and ice cream machine for dessert, both of which I neglected to try out, as well as the tapicoa pudding which looked runny as hell.
I don’t think I will ever go back to this place unless I’m really craving bland mac-​n-​cheese, sweet pickles, chicken soup, stale pizza, or an okay potato bar. I paid $ 12.50 (including drink) for this all you can eat fest and I think I overpaid by several dollars. If you want a good salad bar, Jason’s is the place to go (IMHO), but even they can get old after a while.

I’m not the kind of person who would turn to a little kid and yell, «OK dammit, that’s enough quit banging your tray against mine and rubbing up against me in this buffet line. I’m a stranger, I could freaking kill you.» And I’m not the kind of person who would yell at a woman, «OK, it’s freaking cute that your daughter is getting her own food from the buffet line, but for the love… could she be any damn slower? You’re holding up the whole line here.» But I for damn sure will think these things while I’m standing in line at the buffet.
I hate buffets. I thought the whole point in going out to eat was to get out of doing any work. I went here on a Friday evening and the thing that bothered me most was the kid to adult ratio was about 5:1. And I’m sure you’ll whine and say, «but Camron, weren’t you ever a kid?» And I’ll say no.
Anyway, I make a salad. They don’t have Catalina dressing. Why don’t restaurants have Catalina dressing? It’s only the best dressing in the world. That’s like going to a candy store that doesn’t carry chocolate. I settle for Italian. I get some chicken soup, macaroni and cheese and some pizza. The soup is OK, the macaroni and cheese is tasteless and the pizza seems like it’s been under a heat lamp for the past couple hours.
The ice cream is good though.

I wish there was more than one of these in town. I often have a craving for a make-​my-​own plate kind of meal, and I have to go to Souper Salad because I live south. Souper Salad is fine for the craving, but I can’t trust what I am eating, and I leave feeling like I weigh 10 lbs more from a salad. And that is after dealing with the purposefully lumpy and small booths and the disinfectant smell.
At Fresh Choice the décor and atmosphere are much the same, but there seem to be more adults than children running around, and it seems a lot cleaner. You know, like they haven’t sprayed ammonia all over the bar 50 times a day, while still leaving globs of neon orange cheese because the rag can’t pick it up.
Most importantly, I know what I am eating. You can go to their website to get all pertinent nutritional information and stay away from anything that is not to your liking. It is obvious that they are going for more than just taste here. They aren’t just catering to the «pay the least and give me the most hydrogenated oil to enhance the flavor as you can» kind of foodie.
When I am working up north and in a rush, I can swing by and pick-​up a to-​go container, fill it to my desire (and this is no piddly little plastic box), pay, and leave. I don’t even have to deal with the dining room. It is similar to Central Market’s Salad Bar, but you don’t pay by weight. One price. That’s it.

I like Fresh Choice. Its a really clean, multiple choices restaurant with delectable options for soup, pasta, bread, salad and dessert .
While the salad bar is decent, they have begun to add more options (but then charge you extra for them.) Like for an extra buck or two you can put some chicken on your salad. Ehhh… in my book thats not too cool. Things are always freshly stocked and the food looks (and tastes) really appetizing. The price steers me away however (with tip and a drink you can easily spend 10+ buckaroos.) I say save your money and check out another salad bar, like Souper Salads instead. But if money is not a problem, or you really enjoy lots of different options, try it out. I recommend the chicken noodle soup and the brown bread with honey butter.
Its always packed. Check the back for empty tables.