Cereality

I am so glad the good people of Philadelphia weren’t duped by this hipster scam. I saw more blonde dreadlocks and vintage clothing here than I was ever comfortable with.
Good riddance.

I am very sad to hear that Cerality is closed. Yes, I realize that this place isn’t that spectacular since all the stuff here you could basically do on your own if you really wanted to. But, being on/​near a college campus, I think it’s a great idea.
I’ve gone here about 2 – 3 times over the past 4 years and I had a good experience each time. It’s definitely overpriced, but, the experience was there (at least for me). Rest in peace Cereality — Philadelphia, PA, you will be missed.

I just realized this place closed down. What a shame! I haven’t had cereal since. :-(

Probably worthy of 2 or 3 stars, But I’m giving it 1 because I’m a little bitter that I didn’t come up with a such a simple money making idea first. I mean talk about a goldmine! start a storefront that only serves cereal and place it in a college area where people will buy into anything. I know plenty of colleges country wide that would buy into it, so I’m not just knocking Penn on this one.
But I went to Temple and we’re just smarter (I hated that ad campaign too.). I can’t base food quality on something that I can easily get by pouring contents out of a box in my kitchen. But I know I’m getting more for less by buying the box. And there’s a chance that I’d be giving myself better service in the process. True you can get varieties that go beyond Coco Puffs and Cheerios, and you can mix and match. But you can do it with your store purchases too. Therefore Cereality = Epic Fail!

I went here shortly after it opened — back in 2004? 2005? And LOVED it. A cereal buffet bar? Served in Chinese-​take-​out-​style boxes? Choice of kinds of milk? My HEAVEN had become a reality!
To anyone who waaaah waaaaahs over the price — get over it! It’s the point of doing something different! And seriously, it’s not like most places in Philly aren’t overpriced. Drop the attitude and be a kid again.
I’m just sad that more of these haven’t opened. I’d be all over it if there was one in San Diego!

Yes it’s kitschy, yes it’s overpriced, and yes it involves zero culinary skill. But I love cereal, and I love picking and mixing ingredients, so I love this place! Dozens of cereals, so many toppings including fruit, nuts, candy, and syrups… I prefer to pick my own rather than get one of their suggested concoctions because it’s more fun that way.
Yes, you can buy cereal and toppings at the store and do this yourself for cheaper, but cmon, are you really going to all those boxes and all that stuff and mix it together? If you’re a cereal fan, you have to check this place out at least once, if just for the fun of it. It’s a cereal lover’s heaven!

PROS: Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. Cereal and all kinds of goodies that appeal to you from morning all the way through to a late afternoon coffee/​snack. What’s not to like?
Service staff is excellent, no complaints there. Sad though that they have to wear all that kitschy garb as uniforms, with slogans such as «United Flakes of America.» Man, I give them top recommendation for overcoming the feelings of kitschy duscheyness from the outfits and still smiling and managing to provide friendly, down to earth service.
COFFEE UPDATE: A year or two ago I would’ve said DONT GO for coffee, as it was a machine operated by buttons reading the different choices that a customer would make, as in «Cappuccino, Latte, etc.» Yes, frightening if you actually own tastebuds, like coffee and are neurologically capable of discerning what’s good and what’s gas station garbage. Fear no more, not only is that Insta-​Coffee-​Tron 3000 machine is gone and probably seeing better days at the lobby of some lucky Motel 6 on the highway. The staff actually has a real espresso machine at their disposal and they more or less know how to use it. No, they’re not going to make it just right, the way that one café in San Francisco, Buenos Aires or Rome did it, but it’s better than Sbucks, so good! I no longer need to get my Cereality and then run off to the Bucks County for coffee.
CONS:
Pricey. Each oatmeal or cold cereal combo is priced at $ 3.99, the retail price of a whole damn box of cereal in the Bush Recession Economy. Can you handle that? It’s hard. Still, you come here for the experience of eating at a cereal bar with free WiFi. If you’re smart and use the internet to do something entrepreneurial and maybe meet an attractive member of the opposite gender along the way, well, that $ 3.99 will pay dividends, yes?!

Okay, so the concept of paying 4 $ for a bowl of cereal is pretty ridiculous… BUT…i suspected it would be a total hit with my nephews (aged 8 – 10) and i was totally right. They both loved the idea and got totally hopped up on «the devil made me do it» cereal cocktail. If i remember correctly this is comprised of Count Chocula, Cocoa Krispies, Cocoa Pebbles, Cookie Crisp and _??_ in chocolate milk, with malted milk balls. After this they ran around the Claus Oldenburg button on the Penn campus like l’il sugared up whirlwinds till they were ready to pass out. Okay, so its not the healthiest option, but 4 $ covered their dinner PLUS they thought i was the best aunt on the planet.

Oatmeal (made to order) with slivered almonds and bananas that they’ll even heat-​up in a skillet for you… BRILLIANT after your morning workout before heading to Van Pelt to study!!!
But I wouldn’t eat anything else in this place if you paid me.

I get that buying pre-​made food is going to be more expensive, but come on! $ 4 is an ENTIRE BOX of cereal — the good stuff too, like peanut butter bumpers. Why are you paying that amount for a single bowl? Okay factor in fruit, milk and other add ons, but if you do the math buying these things outright and adding them to your cereal is still the more cost effective method. It isn’t like making a bowl of cereal is so complicated a process that you have to attend culinary school to grasp the subtle art of pouring milk into a bowl. cereal is already pre-​made food. you cant get any easier.
And yes, i went here to see what the fuss was all about. and i want my 4 bucks back.

so I know it’s a $ 4 bowl of cereal! to get a fun, healthy FAST snack that satisfies morning, noon, or afternoon– that’s more than worth it to me. :)
on my visit to Philly I stopped here 3 times in my one day visit. believe it!
(BONUS: Dairy free and vegan FRIENDLY!)

Sometimes… sometimes…I like to go here and buy a banana soy boy. It’s delicious and reminds me of Elvis Presley, it’s banana, peanut butter, soy milk, and some wheat germ. I know, I can make it at home but sometimes it’s nice to have someone else make it for you. Well… today it was still ok, the service was the worst I’ve ever received. I’ve visited this location a few times since it’s opening and the service is getting worse and worse.
There was no one in line before me, and all I was thinking was «Sweet, I’ll be in and out.» I was so wrong, the ice was out, the peanut butter was out, and had to wait for the other person who had her friend in the back come out with all the stuff and actually work. The guy waiting on me was very apologetic, but seriously, all that stuff should have been checked while no one was waiting in line. Meanwhile, they are dealing with my order, more people come in and are patiently waiting to be noticed by an employee. Yeah, the service sucks and there were a lot of flies, I have no idea what that is about. I’m giving them two stars instead of one because the smoothie was still pretty good.

Completely overpriced. I think I paid about 4 bucks for a small bowl of oatmeal. Interesting concept, though. They occasionally have open mic nights as well.

Cereality is all about convenience and fun. My friend roundly rejected it, but I think it’s pretty great. We overpay for all kinds of foodstuffs in the name of fun and convenience, so why object to this place? You can put together a pretty filling and healthy meal of ingredients few people have at home. Soy milk is available, too, but it’s 50 cents more.

I love cereal. I love restaurants that focus on serving cereal.

Cereality is a great concept. They have a variety of cold cereals and a variety of cereal toppings (such as the marshmallow charms from Lucky Charms). You can mix and match to your hearts content. You add your choice of milk and get your cereal in a milk-​proofed carton, similar to a Chinese food take out container. You also get free Wi-​Fi. Only downside is price. Why would I want to spend $ 4 on a bowl of cereal when I can buy a whole box? Cereality is a good novelty but just a tad bit too pricey for me.

Traveling for me is a chance to try new foods. So when my cousin-​in-​law mentioned that there was a cereal restaurant/​café in Philly, I was enthusiastic to dine there. A place that serves only cereal? That’s my kind of Food Network gimmick!
Of course, it would be located on the U Penn campus as only college students would pay $ 4 for cereal. And it has free wi-​fi to encourage students to stay.
The café’s aesthetic is like that of a theme-​park. Like hanging out at Mickey’s house in Disneyland. (He soooo does not live there.) Non-​offensive and somewhat institutionally clean.
Cereality’s basic premise is combinations of cereals, granola, oatmeal topped with fruit, nuts and syrup… All very doable at home but you still find yourself paying for someone else to do it for you.
I ordered the Country Inn Crunch which is Cereality’s blend of granola, Frosted Flakes, maple syrup and apples. There’s a bar dispenser that allows you to choose from whole milk, 2% and skim. Soy milk is also available but you gotta ask for it.
Ken ordered a slurreality (not an appealing name) which are basically smoothies with cereal blended up in it. His Very Berry (peaches, mixed berries, milk and Froot Loops) was actually quite tasty. The Froot Loops added an extra tang to the drink. Not bad!
Was it worth it? Sure why not. Enjoyed my cereal blend and could see myself coming back to try the other combinations. Or, I guess since I snagged a menu, I could make the combinations at home and save a trip to Philly. These recipes certainly aren’t rocket science.

Cereal parfait, breakfast smoothies, to-​go cereal mixes for class and flavored milk.
For what it is (a cereal bar) this place is very creative and business genius to be located on a college campus. Obviously it is cheaper to eat cereal at home in your bed, but it’s also cheaper to buy a six pack of Coors and sit in front of the TV, yet you would rather go to the bar. Cheaper to cook at home but that doesn’t stop you from going out to Amada.
Again, this is a inventive idea and a cute, casual place ot meet and chat with friend. I would only recommend this place to college kids.

Jon really said what needed to be said.
I was so adversed to this place being in my area code. Then, I got a coupon for a free bowl of their product. I actually… loved…it. Life is one of my favorite cereals, and Cereality, with their honey, granola, and right tempature milk, brings the best out of Life.
Still, I see no point in eating cereal anywhere outside of my kitchen, so I’ve never returned back. If they’d hook me up with some more free coupons, I just might though…

Cereality caused all kinds of buzz when in opened in 2004. Wow! everyone was saying. A restaurant devoted to cereal! The concept was designed by a couple of guys who know a whole lot about business and who thought of everything as far as restaurant design, sleek packaging and, generally, how to get young people excited about their product. And now, they’re launching Cerealities near college campuses all over the country.
I haven’t been back there since the opening in 2004. To me, this project is just part of a greater evil we might call the «Starbucks Project» meant to make us forget what foods and drinks are really worth by blinding us with pleasant cafes and hip marketing campaigns. See, Cereality actually gives you what it claims: a bowl of cereal in a café environment. Now, as rational human beings, is that something we really need? And do we need to pay for that bowl the same thing we’d pay at a supermarket for an entire box!!!
Fine, I’m being negative. I can see how the charming, Chinese food-​like take-​out boxes are appealing, and I’m sure that cereal lovers will go gaga for the gigantic list of topping possibilities for their Frosted Flakes. But, really, is it too hard to pour your own bowl of cereal? Go out and buy a couple of nuts and berries to top it with, for God’s sake!