Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery

our office has ALWAYS catered sandwich box lunches from specialties and i never realized it was located right next to mick’s karma until today!
after stuffing our faces with burger and fries i looked over and realized specialties was right next door! so we stopped by for some cookies for dessert.
they’re not the cheapest, we got 2 cookies for $ 5.78. YES. two standard sized cookies for almost $ 6.00. are you kidding me? had i known these cookies cost so much i would’ve cookie-​napped all the leftover cookies i’ve seen laying around from our catered lunches…
are they good? yes. are they $ 6 good? uhhh, i guess so. but seriously, wished they were bigger and… less expensive.
i’m looking past the close to $ 3/​cookie with the excellent friendly service :)

This is a good place for breakfast and lunch. Sandwich is amazing, a little pricey but totally worth it! Great coffee and breakfast menu. I usually come here for the cookies which are super yummy. Their day old stuff is half off which can be warmed up too, if you ask them. Great customer service fast and friendly. You can also order online, which is also super convenient.

I eat here for a lunch a few times a week and love the sandwiches. I usually get the turkey cranberry sandwich or peanut butter and fruit. The fresh baked cookies are so yummy. You can order ahead, so you do not have to wait in the long lunch lines.

I’m going to give this place 5 stars primarily because their customer service is extraordinary, for todays service industry. My office is in the building next door so I have gone there 15 – 20 times in the last 18 months.
*When ordering online as I pretty much always do, never once has my food not been waiting for me on the online pick up rack, exactly as ordered. Nothing forgotten.
*When you walk in the place, you are greeted with more than one Hellos and Can I help you, even when busy
*After 12 orders, they give you a free credit equal to the average dollar amount of your order
*Their breakfast sandwiches are fantastic and lunch is good too

I eat here nearly everyday for lunch. The menu is varied and inexpensive, while still providing quality food.

I work near Specialty’s and it’s one of my favorite go-to’s during lunch time. I highly recommend their Cobb Salad and Thai salad. There is an online system where you can place your order for pick up and customize it to the oooomph degree, which is really fabulous. More importantly, the food is very delicious. That said, it is a bit more over-​priced than the surrounding eateries by about $ 2-​$ 3 for similar items, which is significant if you’re trying to eat here daily for lunch during the week. Nonetheless, delicious.

My girl ordered Caesar salad with yummy fresh-​baked bread and a Coke zero. The food was decent but not nothing really to write home about. It was $ 10.36 which is about an average price you would think but kind of expected a little more for the OC. The Barista, George was awesome. Whipped up a great latte for me. Thank you!

Yummm. We got several take-​out salads and sandwiches for a work meetings. The food was delivered promptly and was very good. The salads were fresh. The sandwiches were excellent (LOVE the bread). Only tiny issue was that the amount of chicken on the salads seemed a little skimpy for the price, but it was a yummy salad none the less.

I keep giving this place a try and every time i’m left feeling SICK from eating their food. Their salads are NOT fresh. I think every salad i’ve ordered from them has had wilted, BLACK, or slimy lettuce. All varieties. They charge $ 8 for a salad and the ingredients aren’t even fresh! I have gotten sick from here so many times. Whether it be from nasty spoiled lettuce or their breakfast sandwiches. The cooks in the back are LAZY and do not know how to properly follow instructions. I ordered a salad here once that DOESNT EVEN CONTAIN MEAT in it and they put meat in it.
Also, the customer service here is horrendous. There’s people making coffee that don’t know how to make coffee or even brew tea. Also the dirty blonde who wears the pony tail with the resting bitch face needs an attitude check. She’s the worst out of all of them. If you REALLY hate your job that much then work somewhere else! It’s that simple! I’m afraid to even ask for anything there as they give you the worst attitudes.
MJ’s across the street is better than this place. You can get a soup and sandwich combo for the price of just a sandwich at Specialty’s.
ps. the only reason the cookies are good is because they use LARD. they are the most fattening cookies ever.

I started working in one of the Main Street buildings recently so I’ve frequented Specialty’s a few times for lunch. I’ve tried several of their salads and none have been good. The vegetables are not fresh and the meat tastes artificial. I’m currently eating the Chinese Chicken salad and it’s pretty much just a bed of wilted cabbage with some nasty chicken tossed on top. I want my $ 8 back…

This restaurant is delicious. They have a great selection of sandwiches. It’s right underneath my work building so its super convenient. I can even place my order and pay for it online and just go in and pick it up from a cupboard. When you walk in you can either wait in line or you can place your oder on one of the two ipods they have avaiable. Sometimes the line does get kind of long during lunch time. The turkey sandwich with pesto is delicious and the bbq beef sandwich is to die for. Definitely a returning customer.

This place blows! Always running out bread and the lines are always disoriented. Get it together already! Train your staff and if a register is closed let your customer be aware of it. This is not the first instance! Third time is a charm and a strike!

Specialty’s Café and Bakery puts together fresh and thoughtful sandwiches and salads for your luncheon needs.
Specialty’s is a small regional fast casual chain that offers goods that are baked on site along with a full menu (think: Panera/​The Corner Bakery). What sets them apart from the fray is a decidedly more eclectic take on the menu’s offerings and the use of technology as you can order online for pickup or even on their iPads in the restaurants themselves.
I have worked the Greek Goddess Salad into my lunch routine thanks largely to the proximity of the location to my office and the fact that I can get a quick and healthy meal at a reasonable price. The salad includes fresh hearts of romaine that are topped with grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, marinated artichoke hearts, kalamata olives and crumbled soft feta cheese. I always order the balsamic dressing on the side and get that bad boy to go so I can get back to my desk with breakneck speed.
Specialty’s Café is 4 stars of funk in my book.

How the time flies! I remember when I used to come here as a student for lunch interviews with professionals. Now I’m one of them, what happened?
I used to bring back a giant cookie from here, heated up of course, to my college friends and get jealous looks.
«Oh my gosh, look at his warm chocolate walnut cookie. I’m so jealous» — college friends (word for word)
Now, I eat said cookie while watching Netflix and mourning the golden years of college. Ah youth, where dost thou go?
Apparently, into the amazing walnut chocolate cookies at this café. Peace out

This place is a great stop for morning breakfast if you’re in the pastry or sandwich mood.
I typically get a bacon egg cheese combination sandwich at any shop I stop at. So naturally that’s what I got here as well as a bran muffin. If I can give them one small piece of advice it would be to season their eggs. I took a bite in and didn’t think anything of it and as I finished halfway through the sandwich I stopped and questioned what I was eating.
It was so bland. You would assume that the bacon would be enough salt but it actually wasn’t in this case. I ended up just taking the bacon out and eating it by itself because I’m not one to throw away bacon ;)
It did look like it had pepper in it or at least some sort of seasoning but it really didn’t taste like anything except a chewy substance. On the other hand the carrot bran muffin was delicious. It looks sort of ugly to look at with all the chopped up shredded carrots, but is actually quite moist inside which I found to be very pleasant.
That’s what the three stars are for.

Pretty pricey for a lunch sandwich, but you get what you paid for
They definitely try to get to know you at this store. The people that work here are very courteous and pleasant — it kind of reminds me of a neighborhood coffee place (starbucks). This specialty’s is very convenient from where I work at, so I can just pre-​order everything online and walk across the street to pick it up. I believe they have a rewards program, which I have yet to take advantage of, when you order online. The sandwiches can be custom made and I believe their breads are also baked there. We also take advantage of the day old cookies, since the cookies there are a tad bit expensive, for half the price. You leave cookies overnight and sometimes longer than that — so what’s the harm? Just have them toast/​heat it up. I think it still tastes just as good as their $ 3 cookie
I like the convenience and the quality of food from this place.

Excellent bakery products and sweets, but they are $ 3+each. The warm pesto turkey sammich is something everyone who enjoys any of the ingredients should try. It is very familiar and unique at the same time. Quite delicious.
Hints:
Don’t try to eat the pesto sammich on the go. It is a bit drippy.
Wash your hands before departing for the restaurant (they don’t have a bathroom and the closest one is in the adjacent tower).
Order online if you’re in a hurry. Your food will be waiting for you in an elementary school style cubby hole organized by alphabet.
Bring a credit card for payment; it’s faster.

Not sure why this place is rated so low.
+You can order and pay online. The best part is you can totally customize your order and see the calorie count
+You indicate what time you want the food and it’s waiting on a shelf for you when you arrive
+Good sandwiches, soups & baked goods
–It’s not cheap but what do you expect in an office park in Irvine?

Just like one of my Unilocalers starts off her review, this place is. «OVERHYPED»!
2.5
The only saving grace is their crack cookies!
Alexis B. started taking me to this place back in 2011 and it was amazing, the sandwiches were good. This place has always been pricey, everything is a la carte (I think they assume since its surrounded by office buildings that everyone has money and they can swindle them?) LOL! If your going to swindle me at least make my food correctly & make my money’s worth at least! –_​–
Came in around 1PM, of course I knew it was going to be a CF since that’s primetime for lunch, we looked over the menu quite sometime since we hadn’t been in a few years. I’m simple, I order a turkey sammie with only turkey, mayo, mustard & cheese, usually I ask for it on a croissant but they had ran out and later on when we were leaving only then did I see a baker baking fresh ones, but why wait so late in the day to make new ones when you close at 5? –_​_​– So I was stuck getting it on some white bread full of seeds on the crust which isn’t my favorite kind of bread.
3 sandwiches, 1 soup and 1 iced tea for $ 31.00? Eh, me thinks not because that didn’t include cookies which was $ 8.00. Our food took forever to come out and when it did my sandwich was made wrong, I had to wait to get it remade. They were understaffed for it being the lunch rush, people were sitting and standing around waiting awhile to get their food.
My sandwich was so dry I had to use lots of my sisters mayo to add to it and I was still hungry afterwards!
The cookies are addicting and are like crack but the price and taste of the food leaves little to be desired! –_–

Pretty good overall soup, sandwiches, salads, bakery, and coffee place. It has a wide variety of items to choose from. Also has a Peets coffee built into it. The outside seating area is very nice in the center of the business complex with park and fountain views.
Service wise they are always friendly and try to call you by name if they can remember. Any time they have messed up my order it was free to come back again. I go here on lunches from work. I use the online ordering system so I can just pick mine up from the shelf inside no waiting. I also place catering orders through the online system and everyone’s always happy at my office. I recommend trying it.