Bastyr University Cafeteria

The cafeteria used to be delicious, and a favorite secret spot to have lunch near the park. Sadly, it’s been in a slow decline for a while and most of the ingredients are no longer organic. The staff doesn’t seem to care, and the prices have been steadily increasing. Every time I eat here I’m slightly let down.
They have been trying to make more gluten-​free options lately, but the menu is limited (one meat entrée, one veggie entrée, two soups, the salad bar and whatever has wound up in the cold case) and it can be hard to find lunch if you have dietary restrictions. Vegans are often limited to the salad bar.
The cafeteria at Bastyr could be an inspiring example of how to run a business that’s true to your value and supports the health of everyone associated with it. Instead, the University uses it as an opportunity to make money.

Best cafeteria food ever :) The chef used to work at Café Flora so that explains the deliciousness. I love the raw cheesecake (it’s not always offered, but it should be); I love the baked egg breakfast dishes with spinach or tomatoes; I love the salad bar, and pretty much every entrée and soup I’ve ever eaten :)
Some suggestions– have an open sandwich bar (like the salad bar) so that we always have access to sandwich-​making ourselves, have a condiment section with mustard, mayonnaise (and Veganaise), spices, etc. And one last suggestion– to always always always offer a sugar free dessert option! Yes, there are some of us who don’t eat cane sugar, but love desserts sweetened with maple syrup, honey, and other natural non-​manmade sweeteners :)
Even with these suggestions, it’s still 5 stars because I never get a food hangover/​coma from the food at Bastyr :) and, even though I’m a med student at Bastyr with a huge amount of stress, I’m grateful that I can still eat healthy whole foods.

Where did the healthy food go? Chicken Caesar salad? Mayonnaise laden potato salad?
I really liked this place when I could find clean, vegan food. Having a severe egg allergy, I have to seek out the cleanest food possible. The new chef here has brought meat and unhealthy foods to the menu and it just seems polluted now.
This is unfortunate coming form Bastyr University. Clean up the food already!

I’m not a vegetarian, but I could live off this cafeteria food for life if I had to. My fiancé wants to get his Masters from Bastyr, so we went to the orientation/​open house (I don’t just go to random cafeterias on a whim lol). When I heard that their cafeteria was strictly vegan, I was skeptical.
All the veggies are grown in the University garden, which is conveniently located outside the cafeteria’s back door.
The bell peppers were the sweetest I had ever tasted. I had these scrumptious spinach pastries that looked like empanadas, and don’t get me started on the bran muffins. Mmmm. They were moist and light.
My fiancé and I are health food fanatics, but this place didn’t seem like the normally bland fat free stuff the rest of the world is used to. Bastyr teaches their students to cook using healthy and fresh ingredients, while still maintaining full flavor. I recommend that you take a visit. You don’t even have to pretend you’re a student!

As someone deeply affiliated with this place (no, I’m not an employee of the caf, nor have I ever been), who has eaten here countless times and will eat here countless more, let me say that I am embarrassed that it is still advertised as an award-​winning vegetarian experience.
Here’s the thing: IT USED TO BE REALLY GOOD. And then, about a year ago, the amazing, ground-​breaking chef followed his lady love to California. Aaaand it all tanked after that. I feel that integrity was lost after the switch. The knowledge and principles that made this place special are no longer present.
Okay, it’s still a fine school cafeteria. And it is tweaked in some of the ways that a cafeteria should be at a school of Naturopathic Medicine. But it also now propagates the general belief that eating vegetarian means eating tofu and/​or pasta with every meal, which is patently false. Also, dinner now = sandwich bar, which, I would imagine, is an unpleasant surprise for anyone lured in by the advertising.
The relative pros are that the soups are often allergen free and the desserts really are good, particularly considering most of them are in some way allergen free or vegan. (The head baker has not changed.)
I would not recommend anyone, who is not part of the captive market, coming here. Seattle is a big, liberal city and you can find something to meet your dietary needs in a venue with more of a need to compete.

The Bastyr University Cafeteria is what I wish one day the UW’s cafeteria systems would be like. Compared to UW, Bastyr is seriously like walking into golden, gilded gates with angels singing choirs of salvation for me (and my lactose intolerant, allergy riddled ass).
For comparison, the measly ‘vegan’ dish of the day at UW’s McMahon was vegan masala every single day this fall quarter — BLASPHEMOUS! What self-​respecting vegan (or lactose intolerant) would eat masala everyday for lunch for 3 months? Bastyr, I love you.
Bastyr caters to people who prefer to eat healthy or have restricted diets (for whatever reason it may be).
For me, this was a paradise of fresh veggies, warm entrees, non-​dairy soups and vegan deserts that are affordable, healthy and they have an ingredient list of everything they serve! You don’t get attitude here with snide cafeteria staff saying that they don’t know what is in the sauce.
Also, they sell kombucha! I think that in itself means that Bastyr deserves 6 stars.

I was attending a business luncheon meeting there, and the food was awesome. Eggplant lasagna, was to die for. The whole meal was great. Will be going back for sure

Cool! I like how fresh the food was and how healthy it was. I loved the vegan chocolate cake. I am a huge fan of their juice bar. I am excited that there is a healthy place to eat around here for lunch and is open to the community.
Good For: vegan chocolate cake, healthy food in a high school cafeteria setting

Who the heck writes a review of a university cafeteria? Aren’t those places universally greasy, disgusting and overpriced? That is exactly what I thought as I grudgingly entered the cafeteria at Bastyr University when I found myself stuck out there one day. I looked and looked for another option, anything but greasy, disgusting, overpriced and (horror of horrors!) vegetarian college food, but there is nothing else in the area.
Joy of joys, the food at this cafeteria is about as far from greasy and disgusting as you can get. I had split pea soup, curried cauliflower and some sort of spinach thing, all of which was very very tasty. Everything is vegetarian but that doesn’t mean bland or tasteless, quite the opposite. Best of all, it’s very cheap. My meal came in around $ 6.00.
Good, cheap ‘n healthy. I never would’ve guessed. If you’re in the area around lunchtime, I’d suggest checking it out.