Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center Cafeteria

Very nice food. Unexpectedly, bibimbap was very good more than I expected. Also Chinese chicken salad was great. Loved the food!!!

It’s a cafeteria! It is perfectly fine for what it is. There are separate lines for different things so just make sure you don’t wait in the wrong one.
I came here because I had jury duty, as I am sure most people here are. There is a line for deli sandwiches, a salad station, a line for grill food such as hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, and a line for cooked entrée food such as chicken with rice and veggies.
I got a chicken quesadilla from the grill and it was pretty expensive ($ 6.75). It tasted fine but obviously nothing amazing. You are paying for the convenience of not having to walk around looking for food and go through the security screening again so I am fine with that.
Just a note that if you are looking for hot tea or hot water, they are not with the coffee station. When in doubt just ask for help. The staff seemed very helpful and they know that a lot of people here aren’t regulars.

Attending jury duty is not fun and good to have the cafeteria to have meal and coffee.
Lunch was good quality and staff was kind enough. but it was very crowd during lunch time.
I loved the chinese chicken salad. it was the best thing!

What is there to say. Serving jury duty and this is the easiest place to go to with out leaving the building.
Pleasant enough. Just a cafeteria.
‘Nuff said.

Make time to go through security because the food here as pretty awful and expensive. If you just want to get a pre packaged snack and drink this is a good place to stop. However, this courthouse is smack dab in the middle of great neighborhoods with lots of food choices to take advantage of that especially the thursday farmers market outside of LA city hall.

I was on jury duty yesterday and really did not want to go back througjh security to find a place for lunch. The cafeteria worked and the food hit the spot. They have an acceptable salad bar where you can fill up a plastic container or put it on a plate. They charge by the ounce and the price seemed very fair. With my salad I had the lentil and kale soup. It was okay. Add a drink and a rice krispie treat and I was at $ 10.
Would I go back? Of course. This cafeteria exists for the convenience of people working in the building. And reality is — it gets the job done.

Nice place to eat and take a break after a long boring jury duty service. Got there right before the lunch time rush. they are so busy. I had the croissant sandwich with chips and a drink, it was delicious =] the staff was very nice and i liked that there was a lot of seats. overall good experience and would visit again.

This place is terrible and it smells bad too!

I’m actually kind of excited to write this review because I write so few one-​star reviews. I’m just not the type to want to rehash a bad experience, plus the vast majority of one-​star Unilocalers are whiny babies who give an otherwise great place one star because their waiter looked at them funny or they couldn’t find parking.
But after dozens of visits to this particular cafeteria, I can enthusiastically report that this place is deserving of but a single star!
The good: Some of the staff are very kind. It’s usually clean.
The bad: The coffee.
The ugly: EVERYTHING ELSE. First, the place reeks of grease. You actually feel the grease seeping into your pores as you walk in. I’m dead serious — no lawyery hyperbole here. Secondly, the food is wretched and largely inedible. Except the jello cubes. One of my colleagues will stop in to choke down a donut before court sometimes, but they aren’t good by any stretch of the imagination. Stick to the prepackaged food, the bottles of water and the jello. Finally, the place itself is just visually ugly. The cafeteria is ugliest room — well, except for the lockups — in a really ugly building.
Sometimes you are stuck at the courthouse and you really don’t have time for anything but the cafeteria. But if you have any time at all, two really close, really convenient and really tasty alternatives are the cafeteria at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral (two blocks up Temple) or the Homeboy Diner on the second floor of City Hall (one block down Temple, then half a block south on Main).
If you have even a little more time, get on the DASH B. It is only 50 cents and circulates from Chinatown to Bunker Hill, stopping in front of the courthouses. So now your options include dim sum and dining like an investment banker. Enjoy!
Update: Since writing this review, they have added an oatmeal and grits bar in the morning. It’s pretty good.

not the best but for jury duty its A-​OK! quick coffee and nice staff.

OK, it’s a courthouse cafeteria so don’t expect too much. I ate here for 3 days in a row because I thought there was nothing else within walking distance. Not so.
Well, let me rephrase that. Not so if you don’t mind walking about 3 blocks.
Overall, the food is not too bad. The courthouse cafeteria is run by what I believe to be a catering company. If I remember correctly, it’s called LunchStop Express or something like that. On one side there is a line for the entrée of the day, and the other line is for the grill (burgers, sandwiches, tuna melts, etc.). There are also prepackaged sandwiches and salads on the periphery. The staff, headed by the cheerful Korean lady with the short hair, is great. They even dressed up on Halloween. The food is average, but somewhat expensive. Also, let’s quickly talk about the snack shops on the 5^th and 13^th floors. I would avoid those for lunch. They have hot dogs on the little rolling rack under a heat lamp like you’ll find in 7 – 11, and pizza slices that look like they’ve been there since the O.J. trial. The prices are the only reason I didn’t give it 4 stars (there’s no way I would give 5 stars for court cafeteria food — let’s be real).
Getting back to other options, if you walk down the hill towards 3^rd & Broadway, there is a Carl’s Jr./El Pollo Loco/​Sbarro right there on the corner, on the same side of the street as the courthouse. Walk 3 blocks up Temple and one block over to 1^st and Grand, and you will find a Subway. Again, none of these are what most people would consider fine dining, but believe me, it’s better than the cafeteria if you’re going to be there for a few days. Since you will usually get about 90 minutes for lunch, you should have plenty of time.

I have no idea where anything is at in Downtown LA, so i decided to just eat here in the cafeteria, also so i wouldn’t have to go thru the TSA security again. When you walk in its just a cloud of smoke from the grilling. I went with a club sandwich– so I wouldnt have to wait in the line. $ 8 for a club and a soda, which I guess is about average right? The only issue I have with this place is when you walk out, your clothes smell of smoke (from the grills). They totally need a better ventalation system in there. Now I have to sit in the jury room smelling like fries and burger. The sandwich was ok, the bacon was nice and crisp. The ventilation is a deal breaker though.
Just a thought, they pay you $ 15 a day (after the first day) and you pay $ 8 to eat here… you make $ 7 for sitting here all freakin day.

Not bad service but not great but what can you expect! Food was so-​so but not bad!

Not the greatest by far, but if you find yourself stuck in a jam, you can find a pretty tasty grilled sandwich or burrito here. It’s not cheap… expect a 6 – 9 $ tab without a drink, but the fries and pretty much anything at the grill station will get you through the day without feeling disgusted. Don’t even look at the sandwich station… and I wouldn’t venture to try the salad bar either. Walk straight ahead, and check out what’s warming in the chaffing dishes, or frying on the grill.
I’m a fan of the patty melt, grilled cheese, and stewed shredded chicken burrito, but I’m partial to the gardenburger on wheat with a slice of melted swiss. Tasty, and not soooo bad for you.
And if you find yourself craving something healthy first thing in the morning, they’ve usually got a few not-​so-​bad bran muffins to go along with some watery, but okay, coffee.
It’s not the worst, but, meh. I’ve definetly experienced better.

So you’re stuck in jury duty and you have to eat. This is pretty much your only option. Food isn’t great, but I’ve definitely had worse. Paid $ 7 for a cheeseburger fries and a bottled tea. They have a fair variety of items, a salad bar, good amount of desserts, a grill for burgers, and made to order tacos/​taco salads.
Pricey, but at least its not expensive AND terrible.

I have to disagree with Greg V. that’s a cheap one star. This place is not that bad. I ordered the breakfast burrito? 1) killer 2) only $ 3.50.
It’s a cafeteria in a court house in downtown los angeles? what do you expect?

So you are stuck on jury duty in criminal court and the judge gives you only 45 minutes for lunch. What you do? Based on the speed and capacity of the elevators in the building there is really only one option: the cafeteria. While other people have reviewed the building under government, I think the cafeteria deserves it’s own special mention, because theoretically you can eat there even if you are not involved in the court system (jury, lawyer, defendant, etc.). Not that you would want to.
In a few words, it is terrible. From the Jello cubes, to the styrofoam, to the processed sandwiches and canned green beans, the food is pretty awful. What looked like a promising real roast turkey turned out to be bland and dry. Ambiance is non-​existent, unless you are into fluorescent light and formica tables arranged in sad little islands.
I know it is an easy target, but come on, you think they could do better. It’s not bargain basement prices either. Unless you are a court-​watcher, avoid this place.