Fresh Choice

25% of their «clean» plates still had food on them, each time I tried this place!

They are closing Sunday, February 5^th, 2012
So bummed …
Can we protest?

Cheap, good, not enough gluten free options and very little protein. But when I’ve been glutonous and pigging out on holiday goodies, a plate full of veggies is just what the doctor ordered!
Bonus star for their broccoli salad which my kiddo chowed down without any protest. Score one for hidden veggies! :) And he’s only $ 5!
So, if you’re carb loading, this is the place for you.

Okay wow every few reviews I do I usually have some weird but true zinger and this is the one.
I usually do not like going in to all you can eat places because the food is usually substandard but I was starving and felt like a salad and bread and I was done with my shopping.
First its around 10 dollars per person (now I saw that they had some sort of express salad to go for less though)
But while you are making your salad they have extra little items you may want to add to your salad that are extra. Like tofu and some other things I cant recall now.
I didnt like that. I made my salad then got a small slice of pizza or rather a red rectangle instead of bread.
Lady at counter could have been a corpse since she showed zero emotion while rimg me and spouse up. While walking to our table I caught a whiff of something that was not pleasant.
To make a long story short the unpleasant smell came later and asked to clear away my pizza plate.
This employee had a sweat stain down his back and had the worse BO that invaded my nostrils and clung for dear life to the inside of my nose.
IT WAS BAD, so bad we considered talking to the manager but since we dont go to all you can eats anyhow we just decided to never go there again.
Whats sad is this guy seemed nice but I cant beilve his manager had not spoken to him about this. Yes so you have a sweating problem, fine but invest in some Speedstick guy, your knocking out the customers. We lefty and could smell the guy’s stink trail all through the restraunt.
The salad itself I could not taste was was weird (spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, mushrooms crutons and cheese I took from the baked potato section because they had none in the salad station for shame, sunflower seeds and ranch dressing)
The pizza was just that a red bread small rectangle of nothingness.
My spouse though chowed down and made sure to get his 10 dollars worth because well, he is a man and that is what men do. He also got a stomache for it.
No I will not go back.

This place is where you come for a healthy buffet. It is all fresh as the name says, but is not a vegetarian type of place. You must eat the pizza when you visit this place.

Upon leaving San Diego, I immediately began missing one of my favorite go-​to restaurants, Souplantation. I was a little apprehensive about Fresh Choice because it seemed less inviting buy figured that I’d give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by the experience.
Fresh Choice has generally the same buffet offerings with a few minor exceptions. For starters, almost all of their produce is certified organic, a big plus in my book. They also have bleu cheese crumbles and a few other premium ingredients like fresh hummus on the line. They’ve even got a phở station! Well, not really «phở» but they get an ‘A’ for effort. The dessert bar had some nice offerings but many of them used artificial sweetener instead of real sugar, which disappointed a little.
Service here was surprisingly kind and the manager was superb. The restaurant was kept super clean under her watch and I felt very comfortable in the place. They even accept digital coupons so there’s always a great deal to be had too. I will definitely be back!
Food: ⁷⁄₁₀
Service: ⁸⁄₁₀
Price: $$
Atmosphere: ⁷⁄₁₀

I’m not a big fan of buffets but I know what to expect when I go to Fresh Choice. This isn’t a fancy pancy restaurant, but they do have an all-​you-​can-​eat salad bar, soup, pizza, pasta, & soft serve station for only $ 9.99 (dinner). You really do get your bang for your buck!
The salad bar is intense. They have all kinds of condiments from edamame to beets. However, they DO NOT have alfafa sprouts, corn, or peas! Those are my must-​haves in my salads, so I was a bit disappointed, thus the one-​less star.
I really liked their mac & cheese. I went back for seconds, and even thirds. They also have a baked potato & yam station where you can put your own butter, sour cream, & bacon bits on it.
I went home stuffed. Fresh Choice, I will be back when I feel like I need more ruffage in me!

FRESH CHOICE should be called WRONG CHOICE. The salad was brown, the presentation of the food was sloppily presented. The jicama which is usually cut in long thin strips was lazily cut in big chunks. The Phở soup which I usually eat when I go there tasted worse than the stale water from their machine. The Pepsi had no syrup. The mac and cheese had everything but cheese in it. The apples in the fruit salad was brown. For God’s sake, how many possible things can go wrong with one lunch. I have been eating at this location for the last 8 years. Today is my last visit and I cannot refer this restaurant. I would like to have a sit-​down conversation with the owner or manager of this location and find out what’s going on. It didn’t use to be this way. Did they hire a new manager or is there a new owner in this location? Because the quality of the food has gone down.

Yes, it’s a self serve, all you can eat type place. There are often families and kids, and the staff keep busy busing away used plates and mess from tables when diners take off… so, okay, it’s no 5 star, gourmet restaurant, but this place is still 5 Unilocal stars in my book.
Why? Where else do you find all you can eat, locally sourced organic fresh produce, with gourmet veggies like red beets, jicama, edamame, etc that you will NOT often find at other restaurants salad bar, make-​your-​own-​phở, 4 – 5 kinds of delicious soups, 4 kinds of pasta, few kinds of pizza, all kinds of tea, self serve coffee, sides like corn bread, and snack/​dessert bar with make-​your-​own-​sundae!!! At a great price? AND, if you are a AAA member or have a AAA issued credit card, they give you a discount on top of the already great price!!!
Oh and guess what. They have FREE WI-​FI, and there is no time limit or limit on how many times you can go back and re-​fill your plates. I mean, seriously? This is my idea of HEAVEN.
I am SO grateful that there is a healthy all-​you-​can-​eat like this near our home. I usually stuff myself on 2 whole plates of salad, 1 – 2 bowls of soup, and sometimes a small bowl of pasta, along with their passion iced tea. I walk out with my stomach nearly exploding, to a point where it’s rubbing against my rib cage from the inside and it hurts. And I am still feeling healthy because I didn’t pig out on junk food in the same price range.
Luckily, their selection of pizzas are also satisfying enough for my not-​as-​much-​of-​a-​health-​nut husband, who typically get a bit of salad, 4 slices of pizza, corn bread and soda: P
So when we are running late, over worked and exhausted for the evening in Novato, and just don’t have time to cook or have the energy to do so? We swing down here.
After a long agonizing day in front of my computer typing away endlessly for my work, I seriously feel my back pain go away and my blurry tired eyes feel better as I eat away nutritious foods here. I recommend this place to anyone, really, and encourage people to splurge on meaningful foods like ones they offer here instead of wasting money on unhealthy foods and adding to your waist size. I also would think this will be a perfect place for a casual night out with a bunch of friends or if you have a large family with picky or indecisive eaters. With so much food you can eat at a fixed price, you just can’t go wrong.

Even though it’s 15 minutes away from work, I would gladly make the drive for something healthy.
Food: Fresh veggies = healthy! Got my Caesar salad, some cucumbers, chopped hard-​boiled egg, tomatoes, croutons and bacon bits. Yeah, bacon bits (What? I like my salad to have some crunch!). Past the register, I got some Pozole (hot and spicy) and sourdough bread. For dessert, a triple decadent chocolate brownie (and the calories are actually lower than you think. Don’t let the name fool you.).
Service: Self serve, but the staff was pleasant and greeted me when I arrived. The register person got a little confused with my internet coupon and almost forgot my water.
Price: reasonable for an all-​you-​can-​eat restaurant! FYI — if you have a AAA card, show it and get 10% off the total bill. Save it the receipt, go on-​line for their survey, then print out the 15% coupon for your next visit.
Got there when it opened, so the place was fairly quiet until I left. I actually enjoyed a nice quiet meal for a change.
Go to their website if you’ve never been here before and check out their menu. After all of the holiday meals I ingested, this is a nice change of pace.
Afterwards, go and shop a little with the money you saved.

The name says it all. Everything is extremely fresh. Salads taste as if one has literally just returned from a garden. If you love Salads then this is your place. This is definitely a family establishment. A Birthday party was taking place tonight while we enjoyed our dinner. This would be a «healthy» alternative for children other than a Birthday party at McDonald’s. Yes, they have a Pizza and Pasta bar. But, the Salads and tasty Soups can be a wonderful alternative to the Pizza and Pasta bars. They also offer a soft serve ice cream and tasty chocolate chip cookies. Which also melted in my mouth as if they were also «Fresh» out of the oven. For two people we spent around twenty dollars. Which was more than a bargain! They also offer a Senior Citizen discount. Which is good to know. Every cent counts these days. I found the staff to be friendly and service oriented. Restrooms were clean. Restaurant as well clean and presentable. I have found my new place for healthy tasty salads.
So why the 3 stars…
The food is served in a buffet styled uniform manner. No servers, self service. This is not a 5 star dining establishment but rather a family oriented healthy alternative to fast food.

For a family restaurant, I give this 4 stars. Obviously not Michelin stars, but my kids are super picky, and I’m sure they’d give it 10 stars. Where else can you feed a family of five for $ 30 and everyone actually goes home full and happy?
I think the salad bar is the most meh. The soup selections are more interesting — there’s always at least two or three that hit the spot — this time is was the Mexican Posole and the French Onion. And now that they’ve added the Asian noodle soup bar, there’s phở (four). Surely just having bottles of rooster sauce (sriracha) earns the place one star.
And then there’s the carbs — like half a dozen kinds of bread (and butter). Cornbread with honey butter. Baked potato with garlic chive butter. Pizza dipped in ranch or blue cheese dressing (make sure to get those little cups at the salad bar). Mac n cheese sprinkled with bacon bits and extra cheddar (that’s how my husband embellishes it).
Are you hungry yet? I haven’t even gotten to dessert – let’s just say there’s something for everyone. I was just there and I’m ready to go back. Okay, maybe not just yet, but in another few months or six…

When it comes to eating at Fresh Choice, for me the deal breaker is less than fresh produce. I’ve always been pleased with the quality of all of the produce at the Novato location. Admittedly, I’ve only been here around lunch time when turnover it at its highest, but none-​the-​less, I’ve been satisfied with everything they’ve had out.
Since I’ve never eaten anything other than salads of my own creation, baked potatoes and the occasional bowl of Phở, I can’t opine on the quality of the prepared salads, pizzas, bread and pasta they offer. However, if the people around me are any indicator they are at least decent.
The staff has always been friendly and the restaurant seems to be clean. They keep the dining room adequately staffed, so you don’t have to look at other diners’ dirty plates while you eat.
Prices do seem a bit high for just salad, but when you take into account the variety and perishable nature of their products, I guess it is in line with what you get.

Hmmm. I never really thought I liked Fresh Choice. I saw it as a mediocre and overpriced buffet, an obvious dining choice to skip over in the sea of dining choices here in Marin (and beyond). I usually only go to buffets in Nevada.
But you know… I recently tried it again. At lunchtime I went through the line, and real quick made a lunch to-​go.
It was totally worth my time and the price! I ate fresh salad, veggies, hummus and pita for lunch for two days out of that clear plastic box.
So for a quick, inexpensive, and different lunch when I’m in Novato, I’ll be back. Maybe this week?

daughter wanted a healthy lunch, so we agreed! We were visiting Nor Cal and seen this place. Liked how they had very healthy food, and tried to obligate people who wanted to eat something else besides salads. Food is OK, I have had better. But this is a decent place to eat.

Have I become this much of a food snob? I guess so.
Everything was just… meh…but somehow met my expectations. There are just too many other places to eat to bother with this place.

The food is whatevs. Sometimes the mac n cheese is perfect and sometimes it’s bland. The place is clean, the food is good (most of the time), and it’s cheap. Guess that’s what keeps me coming back.
Good for the price you pay

In terms of value and the fresh vegetables this place is really worth your money. They recently added organic and local vegetables to the salad bar, such as squash or even sweet red onions from a few miles away. I think they are trying to revamp the image of participating in the community and offering more organic products. Even the soups are label with ingredients and if they are vegan.
I usually come by during lunch and grab the food to-​go. For less than $ 9 I can stuff my take out box as long as the lid closes and it even include a soup container and bread container. I have leftovers for a early dinner snack.
Tip: If you are a AAA member and show them your card, you get 10% off. Hey, in this economy anything helps.

Generally, I’m not a big fan of salad. The best parts salads for me are all the fixings you put on the lettuce, and of course the the dressings.
The salad bar at Fresh Choice presents me with a unique opportunity for to create the wildest lettuce-​less salad imaginable and forcing myself to eat the mountain of food I’ve built.
It’s quite common for me to be severely depressed at work following these lunches. Depressed and racked with abdominal pain and food coma. Sounds bad, but it’s always good times!

We are also FC Corte Madera refugees… We usually go to the Concord location but just discovered Novato. W O W! We were impressed because they featured 2 of our fav soups (Squash and Lentil) in addition to three others! The fresh salad selections seemed extensive — all the usual salad suspects plus stuff like jicama and brussel sprouts! They also had potato salad, coleslaw, broccoli slaw and several speciality salads.
(Most FCs have far fewer choices)
We’ve been to at least 15 FC around the state and tNovato is at the top of the list! Even the breads that we’ve had a zillion times elsewhere
tasted better!