Orin’s Place

Pasta was really cheap as it not only of huge portions but also comes with a breadstick/​bun. The best thing was probably that the pasta can be customized. Starbucks coffee is served, so it means that it’s safe and boring.
Overally, food is acceptable because of its low price. However, service was lousy as the waiters/​waitresses are often impatient.
Also, there’s always a long queue because of its location.

Prime example of a mediocre restaurant in a great location.
The food is average at best. It’s the kind of pasta that tastes pretty decent at first, but flavor-​wise gets so boring halfway through the meal that you need to make the crucial decision of whether or not to continue eating it or not. The service and wait times are pretty sub-​par. I’d say you have to wait about 20 minutes for your food to come out on average, and there’s always a huge crowd of people around the register waiting for their food.
In terms of seating area, it’s limited. It’s always crowded with students, most of which aren’t even sitting down for the restaurant. And it’s always loud and pretty hectic. Not a great place to eat and study in my opinion.
Many reviews have made the claim that Orin’s Place is good «compared to other places on campus,» but in my opinion that doesn’t justify a good rating. Without context, it’s a below average restaurant, with below average service, ambiance, food, and prices.

Serve starbucks and make sandwiches, pasta and pastries. The queue is awfully set up. Line is always long and inefficient. Can’t tell if your supposed to get something from the fridge before or after you get in line. They are far to the side and ruins the flow of service. This place needs to be redesigned bad and fast.

We dropped by Orin’s Place (at Paccar Hall) on the UW campus on a weekday night when there was no line and the staff was in a good mood. Apparently you have to order your sandwich first (way off to the right) then take the ticket and wait in the line (to your left) to pay. The layout is not intuitive and I can see why some of the reviewers gave this place 2 stars. Orin would probably get a better rating if they improved their signage and made the process for ordering food easier.
As far as the food goes, we had a very delicious chicken pita with Greek feta sauce. The chicken tortilla soup was yummy and the coffee was decent. I loved the interior architecture of this beautiful atrium styled building. After we finished our food we grabbed our coffee and sat by the beautiful fireplace. It was a nice late evening experience. I can’t guarantee the experience will be as pleasant during the day, when the place is super crowded, but it was perfect during the late evening. Next time I’m trying their pasta!

This review is strictly for the pasta.
In comparison to the rest of campus food (excluding Cultivate and the new Lander food), this place is probably at the highest for their pasta.
I started getting pasta here with my boyfriend last year and ever since then, people have been raving about the pasta. Sure, you could make pasta on your own, but something about Orin’s place is just really good.
So you get the piece of paper and you fill it out.
Choose your sauce: you can get marinara, alfredo, or rosa. Rosa is a mix between red and white sauce.
Then you can pick accents: basil-​pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and there’s one more that I can’t quite remember. But why would you pick that when you can choose basil-​pesto! Just kidding, but there really is one more.
Then you can decide if you want to add vegetables and chicken. However, I haven’t heard the best things when you add those in there. I hear it’s just good by itself.
Then you either check the To-​Go box or you don’t, depending on whether you want your pasta in a compostable box or a plate. I usually like to go with the box because it makes the pasta bunch up together and it’s easier to just stab at it with your fork.
Then you take the bottom part (which is your receipt, sort of), and you turn in the top part to the little tray. Then the chefs will take it, and start your food. Meanwhile, you take that bottom part, which is just a carbon copy, and you turn it into the cashier and pay for your food. They take card, cash and husky card (if you are dorming and have a meal plan). Pasta is about $ 6.50 each, which is actually pretty cheap for pasta and for campus food in general. Win-​win situation there for people who dorm and for people who don’t.
They will call your name when your pasta is done. Then you grab it and go eat. I would avoid coming to Paccar at every :30 increments since that is when class gets out and people will rush in to get food. However, you can eat anywhere in Paccar or take it to go and go somewhere else.
My boyfriend and I always get the same thing here. Rosa with basil pesto. It’s the best combination ever and tastes divine. It comes topped with Parmesian cheese and a breadstick. The breadstick isn’t super wonderful, but it’s nice to just have as a side. But the pasta, that’s something to really rave about. The sauce is just so good because you have both red and white sauce, and the basil pesto adds that nice herb kick to it.
In the end, it’s the only place to really get pasta on campus. Well, there’s also the pasta place that on the bottom floor of the HUB, but I still think Orin’s place is better in regards to pasta.

The layout of this place makes absolutely no sense at all. It’s a mix of an open space and coffee stand. To the left of this space, there’s a line for people to pay. To the right, there’s a large cooler with on-​the-​go food such as sandwiches and salads.
It’s confusing and illogical. There’s always a cluster of people waiting for coffee and pasta near the cooler which makes it look like a line. However, the line is on the opposite end and you wouldn’t know that unless you’ve been there before. It’s seriously the worst. I would love to get a LEAN team working on this space.
Anyway, in terms of the food, I try to steer clear of the salads and sandwiches, mostly because I have class in the evening and everything has been picked over. I’ve tried sandwiches that were left and they were pretty gross.
The only redeeming quality is the pasta bar. It’s not the greatest but surprisingly good considering how crappy the rest of the options are. But it is SLOW and pricey.
If you are looking for a place to eat on campus, I am sure there are better options but this kind of works if you have a class in this building.

Courtney B. basically outlined everything you needed to know. Nobody behind the counter knows how to pull a proper espresso shot. None of the food is fresh or tastes any good. Service is mind-​numbingly slow, even during peak times and the baristas just do not pay attention to the customer. It’s awfully overpriced, and even if it’s convenient I just don’t plan on drinking here. Ugh.

Orin’s is located in Paccar Hall, part of the Business School on the University of Washington campus. So as an A++ business student, I’m going to analyze Orin’s Place using an «ERRC» business strategy model.
E (Things Orin’s should ELIMINATE):
— 10+ minute waiting lines during the passing time between classes.
— Ridiculous, disorganized customer flow where you’re constantly bumping into people trying to get between the food cases and the line and the checkout registers
R (Things Orin’s should REDUCE):
— Prices. No one needs to spend $ 4.95 for a half a piece of pita bread and 2 tbsp of basic hummus.
R (Things Orin’s should RAISE):
— Healthy, quick food offerings. I love that Orin’s has grab-​and-​go options like yogurt with granola, fruit salad, pre-​made deli sandwiches and pre-​made salads. I especially like the thai chicken wrap with peanut sauce.
— Caffeinated drinks. Lord knows that business school students need all the help they can get staying awake on 14-​hour class days. The drip coffee and espresso bar using Starbucks brand products are great, and the more variety the better.
— Seating. Orin’s is popular enough that there’s almost never a free table available during peak hours.
— Composting, hurrah. They do a great job of using 95% biodegradable products and materials.
C (Things Orin’s should CREATE):
— Self-​service honor system drip coffee during peak hours. Coffee costs so little to make, and they would generate a lot of profit by capturing all the demand from customers who see the long lines and run away during busy times.

DISCLAIMER: This review is only in relation to the other options on campus.
I really like Orin’s Place for meeting colleagues and grabbing a quick snack. Mostly, I love it for it’s ambience. It’s one of the few places on campus that are really bright and airy. It’s really improved since it opened a few years ago. I think the other reviewers should go back and see how it’s improved.
They used to have a lot of problems with their drink orders, but I’ve really seen an improvement. The soup and food options are the same that you’ll find around in other HFS spots, but they also have pasta at this location.

This place is so slow I have time to write this review while waiting for my latte. I could have walked to the ave for my latte and back in this amount of time. In the end the latte was fine but it just really too way too long.

I love Orin’s place. I don’t understand why it’s gotten such bad reviews so far. The food quality is much better than 1101 or the 8, even though it doesn’t have the most extensive repertoire. The pasta is great and service is usually pretty quick. The seating is also really nice from the tables they have set up, to the chairs scattered about, to the sofas by the fireplace. Great place to study with others.

Alright, I think the previous commenters were a little harsh.
I always found their coffee just fine and their sandwiches to be very very delicious. A little bit on the pricey side… but it’s still really good! They have pasta daily and it works the same way as the they pastas were made in the HUB. You basically customize your own pasta.
Do note, the HUB’s pasta had more options and are irreplaceable. I wish they toasted their bread though. I like my bread with a crunch.
Never had an issue with their soup either. Always really good and nice and warm.
Lines are always really long right when class gets out and during lunch hours. They’ve tried to make their lines as efficient as possible and I think for the most part it works pretty well. It can be confusing for first timers, but I guess since I’m in Paccar everyday and I eat here at least once a week I know how they work their system.

If I could I would give it 0 stars. The only reason I go here is because I am forced to when I have no time in between classes. Sadly this place does no justice to the real Starbuck’s Orin.

i agree with other poster about the soy… i went to Orin’s because they serve Starbucks (yeah!) and not Tullys (boo!) and got something I could not drink either. I spent $ 5 bucks on a soy carmel macchiatto — did not try it till I got to work on campus and it was so burnt that I had to throw it all away. I did complain and got a fix so that is 5 star, but I should not have had to do that. So I will avoid soy and hope that fixes it, but considering I am lactose intolerant…

This place is a hot mess. I have dropped by here a few times to hopes to fuel up before/​after my class around Denny. Other times I have ordered raspberry mochas which were pretty good. Today I ordered a soy mocha and got an extremely nasty something, that was NOT a soy mocha. Not to mention the fact that the set up of this little café area is confusing and you have to figure out which line to even get into after you pick up some sort of pasterie so you stand around looking like a doofus.
If you want corporate starbucks coffee and you have a gold card (discounts not here!)… it would be best to just go to 42^nd and hit up better customer service and discounts

What a nightmare! Even for on-​campus type dining options. This place opened along with Paccar Hall this last fall and I have stopped in twice. They brew starbucks– this should have been a warning.
The first experience was for soup– it was cold and I had heard they had soup, which is typically warm. It was warm, but lentil soup that tastes like ketchup– really? It was gross, I am glad I only got the small. Also, I got in line asked for my soup and paid– then stepped back to wait for my soup as I was told to, then i waited. For 10 minutes before complaining that they had lost my order. Awesome.
Today I stopped in again, this time knowing better, I grabbed a Neato-​burrito and juice and went to get in line. They were NOT busy, seven– not six, not eight, but seven people were working behind the counter-​thing and they looked at me. For like two minutes. Finally this guy told me to go to the other side and use that line cause they weren’t open. Seriously? He sad that they didn’t have a cashier. Okay, so I get in line for the barista side… like a minute later the same guy opens his line and starts taking the people in front of me for their coffee orders.
How disorganized– and frankly– overstaffed.
The one thing I will say, beyond that the soup was warm, is that the cupcakes from Cupcake Royal always look tempting.