Bruin Plate

Kind of weird I haven’t written a review for the my most visited dining hall as a student at UCLA. Hey but what can I say when LA has so many restaurants that I am just dying to try, to write reviews for, and to constantly return back to.
I honestly don’t know what I would do without Bplate! It’s like the healthy sister of Souplantation haha. Their salad bar is always fresh and offers a wide variety of toppings while their fruit/​dessert area is always well kept and vibrant. You can’t go wrong here if you need a quick healthy lunch. Yes dinner will be healthy too but I can’t promise about being quick. If the menu has lamb chops … warning there will be a massive line outside.

Even though I’m an Aggie now I will be a Bruin for life and forever proud of being a baby blue and gold bear. I thought UCLA dining halls during my college days were good but Bruin plate has stepped up the dining hall game to another level!
Bruin Plate serves all organic food, emphasizing healthy vegetarian choices that are just as tasty as similar meat options. First, the interior is awesome– contemporary but cozy and tables/​drink stations/​food stations all engineered for efficiency. Each station has the meat or vegetarian option clearly labeled on tv screens/​signs– and there are at least five different ones — from bowls, to flatbread/​pizza, to main entrée, broccoli bar, etc. And how awesome is it that they have a place to just get steam broccoli?!?
I went on the first day of winter quarter back from break and the food was good. I got tilapia, a pesto chicken leg, vegetarian lasagna, and chicken flatbread. Everything had interesting flavors, tasted good, and most importantly was healthy! The desserts were also healthier (i.e. banana breads), and I grabbed some kiwi and pineapple (not everyday dining hall food).
This dining hall allows you to grab all the food you want without feeling guilty about your body or the environment– win win win!

The food is very fresh and clearly healthy. The portions are small but you can always go back for more. There’s good dessert and a plethora of drinks to choose from. B-​Plate definitely has its ups and downs, but what dining hall doesn’t? Overall pretty great taste and not to mention healthy and sustainable.

The food tastes amazing! Like a mixture of sustainable meet and vegetables with a pinch of dirt. However, the portions are that of a teething baby (so fr*ckin) small :(. So you have to wait in line and end up spending more time in line than eating. Long lines are perfect for conversing! It’s also a great place to meet hot/​sorority girls. You can really trap them into talking you in those long lines. Saturday mornings are also a great time to meet the parents of girls you make out with the night before. It’s a great family environment! Also good if you like fruit :)))))! That’s all you need to know! Wait actually you should also dine tray-​free to save the environment. You never know how long it could be around. just some food for thought

I can’t believe I’m writing a review on a campus dining hall, but here goes.
First of all, if you are not a student, you need to go to one of the front desks to buy a voucher. After that’s all said and done, you can make your way inside for the dining experience that is «B Plate.»
In addition to having a sleek modern look and feel, the B Plate has trendy food like freshly squeezed kiwi juice, tofu burgers, Asian style noodles topped with tilapia, gourmet beef burgers, woodfire grilled pizza, and shepherd’s pie. There is also a fully stocked salad bar and dessert station.
Furthermore, each dish is relatively healthy and doesn’t come with too many calories. However, I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing 10+ plates, making the experience unhealthier than intended.
The bad part about coming here is that it makes me sad that I didn’t have something like this back in college.

Blate is ight. Food is good i guess. Better then feast by far. Unique items boiiii. They have ice cream.

Best dining hall at UCLA hands down

Easily my favorite dining hall at ucla. As a vegetarian, this is usually paradise. It’s the one place you’ll find kale vinegrette at the salad bar and toasted coconut at the frozen yogurt bar. Pretty often they’ll have avocado in at least one dish, and they used to have avocado at the salad bar. Overall I find myself coming here 90% of the time and it literally is the most «LA» dining hall in the country.

Most healthy and tasty food out of all the dining halls in Ucla. I highly recommend Bplate especially since the food is healthy and yummy. You can enjoy the food without feeling bad about the calories. The kale dressing is my fav!

I love this place! BEST UCLA dining hall for its gorgeous interior and healthy food. My friends joke that this is the best date-​spot on the hill and I can’t say they’re wrong. However, a few cons prevent it from achieving 5 stars.
Pros:
— Every dish is under 400 calories
— Kale vinaigrette at the salad station. Makes salads bearable.
— Peanut butter is churned in the dining hall! Sticks in your mouth but it’s YUMMY
— Delicious veggies: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans
— Unique and creative breads: chocolate bread, cranberry walnut bread, banana nut bread
— Perfect desserts: peanut butter balls, peanut butter crunch bars, vegan chocolate cake, vegan brownies
— Gorgeous dining hall — is modern-​organic a theme or did I make it up?
— Romantic ambience — awesome hipster music. Where else could you find a dining hall that plays Bright Eyes– first day of my life?
Cons:
— Tiny portions
— Weird jelly — why can’t they have normal jelly. What is lime garlic? Cilantro? Idk, something nasty.
— Tiny cups… Do they want us to die of thirst
— Long lines. Guess everyone loves this place.
— Strict take-​out policy: you can’t take out sliced fruit or the desserts? #NO
— There are never enough lockers because they are either broken, or taken. The cramped space never fails to anger me before I enter the dining hall.
— I don’t like kale.

You can eat ten dishes and it will still feel like you only had five calories. Haven’t decided yet if that’s a good or bad thing.

Holy moly. Bruin Plate is unlike any other college dining experience. Have you ever heard of a sustainable, organic, local, nutritious and delicious college dining hall? I had not, until I dined at Bruin Plate. I’ll be transferring to UCLA in the fall and I was planning to cook for myself until I walked into this amazing restaurant. Bruin Plate is a new residential dining hall on campus that prides itself on serving healthy and sustainable food for students. Bruin Plate has even won awards for being the best and most sustainable health-​themed dining hall in the nation! They have many different stations all of which serve vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and customizable food options. This includes:
Freshly Bowled: Breakfast is either a whole grain hot cereal with fresh fruit and fruit compote, or a savory egg bowl. Lunch includes stir fry’s and salads and dinner is made from a grain or legume, topped with protein and veggies.
Simply Grilled: Whole grain pancakes/​waffles made from organic ingredients and nut flours, open faced artisanal sandwiches, a protein like grilled chicken or fish, and a starch such as baked sweet potatoes.
Stone Fired: Homemade bread with fancy toppings like fresh nut butter and made-​from-​scratch spreads. This reminds me of the fancy toast trend sweeping California (like The Mill in SF and Sqirl in LA). They also have flatbreads, many of which are gluten free.
Farm Stand: Fresh veggies! Always includes a steamed grain like quinoa, sautéed greens, and a local/​seasonal veggie dish.
Greens & More: Seasonal salad bar (much better than Whole Foods) with homemade dressings, rotating veggie and meat protein source, along with local/​seasonal vegetables.
Sweet Bites: Greek yogurt station with fresh fruit, homemade breads and muffins, energy bites, lots of fresh fruit, and a frozen yogurt station.
Overwhelmed yet? I’m telling you, Bruin Plate is amazing and will make you forget all about cooking! The food at each station is served as small plates, so you can mix and match different dishes. They even have sparkling water on tap with fruit spritzers and fruit infused water. This is a health freaks paradise! If you’re visiting the area and just want to check it out you can stop by the front desk at Sproul Hall to purchase a dining pass. I believe it costs $ 10 for a ticket and you can eat as much as you’d like once you’re in.
I can’t even imagine what it would be like if this type of dining facility existed at public schools across the country. They even have eco-​friendly features like energy-​efficent lighting, floors made from recycled materials, locally made tables, bamboo tableware, and low-​maintance (and drought friendly) succulents. UCLA is leading the way to a healthier, more sustainable school cafeteria, and I’m looking forward to eating at this delicious (and gorgeous) new dining facility while I’m a student UCLA!

It is time to rate my favorite dining hall at UCLA. Does Bruin Plate, better known as B Plate, deserve the hype? Yes, it does. How many colleges have a dining hall that has a gorgeous bamboo and glass interior serving you sustainably and organically grown food? Not enough, my friends, not enough.
Wow, so where do I begin with B Plate. First of all, if you are new to UCLA, you can always check the menus of all the dining halls online by googling it. That is always an excellent idea because the menus change all the time. B Plate’s better menus are typically Monday through Thursday, with Friday typically having a decent lunch but subpar dinner. You can either find a UCLA student that lives on the hill to swipe you or go into any of the front desks and purchase a ticket to eat at B Plate.
After you have swiped into B Plate, you are free to eat as much as you want until the dining hall closes. There are four main stations, each with a vegetarian option. One station has flat breads, another has bowls, the third is typically a piece of meat/​seafood (or tofu for you vegetarians) and the last station has the more fancy meal of the evening.
What I love about B Plate is that because the portions are small, it is easier to waste less but eat more variety. I always take advantage of the salad station that comes with different dressings like my favorite, the kale vinaigrette or the vegan caesar dressing. There is a salad tossing station where you can get your salad tossed for you. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the station typically has avocado and on everyday of the week they have some sort of protein there (typically tofu or chicken, sometimes shrimp).
As much as I love all the entrees, I have to say I am a sucker for the fresh fruit selection and desserts. For fresh fruits, it varies from grapes, watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, etc. The deserts always change but my favorite desserts are the banana bread, the chocolate vegan bundt cakes and the vegan brownies. All three are excellent endings to any B Plate dinner.
If you’re not here for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, there is also On-​the-​go from 7 – 10 AM Monday through Friday. The on-​the-​go selection has fruit cups, parfaits, smoothies and oatmeal. The go-​to smoothie choice is the peanut butter and oat. I have to say that I actually really enjoy all the fruity smoothies (mango tofu and the mixed berry) alongside the kale and kiwi smoothie– so pick your poison.
If you ever meet anyone that goes to UCLA who offers to swipe you into B Plate, please take them up on the offer. The quality you find at this dining hall is superior to some of the restaurants you will find in the greater Los Angeles area. Or even if you purchase a ticket, you can’t beat the low price for an all you can eat experience.

It can be a little hit or miss depending on the day, but usually all the options are healthy, and beautifully presented. Today was a stellar day with arugula and flank steak salad, these amazing shitake and tofu patties, and super moist and delicious sweet potato /​walnut bread for dessert. There’s also a great latte-​making machine, and a nice selection of teas to pair with your dessert. It kind of makes me want to enroll at UCLA so I can come here every day.

Wow. Having gone to UC Santa Cruz as an undergrad, and having mediocre food, I would say coming to Bruin Plate was a total upgrade. UCLA is rated top 5^th dining hall in the country (
) — not sure who will agree with me though on that source!
One day my friend and I ventured to our first dining hall (not Bruin Plate) and when passing by Bruin Plate, there was a huge line of 50 people. We weren’t sure if there was something special going on, or what. Anyway, it made us eager to try it another time! The theme at this dining hall is healthy eating.
The second time we came there wasn’t a line at all. Perfect! We headed in and wow, when you walk in, the ambiance feels like a Vegas buffet. The lighting, the décor, the music even, was all very swanky and sophisticated, but not in a tacky way (like some Vegas ones can get). There is a regular dining area, but if you walk far enough, you can also sit by the floor-​to-​ceiling windows that you see when approaching the dining hall from the outside. Very beautiful, letting in terrific natural sunlight.
There are several different stations, in which the chefs portion out small little 1 serving dishes. Some examples include quinoa with butternut squash, grilled chicken, wheat spaghetti with shrimp (or vegan option), various types of flatbreads, potato hash, etc. They are also all-​you-​can-​eat. The desserts are mostly fruits and all healthy things, since it’s a healthy dining hall. Also, to go along with healthy cuisine, this entails no salt or pepper shakers on the tables for your taste! I thought that was kind of wack at first, but honestly the dishes are still cooked with salt or other flavorings, so it’s not like it’s salt free. I didn’t feel a need to add salt (if you were wondering).
Drinks were amazing. Instead of unhealthy soda, they have a spritzer machine. You can choose from pineapple, apple juice, cranberry, orange juice, etc. spritzers! Basically carbonated water + a tasty juice. Man were those good — loved the apple juice one. If spritzers aren’t your thing, they also had Fair Trade coffee, organic teas, and your regular machine made cappuccino, latte and/​or expressos too.
Can’t wait to return! I love Bruin Plate!

I’ve never eaten more quinoa and kale in my life.
B Plate is not your traditional dining hall. This is the «healthy option» on campus. It’s arguably the most popular too, and it is definitely the newest.
Grilled protein, tossed salads, freshly bowled grains, and a flat bread oven light up this huge dining hall. I feel like this food would be downright discussing for someone who is looking for american comfort food, because this stuff is not only innovating, it is different. Putting a purple potato in your mouth is a bit of a scary thought the first time.
This place gives you fruit for dessert, an you know what, I’m okay with it. It’s great to have a lighter nontraditional healthy option on campus. The students obviously embrace it. It is the hall that I always want to show off to my friends who visit because it is so unique. I would definitely recommend giving it a try, but be warned it is not for everyone.

Ahhh, Bruin Plate. My favorite of the many dining halls on the UCLA campus. Why? Because I do my feel as guilty as I normally do when I dine on campus. Bruin Plate (or B-​Plate) is known for serving fresh and healthy food, which are all portioned for those watching their weight aka – the avoid the freshman 15 (or transfer 30). Haha not really, but that is a good hypothesis, right?
Anyway, here’s my breakdown of BP:
–Bruin Plate, like many other dining halls, is buffet style. Everything is FRESH, FRESH, FRESH! The food is made and served as the plates disappear on the counters by hungry students. There are many options here for those who are meat eaters, vegetarian or vegan. One can also «customize» their plate (by simply shouting out to the preparer, «May I please have just the _​_​_​_​_​?» Or in my case, «May I have one with no cheese?»
–There is NO soda here! However, they have fruit infused water here. The flavor changes daily from pineapple to raspberry to citrus and just about any other fruit that can be infused with water. Bruin Plate also serves fruit «spritzers» similar flavors to the infused water.) There is also organic tea and coffee.
–Dessert here is basically freshly cut pineapple, grapes, and oranges. As well as non-​sliced fruit such apples, bananas, pears, and tangerines. BP typically has one type of «non-​healthy» dessert that changes daily.
–Avoid the hours from 6 – 8 P.M. because it sure does get crowded inside and out. You will find yourself waiting outside of the dining hall for 10 – 15 minutes as well as inside waiting for food and then a table.
–Be sure to check the dining menus & hours online by going to:
I recommend to anyone and everyone, even those who do not like eating «clean» or healthy. ;) You won’t regret it!

Food is great! Way better than the typical res-​hall food I’m used to.
My only issue was their marketing:“health-themed”. Yes, the food is fresh, organic, and nutritious, but only in small quantities, which is why their plates are so small. But with small plates distributed buffet style, you’ll be going for seconds. Soon you’re packing on tons of calories without even noticing. Each entrée is 400 calories or less, but no one just gets one. Add dessert, ’cause come on, dessert… 200 and less. You’ll probably consume about 500 calories or more, which is more than recommended per meal on average. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot healthier than the other food available on campus, but just be careful. I was absolutely shocked when I looked up the nutritional values of each dish (which UCLA updates daily and has posted online – amazing!).
Overall – great food, just be mindful of portions. But that’s really anywhere…
Sources:

Bruin Plate (B-​Plate) restaurant includes many kind of healthy fresh food. If you like to eat vegi or healthy food, you will try this restaurant. I prefer to eat salad chicken pizza and some chinese native foods. All the materials taste is good.

Bruin Plate (aka B-​Plate or BP) is the newest dining hall addition to the UCLA campus! It focuses on fresh, healthy, sustainable food choices, which is a much-​needed addition to all the calorie-​loaded alternatives on the hill (I’m looking at you, 1500-​calorie Rendezvous chicken nachos). Additionally, in terms of dining atmosphere, Bruin Plate and Feast make De Neve and Covel look like artifacts; there’s just no comparison.
Because it’s still relatively new, lines are still really long but nothing too unusual. Feast at Rieber was definitely a lot worse when it first opened. I’m a fan of all the healthy choices, especially the greek yogurt and frozen fruit, as well as all the different types of meats/​veggies offered on the grill.
Unfortunately, because it is a dining hall, you do have to have a meal plan or BruinCard easy pay to eat here. Or you can always make a friend!