The Good Karma Cafe

Had 1 time. Solid vegan lunch option.
Was not serving today, though the café inside had food. I did not ask if the weekly vegan food is on break for summer.

This is the best organic home maid food you can find in USC! The salad dressing is incredible! The main dishes are beyond good!!! The setting is lovely too!

I will be the first to admit that I am a hardcore meat lover and salad hater, and the fact that I come to this place whenever I can speaks volumes to its food quality. On top of that, the owners are genuinely kind people and make sure to greet each person they serve!
I’m a huge fan of Italian food, and come here on Wednesdays — I’ve had both the marinara pasta and the pesto, and I enjoy eating the pesto by far. On those days, the pasta is perfectly dressed with pesto and the halava has a lightly sweet flavor that even I, who rarely eats anything but savory food, have come to love. Diviya’s Almond Dressing, though, is the dealbreaker — the dressing is so perfectly made and I find that I finish the salad so much faster than I’ve ever finished any salad before.
I recently purchased a 14-​cup Tupperware container JUST for the all-​you-​can-​eat restaurant style of Good Karma, and am looking forward to some great meals in the rest of my years at USC!

Went here with a friend to grab a bite to eat for lunch on a Tuesday – which is Indian food Tuesday. Like other Unilocalers have mentioned, the style of eating here is all-​you-​can-​eat for $ 10. Just make sure to bring your own tupperware to eat food out of since it is a lot more convenient than eating off of their paper plates and they will fill your container at the end to take home for no extra charge.
On the day that we went, they were serving some sort of curried vegetable stew with a salad and almond-​type dessert. The curried vegetable stew was actually very hearty and had a lot of flavor. I added a bit of the hot sauce and it provided a nice bite. The salad was fresh and the dressing was quite tasty – I even liked having it mix a little bit into the stew to cool down a bit of the spice from the hot sauce. The almond dessert paste that was served was interesting, but definitely not my favorite.
Overall, the concept is great and the food is high quality and healthy. The service is super friendly and personal, as they welcomed back many of their customers by name. Definitely worth checking out if you are looking for good, healthy food in the area.

This place is wonderful. Very warm people who serve good hot food which has great taste! As an Indian, I was a bit skeptical initially about the taste of the food. I ate there yesterday and I am a happy man. The kitchdi was made to perfection. So yummy! Divya’s almond dressing is the perfect combination and I loved it. Yesterday’s dessert was Apricot Halwa which was good but not great (the coconut oil was overpowering) but can be excused. The pineapple mango juice was heavenly and a perfect thirst quencher for a hot day in LA. The people are very friendly and I think it’s worth every penny you pay for.
You can get unlimited servings. Get Tupperware from home so that you can take back food for dinner or for your friends.

Love the Good Karma Café! You get a lot of food for $ 10 (cash only!), which is about the price of any other meal on campus. This food is fresh, healthy, and delicious, and it’s a great place to meet up with friends/​colleagues in the courtyard.

Finding the trifecta of lunch perfection (healthy, organic, and most importantly TASTY) can be difficult… especially on a college campus.
This is the BEST place to get lunch at USC on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It’s vegan, healthy, all-​you-​can-​eat and yes… DELICIOUS! (what?!) Yup… didn’t know vegan food could be good. And the cherry on top? Bring the biggest tupperware you own and the owner will fill it all up for you to take home. All for $ 10.
I came on Tuesday (Indian food) and the menu had 3 items: curried rice with kale and potatoes, spring mix with almond dressing, and the delicious, decadent halava (walnut chocolate banana dessert) which is kinda like a bread pudding. All 3 items were PHENOMENAL… I can’t imagine anyone who would not enjoy them, especially the curried rice.
Chef Sarvatma is the sweetest, friendliest guy you’ll ever meet. I overheard a customer forgetting his cash, and he offered them to eat now and just bring the cash tomorrow (good karma probably). He really just wants everyone to enjoy the food and have a great time.
There’s also refreshing juice at the end of the counter, a delicious lightly flavored passionfruit-​pineapple juice! Not overwhelmingly sweet or too sour, but just perfect and refreshing.
Like seriously, everything here is fantastic. Definitely check it out!

Hidden gem on USC campus! Just pure, warmhearted generousity and incredibly delicious food :)

Ughh… I’m so sorry to give this restaurant a rating of 3):
Located in the Office of Religious Life building & is $ 10!
My friend and I came, thinking it was an all you can eat (WHICH IT TOTALLY IS), but there were literally only three items — curry rice, spring mix with their almond dressing, and this dessert this that I’m guessing is halvala. (this was on a Tuesday)
The man is really nice, he’s calm but nice — which goes with the name of the restaurant. The ambience is really cool too, since it’s on campus it’s a different feel then the other restaurants and the campus itself.
Anyways, the curry rice was ehh. tbh, it was really watery and was not flavor-​blasting): I ate two servings of the curry rice, and did not finish the salad, and did not touch the dessert) idk if it’s just my tastebuds, but my friend who is vegetarian used to be vegan said that it wasn’t that good either.): I just wasn’t a fan of the food, which is saddening): w
What did stand out to me was this hot sauce that they had, it’s SUPER hot but it’s honestly what kept me eating my curry rice. lol this juice that they make it also pretty good!
After we were done eating, the owners even gave us buckets of food. really nice of them!

This place is truly a hidden gem at USC. Fantastic home-​cooked vegetarian food on Tuesdays and Wednesdays — I highly recommend that USC & nearby downtown LA folks try this place out. Especially if you like Indian & Italian food and a relaxed dining environment. Also, bring a tupperware to pack food for dinner because it’s all you can eat! :)

1. Find the biggest tupperware in your house
2. Find the United University Church
3. Bring $ 10
4. Be greeted with a smile by the nicest owner you will ever encounter
5. Stock up on extremely generous portions of delicious* food
6. Unlimited refills to save for later
7. Rinse and repeat
Tuesdays are Indian food and Wednesdays are pasta, alternating between marinara and pesto. I like to go on Tuesdays, since it’s harder for me to make Indian food than pasta, so it seems of more of an indulgence to me :) If only there was a menu for the rest of the week. Then that’d be perfect.
*Like seriously, I didn’t know it was possible for vegan food to taste so good. I should start saving up so that I can buy the salad dressing mix. The almond dressing is to die for, and the halava is heavenly.

A hidden gem on the USC campus and most definitely one of the better and healthier places to eat at on campus. The Good Karma Café is tucked away in a sweet courtyard next to the church on campus. I usually go on Tuesdays for their unlimited vegetarian food. Super tasty rice vegetable mixture and amazing purple dessert (I forgot the name: P) …I usually go for seconds to bring home for dinner as well.

I can’t believe I’d been at USC for so many years before trying the Good Karma Café. I’ve only been on Tuesday, so I can’t speak to the Wednesday pasta. But the Tuesday rice mixture, salad, and halva is PHENOMENAL. I don’t know what seasoning is in that rice mix, but I can’t get enough of it.
And for $ 10, not only do you get all you can eat, you can also (and indeed, are strongly encouraged to!) bring your own tupperware container and take some to go. You can eat healthy vegan food for an entire day for $ 10. You can sit indoors or outdoors, and can use the campus wifi (and power outlets indoors) and sit at the tables for as long as you want. This kitchen is a great boon to the USC community.
There simply aren’t any other options close to this good on campus; for food this good (especially vegan options!), you have to go to the Mercado La Paloma. Too bad it’s only open 2 days a week!

Honestly, probably the best place to get lunch at/​around USC on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Vegan-​friendly food, so it’s healthy and yes, actually tastes like something rather than blanched vegetables. It is hidden in the courtyard area of the University Church. I believe it’s only open whenever school is in session.
The food is prepared every morning by Chef Sarvatma. Tuesdays are dedicated to Indian Kitchiree — a rice-​based dish filled with veggies. Wednesdays alternate from pesto pasta and marinara pasta.
If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s some homemade hot sauce (the level of spiciness always changes!). Good Karma also serves salad with «Divya’s Almond Dressing», halava, an Indian dessert, and freshly made juice.
Personally, I love the salad (since the dressing is literally the best thing on earth) and the marinara days. The pesto days are definitely the most popular so come early or you might miss out.
Bring your own tupperware, so you can take some home for dinner. $ 10 all you can eat — definitely worth it and so much better than eating at campus center.

LOVE good karma café and Chef Sarvatma. Great food and a fun, friendly community vibe. Excellent vegetarian/​vegan option — Tuesday’s are veggie Indian dishes and Wednesday’s are Italian switching between pesto and marinara sauces. Even though I’m not vegetarian remotely, I love this good and probably ate here every week last semester if not both days a week. I enjoy the pesto more and get like 3 helpings haha but both are good!
Awesome salad dressing that you can buy for home and super super hot sauce.
$ 10 cash, all you can eat. You can even bring Tupperware and take some home for another meal later which is awesome. If you want to get a free meal, you can volunteer before or after for cleanup and you get food as a thank you. I know people who’ve done it and love it but never been able to myself.
Filling, healthy quality good. Which there isn’t much of within easy reach to the USC campus. Located down the steps at the religious center on 34^th. SO worth it! Lots of seating inside and out.

This place is awesome. Comes to USC every Tuesday and Wednesday. The guy in charge is always so friendly and welcoming. Great place to eat vegan food. Actually, it’s the only place I eat vegan food. It’s so good, you can’t even tell its vegan. The almond dressing is delicious and the main entrée whether it be curry basmati rice or the pesto pasta is always on point. The hot sauce is super spicy but super delicious as well.

All you can eat vegetarian food! Each meal consists of a salad with an AMAZING almond dressing, a dessert and an entrée — kitchiree (curried rice) or pasta. Apparently pesto is the most popular but I like the marinara better because pesto tends to be dry to me. They have hot sauce as well but watch out, they make different levels of spiciness and sometimes a spoonful is too much.
You can bring your tupperware and buy the dressing in a dried form too. It’s $ 10, fresh, and sometimes there’s even live music. It’s in the University Church, usually there’s signs. Anyone’s welcome.
Sign up for their email list when you’re there to know what they serve weekly and whether or not they’ll be open.

who knew vegan could be so good?
Tried it for the first time today, and I can not wait to become a regular. As I am gluten intolerant I can only go on Indian Wednesdays, and let me tell you, IT WAS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO YUMMY.
The man is so nice, and enjoys when you go up for seconds. Just do NOT forget tupperware! And don’t worry, everyone brings HUGE sized Tupperware. So sad that tomorrow is the last day for the semester, can’t wait until the first wednesday in the fall!

Funny I had to find out about something right here on campus through Unilocal,but I’m glad I did. This is a great option for a vegetarian and affordable hearty meal.
Just as all the other reviewers have said, Wednesday’s meal is khichri (a filling rice and veggie dish), spring mix salad with Divya’s almond dressing, halva (kind of like cream of wheat casserole?), and juice. There’s also some kind of hot sauce, but please use it carefully! My friend’s mouth was burning up haha
I’d go again.

I’ve been walking by this place for awhile and finally got the chance to try it. You walk down the stairs right next to the University Church (Near JEP and Korean studies house) and there is a table lined with food! Just put your money in the basket and you get a plate of food, I went Wednesday so it was Indian food.
I liked how everything was organic and didn’t really mind that there was no meat because the food was pretty good. I know people rave about the salad dressing but I thought it was just okay… although when it mixed with the curry rice and vegetables it tasted really good! On its own though? meh. The curry was pretty good and I’m not sure what the dessert was, kinda this pudding ball but more solidified but it was actually yummy! I want to try Thursday Italian day but yeah this place is pretty solid.