The Athenaeum

This is a members-​only establishment. An old friend who works at CalTech, and therefore eligible for membership, invited me to join her for lunch. Note that there is a dress code specified on their website.
This old historic building has lots of character with the columns, intricate lighting fixtures, portraits of stuffy looking Athenaeum presidents of yesteryear and grandfather clocks. After checking in with the hostess we decided to eat outside in the patio area.
As we looked over the menu we enjoyed some incredible bread. The basket contained a few fresh variations but I found myself partial to the pretzel bread.
I ordered a Kobe beef burger which came with fries and a strawberry lemonade to drink.
The beverage was refreshing and not too sour, sweetened with fresh strawberry juice. The thick flavorful burger was presented with only bacon, grilled onions and cheese on the meat patty with lettuce, tomato, avocado and pickles on the side to add as I pleased. The sturdy bun was perfectly sized to handle the burger while not being «too much bread». The fries, I was told, were made in-​house and were very good — the thin and crisp type.
From the dessert menu I chose a chocolate & peanut butter mousse. The beautiful plate had a scoop of vanilla ice cream on one side and a peanut butter mousse coated in chocolate on the other with both chocolate sauce and peanut butter sauce connecting the two. For added decadence, two pieces of caramelized banana also sat on the plate. Truly an incredible dessert to be highly praised.
Service was attentive, professional but a bit stodgy. It took some work but I did eventually get a slight grin with one of my supremely witty comments. Diners were primarily wealthy (judging from both the caliber of cars being parked by the valets and the clothing worn) and elderly. Fortunately tables are comfortably separated and lunchtime conversation followed proper etiquette and was kept at a well-​mannered low level.
An enjoyable meal at a unique location; next time I’ll be sure to bring my smoking jacket and pipe.

PROS:
The Ambience is WONDERFUL! I especially like the outdoor seating options.
Quality and taste of food is delicious
Customer Service is tops
Beautiful venue for an event or weddings
CONS:
It’s members only so you have to be a member or be invited by one.
While there take a stroll on campus to the turtle pond which is a calm break from the crowd at the Athenaeum.

We always enjoy dining at the Ath whether it be for a private event, lunch, dinner, casual dining downstairs or in the Summer Al Fresco. Service is always great, food is delicious and it’s such a historic place to visit and tour. If you are not a member through affiliation find someone who is and enjoy a wonderful experience.

My family and I were lucky to have been invited by a member for their Mother’s Day brunch.
The dining room was spectacular, my daughter put it best saying it almost felt like eating at Hogwarts.
The buffet was definitely one of the best I’ve ever experienced. Crab legs, oysters, and homemade ice cream were all personal favorites, as were the specially cocktails — I had Aztec coffee with tequila. Service was attentive and friendly.
Looking forward to another invite soon. I hear the winemaker dinners are amazing!

I was recently a guest of a member. I cannot imagine why more folks who might qualify as a member don’t. I intended to pay for lunch since I basically invited myself through a friend of the member. That was very embarrassing! Only the member can actually purchase a meal! So we’ll send her flowers instead!
I’m presently studying the Atheneum as it relates back to Plato and Aristotle, so this was tremendous! It’s what Ralph Lauren lifestyle is about! Exceptional building-​opened by Einstein, idyllic grounds, not far from the «sister» Huntington Library. I’m surprised that there are three $ for the pricing as even their lunch buffet was only $ 11.50– in Old Town Pasadena? I had a french dip sandwich and fries – which was exceptional!
I filled out a membership form before I left!

The Athenaeum is a Caltech affiliated restaurant with a more casual Rathskeller in the basement level. The dress code is black tie or at least business casual, but there will be the occasional Caltech student who doesn’t care and comes in pajamas. The restaurant is elaborately decorated and often hosts weddings and special parties on the weekends.
The Rathskeller has weekday specials for fish tacos, kobe burger ($ 7!!) and more depending on the day of the week, so take advantage of that!
The service is quality, and the food options are also amazing — but on the slightly expensive side. A kobe burger is $ 14 though, and that is an amazing deal. They also offer a buffet lunch for a reasonable price with salads, pastas, proteins and everything. I forget how much it is.
Order a strawberry lemonade for your drink!

at $ 14, the buffet is an excellent deal. it includes 2 choices for soup, some salad greens and other salad ingredients, some decent composed salads such as caprese, tuna, chinese, then some warm sides such as green beans, potatoes, a fish entrée and then generally a carving or seafood station. the ham was actually not great, but everything else on the buffet made up for it. the berries athenaeum is very good. you have to go with a member. service is actually somewhat amateurish. (many servers are caltech students.) the décor and space is remarkably beautiful.

We have been here a couple of times with my dad and have had the buffet. Great old school style but with modern delicious food. We plan to go each time we are in the area.

Always love a good luncheon and the healthy choices. Perfect Cali cuisine, although it is fairly formal.

My sister got married here, so every day for Mother’s Day we have brunch at the Athenaeum. They always kill it with the food options. It is served buffet style, and they have amazing breakfast, salad, dinner and dessert options.
There seafood options are fantastic and I look forward to it every year. You should become a member your Mother would a appreciate it.

If you have a membership because you are a grad of Caltech or work at JPL or just plain rich to donate… then this place is pretty awesome. I was there for a work offsite meeting and the food and service is quite amazing. The inside is not your traditional sleek modern office space rather a feel of posh & tradition which kind of makes sense for Caltech but at the same time… it is one of the leading schools for innovation… sometimes you feel like the buildings would mimic that but not this place.

Going to the Athenaeum is definitely an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on. Unless you are invited you cannot dine there! The exclusivity itself made the experience amazing!
I ordered the lobster roll and it was pretty delicious! I don’t think the food itself was on par with the setting and the ambience but it was still delicious. There is outdoor seating and indoor seating. Definitely the indoor seating is a more beautiful experience. If you are outdoor it’s not much of a fine dining experience. It’s pretty much self serve.
All in all I was happy to be able to have this experience at this prestigious venue where supposedly Albert Einstein dined at. I feel smarter already!

Oh boy, what an opportunity to eat at this place!
Walking in, you definitely get a feel of the rich history of this place. Fortunately, they installed A/​C :)
Cam here as a part of my graduation from my certificate program — to be honest the food was good, but nothing beyond expectations for a place of this caliber. If you are coming for the food: if you have a chance to come, sure, but I would honestly not go out of your way to eat here.
Starter: Bread and butter, salad
Main: Steak, String beans, Mashed Potato
Dessert: ice cream, fruit, chocolate lava cake sorta.

Absolutely beautiful and stunning view, décor, and environment. Wow I really would like to have my wedding here… too bad this place is only open to members only and their guests. I just love the décor here and all the intricate designs they have and just the feel they give me overall. Perfect place to take pictures too!
I came here for the Wednesday night buffet and I didn’t really expect too much. Crab legs were the best part for me, I’ve never tasted such amazing and delicious ones! Prime rib was also pretty decent. However, the fruits that were cut up had a fishy taste to it… like it was accidentally mixed with the seafood or something. The dessert was SO GOOD, it was vanilla bean ice cream with banana flambé so gotta save room for that no matter what! I was so full when I ate it but it was so delicious I had to get seconds still.
If you can find a way in, I would definitely recommend checking out their Wednesday dinner buffet!

Oh Ath, I love you in the morning (breakfast is really good, I love all of their ever changing hashes), and in the afternoon (strawberry lemonade with all you can eat buffet? Perfection). I love you in the evening (try the prime rib dinner at least once, while it is very expensive, the all you can eat prime rib, seafood, sides and dessert is delicious), and underneath the moon (Rath Al Fresco where I can eat with my friends outside while munching on garlic fries and drinking nice beer and wine, amazing).
So skitery inky dinky dink, skitery inky do, Ath I Love You!

I would’ve give 5 star if the services are there, but sadly… no.
The bond in rib eye steak is perfectly done, very tender and cuts into it like butter! so good!
The Miso fish with bokchoy and wasabi mashed potatoes is good too.
Service at the beginning of the evening was good, then it started sliding… coffee cups were not placed to everyone at the same table, the server forgot to come back on that.
then started pouring coffee but didn’t ask guests for regular or decaf… Not good.
what’s really bothering me is that when a guest asked for a box from the server who was hurried to take away the plate, he paused and just looked at the guest, then heavily puts down the plate, like he just don’t want to be there anymore! really not good!

We were lucky enough to get the hook up from a friend’s friend. You either have to know a member or be a member to get in. I’ve always wanted to come here to check out the buffet. I’ve been a fan of buffets since I was a kid so I’ve done my share of buffets, good and bad!
The hall where the prime rib buffet night is held is so classy! Tapestries, high ceilings, an overall European castle type décor. Food was pretty good! Nothing amazing though. Maybe it’s because some hot foods were just room temperature. They sit it out at 5:30pm so if you get there then maybe it’ll be hot. We started 6:30pm. I think they should probably use better heating under those servings. Cold foods were nice and cold though. The smoked salmon, shrimp cocktail, and oysters. Anyways, service was ok. They were good at taking the plate away and pouring our drinks but the guy taking the order for drinks just didn’t get what we actually wanted. We had to say it three times.
Downstairs is the game room and it really does look like a regular game room with a bar. Kind of cool but nothing special.

Meh. Even though this is a «members only» club place for dining, I felt it was truly lacking and disappointing. To those who don’t know a member or can’t get in to try this place, don’t worry. You’re not missing out on anything amazing.
I came here on a Wednesday night for their seafood buffet. Everything tastes mediocre. Desserts were not so tasty. (Then again I’m a dessert connoisseur). Some were overly sweet, others just tasted like badly homemade dessert. The only dessert I thought was somewhat up to par was the taro ice cream. Even then it was just ok.
Seafood wise, crab was a little fishy and too rough in texture and salty. The shrimp was large sized and tasted pretty fresh. Oysters were give or take by chance. Some were tasty, others tasteless. Prime roast beef was overcooked and too rough/​tough. Yorkshire pudding was too hard and crispy. Even the insides were too crunchy. Cheese selection was very average. Nothing special. Freshly made to order fried rice was too salty. I liked the option to custom order and pick the ingredients though. And the highlight of my day. The alcohol tasted GRRREEEEAAAATTTT! I got the mirage martini and it tasted like strawberry juice except it was made with pear vodka, strawberry purée, house sour and so on! So yummy. Girly cocktails for life!!!
Servers were fast, polite, and knowledgable. Great service.
Tip: remember to bring your ID if you want to drink. They card everyone under 35 and make no exceptions.

I don’t know who pays to dine here regularly, but my sister used her friend’s student membership (only $ 10 per month instead of hundreds) to treat our family to a nice lunch post-​dissertation defense. Very regal outdoor seating with tall columns and open, elevated dining stage. Most of us got the lunch buffet ($ 13), and I got the Ath’s specialty strawberry lemonade to drink. It came in a huge glass/​cauldron, so a lot of juice. On this particular day they had pappardelle pasta, which is my favorite and tasted great topped with beef goulash. I would dress up at least a bit to come here, to match the other diners.
We also came in the late afternoon the next day to meet up with my sister’s labmates for a more informal social gathering on the lawn outside the main building. There was a wedding reception going on on the patio, which I understand is a common event here. They have popcorn and one can order other bar-​type appetizers and entrees to go with drinks or mocktails.

This venue is absolutely gorgeous!!!
I came here for a corporate celebration party and the set up and the utilization if each room was stunning!
I reccomend you valet, since I already know you are looking like a million bucks, might as well feel pampered!
The stairs leading into this amazing location is a must take picture. We were greeted with a live classcal band as we walked up into the entrance.
They have a dance floor and outdoor courtyard rooms. If you do not want it to be outdoors, they will put the most beautiful white silk sheet to cover the top and adding a breathtaking chandler with it. I mean come on people, how many places do you know have a silk ceiling with a classy chandler?
I would totally love to rent this out for a wedding, however you do need to know someone affiliated with Cal Tech to do so!