Canyon Vista

I remember during my first year at UCSD, I enjoyed CV a lot! I would come here for the oatmeal because it was such a great deal (a HUGE bowl for $ 1.95), and the soups were delicious too! But over the past three years of living on campus and right next to CV, I try to avoid it as much as possible.
For those unfamiliar, CV used to specialize in their grill. So grilled burgers, black bean patties, chicken tenders, french fries… undeniable when I do order them, they taste delicious! But everything else here is very poor quality. Pizza is sometimes undercooked, and the portion sizes for the a la carte lunch/​dinner menu is not enough to feed a child!
Pros:
–Staff is nice! I personally know the manager, and I would say he is working hard with the budget and resources he is given. Students are always friendly, and if you ever need anything, feel free to ask them!
–Good variety! They try to make school meals more appealing, and they have themed dinners or lunches. Take advantage, because sometimes they are actually delicious!
–Spacious seating/​clean environment. The only time I’ve ever seen this place packed is probably during Freshmen orientation. Other than that, feel free to sit wherever you like.
Cons:
–Understaffed. Sometimes they have enough, sometimes they don’t. Guess it really depends on the hour… but at the same time, CV isn’t always too busy so it makes sense there isn’t someone at every station.
–Food portion is too small. I just want some steamed vegetables on the side for $ 1, but because of the new dietician, everything must be weighed to the exact. So I literally only get two florets of broccoli and skimpy carrots.
Tips/​Observations:
–They take Tritoncash – you get 10% off your order. They also take cash, credit/​debit card on the daily… so feel free to check it out.
–To-​go cups charge as extra, even if you just get water.
–Make sure you request for to-​go meals if that is your situation! Save the people some trouble. (And resources!)
–There are multiple large flat screen TVs, so enjoy your meal here while watching the sports chanell!
Overall, good luck to Warren students living here! First year isn’t too bad since you don’t have a kitchen to do much, but once you leave, you can’t come back. The discrepancy is just too great. I thought I escaped K-​12 meals… guess not.

Beautiful outdoor seating and the cashier is very sweet and helpful. However, the food quality and options need to improve. Need more healthy options and prices are too high.

Best dining hall on campus bar none. OVT is garbage now with that buffet, Pines is beyond mediocre/​overrated, Foodworx is decent but lacks the selection of CV, Café V… I never go there cause it’s in the middle of no where, and Plaza smells like trash day every time I walk in. So by process of elimination, CV is the best. Stir fry mondays? The best. Torta Tuesdays? That thing is STUFFED. Can’t go wrong with Gyro Wednesdays either. Make your own quesadilla Thursdays makes me ache in pain every time I’m done. That’s what you call SATISFACTION. The grill’s always poppin’ cause it’s also the best. Hell even the sammiches are the best. If all else fails (which rarely happens) the pasta is always the best. Since these are all the best, that means CV’s the best. Dining Dollah$ well spent.

One word: disgusting. I ordered a falafel here once and it was one of the most terrible things I’ve ever eaten in my life– no joke. Stick to OVT or Pines.

Words cannot describe how horrible this place is. Canyon Vista’s food is below mediocre, but is priced more than triple of what it is worth. Their meats are devoid of all moisture, are flavorless, and usually overcooked. It seems as if they have a mindset where «if it’s cooked, its good!». As a result, you end up eating an extremely dry piece of protein unworthy of the title «food». Their veggies are not much better either, they’re either bland, undercooked, or overcooked. The only thing decent about CV is their grill, but even that is gradually going downhill as each month passes. Worse of all, their portion sizes are atrociously small, as if they were under a food rationing program.
Overall, it seems as if the people who run CV care only about making money off students who have no choice but to eat there. This restaurant is perhaps the biggest disgrace to the food service industry that I know of. Stay far far away. ¹⁄₅

Lived in Warren College for 2 years and dined here for 2 years. It’s not like I had a choice. Being trapped down in that canyon made it a chore to go to any other dining hall. And so for convenience, I made CV food my diet for those 2 years and I’ve hated myself forever because of it.
They screw up pasta. How in blazes can you screw up pasta? The pasta and marinara sauce are constantly watery and gross like soup. And it doesn’t even come with garlic bread which costs extra. And using the garlic bread to soak up the gross sauce is the only means of making it remotely edible.
Doesn’t matter if they’re serving beef or chicken or fish or whatever. It’s all interchangeable. They all taste exactly the same: devoid of flavor with a disgusting pasty texture. I’m sure many students had to learn to resist the instinctive gag reflex upon putting this poison into their mouths.
Is there any redemption for CV? Barely one. Panini. Their panini kicks ass whenever it’s there. I’m not saying it rivals real panini or anything but compared to everything else they’ve ever served, this panini is a godsend. Cons of the panini? The price. Why would I ever want to pay that much for one damn panini? If not for the convenience of meal points, I’d skip it entirely.
And why charge the price of 4 hamburgers for a 4 patty burger when the price of 2 double burgers is cheaper?! This place finds ways to cheat you and there is not a thing we can do… because we are slaves to the canyon… and to our own laziness.

I’ve lived in Warren college the 2 years I’ve lived on campus and this is the place I usually frequented if I wasn’t at OVT or Foodworx, or Summit (Summit was closed my second year at UCSD)
I ALWAYS get the panini whenever they have it. I don’t really know why, but I LOVE THEM. They’re so nice and crispy. Sometimes they’ll put a little too much spread but other than that, they’re delicioussss. Even the vegetarin paninis! gosh I miss them so much…
Anyway, the sandwiches here are OK. It’s subway style where you can choose your bread, meat, veggies, etc. Of course the options are not as extensive. The gyros are pretty good whenever they have it.
Occasionally, they’ll have a good specials which are not bad. Most of the time, they’ll have crap. So careful! I think you can check the menu online to see if you should really invest your time in walking over to CV (abbreviation for Canyon Vista).
Every Thursday, they usually have fine dining which is when they serve decently good food at an outrageous price. They usually have steak, some fancy pasta dishes, etc etc. You get the picture.
The breakfast here is pretty bomb sauce. I always get the bacon bobcat with tots. yuuuup. You can never really go wrong with that.
Anyway, only come here if you must. I’d much rather go to foodworx or summit (when it opens!)
I can’t wait to have the incoming freshman swipe me food. yae yae!

Nothing really notable here… pizza is ok, salad is ok, everything else is ok… sometimes there’s an occasional hit like a good wrap or a good asian dish… but seriously, nothing really THAT awesome that I get super excited for. I didn’t even really like coming here when i lived like 20 ft away. I think that speaks volumes. Sadly… this is one of the better dining halls at UCSD…*sighs*

There is a debate around campus about which is better… CV or OVT. One of my professors (who also happens to be a provost), commented that by standards, OVT is worse than prison food. That’s enough to make me force myself to endure CV food everyday. Breakfast everyday looks likes its been sitting out for weeks. The food is all cold, over oiled, over salted. basically almost inedible. I try to stick with oatmeal or a bagel, something that hasn’t passes through numerous hands or been grilled on the fat covered skillet.
Lunch is bar far the least satisfying. You have an option of something deep fried or a typical sandwich which I could probably make in my room for a lot cheaper myself. I get a salad. Very unsatisfying after the first 2 quarters of the same thing everyday.
Dinner is basically the same as lunch. Everything is cold, the salad bar is never stocked. Once I ordered a Cheese Quesadilla and the girl making it took 20 minutes. She said she didn’t know what was in it…
There is a light at the end of the tunnel… my ID, which I lost, was recently found and used to buy several over-​priced appliances at our coffee shop. Thankfully, I am now about 300 points under what I should be, which means I get to go grocery shopping so I can make my own food!
I give the CV people credit, they have to feed a bunch of students for basically 12 hours straight. They do their best and its not their fault that dorm food in general gets a bad rap. But CV food is enough reason for me to say adiós to living in the dorms next year!

In summer, when there is summer camp, they operates like a all you can eat restaurant. For $ 6.75 for lunch, you get home town buffet like food. Though less variety, but fresher and the view to the canyon is also nice.

it’s a campus dining facility. it is pretty good.

2.5 stars
As a Warren Resident I eat here pretty much every day and for the most part it’s sub par. But I think lunch is above average for campus, I like the stir fry much more than Muir because it’s less greasy and you actually get to decide exactly what goes in. Sandwiches are also good with a lot of choices and the grill is decent.
And they’ve recently added fresh fruit to the salad bar which is a nice touch (so far I’ve seen a lot of strawberries, red and green grapes, kiwi and watermelon).