I love a fast casual concept with healthy food and Urban Plates is no exception! At first I was overlooked by the folks taking orders without much of an apology, but service improved during our visit... I stopped in with my son on a Friday evening and this place was packed. After we placed our order, we found a spot to sit at the large community table. I had a plate with salmon, marbled potatoes and simple broccoli and my son had the kids plate with steak and french fries. After one bite of steak, he decided he should have ordered the salmon instead and the manager was sweet enough to bring him salmon instead. If / when I return, I would ask for the bread to be served plain... (mostly for my picky son). Everything else on the menu looked pretty good as well... It's located in a Busy shopping center, but plenty of parking is available. Solid option for a healthy meal, indeed!

4-5 Stars. I love how in the front of Urban Plates they have an enlarged menu with photos and details (Color Key for Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, etc). The menu is well organized and it contains the prices as well. After ordering at the very front (you don't go down the line to choose what sides you want and sample anymore), they give you a number stand to bring back to the table and later they bring the food to you. They have a water station and in that area they have utensils and napkins for you to bring to your table as well. I came here for lunch with a friend. We ordered the ~$19.75 Grilled Grass Fed Steak Plate with a slice of Bread, dressed Caesar Salad (you have option of dressed or sauce on side), and Mashed Potatoes with Gravy. The menu said that the steak is grilled to med-rare. That was not the case, it was over cooked and a bit odd looking. However, the mashed potatoes were delightful! The texture and flavor were delicious. I liked that the toasted bread wasn't too hard. They gave a lot of caesar salad and the dressing was flavorful. We also shared a slice of their $8 Hummingbird Cake. I never had this and thought it was quite unique. It is said to be a banana-pineapple spiced cake with vanilla orange cream cheese frosting....fresh pineapple chunks, walnuts, and rum. From the first bite, I got the walnuts and a burst of juice from the pineapple chunks. It reminded me a bit of a carrot cake, without the carrots. The cake is not a banana forward cake and you can't taste the rum or vanilla. I do wish there was more of an orange oomph, perhaps the zest in the cream cheese frosting would provide that delicious zing. Overall, I think Urban Plates is a great place to come for lunch. They are kind and have fast service. The interior is clean and they have lots of seating available -- inside and outside. The menu is easy to read and they have multiple options for everyone. The prices aren't too bad, as they reflect the portions and provide healthy food options (compared to other places). I'd recommend coming here! Next time, I want to try their banana cream pie.

parking: free parking (del mars highlands center) what I ordered: cheeseburger w fries ($12): the fries were perfectly crispy and nicely salted. service: you order at the front before seating yourself. Shoutout to Leslie and Jeramiah for the great service! main takeaway: their menu includes burgers, sandwiches, salads and other entrees! overall quality food, quality service :)

The food was great, Jeremiah had excellent service and gave great recommendations for the food. The blue cheese steak was really good aswell!

the half soup and sandwich combo is a good deal! it was a cold day so the tomato basil soup really hit the spot. there is plenty of seating inside of the restaurant. the staff is super helpful with questions.

I cannot reccomended this place more, the food was sublime!! The quality is so good and the food combines fun flavors with healthy feeling food. The service was really good, they were kind and quick to come out with our food. The ambience is very chill inside could be good for a date night or just hanging with friends! I would definitely recommend checking it out

What a fabulous place for lunch. What's extra special is the ability to eat outside whenever the weather is nice... Oh yeah, the weather is always nice here! A bunch of us went out for lunch and this was the popular trendy spot to. I agree. Big variety of food to choose from including sandwiches, salads, combo plates, something for anyone and everyone. For me, I gave the Braised beef and mushroom bowl a run. I was very happy with my selection, but it was a little bit more food than I probably should've eaten for lunch. The bowl included beef, mushrooms, yellow, onions, and a variety of organic vegetables. Everyone else at the table also enjoyed their meals, but I can't recall what they got. Sorry. To drink, I went with the coconut seltzer. Outstanding!

With a revamped value menu, Urban Plates is probably the best quality/value option in this area. Everything is pretty good here, even their cheap burger option. Fries were amazing. Summarion: You can't go wrong here. The food is good, the price is reasonable expecially for this part of town. - Parking still sucks here.

Ordered the braised beef & mushrooms with mashed potatoes via door dash. Food was hearty and a good portion. Great for a chilly day. All though my food was cold, that's on door dash not Urban plates. I was satisfied that urban plates packed my order correctly since I ordered other items and I'm happy they gave us extra utensils and napkins.

We are back visiting San Diego and were craving a repeat visit to Urban plates, which we loved in past years. It's close to the same, yet feels a little more "fast-food ish" hence the 4-stars. Miss the days of viewing all the options and picking a la carte. Our party do three ordered very different entrees and enjoyed them. Good flavors. Quick service. Prices seemed a bit steep for type of in-and-out, lower staff overhead style of the current restaurant. Can't recall who took our order; very little staff interaction. Clean restaurant with lots of seating. We might return on future visits yet feel a little less inspired.