Mega Bites

The food here is marginally better than what you might expect to be served at a prison. At least the service staff is really friendly.

I get lunch here a couple of times a week.
Be advised that you have to have a non contractor CAC card (government issued ID) to enter the area this place is at.
Anyway, they have an awesome sandwich bar. Fresh meat, cheese, lots of bread, etc. They also have a really nice grill, and hot line which features some nice meals such as burritos made to order, gyros, meatloaf, etc.
I like the prices here too. Really reasonable. Friendly staff here too. Really friendly!

wonderfully welcoming and positive serving and cashier staff! it’s clear that they make an effort on the food — that said, the flavor is «good enough for government work.» That doesn’t sound like a rousing endorsement, but I really do appreciate this place. They’re probably doing as good as they can, to deliver a safe, interesting, and nutritious meal, with the budget that they have, while treating their employees fairly. Sometimes that just means that the green beans come from a freezer bag.

Breakfast: Get your eggs cooked fresh and hot by filling out a grill slip instead of ordering the pre-​made scrambled eggs. The pre-​made scrambled eggs were overcooked. Rubbery. Gross. I usually eat cereal for breakfast, but if I want to splurge (on fat and carbs), I order an egg, fried over easy, sandwich it in-​between a warm buttery biscuit and drown it in gravy. Yum! Much better than the golden arches, too.
Lunch: Get your dressing on the side, otherwise your $ 8 salad will become a $ 9 salad. The salad bar offers a really good selection of veggies and toppings (this is a cafeteria, after all). Two days in November, Thanksgiving dinner is offered (during lunch). At $ 6.50, it’s a really good deal for turkey, mashed potatoes (re-​hydrated from mix?) and gravy, stuffing, vegetables, dinner roll and dessert (pumpkin pie). Definitely more than I can eat. It feel like 3 pounds of food. Depends on the day, but the rotating lunch specials include roasted pork loin, made to order burritos (Burrito Wednesdays), Cuban sandwich, Thai beef salad and baked salmon. Plastic utensils cost five cents if you aren’t buying anything. You have to pay for cups, pb, salad dressing if you aren’t buying anything.
Happy hour: Bring cash for the $ 2 beer on tap and wine. It’s pretty much a fried food eating frenzy and heart health saboteur. My favorite item is the fried chicken drummettes. Come prepared with your own utensils and ketchup, if that’s something you need with your chicken nuggets and fried mozzarella sticks. At the beginning of happy hour, the food comes out quickly, and is fresh and burning hot from the deep fryers. Forty-​five minutes later, it really starts slowing down and lots of people are milling around waiting for more food to come out. One hour after happy hour starts, the fruit and veggie platters are decimated and won’t be replenished. There is always the «famous» pizza in a variety of topping combinations. What makes this pizza famous? No clue. That’s just what they LOVE to call it. It’s actually kind of gross when it’s not fresh out the oven. Anyway, free food and cheap booze and they will come! Happy hour lasts two hours, but for the best selection and a place to sit with friends, the best time to go is definitely the first hour.
Awesome salad bar.
Cash and credit cards accepted.
No dinner service.
No sales tax.
Wide variety of food offered as it’s the ONLY cafeteria at NASA ARC. (Barcelona Café is in the research park section).
Great people watching, if you’re into astronauts, scientists, physicists and engineers.

This is the most disgusting cafeteria i have ever eaten at. Everything is canned. These people don’t know what they’re talking about reviewing this place like this. Or, they don’t eat good food regularly. The cooks don’t seem to know how to cut anything properly and the salad mix and spinach is always soaked in water. They desperately need healthier food and they need to prepare their food better.

Mega Bites is pretty decent for cafeteria food. Juan and the rest of the employeees are always very jovial. The burritos and tostadas on Wednesday are solid. The NASA burger is also very economical. The bacon in the burger is nice and crispy. You literally get half of a chicken when you order a chicken hot plate.

edible. salads are even acceptable.

Better than most NASA cafes. Can be very crowded at noon. Get there before 1:30 pm for the ‘hot meal’. Salad & sandwich bar after that until 2 pm. Bfast is decent. Opt for a beer c.o. the Center Director on Friday afternoons.

I uses to work at NASA Langley in Hampton VA, and can confidently say that:
NASA Ames cafeteria is much much mucho bettah than NASA Langley cafeteria!

When all else fails, go to Megabites.
When you work on base the pro’s of megabites include:
— Not having to dive into the downtown mountain view lunch rush.
— Tax free food.
— Wide variety of food (Vegetarian, Grill, Specials, salads, sandwiches, etc).
When you hear cafeteria food you are immediately taken back to elementary school laminated tater tots and Salisbury steak right? Well have no fear the food here is not half bad. In fact, if you visit enough times, you learn that there are some dishes that are gourmet quality! I personally LOVE the jambalaya and the tri tip. The entire staff is very nice, and they are not shy about portions either. Here’s a hint, if you give them a nice big smile, they tend to give you a little extra. If you don’t like one of the side dishes, they will be more than happy to substitute it with a different option.
They are CASH ONLY, so make it a habit to pack some lunch money before going to work.

Mega bites is fairly affordable and has great food that’s fresh from the grill. They have the absolute crisp and big ONION RINGS that are the best in town! So far, I only had a few meals here including the gigantic onion rings, amaaazing tuna cheese melt, O-​so-​mighty NASA Burger, and. horrid curry. You would think the NASA Burger in the pic. is something a big fireman or toned astronaut might finish, but I completed the glorious burger by myself!!! In it is: bacon, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, cheese option, and your patty– Oi I should go there for any of my burger fixes! To top it all off, the people here are very nice and remember your names :)
It also hosts Happy hours once a month and has volley ball courts, gift shop, and outside seating near by.

This is basically your only choice for food at NASA Ames. There is Barcelona Café in Building 3, but that’s too far away and requires driving.
I’ve been doing an internship at Ames for the past couple of months, and this is my go-​to place when I need a bite to eat. They have their weekly menu posted, which helps in the decision-​making process of whether or not it’s worth the walk. The one thing that really bugs me about this place is the amount of price-​gouging/​consciousness that goes on. They have signs up all over the place that say you must pay for EVERYTHING, i.e. if you’re taking a cup for hot water but not paying for a drink, you must pay for the cup. The same goes for the peanut butter, mayo, etc. I have no problems with this policy because I know they need to make a living, but I do take issue with the brusque tone that these announcements use. Furthermore, most of the staff are very friendly, but there is one cash register lady who is incredibly rude. For example, the grill special comes with a drink, but I don’t drink soda. Whenever I purchase the grill special, the cashier will dock about a dollar off the price because I don’t get a drink. The rude lady gives me attitude about it and says she’s not allowed to do that. Um, but I’m not getting a soda… Anyway, this place is not a bad choice if you don’t want to drive somewhere for lunch. Grabbing a bite to eat at noon is a pain though, because lines are everywhere. Better to go around 11:30

Wow … I’ve been working at Ames since 1990 and I actually get to review … «The Food Simulator»? Really, this facility is contracted out to someone different every few years so it goes through good times and bad times. I’m happy to say that we’re going through one of those better times now — especially since it is now the *only* food available on the center (insert favorite conspiracy theory here). It’s standard cafeteria fare plopped on your plate, a hot square meal for a reasonable price. It seems like they are paying more attention to service these days — a long line of people behind a cash register holding trays is viewed as a problem to be solved.

At the NASA-​Ames research center, there’s really only two choice for food: the Korean BBQ truck or Mega Bites cafeteria.
Nerd jokes aside, (Mega Bites? Megabytes? get it?), this is pretty much
the only permanent place for food, and its really not half bad.
Theres a different special every day, and best of all? its Tax Free!
But feeding an entire research center off one cafeteria means long lines and a constant hunt for seats. And cash only?! You figure NASA, of all people, would have caught up with technology by now, amirite?

Two words: Burrito Wednesdays. The lines start backing up around 12, so I’d say get your burrito fix early or arrive a little late.
Also, Mega Bites offers a phenomenal salad bar. A veritable cornucopia of mixed greens and fresh veggies. Also has requisite sneeze guard.
We have a good friend who we will call James C. who orders the hot dog and curly fries religiously.
Also I’d recommend the ham and mashed potatoes special.
Service with a smile!