Dream Dinners

Five stars to April and Dream Dinners! I’m a single mom with two little boys and I was sick of eating and making mac and cheese or frozen pizza for us after a long day of work. Not only am I sluggish, but the kids probably feel terrible :(
I had heard of Dream Dinners a few years ago but decided to bite the bullet. For about an hour of time and 5 – 6 dollars per portion, I created 18 servings of dinners that look delicious, fresh and healthy. I had an AMAZING, fun, relaxing time assembling the meals too!
When I arrived, April immediately showed me around and showed me my own labeled drawer and freezer for my personal belongings and food. They also had samples for next month, scones, water, tea and coffee. April showed me each step, helped me when I was making mistakes, cleaned up after my station, packed my cooler and walked me to my car. All the stations are pretty fool-​proof, with the spoons colored coded and already the size/​serving that you need. You create your marinades, seasonings, etc and put them in a bag with the cooking instructions, and bam! You’re done with one dinner.
I haven’t tried my meals yet, but soooo excited to provide fresh, healthier meals for myself and my kids. Can’t wait for my next appointment!

I have been coming here since attending a Dream Taste, and this is a great location. The staff is extremely helpful and friendly, and I like that I can track meals we like online for faster ordering. Unlike other meal prep services, I like that I put the meals together as it lets me adjust based on my family’s tastes (they even will let you substitute in a whole wheat pasta or brown rice!). As a full time working mom I really like having a variety of dinners to complement some of our weekly standards. And on weeks when one of us is traveling, or working late, we will just pull out a full 4 or 5 meals on a Sunday and know that the whole week is taken care of with no meal planning, and whoever gets home can start dinner with minimal prep. My only complaints: I wish more of the meals came with a side (for the price it seems like more could include a veggie or rice.) Also, I REALLY wish the 36 minimum would come down a bit. We have an extra freezer in our garage but I often have trouble storing it all (and sometimes, the menu just doesn’t inspire 36 servings). However, it is significantly cheaper than eating out, and healthier than eating a lot of processed frozen food, so it’s been a life saver for our family.

I stumbled upon Dream Dinners on Unilocal just yesterday. I work really late nights and sometimes my wife is up at midnight cooking for me, so we’ve tried ways to at least make dinner easier for her. We were going to Fresh & Easy for a while, but those meals became super repetitive, and I didn’t trust the ingredients that they used in some of the dishes. We noticed at Dream Dinners that all the ingredients were laid out for us and they used very simple and healthy base components that work perfectly with the dishes available.
Dream Dinners was a super unique and special experience because it felt like a date when I went with my wife tonight. We were spending time together doing something fun and it was neat seeing the other families in there. Moms were working with their kids on dishes and the layout and feel of the place was very similar to home.
At the end of it all, I spent for 18 servings + sides what my wife and I have spent on one meal. The staff were all super friendly and helpful and we’re excited about discovering this place just down the street from home.

I was not a believer, and I don’t think that this concept would work in my two person household but it is a good concept for a certain type of family. Regardless for me, I had an absolute blast. I attending a Taste Party on a Friday night with 6 people and it was so fun and a great introduction to Dream Dinners. The concept is that you come here, prep all of your food so that you can either freeze it, or take it home and put it together with very little work. MOST of the mess stays here and it is a fun activity to do with your friends and family.
A taste party consists of I believe a max of ten people, you set up what you want to prep online before the party that way they can have your station set up. Each station has an instruction card with what to mix to make your sauces, ect. You are prepping a protein for the most part so sides are there for purchase. During our party, the host was walking around helping, giving us hints about what we could do at home with our entrees and also serving up yummy appetizers.
I loved the taste party — but signing up for the service isn’t for me. I love coming home after work and making a mess in my kitchen. The cost also doesn’t make sense. 24.99 for three pieces of a protein is way too high for a two person household. If you are exceeding that, then I’ll give you some grocery shopping tips LOL.

My wife and I LOVE this place! We both work for start ups in the Silicon Valley so we don’t have much time to cook dinners. Any time we tried to cook it was just ok, and didn’t have much flavor! My wife discovered this place and we went in on a Saturday to build our meals. If you aren’t familiar with how it works, they have all of the ingredients out for you and you basically put it all together in different zip lock bags and put it in the freezer. We made 36 servings worth of food, and every morning before work we just pull a meal out of the freezer and into the fridge! You still have to cook it, but you have the instructions and everything ready to go! Best part is that every meal is different and delicious! We would never get to eat these type of meals on our own. The two main selling points are 1) everything is fresh and ready to cook 2) the money you would spend on all of the ingredients to make these meals on your own would be WAY more expensive than to do dream dinners.

Ok, so I waited till I have had a few dinners before I posted. I attended a «taste» a couple weeks ago and took home some delicious food. The portions are great and the food was really easy to make. Since there was no way I could store the min amount of orders needed to place my own, I split it with a friend. The food has all been great. I really enjoy the breakfast omelets and the lemon bars. My only wish is that the minimum would come down. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!

So far I have tried 3 of there dinners and only liked the salmon with corn relish. The Jambalaya was bland and dry. The sausage used was kielbasa and not true sausage. The shrimp did taste good but the rice was dry and tasteless. The Pecan crusted pork with mash potatoes had water, grainy mashed potatoes (maybe from being frozen) that was not eatable. The chops are very thin small pieces and the pecans would not stick. I just grabbed a hand full and put them on the pork chops. I was not impressed with any of their dinners that I prepared at dream dinners and hoped that they would taste good.. I will not be back. I still need to try the potato soup and the beef asada.

Recently I had an operation on my leg and in preparation I had my dinners made for my husband at Dream Dinners on Camden Ave, San Jose. I liked it so much there that I returned again the next month. The staff is so friendly and the facility is very clean. I am especially grateful to Christine and Brandy for all their help. I had a wonderful experience and will continue to come back in the future. My husband is especially pleased now because he gets gourmet dinners nightly instead of standard baked chicken. :)
Thank you for make me feel happy with your testy scones, a Keurig coffee and a smiling staff of very nice people.

Update from 1 starting 3 stars. Update below.
Crazy frustrated! I bought the LivingSocial deal a few weeks ago. yesterday (Sunday) as I was prepping for my weekly grocery shopping trip my husband said «Your birthday is this week, why don’t you make life easier and do your Dream Dinners thing. I’ll leave work early any day you can get in.» Such a sweet hubby! I immediately got online, found out how to use my LivingSocial Deal, created a Dream Dinners account, went through the LivingSocial specific class registration page, chose the 7:30pm class for tonight (Monday), signed up, picked the meals I was going to make & then submitted… Yay! All was going perfectly, no weekly grocery shopping, meal prep scheduled, time to enjoy my birthday week. :) Hubby left work early and raced home all the way from Napa to meet me & switch kiddo duty. I got to Dream Dinners at 7:15 and sat in the lobby until 7:35 when one of the girls came out from the back (I figured I was just early), she was surprised to see me and asked if she could help me. I said I was signed up for the 7:30 slot. She said there was no 7:30. I proceeded to tell her how I registered, chose my meals, confirmed, etc and she stated that the computers aren’t supposed to allow you to register for a session until 5 days from when you register for DD. Well it did! Grrrr… I explained my story and how we had made such an effort for me to get there. I had heard terrible things about Dream Dinners being disorganized. I should have listened to my friends. I’ll be expecting a refund. Now I wasted my time and my hubby’s plus now we have no menu or food for the week given I held off on my weekly food prep & shopping to check out these Dream Dinner meals. So frustrated!
** Update (7÷18÷13) — Dream Dinners has worked out a solution and created a new session at a future date that I can attend. I appreciate that they have done this and will update this review further after the session & dinners.
** Update after eating food — the portions were small, ingredients didn’t seem fresh and the flavor wasn’t appealing.

An update to my original review.
I cannot thank the owners of Dream Dinners enough for going above and beyond to correct and make right what had happened earlier this year. Not only were the owners quite generous, but they assured me that there would be more staff training to ensure that my particular situation wouldn’t happen to myself or others. It was really assuring that they admitted their error and made right what was wrong.
Our request for paying at our session has been respected, and we haven’t had a problem with that since, and I’m glad because I really like Dream Dinners!

I’ve been coming to Dream Dinners — specifically, this location — for about a year and a half now, and I can honestly say it has changed our lives. As a full time working mom, dinner choices were either: 1) go to freezer, get the box or 2) make reservations. With Dream Dinners we now have a variety of tasty food, quality family time, and the satisfaction of preparing our own meals at home. It truly is a dream come true.
Now, about this location. Easily five stars right there. Faith and her team always make me feel welcome and have all my special requests ready and waiting for me on the night of my scheduled session. Faith especially goes above and beyond in helping me make great choices that my family will love, providing preparation tips, and just being darn helpful. I was truly out of my element the first few times, but quickly got the hang of it thanks to the staff here.
Are you going to find amazing, gourmet meals here? No. But you will find easy-​to-​prepare, family-​tested, tasty dinners that help you get through the week. I actually look forward to the next month’s menu being posted so I can «plan» what our meals will be. Anyone who knows me knows that this is SO not me. Well, before Dream Dinners, anyway.

This is now the closest Dream Dinners to my home. I used to go to the one on Coleman Ave near the airport and well, that one closed since it didn’t get enough traffic to keep it open. The biggest difference between that location and this one on Camden is the size. This location is almost half the size and a little bit of a tight squeeze if there is a full session of people.
In theory, the Dream Dinners premise is simple and easy… assemble meals yourself without the prep or clean up by following their easy instructions at each station. Their menu always rotates and the great thing is that they have plenty of selections of things to choose like meatloaf, chicken dishes, and sometimes even lasagna. It’s a decent option for families or couples who want fresh quality meals that don’t feel or taste like cardboard. The food usually tastes fresh with a minimum amount of cooking or prep. Easy peasy.
The downside is that there is usually a minimum amount needed for an order: 36 servings. That’s 6 six serving meals or 12 three serving meals. Sometimes they have deals where the minimum isn’t so high so make sure to check the store periodically for promotions. Also the meals aren’t really complete meals. It’s usually a protein or carb main dish with a side dish so one still may need to supplement the meal with your own veggies or sides.
Dream Dinners is still worth trying at least once for decent tasting food that will not take you too long to prepare. The workers there are usually very helpful too and they have some comfy couches and chairs to relax in if you need a break from prepping.

I just started doing dream dinners. I purchased a living social deal and tried it out before signing up. So far I have enjoyed the meals. In an hour you can prepare 7 or 8 meals. Some of the meals don’t come with sides like others have said. I try to pick a variety of just the protein meals, so I can add my own veggies and carbs and the complete meals. I also haven’t picked the more expensive steak and salmon dishes. I’d rather go to the grocery store and pick out my own cuts of meat. Right now i am only using about one a week on the weekends. My husband makes them so I don’t have to cook! :) At this rate I might only go every other month instead of every month. Yes, It’s more expensive than cooking at home, but its nice to have more time on the weekend and not argue about what we are eating or spending $$ to eat out.

I have been using Dream Dinners for almost 2 years. As a single working mom this service has been so helpful. The meals are easy to put together and prepare at home. I have prepared meals I probably never would have on my own.
The owners and staff are so friendly and patient. Faith makes you feel right at home. One of the best parts is they clean up! If you are a messy cook like me you’ll love it.
I have loved almost every meal I’ve made.
Love them!

What a clean, beautiful place! I walk in, they have scones, a Keurig and a smiling staff waiting to get me started,
I have been a DD customer for years, but this is the first time at this location. Night and day to my prior experiences.
Everything is there, all set up and it’s easy to get in and out. The sweet girl who was working even offered to walk my food out to my car!
Great place.

I have been using meal preparation services like Dream Dinners for well over 5 years. The Dream Dinners location on Camden Ave in San Jose is, by far, the best experience I’ve had with meal prep stores. The staff at this location are so nice, friendly and helpful… especially Faith, Sara and Melanie. They provide great customer service and are very flexible. Also, Dream Dinners’ food is awesome in terms of its quality, variety and flavor. We recently utilized several Dream Dinners meals in a food & wine pairing. Our guests were blown away at the quality of the food that we served!

I bought an online deal for this place thinking this could be a great way to save a little time cooking. I guess I was just expecting a little bit more. The recipes are good and I love that you put them together yourself so you can decide how much or little of something you would like to have. At the price they are charging, I thought I would be putting together complete meals, but really it’s only the protein and sometimes a side if it is mashed potatoes or something like that. It doesn’t really save you a trip to the grocery store because you’ll end up going there to buy vegetables to serve on the side of all these dishes. Bottom line, you’ll end up saving a few minutes in prep time but it’s going to cost you a pretty penny and you still don’t get to skip the grocery store. It’s not really worth it for someone like myself who cooks for one, I’d get a better deal going to Chipotle and it would be faster!

Wonderful owners, great service! I enjoy trying new recipes and having meals ready to go vs. take out on busy week nights. Recipe ingredients can be modified if you don’t care for something (omit it). The prices aren’t always cost effective, but my time is so limited that it’s worth it for me. They have a VIP frequent buyer type rewards program too. I recommend this for anyone needing help with meal time.

I love this place… it’s not really a money saver, but it’s a time safer and even at times a life saver. I love that I don’t have to think about what dinner I will serve my family every night of the week. I love that everything here that have tried has been absolutely great. I also love going here with my girlfriends to prepare meals and chat and have a good time.
Dream Dinners just makes my life easier… and how can that be wrong?

I tried their menu sampler last month, and just signed up for a similar deal. Overall, I think they do a pretty good job. I am a fairly experienced cook, so assembling everything and cooking it is pretty easy for me. Because they’ve done all the prep work, it does make getting a meal on the table considerably faster.
The food itself is pretty good. Not great, but not bad either. We liked the White Chicken Lasagna and the Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and the Chicken with Honey, Garlic & Orange. We’ll be trying the Steak w/​garlic & herb butter tonight.
I find these meals most useful for the days when I don’t have anything planned for dinner. You do need to plan in advance a bit, so you have it thaw out during the day in the fridge. It’s also nice to have a few different things to change up our weekly menus.
The folks here are super helpful and friendly. They clean up after you, and the stations & tools are always clean and ready. Price-​wise, I would say it’s about the same price as when I plan a week’s menu and buy the raw ingredients.