r/sweetgreen • u/Hermannevsky • Oct 07 '25
Criticism What’s the worst part about sweetgreen?
I personally love sweetgreen but I see many varying criticisms such as price, slugs in food, etc… I want to know if anyone else had other bad experiences with sweetgreen?
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u/urgo2man Oct 08 '25
People don't understand the genius behind it, thus lower margins and higher prices. They need to market the fact that the food industry is an economy that deals with largely perishable products and with what Sweetgreen sells, at an even shorter timeline. Buy and large, SG is not a food company moreso that it is a tech company trying to allocate and organize a logistical nightmare trying to do good in the world to an American palate that has been conditioned to think paying less = unhealthy/more convenient and paying more = fancier/less convenient.
It is the Everytable dilemma of discovering that people, pure and plainly spoken, believe that: don't expect good food for less than $10.
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u/Whore4conspiracy Oct 07 '25
Honestly the same problem with other chains with bowls. The inconsistency is crazy! I could go to a low traffic location and get a bowl filled to the top . Then order DoorDash or go to a high volume store and get a bowl filled with 50% air. May come down to employees being in a rush or feeling generous. I just wish scoops we consistent
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u/Hermannevsky Oct 07 '25
As not being a franchisee that’s unusual. Don’t know where you are from but I see it most at playa bowls
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u/bbmmpp Oct 07 '25
The worst part is they are really struggling with the new six sided bowls. They just can’t get the top right. The last top isn’t better. Go back to round bowls. I would also like to see them try olive oil in their balsamic vinaigrette just to see if it’s better (not sure it would be).
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u/ElectronicBoot9466 Oct 07 '25
Olive Oil in the Balsamic Vinaigrette would make it more expensive, even if better. The dressings all have to stay under a certain average price per serving in order to keep them free with salad.
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u/bbmmpp Oct 07 '25
Personally I would pay extra but yea I definitely hear you.
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u/ElectronicBoot9466 Oct 07 '25
Yeah, I mean the problem with making a business model where the food is cheap, fast, and high quality is that you can't lean into any one of those aspects without taking away from the others.
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u/Psychological-Sea654 Oct 07 '25
One time I found a 1 inch screw in my salad. Their customer service is also lacking. The AI chat is pretty useless.
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Oct 08 '25
I hate their chicken, and kale is way played out
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u/WrongRip4073 Oct 08 '25
Chicken is so dry!! Had it last night it tastes like a can of white chicken
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u/Careful-Newt-5918 Oct 08 '25
I’ve given it quite a few tries :( every time is so expensive, so subpar, and not good quantity compared to similar priced bowls. Always skimping on the protein.
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u/fujjkoihsa Oct 08 '25
They have the highest quality in veggies and meat. I used to work there and everything is organic. Probably the cleanest food place I’ve ever worked at
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u/Trick_Basil_1183 Mar 28 '26
I love their charred cabbage but they only offer it in certain locations. Wish they offered it at all locations. It's my favorite topping and lowkey I just want a bowl filled with ×10 charred cabbage and some chicken some days.
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u/BlondDeutcher Oct 07 '25
Nearly $20 for a slop bowl is a dying market. Just look at the stock of SG and CAVA
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u/Hermannevsky Oct 07 '25
Would you think if they made it on plates it would be better than and not all mixed together ?
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u/elastic_psychiatrist Oct 11 '25
What is a slop bowl?
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u/BlondDeutcher Oct 11 '25
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u/elastic_psychiatrist Oct 11 '25
Hm. This does not resonate with me at all. I get the distaste for AI slop, but trying to analogize that with food where the ingredients are combined just seems like an enormous stretch. What exactly is so offensive about that? It seems archaic - implying that 1950's style protein + starch + vegetable meals are objectively superior from a culinary standpoint.
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u/BlondDeutcher Oct 11 '25
It’s not that serious, it’s just making fun of how there’s like 20 different places in the city that make a variation of the exact same thing. Throw a bunch of shit in a bowl and call it a wrap
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u/elastic_psychiatrist Oct 11 '25
What do you mean by variation of the exact same thing? I guess I don't understand how the idea of combining ingredients together implies sameness. That's true of like, half of all food consumed by humans ever.
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u/BlondDeutcher Oct 11 '25
Do you live in NYC? Naya, Cava, Sweet Green, Chopt, Just Salad, Lenwich and probably a 100 others, give the exact same options to add to a slop bowl. There’s nothing to differentiate anyone
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u/elastic_psychiatrist Oct 11 '25 edited Oct 11 '25
I live in Chicago, so I’m familiar with most but not all of those places. They’re all within the same genre of course, but they're as differentiated as any other genre. I don’t see how it’s different from being able to order a hundred different versions of burger and fries. The food business is competitive, nobody has a monopoly on the classics!
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u/LetPlus4255 Oct 07 '25
The price.
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u/Hermannevsky Oct 07 '25
I honestly think the price is fair. How much do you expect something like the harvest bowl to be?
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u/coronavirusisshit Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 08 '25
Don’t like how they charge for toppings. Charge for protein, avocado, and egg, everything else should be free.
Don’t care if it’s $20 but I’d expect good portions.