Food at Cambridge.

Downing's pretty central, so it's not too far from Sainsbury's, and I think there's a few small supermarkets even closer. Not sure about kitchen facilities etc...

Maybe you could help? :biggrin:

(Hope your room-choosing went ok!)

Room choosing went okay thanks, although am in a potentially noisy (occasionally, it's right above the MCR) room with a tiny kitchen (which brings me nicely to my next point...)

Original post by mundanemeddling

Is Downing convenient for self-catering? Is it near to any supermarkets?

First year kitchens at Downing are awesome, most of us have ovens, hobs and fridges/freezers, one staircase even has a kitchen table! It's possible to self-cater, I know a couple of people who do, but it's far easier to go to slops (our name for hall). I just wouldn't have the time to cook.

Supermarket-wise, there's Sainsburies in town, about a 10 minute walk away as well as a tesco metro just across Parker's Piece, probably a similar distance. I know a couple of people who cycle to Asda/Tesco, but no idea where they are - about a 10/15 minute bike ride I think.

All in all, for first year cooking for yourself is definitely possible, and I think we have some of the best cooking facilities :smile:

Hope I helped!

Reply 61

nuodai

17

Robinson's food is really good, and it's almost always good (there are very few "bad days"); this goes for formal hall and the normal stuff. We also have a cafe which serves nice coffee, cookies, paninis, etc... I mean, I've not been to every college so I can't compare it on a grand scale, but I've not been impressed by anywhere else as much as I have by Robinson. The only exception was the one time I went to King's formal, where the food was amazing; but I've had normal food at King's too and that wasn't quite as good (but certainly not bad).

As a side note, avoid Caius.

Reply 62

Bubbles2010

7

Original post by nuodai

Robinson's food is really good, and it's almost always good (there are very few "bad days&quot :wink:

; this goes for formal hall and the normal stuff. We also have a cafe which serves nice coffee, cookies, paninis, etc... I mean, I've not been to every college so I can't compare it on a grand scale, but I've not been impressed by anywhere else as much as I have by Robinson. The only exception was the one time I went to King's formal, where the food was amazing; but I've had normal food at King's too and that wasn't quite as good (but certainly not bad).

As a side note, avoid Caius.

Is the food at Caius that bad??
Hmmmm, maybe I'm lucky I was pooled :tongue:

Reply 63

Rob da Mop

15

Caius is famously terrible. I think that Johns is supposed to have the best food normally, but you have to think about the trade off for your dignity.

I'm at Emmanuel and the food's not bad. Food in formal's really quite good, every day food's OK, nothing great, nothing terrible and pretty cheap.

Reply 64

sonofdot

8

I don't think Caius deserves the reputation it has any more - these days it's generally average-to-good, occasionally awesome and occasionally terrible (like tonight - avoid the red snapper :sadnod:

). It's also cheap - £3.25 - but you do pay a fixed kitchen charge of about £100/term. When you pay more (for example at 'Superhalls', which happen two or three times per term), the food is genuinely amazing, among the best I've ever had.

From my experience, Robinson and Downing both have very good food at formal.

Original post by nuodai

As a side note, avoid Caius.

Last time I invite you to formal :frown:

Reply 65

nuodai

17

Original post by sonofdot

Last time I invite you to formal :frown:

Thank the lawd! Although I did find having scampi and chips at formal quite funny...

Reply 66

ultramarine

7

Original post by Bubbles2010

Is the food at Caius that bad??
Hmmmm, maybe I'm lucky I was pooled :tongue:

yes

well, it was the one-time I went to formal there anyway.

Original post by mundanemeddling

You CAN?! Won't the people there stare at you as if you're some kind of mutation? :P Since they've never seen you before and suddenly you're sitting down at the same table to eat with them...

God that sounds absolutely heavenly... :flip:

Not really? I mean, you'd probably want to bring some friend with you. But like I don't even know everyone in my college when I eat here, so I wouldn't exactly stare at people I don't know lol. I'm sure the same goes for Fitz/Churchill

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 67

alix.alicis

7

trinity food is generally alright, improved a lot since the kitchen renovation. however, sometimes you don't get much choice (eg yesterday night you could get either duck or potatoes :/) however, they also always have soup, desserts and a wide selection of sandwiches/sushi/salads... oh and there is the salad bar that is pretty good. i would say that all in all it's hood value for money. and our hall is just the best looking in the whole of cambridge. i just love eating there!
formal halls on the other hand aren't that great at all..

Reply 68

Joker370

11

If you're really suffering, head to Mill Road, there are some brilliant little cafes there that do full all day breakfast for ~ £4, or baguettes and the like for a lot less! There are some very cheap places in Cambs you've just got to look a bit harder for them, or go to Mill Road.

Reply 69

incandescentsmile

4

Original post by alix.alicis

trinity food is generally alright, improved a lot since the kitchen renovation. however, sometimes you don't get much choice (eg yesterday night you could get either duck or potatoes :/) however, they also always have soup, desserts and a wide selection of sandwiches/sushi/salads

That doesn't sound too bad at all! I don't know where exactly i heard it, but i swear i remember somebody telling me somewhere down the line that Trinity food wasn't that good. You have no idea how much your post has put my mind at ease :wink:

Would you mind answering a question? I read somewhere that the gyp rooms don't have hobs/ovens at Trinity. Is this true? I hope not, because i plan to try and keep costs down by self-catering part of the time. I probably should have checked that sort of thing out before applying to Trinity, but i'm not the most practical of people, and i was blinded by the splendid architecture :biggrin:

Reply 70

mundanemeddling

OP

3

Original post by incandescentsmile

That doesn't sound too bad at all! I don't know where exactly i heard it, but i swear i remember somebody telling me somewhere down the line that Trinity food wasn't that good. You have no idea how much your post has put my mind at ease :wink:

Would you mind answering a question? I read somewhere that the gyp rooms don't have hobs/ovens at Trinity. Is this true? I hope not, because i plan to try and keep costs down by self-catering part of the time. I probably should have checked that sort of thing out before applying to Trinity, but i'm not the most practical of people, and i was blinded by the splendid architecture :biggrin:

Oh oh! Which are the colleges famous for their historical architecture?
I know of Trinity's, St John's and Clare's; apparently they're absolutely stunning. But are there any others?

I like old buildings. :smile:

Reply 71

jjarvis

14

Ate at Christ's formal last night (thanks Gethsemane!) and it did not live up to its reputation for poor food.

I've had formal at: Christ's, Emma, Pembroke, Sidney Sussex, Hughes, Trinity, and Clare. Mostly decent to good--I think Hughes and Pembroke have been the best.

And on that note, I'm going to lunch.

Reply 72

Tempeststurm

7

Original post by incandescentsmile

That doesn't sound too bad at all! I don't know where exactly i heard it, but i swear i remember somebody telling me somewhere down the line that Trinity food wasn't that good. You have no idea how much your post has put my mind at ease :wink:

Would you mind answering a question? I read somewhere that the gyp rooms don't have hobs/ovens at Trinity. Is this true? I hope not, because i plan to try and keep costs down by self-catering part of the time. I probably should have checked that sort of thing out before applying to Trinity, but i'm not the most practical of people, and i was blinded by the splendid architecture :biggrin:

Most gyp rooms have hobs. If you're in the Wolfson building as a first year, you will have ovens, if not then you won't. For second and third years there are huge kitchens in the houses over in Burrell's (V, W and X) with ovens and hobs. Almost everywhere else will have hobs but not ovens and there are a few in the older parts of college which don't have hobs (just a microwave, kettle and toaster).

Reply 73

alix.alicis

7

Original post by incandescentsmile

That doesn't sound too bad at all! I don't know where exactly i heard it, but i swear i remember somebody telling me somewhere down the line that Trinity food wasn't that good. You have no idea how much your post has put my mind at ease :wink:

Would you mind answering a question? I read somewhere that the gyp rooms don't have hobs/ovens at Trinity. Is this true? I hope not, because i plan to try and keep costs down by self-catering part of the time. I probably should have checked that sort of thing out before applying to Trinity, but i'm not the most practical of people, and i was blinded by the splendid architecture :biggrin:

That is not true. Admittedly, I live where there are the best kitchens (4 hobs, oven and microwave), 2 kitchens like this for 10 rooms. In other freshers' accommodation I have seen you get pretty much the same thing but without the oven (Wolfson) and with fewer hobs (eg Blue Boar O). I can't remember much about Angel Court, but you definitely have at least hobs and microwave in each kitchen. And fridge (unless rooms have fridges).
Well done on choosing the best college!

Reply 74

i.am.lost

18

Original post by The West Wing

From my experience in Cambridge:

Clare - pretty bad.... (nb everything else about Clare is absolutely perfect and I would recommend the college to anyone, an all round amazing place to study and live)

Gotta agree with this 100%. From everything I've seen and heard since coming here I don't think I could be happier at any other college, but I haven't had college food since the (free) matriculation dinner. Instead I live almost exclusively on salads and sandwiches from EAT, Pret, M&S, etc.

I just wish I didn't have to pay the Kitchen Fixed Charge :rant:

Reply 75

Bubbles2010

7

Original post by mundanemeddling

Oh oh! Which are the colleges famous for their historical architecture?
I know of Trinity's, St John's and Clare's; apparently they're absolutely stunning. But are there any others?

I like old buildings. :smile:

Downing, Pembroke and Emmanuel are also beautiful :smile:

And Caius has awesome historical buildings, but they're kinda on the small side

Reply 76

elin89

6

foodwise I would say sidney (of course as it is my college) pembroke and robinson. I've only been to formals at the last two, but they were really really good. Sidney has consistently won the intercollegiate chef competitions and the food is good with some amazing bits.
catering-wise it depends on the accomodation - about 1/3 of 1st year are screwed over by health and safety, which says there has to be a certain proportion of worktop to hob space so they don't have hobs, just combi-oven things. apparently you can actually proper meals in them, although I've never bothered to learn. for 2nd and 3rd years the cooking provisions are much better - half of 2nd year live in houses so they have nice big kitchens, and the rest live in college with average/good cooking facilities. but we are right opposite Sainsburys so everything balances out (approx 30s from my door)!

edit - we are one of the 'hidden gems' of cambridge (if you ignore blundell court...) and have large, quiet gardens and lovely cloisters. plus we do cool stuff like half cromwell's head under our chapel, create lakes in college so we can punt at our may ball, have one of the cheapest bars and are just generally amazing. plus, did I mention that we are opposite sainsburys?

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 77

incandescentsmile

4

Original post by mundanemeddling

Oh oh! Which are the colleges famous for their historical architecture?
I know of Trinity's, St John's and Clare's; apparently they're absolutely stunning. But are there any others?

I like old buildings. :smile:

I love old buildings too - i must say that the scale and grandeur of Trinity is probably what made it stick out most in my mind when i came to choosing a college (as well as the famous alumni!) I don't really know many of the other ones because i didn't see that many before making my mind up. St. John's is very beautiful, and Christ's College is lovely too. I think most of them are beautiful, especially the older colleges. But Trinity just did it for me. The Great Court, the Dining Hall, the Wren Library... :eek:

Also the fact that it's on the river. That's a bonus :biggrin:

Reply 78

gethsemane342

11

Original post by jjarvis

Ate at Christ's formal last night (thanks Gethsemane!) and it did not live up to its reputation for poor food.

I've had formal at: Christ's, Emma, Pembroke, Sidney Sussex, Hughes, Trinity, and Clare. Mostly decent to good--I think Hughes and Pembroke have been the best.

And on that note, I'm going to lunch.

Ha ha, i should have invited you all for normal Upper Hall food - really live up to our reputation that way!

I've eaten in Pembroke normal hall before now i think on it and that was really good (except for the Sustainable Catfish which i didn't try but ended up sharing half of my dinner with the guy who did as a result...)