This thread is closed

Food at Cambridge

puppy

Trinity food is hideous, but I eat it anyway. We just pay on our buttery card and then pay the bill for what we've eaten at the end of term. You can't use it in the bar though which is probably a good thing.

I don't remember it being that bad, but I don't really eat in hall any more anyway. It was damn convenient when I lived in New Court though, and I had most meals there.

The one comment that I would make (and this seems to hold true at every college) is that the quality of food is remarkably variable. Occasionally they manage a really good steak and chips, for which the price of about £2.50 is an absolute bargain. At other times they serve up a plain chicken breast with spaghetti and peas, or something equally incongruous. At formal halls the standard can vary even more wildly - from absolutely godawful to bordering on excellent.

You might as well eat there in your first year though, no matter what the standard is. It will be convenient, and an important social activity. I sometimes look back fondly on my fresher days, trekking over to hall in a group never smaller than ten people and sometimes as many as thirty. Good times.

Reply 21

Phil.Murray

2

How many formals do you usually go to per term?

Reply 22

ukebert

13

Ditting Suck

Don't trust that Varsity article. It was highly bemusing. The John's review I know to be complete *******s, and people have said similar things to me about other colleges.

I heard that when I went for interview. The food at Peterhouse was quite nice really, sufficient for my needs. I don't know whether it always is though.

Reply 23

Craghyrax

17

I heard a rumour that Peterhouse was known for good food. Can anybody support it? Apparently awhile back, some old student donated loads of money to Peterhouse specifically for the purpose of revamping their kitchens. At the interview I was impressed with the food.

From what I saw while there, Petreans may use their swipe cards at the bar as well as for food :smile:

Reply 24

bob_54321

regarding the christs formal, it varies a lot i think because they have it (almost?) every night. when i went we just had fried chicken and chips basically for main course. it was quite cheap though and the christians(?!) said that sometimes it can be a lot nicer and other times it's just the leftovers from the earlier dinner (self service) served to you. i'm not much of an authority on it though . . .

Reply 25

ad absurdum

2

parallelduck

Emmanuel food is usually fine, but there seem to be days when the kitchen just can't be bothered.

Formal food is pretty good though. The puddings are nice (but I hear the puddings at normal hall are good too - I just never eat them.) Formal is about £5 for us, excluding wine.

How does the system work in Emmanuel? I'm planning on not eating any college food except at formals (my Scottish nutriments of deep fried Mars Bars will be sorely missed, and I wouldn't want to accentuate this by eating too healthily.)

By the way, I heard that Robinson is meant to have good food, but I strongly disagree (it made me ill most nights).

Reply 26

thefish_uk

14

ad absurdum

By the way, I heard that Robinson is meant to have good food, but I strongly disagree (it made me ill most nights).

Never made me ill... when was this?

Reply 27

ad absurdum

2

thefish_uk

Never made me ill... when was this?

Last summer. In fairness it probably wasn't so much the food as it was me having never eaten food like that before.

Reply 28

afoneleri

Craghyrax

I heard a rumour that Peterhouse was known for good food. Can anybody support it? Apparently awhile back, some old student donated loads of money to Peterhouse specifically for the purpose of revamping their kitchens. At the interview I was impressed with the food.

From what I saw while there, Petreans may use their swipe cards at the bar as well as for food :smile:

yup, swipe cards all the way - its actually cheaper like that because they don't charge VAT on the cards, but our KFC is pretty steep.

Food's generally ok, but it varies. Some days are very nice (lovely veg lasagna yesterday for lunch), some days I resort to potatoes and veg, which are always a possibility. I am vegetarian though, so that limits me. There seems to usually be a decent meat option (out of a possible two/three) but I can't really judge.

Formal food tends to be a spruced up version of something from hall. Unless your vegetarian in which case it's baked pasta or curry, pretty much consistently.

Reply 29

Cexy

phil_m88

How many formals do you usually go to per term?

When I was an undergrad, probably 10-20 formals per term. Now it's more like 5-6, plus various dinners that I get invited to.

Reply 30

parallelduck

ad absurdum

How does the system work in Emmanuel?

You pay a KFC of about £110 (I believe, not sure of the exact cost) per term. When you go to the buttery, everything you buy goes on your university card. Booking formals takes place on a fancy computer system and also goes on your uni card.

The price for food gets added on your college bill at the end of term.

Reply 31

hsitin

thefish_uk

Hmmm at my college the KFC is bundled in with the rent so to everyone else it looks like we just have extremely high rents. We have to pre-pay (probably because our college is too cheap to want to afford us credit) and wave our university card over a scanner. Of course we could pay by cash but we'd still have to show our ID card to get college member prices, and if you top up by a certain amount at once you get bonus free money so it's worth it!

Well that doesnt sound too bad. I was at Robinson during the summer on one of those summer schools and the food wasnt that bad i guess. Desserts were lovely...hopefully they'll still be like that when I get there (if i get there) in 8months time

Reply 32

Elegy

At Selwyn, is it possible to buy sandwiches and other food and take it to your room to eat? I feel uncomfortable eating around dozens of other people.

Reply 33

thefish_uk

14

Elegy

At Selwyn, is it possible to buy sandwiches and other food and take it to your room to eat? I feel uncomfortable eating around dozens of other people.

I don't know about Selwyn but I do know that in Robinson you can get any meal put in a takeaway box. Or just make / buy a sandwich.

Reply 34

Ditting Suck

8

ad absurdum

Last summer. In fairness it probably wasn't so much the food as it was me having never eaten food like that before.

I'm intrigued. What did they serve you that was like nothing you'd ever had before?

Elegy

At Selwyn, is it possible to buy sandwiches and other food and take it to your room to eat? I feel uncomfortable eating around dozens of other people.

Yes, sandwiches, wraps, cereal, milk, fruit, ice creams, chocolate bars, cakes, fruit juices etc.

Reply 36

Childermass

bob_54321

regarding the christs formal, it varies a lot i think because they have it (almost?) every night. when i went we just had fried chicken and chips basically for main course. it was quite cheap though and the christians(?!) said that sometimes it can be a lot nicer and other times it's just the leftovers from the earlier dinner (self service) served to you. i'm not much of an authority on it though . . .

We do have formal every night for those that wish to attend, though going on Tuesday is discouraged as that's Graduate night.

With regard to the person who wanted to know about Christ's food- the vegetarian options are terrible, but the puddings are great. The meat options seem to be variable but there's always a cooked breakfast and at least two different meat options at other meal times, along with various vagetables and snacks etc.

It's quite cheap, you can get 3 meals a day for £3.

Reply 37

Ditting Suck

8

Sugar, that IS cheap.

But then I eat a lot.

I managed to spend £4.39 on one buttery meal at John's on Saturday!

Reply 38

Taiping

Elegy

At Selwyn, is it possible to buy sandwiches and other food and take it to your room to eat? I feel uncomfortable eating around dozens of other people.

Are you a nervous eater? :biggrin:

Reply 39

Illusionary

19

Ditting Suck

Sugar, that IS cheap.

But then I eat a lot.

I managed to spend £4.39 on one buttery meal at John's on Saturday!

VERY easy to get a huge buttery bill at John's. Even if you actively try to keep you bill down, the cheapest you can get a full meal for is about £1.70. And I try not to think about the salad bar costs - £1 for a small bowl of veg is extortionate :mad:

Food at Cambridge

Related discussions

Trending

Latest