You’re never short of choice for food on main campus. Even after living on campus for a year, I didn’t know half of the options that were available as a student, with or without a meal card.
Portland is the go to place for food for most of us. It has loads of options of different cuisines depending on what you fancy for lunch. The trick with the food court is to steer clear at busy times, i.e. 12 and 1, just as lectures come out, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.
Your options in Portland are:
· Love Chicken Joe’s – offers a range of pittas and wraps with various chicken fillings with sides of onion rings and wedges. It is a quick and easy meal option.
· Starbucks – your standard Starbucks, offering warm drinks and cute cakes and snacks, which are going to be brilliant in the coming colder months.
· Chicago Town – sells pizza slices which are the size of a quarter of a pizza with only a couple of options of toppings. Another quick option but it is often one of the most popular, making the queues massive. It is linked with Pasta Pronto.
· Pasta Pronto – a small tub of pasta which can be very filling.
· Man’s Gourmet – the Chinese restaurant that has set meals which are quick to pick up, as well as a wide range of other meals. The restaurant is open until seven, so if you are staying late on campus you can quickly pick up dinner.
· Item Seven – the more unique option available in the food court. The Caribbean food is a great option to try, especially if you have never had it before.
· Juice bar – lots of options, not the best for lunch but does a great smoothie; but be warned, they do often run out of ingredients.
· Baguette Bar – it has chilli and the warm options for jacket potatoes, which are all great on a cold day. As well as this there are the baguettes and sandwiches which are made on site and are really tasty!
There are other places to go if you are not near the centre of campus:
· Trent cafe – fantastic food, they do lovely sandwiches. A bit on the posher side – great to take your parents to!
· Biology – more of a place to go for coffee rather than to eat as it is on the smaller with limited seating.
· Coates – if you are in the science and maths area, they have warm and cold options. The seating is a lot more open, and even has outdoor options which are great in the sun.
· The Mix Bars – not available in all of the halls; however, if you are near one I recommend you go – they do a great chicken Caesar salad. It is a more relaxed atmosphere with great food.
· Halls – again, not all offer hot meals at lunch time but they are great if you are really hungry and want a big lunch; the only downside is that they aren’t the healthiest of meals.
· Library cafe – they have the biggest choice of sandwiches, fantastic paninis (my personal favourite is the chicken fajita panini), and are great to grab when you’re working.