Campus Food For Every Taste And Every Budget
Hungry?
You’ve come to the right place.
With UBC’s many cafes, restaurants, residence dining rooms and food trucks scattered around campus, you’ll always find something that suits your taste and your wallet. The Nest (UBC’s new student union building) has an impressive list of old SUB favorites and new additions.
Here’s where you’ll find the best bang for your buck (good-tasting, good-for-you food at a good price):
Something For Everyone (The Nest Edition):
Peko Peko – Deliciously fresh sushi, with loads of veggie options, for about $4 a roll. Great grab-and-go lunch!
Avo roll at Peko Peko. Photo: @VegUBC on instagram
The Soup Market – Local soup options (made on Granville Island), varied daily. Always one of each: veggie, fish and meat soup, served with fresh bread. $5-6 for a medium-sized bowl on a cold, rainy day.
PI[E] R squared – Okay, so this may not be your healthiest option….but their pizza is a student favorite, at $2.75 a slice.
If you’re looking for curry, quality burgers or noodles, you can find them at Delly, Flip Side and Grand Noodle Emporium, respectively (all in The Nest). All run about $7-8.
Vegetarian / Vegan / Gluten-free / Health-conscious:
Most places on campus will accommodate these diet restrictions, so be sure to check menus or ask!
Seedlings; Sprouts – Quinoa bowls, chickpea burger & stews, all for under $4. Brownies, raw brownie balls and fair-trade, organic coffee all for $1 or less! Menus for both of these student-run initiatives here.
Palate – New, in The Nest. $6.50 daily sandwich & soup combo. Otherwise, choose from fresh panini, wraps and salads for $6-7, or build-your-own sandwich!
Panini at Palate. Photo: The Ubyssey. More at http://ubyssey.ca/culture/nests-food-definitely-sub-par/
Agora – On the south end of campus, similar food & prices to Seedlings and Sprouts.
Treat Yourself:
Here’s where you can spend a bit more and indulge in a next-level dining experience:
Mercante – Authentic Italian pizzas, cooked in a stone hearth oven and made to order, for $10 a pop. Well worth it for a true quality pizza lover! Gourmet salads and desserts for about $4-6.
Mercante Pizza. Photo: students.ubc.ca
The Perch in The Nest and Biercraft in Wesbrook Village both offer $6.50 craft beers on tap, wine for about $8-9 and cocktails for $9-12. Food options for both average about $14 a dish, with cheaper appies and tapas if you want the fancy food & atmosphere at a student-friendly budget.
Drinks:
Beer, coffee, fresh-pressed juice…and don’t forget the free water refill stations located in buildings all around UBC (just BYOB — bring your own bottle)!
The (newly remodeled) Pit and Koerner’s Pub both offer the best deals on beer on campus — about $5 for a draught beer (or under $4 during The Pit’s happy hour). You can also find wine and cocktails at both (and pressed juice at Koerner’s!) for $6-9, if that’s your thing.
Speaking of pressed juice — and, of course, smoothies — grab a ‘meal in a cup’ from Liquid Nutrition, in The Nest, for a breakfast or lunch you can drink. All organic, vegan and whole-food based, this place packs nutrients without compromising great taste.
<UPPERCASE> is the lovechild of students’ old favorite Blue Chip Cookies and Bernoulli’s Bagels. Stop by in The Nest for bagels, fresh coffee, cookies and other baked goods. Hit up {lowercase} downstairs for the same, minus the bagels.
Food in Res:
Both Totem Park and Place Vanier dining halls are open to the public and offer a wide selection of food items. They label whether dishes contain dairy, eggs, meat, shellfish, pork, wheat, etc. and have impressively good, mostly locally-sourced food.
Lunch at Place Vanier Dining Hall. Photo: author’s own
Stay ‘In-The-Know’:
On The Go
UBC now has 5 (!!) food trucks, and there’s a cafe in or around just about every building on campus. So….you’ll never go hungry, no matter where you end up studying. For more info on food trucks, ranging from burgers to Thai bowls, follow @UBCstreetfood on Twitter.
It’s About Thai food truck. Photo: @UBCstreetfood
Feed Me Now
This sweet feature on the UBC Food Services site lets you know which AMS-run food joints around campus are open, right now (with real-time updates).
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Skip the line with the AMS’s mobile ordering system.
Keep in mind these suggestions are a small selection of the wide range of options on campus. Check them out and explore for yourself to find your favorite food spots! The Village (University Blvd) and Westbrook Village are just around the corner and have tons of food options as well.
I would argue there’s pretty much no food you can’t find on campus.
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