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Eating at other Cambridge colleges
Students and visitors at Cambridge University can sometimes use the canteen of a college or department other than their own, but the various policies are rarely on public display (let alone online), so I'm posting this data from personal experience in the hope that it's useful. Rules might have changed since I last checked.College members typically have an internal identification card; others pay in cash (bank cards not accepted unless noted below) and can expect to be charged more.
| College or department | Word used for canteen | Directions from entrance | Opening times | Surcharge for non-members | Typical non-member meal price | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caius | Hall | College-member booking required | 2022 | |||
| St Catharine's | Cafeteria servery in Hall | Diagonally opposite lodge | 12-1:30, 6-7 | 50% (25%+VAT), bank cards only | £6 | 2022 |
| Cavendish Laboratory | Canteen | Bragg building, turn left | Closed down | 2022 | ||
| Christ's | Upper Hall | 2nd court immediate right | College members only | 2022 | ||
| Churchill | Dining Hall | Ahead and up stairs to left | 12-2, 5:45-7:15 | Varies (both prices displayed), bank cards accepted | £6 (see menu) | 2023 |
| Clare | Buttery | Right, up steps and down stairs | 12:30-1:30, 6:15-7:15 (Mon-Sat termtime) | 32% (10%+VAT), bank cards accepted | £5 | 2022 |
| Clare Hall | College members only (cash not accepted) | 2022 | ||||
| Corpus | Hall | Far left corner, up steps behind door | College members and their guests only | 2015 | ||
| Darwin | Servery | Right and up stairs | 12-2 Mon-Fri; 6-7:30 Mon-Thu, 5:30-7 Fri, 8:30-2 weekends (no evening meal at weekends) | 30% (and bank cards accepted) but you still have to be with a Darwin member | £4-5 | 2017 |
| Downing | Servery | Third building on left, far end | 12-1:30, 5:45-6:45 | 50% (25%+VAT), bank cards accepted | £8 | 2023 |
| St Edmund's | Dining Hall | right-hand side entrance and turn right | 12:30-1:30 not Sat, 6:30-7:45 Mon-Fri when not Formal Hall | not checked yet | ||
| Emmanuel | Hall | Left and first door on the right | College members only | 2015 | ||
| Fitzwilliam | Buttery served in Hall | through lodge, path to left (through P), building ahead | 12-1:30, 6-7 (12-1 & 6-6:30 outside term) | ? | £4-5 | 2017 |
| Girton | Cafeteria | across court to right & turn left inside | 12:30-1:30 Mon-Fri only | not checked yet | ||
| Homerton | Great Hall | through 1st building, right, left | 12-1:45 (1:30 weekends), 5:30-7:30 (6:30 Tue) | Varies (both prices displayed) | £6 | 2019 |
| Hughes Hall | Dining Hall | College card required | 2015 | |||
| Jesus | Cafeteria | College cards only | 2015 | |||
| St John's | Buttery | Second court far-left corner | 12-1:45 (1:30 weekends), 6-7:30 | Current college members only | 2004 | |
| King's | Servery | In door to left, turn right | 12:15-1:30, 6-7:30 (7 outside term) | College members and their guests only | 2015 | |
| Lucy Cavendish | Dining Hall | Warburton Hall | not checked yet | |||
| Magdalene | Cafeteria | Ramsay Hall. Card reader at entrance allows only College members. | 2015 | |||
| Murray Edwards (New Hall) | Dome | Pass slope, left, right, up | 12:30-1:30, 6-7:15 | 10% (and bank cards accepted) | £6 | 2023 |
| Newnham | Buttery | Right-hand corridor and keep going | 12:30-1:45 (1:30 Sat), 6:00-7:15, not Sundays | £1.50/person (bank cards accepted) | £6 | 2022 |
| Pembroke | Servery | First left | 11:45-1:30 (1:15 weekends), 5:45-6:45 | 67% and you have to be with a Pembroke member (1 per guest) | £8-9 | 2022 |
| Peterhouse | Hall/Servery | Through arch & 2nd left | 12:30-1:30 (not Sundays), 6-7 | 56% (30%+VAT); non-members allowed only in term time | £6 | 2015 |
| Queens' | Cafeteria | Back entrance (might need to be let in by a member), turn left, protruding doors | 12:30-1:30 (2pm on termtime weekdays), 5:45-7 | 35% (bank cards only) | £5-£6 (see menu) | 2022 |
| Robinson | Garden Restaurant | Right, past cafe/bar, enter on right at end of alley and downstairs | Mon-Fri 12:20-1:40 & 6-7:15; Sat 12-1:30, Sun 12:30-1:30 (no evening meal at weekends) | Varies (both prices displayed); bank cards accepted | £5.50-£6 (see menu) | 2016 |
| Selwyn | Hall | Stone steps on the right | 12:30-1:30, 6-7 (Saturday 12:45-1:30, Sunday 11:30-12:30) | Cash prices as marked (discount for Selwyn students) | £4.50-£5 (bank cards accepted) | 2022 |
| Sidney Sussex | Hall | Left and on the right-hand side of the court | College members and their guests only | 2015 | ||
| Trinity | Buttery | Current college members only (with up to 2 guests per member) | 2015 | |||
| Trinity Hall | Cafeteria | College members only (cash not accepted) | 2015 | |||
| University Centre | Main Dining Hall | Second floor | Closed down | 2022 | ||
| West Hub | Canteen | Ground floor central (not the entrance cafe) | 8-2:30 Mon-Fri | n/a | £7.50 (bank cards accepted) | 2022 |
| Wolfson | Cafeteria | building ahead, upstairs | 12:30-2:15 (1:30 Sat), 6-7:30 | college card required | 2015 | |
| Wolfson Court (by CMS) | Cafeteria | Left | 12-1:30 (Sat 1230-, Sun -1), 6-7 (not Sat) | ? | ? | 2015 |
All material © Silas S. Brown unless otherwise stated.