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Campus Dining:

B

(explain this grade)

Comparable Schools'
Campus Dining Grades:

Quick Stats

Freshman Meal Plan Requirement

Yes

Off-Campus Places to Use Meal Plan

  • None

Average Meal Plan Cost

$700 (off campus) or $1,860 (on campus) per semester

Student Favorites

  • Smoothie King
  • Subway
  • The Coffeehouse

24 hour Dining

  • None

Other Options

  • Cohen House, also called the Faculty Club, is a restaurant on campus with high-quality food and a nice sit-down atmosphere. However, it is primarily meant to serve faculty and staff, and students are permitted only upon invitation by a faculty or staff member.

College Prowler Take

Compared to larger universities, the number of on-campus dining options at Rice is very limited. Aside from cafeteria options, the student center offers a Smoothie King, Subway, Coffee House, Willy’s Pub, and Sammy’s (upscale Cafeteria food). Lucky students might get an invite from Rice faculty to dine at Cohen House, but many students graduate without ever stepping inside.

Upperclassmen rave about the improvements that have been made in campus dining over the last several years. Subway and Smoothie King have both opened in recent years, and the addition of three college serveries (in the place of the old Central Kitchen system) has greatly increased the quality and variety of food offered at the residential colleges. The cost of the undergrad meal plan has steadily increased with the improvements, but students can choose from vegetarian options, a salad and fruit bar, sandwiches, pizza, grill food, soup, desert, baked goods, cereal, made-to-order omelets (only on weekends), or main dishes. The serveries will also occasionally offer a themed food night that provides extra options (Italian Night, Pacific Rim, Open-Wok-Make-Your- Own-Stir-Fry Night, and more). It is, after all, still cafeteria food, but most students have no problem finding something tolerable to eat, and many dishes actually turn out to be fairly tasty.

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Students Speak Out

Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:

Anonymous says:

The food is edible. All things...

The food is edible. All things considered, it’s pretty good. However, quality varies across campus. The best food is at the South College Servery. Chef Roger is in charge there, and the food is both tasty and interesting. The rest of the food across campus is alright. It varies from day to day how good it is, and after three years of eating it, the repetition gets tiresome. Things are often overcooked after sitting out for a while, and it’s sometimes questionable if the meat is even really meat. But it is also possible to eat well. The salad bar is usually very good, and there are always vegetarian and health-conscious options available. The desserts are usually fantastic. And if all else fails, there is always Subway in the student center or plenty of great (and not too expensive) restaurants in the Village.

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Anonymous says:

Food on campus is kind of blah;...

Food on campus is kind of blah; there are not a lot of options. The residential colleges are all getting these new serveries now that offer a lot more options, and the food is better because it is fresher—they don’t have to ship it from one central location anymore.

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Anonymous says:

With the new dorms recently...

With the new dorms recently opened, food is actually decent. We have the residential college system, and food is relatively good, especially compared to years ago. One thing, however, you will get sick of it! After eating different things, you will get sick of it regardless of how good it is. That’s okay, though, because Houston has the most restaurants per capita, and it’s super cheap to eat here. There are plenty of places around Rice and in Houston to eat.

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Anonymous says:

Each residential college has its...

Each residential college has its own commons and either its own servery, or a servery shared with only a few colleges. You can eat at any college you want with your card. I think the food at the bigger serveries is good, but the meal plan is really expensive. Some of the smaller serveries have not-so-good food.

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Anonymous says:

The food at the new campus...

The food at the new campus serveries has recently been rated as some of the best food at colleges around the country. Professional chefs are given a great deal of room in which to work, and new developments and refinements come along frequently.

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Dining Halls

13th Street
Sandwiches, paninis, Smoothie King, convenience store
Monday-Friday 7:30 AM-11 PM; Saturday 11 AM-11 PM; Sunday 12 PM-11 PM

Brochstein Pavilion
Coffeehouse
Monday-Thursday 7 AM-11 PM; Friday 7 PM-8 PM; Saturday 9 AM-6 PM; Sunday 9 AM-10 PM

Residential College Serveries
Buffet Style, grill, pizza, salad bar, vegetarian option, dessert
All Residential Colleges
(All Colleges): Monday-Thursday 7:30 AM-10:30 AM, 11:30 AM-1:30 PM, 5:30 PM-7:30 PM; Friday 7:30 AM-10:30 AM, 11:30 AM-1:30 PM, 5:30 PM-7:00 PM; (North, South, and West): Saturday 9:00 AM-11:00 AM, 11:30 AM-2:00 PM; Sunday 11:30 AM-2:00 PM, 5:00 PM-7:00 PM

Rice Coffeehouse
Coffee/espresso drinks, tea, baked goods
The Student Center
Monday–Thursday 7:30 AM-1 AM; Friday 7:30 AM-8 PM; Saturday 10 AM-8 PM; Sunday 2 PM-12 AM

Sammy’s
Smoothie King, grill (sandwiches, pizza, burgers, fries), hot food, pre–packaged (salads, fruit, sushi, chips, cereal, cookies)
The Student Center
Monday–Friday 11 AM–2 PM; Monday-Wednesday 5 PM-7 PM

Subway
Sandwiches, salads, cookies, chips
The Student Center
Monday–Wednesday, Friday 7:30 AM–11 PM, Thursday 7:30 AM–1 AM, Saturday 11:00 AM–11 PM, Sunday 12 PM–11 PM

Willy's Pub
Smoothies, sandwiches, pizza, beer
The Student Center
Monday 11 AM–1 AM, Tuesday–Thursday 11 AM–2 PM, Friday 11 AM–5 PM

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