Washington University in St. Louis - Campus Dining

The food here is plentiful, fresh,...

The food here is plentiful, fresh, and delicious... for the first couple of months. Then you get kind of sick of it. That said, we have everything from wraps, crepes, ice cream, coffee and tea bars, steak, tuna, turkey burgers, etc. Even still, sometimes you just want to go off campus to eat on the loop.

As far as good on-campus eating...

As far as good on-campus eating spots go, Wash U does not disappoint. Holmes Lounge is a student favorite. It opens up into the Quad, and on nice days it’s an awesome place to hang out. They serve tons of wraps, paninis, and meats. Holmes Lounge is a beautiful place to study, too. It was the Queen’s ballroom during the 1904 World’s Fair. They now hold jazz concerts there in the summer. In the winter, they light up the fireplace and if you can grab a chair near it with a good cup of tea, you’re set. Ursa’s Cafe on the South 40 residential area is kind of fun. Students call it ‘the Max,’ like from Saved by the Bell. Ursa’s has pool tables and table tops with board games built into them, so you can rent games like Sorry or Monopoly and play while you eat. It’s got a big screen TV, a stage, computer kiosks, and an all-around friendly atmosphere. The food there is okay—it’s generally the same as on campus: wraps, smoothies, soups, sushi, and salads.

I’ve visited friends at other...

I’ve visited friends at other schools and the food here is actually quite good in comparison. There’s a lot of variety here, so you don’t get sick of eating the same thing every day. The main places to eat are Bear’s Den and Center Court on the South 40. Bear’s Den is kind of a sandwich and snack place (i.e., burgers, sandwich’s, pasta, salad) while Center Court is more of, like, this huge buffet where, once you’re in, it all-you-can-eat (everything you could think of). Center Court is really popular because your whole freshman floor goes together; it’s really fun. Mallinkrodt has a huge food court with everything from Subway, Taco Bell, various pizzas, a salad bar with garden fresh veggies, Chinese, wraps, and so much more. This is a great place to grab a bite to eat between classes. There are also little cafés in some of the buildings, so you’ll never lack for variety!

Dude, the food here rocks! I may...

Dude, the food here rocks! I may be in the minority here, but I seriously think the food is really excellent at Wash U. Sometimes people complain about the lack of variety of food on campus, but I personally always feel like you can always find something to satisfy your taste buds. As far as good spots to grab a bite go: we’ve got Subway and Taco Bell if you’re into fast food, Holmes lounge which is gorgeous and has tasty food, Center Court which offers an awesome unlimited buffet (they also have an incredible brunch there on Saturday and Sunday), and also available is the Small Group Housing Café which has things like shrimp, Moroccan food, and Indian food—I kid you not!

Center Court is a gigantic...

Center Court is a gigantic buffet-style place that is only open for dinner all week and offers brunch on the weekends. I thought it was pretty good. There’s always a big variety, and you can usually find what you want. On the main campus (where you have your classes) there’s one large building (called Mallinckrodt) that has sort of a food court like you’d find at the mall. The restaurants seem to change every few years, but last time I checked, there is a Subway, a Mexican place, a Chinese place, an Italian place, and a giant salad bar. Most students eat here for lunch during the day. There are a few other little places scattered around campus; one popular place, called Holmes, sells wraps and coffee.