Life Hacks: Eating- Out

Hi there, my name is Danielle Moore and I work as a Study Abroad Peer Advisor at King’s College London. I have created this handy guide showing you some of my favourite food places in London! Have a look for inspiration of where your next visit could be!

On Campus:

Near the Maughan Chilango is a favourite and they offer 10% student discount if you flash them your King’s card. They have really flavourful burritos, and I love the nudos (bowls). The tortilla chips come with a really good salsa. Press Coffee has some nice little independent shops which make a relaxed change from the usual (mine being Kingsway’s which I love for its comfy sofas and bucket-like mugs of coffee).

Strand Campus:

Waterfront, the KCLSU bar, on the 2nd floor of the Macadam Building, Surrey Street. My friends are in love with the curly fries but I think the veggie burgers and sandwiches are good for lunch. When there’s a group

of you sometimes it works out well to

buy a pitcher of drink or a bucket of

food. Daily deals give you good

drinks options - Check these deals

and the menu here. With an NUS

card, you can get 20% off all food

and soft drinks 9-11am and 10%

between 5-9pm. They also offer food

to go.

Photo: A sharing bucket, at a Study Abroad Social

The Terrace, on floor 0 of the Macadam Building, Surrey Street. The ‘Street Kitchen’ serves up something different every day and they have the usual selection of paninis, sandwiches, snacks and hot drinks which you can also find in the library café and the ground floor of the Virginia Woolf Building (if I walk up the stairs, I definitely deserve that hot chocolate, right?)

Chapters is the main Canteen. It’s always heaving so in the summer (at least when it’s not raining) I like to take my food to go and wander over to the terrace which overlooks the river.

If you bring your own lunch to uni it’s good to know that there are microwaves in the KCLSU Lobby, floor -2 of the Macadam Building, Surrey Street, in the library café, and in the Virginia Woolf Building Kitchens on most floors. In the VWB there are also hot water taps in case you want to make your own hot drinks.

On a slightly related side-note, I am a tea addict and can recommend Café Amici for an 85p(!) large breakfast tea to takeaway (they also do a good egg mayo and bacon sandwich).

Guy’s Campus: Much like Waterfront they have daily deals in the KCLSU cafes/bars, so keep an eye out:

. The Shed

. Guy’s Bar

Photo: Homeslice

On your way to Campus: (Markets and street food)

- Pretty much on your way to campus if you’re coming from Moonraker or Stamford Street Halls (ok it’s the opposite direction from Stamford street but you’ll thank me for the detour), you’ll find a brilliant little market of street vendors just off the Waterloo Road opposite the station, which is open around lunchtime Monday- Saturday. They have all sorts of multicultural offerings, the smell as you pass by is so tempting, and they tend to offer student discounts, with lunch coming in at around the £5 mark. Just a little further out, Lower Marsh Market has some hot food as well as amazing sweet treats and there’s a lovely lady there who sells home-baked gluten free brownies to die for. - Cubana – offers a £7 street food lunch. In the summer they have a barbecue outdoors with food to go, which is especially great for Moonraker students (offering Cuban fare which is typically a mix of Spanish, African, Caribbean and French influence, including options like slow-roasted meats and casseroles as well as fresh fruit smoothies). It’s also great for happy hour cocktails (4-7pm, but it is packed on a Friday!)

- Southbank Centre street food market, Southwark is fun to wander through on the weekends, but definitely more expensive than the hidden away finds in Waterloo.

- Borough Market! For anybody who studies on or lives near Guy’s campus, or anybody who loves a treat, Borough Market cannot be missed. Equally, there are some awesome restaurants nearby. In Padella they cook your pasta dish to order in the central kitchen as you sit around the bar watching. With dish prices varying between £4-10 for mind-blowingly fresh pasta this is a high turn-around, high-taste, high-satisfaction meal. With no reservations, do expect to queue but if there are only one or two of you you’re bound to be squeezed in.

Around Campus Covent Garden, Neal’s Yard & Leicester Square - I’m based on , and sometimes find myself with a few hours’ gap between lectures, what better way to make use of that than to take a wander over to Neal’s yard in Covent Garden where Homeslice offer a huge and delicious pizza with unique toppings, enough for 2-4 people, for £20, or just a slice for £4.

- For something really special, though quite a bit more pricey, head to The Barbary.

- A few minutes’ walk from Leicester Square, Vico serves up award-winning southern Italian fare and do a really good value set menu for lunch/pre-theatre. Don’t miss the gelato.

Photos: Some of the best food I've ever tasted at The Barbary!

Senate House Library - This Korean Cafe is under a 10 minute walk from the library and you can fill yourself up for less than £5.

Discounts Late afternoon - Gino’s My Pasta Bar sells their salads, , paninis and pastries half price after 15:30. This is great when I’m stuck at uni or I’ve been running late for a lecture and missed lunch. Their food is delicious any time of the day though and they offer a good lunch deal. Although their coffees aren’t the best to be found, they do a Nutellatte which is a must-try and coffee costs just £1 before 11am. Late evening - Pod & Itsu offer half price half an hour before closing and have lots of locations near campus (on Kingsway, by the Virginia Woolf building, and on the Strand ) Student Discounts with an NUS card - (you can get one of these for £12 on their website) - McDonalds offer some freebies - for a cheap pizza with 2 for 1 cocktails - And of course, if you are really feeling the pinch, the Hare Krishna stand by LSE is a long-standing favourite with students

Photo: Arrancini at Vico

Tastecard This might sound a bit extravagant, as at full price the tastecard costs £39.99, but hear me out. I actually got mine as a free incentive with my student bank account, but they also frequently run promotions where you can get your hands on one of these cards for just £1 for 90 days, or £29.99 for a year. (Google it, and just remember to cancel your membership before it auto-renews!) If you can get one cheaply, definitely go for it.

The card offers 50% off or 2 for 1 at 6,360 restaurants and our London Campuses, as well as most of the halls of residence, are surrounded by potentially heavily discounted restaurants. There are sometimes limitations like Sunday-Thursday dining only or only two diners per card, but for me that’s good for a weekday catch-up with friends.

Some favourites are Prezzo, Ask Italian, and La Tasca, for reliable tasty and cheap meals out, and there are chains all over the country. Occasionally I’ve found that there are nice little independent restaurants near my flat, so for example, the tastecard introduced me to Ethiopian food the other month! See the website for a comprehensive list. See if there are places nearby that sound good to you and work out whether it’s worth your while.

Timeout sometimes have some useful reviews, but my go-to is Tripadvisor. There are usually loads of good customer photos and you can get a feel for a restaurant before you try it out for yourself.

Finally, just because. I recently discovered the beauty that is a Milk Train Cafe ice cream with a candy-floss halo, just off of the Strand.