Yale Dining Hall

Where Do Students Eat At Yale?

Yale Hospitality’s dining services provide a wide range of delectable and wholesome meal alternatives for undergraduate students. Each residential Yale dining hall offers meal plans that include a variety of menu options and dietary restrictions.

The development of dining service meals is driven by a commitment to healthful, environmentally friendly, and plant-forward cuisine that is primarily influenced by the Mediterranean diet. To take advantage of Yale’s many cafés, which provide convenient options for students unable to attend regular dining hours, students who reside off campus may also purchase a meal plan. Residents are permitted to utilize their midday meal swipe in participating cafés.

Additionally, students can order SmartMeals in advance using the Yale Hospitality smartphone app. Students may check daily menus, dietary data, and more with this app.

Now, if you wonder “Where do students eat at Yale?” let us look at these dining locations where Yale students go to.

Residential Dining

The dining facilities still play a significant role in Yale University’s tradition and campus social life. The 14-residential college system is a unique aspect of Yale’s illustrious past and provides students, who call their designated college home during their time at Yale, with a distinctive living experience. Each residence has its own dining hall, dining customs, and residential community, forming a hub for interaction between faculty, staff, and students.

Although it is common for students to eat most of their meals in their own college, it is not obligatory. When they do, the Deans, Resident Fellows, and Heads of College who live in that college join them for meals.

A culinary team that includes skilled cooks, a Culinary Excellence Manager, and a Guest Experience Manager oversees every Yale dining hall. A wide variety of alternatives are available from breakfast to dinner and conscientious nutritional considerations are considered daily. Yale Hospitality meals highlight small-batch cooking, original and creative dishes, sustainability, and the cultural diversity of the campus community.

Kosher Meals

You are welcome to use a meal transfer at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life if you have a kosher undergraduate meal plan. There are single meals available for purchase for all students. The Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life website provides information about Slifka service hours and other details.

Cafés, Restaurants, and More

For simple grab-and-go goods as well as a more formal café setting with hot entrées cooked to order, hand-crafted barista drinks, locally baked pastries, sandwiches, soups, and salads, hospitality operates more than ten retail locations, each with its own character.

Locations

• Charley’s Place at SOM
• Cafe 25 at Science Park
• Cafe Law
• Café Med
• Health Center Café
• McNay Café at SOM
• Ramen at Becton Hall
• West Campus
• Widdy’s Restaurant
• The Refectory at Divinity
• Schwarzman Center
• Slifka Center for Jewish Life
• Steep Café at YSB

Food Trucks

It’s not necessary to be inside to enjoy some delectable snacks. Due to their affordable and varied offerings, these street sellers are rapidly acquiring popularity and followings among students and faculty. The Medical School (Cedar Street), Science Hill (Prospect and Sachem), and Long Wharf are the three primary “areas” where they gather (Long Wharf Drive).

Local Coffee Shops and Cafés

In addition to the major franchises (Dunkin’ and Starbucks), New Haven features a variety of beautiful cafes and coffee shops where you can meet up with friends, study, get a quick snack, and much more. Atticus, Blue State, Book Trader Café, Café Romeo, Koffee, Willoughbys, and Jojo’s are just a few examples.

Off-Campus Options

Grocery and Food Stores

• The City of New Haven offers several larger grocery stores, including Super Stop & Shop, Elm City Market, Edge of the Woods Natural Market, the locally owned Ferraro’s Market, and CTown, in addition to a wide range of smaller neighborhood and international food markets.
• The Super Stop & Shop on Whalley Avenue and Elm City Market on Chapel Street are the destinations of the hourly Yale Weekend Daytime Blue Line Shuttle.
• Peapod by Stop & Shop provides scheduled home grocery delivery.
• Grocery chains like ShopRite, Big Y, SavALot, and Trader Joe’s, Super Walmart, Target, BJs, and Costco, may be found in the nearby towns and suburbs. Travel by automobile, Zipcar, ride-sharing, or public transportation bus.
• Seasonal farmer’s markets are held by CitySeed across New Haven where you can buy fresh vegetables, baked goods, meat and dairy products, and more.
• If you’re an international student seeking a taste of home or a worldly home cook, check out the staff at the Office of International Students and Scholars’ (OISS) useful guide to grocery shopping in New Haven including maps.

How Many Dining Halls Does Yale Have?

The Yale dining hall serves as the historic setting for a long-standing practice whereby students, teachers, and staff come together as a community to enjoy fine food and conversation. How many dining halls does Yale have? Inside Yale are distinctive 14 college residential structures namely the following:

• Benjamin Franklin
• Berkeley
• Branford
• Davenport
• Ezra Stiles
• Grace Hopper
• Jonathan Edwards
• Morse
• Pauli Murray
• Pierson
• Saybrook
• Silliman
• Timothy Dwight
• Trumbull

What Time Do Dining Halls Open At Yale?

Students may eat in their residential college as well as other colleges where they are not residents. They are also allowed to dine in retail establishments around Yale if they want to try eating outside the Yale dining hall. Now, what time do dining halls open at Yale? The following schedule governs most dining hall hours:

• Breakfast (8:30 am–11:30 am)
• Lunch (11:30 am-1:30 pm)
• Dinner schedule is at 5–7:30 pm (Sun–Thu) and 5-7 pm (Fri-Sat).
• Weekend (Saturday and Sunday) hours for Hopper, Morse, and Stiles are 8 to 11 am for continental breakfast.
• Weekend (Saturday and Sunday) Brunch is from 11 to 1:30 pm in all colleges.

To give a more detailed illustration of the hours of operation, see the table below.

Monday – Friday

Saturday – Sunday

Mobile ordering is accessible, and the Yale Hospitality app offers SmartMeals for pre-orders.

Does Yale Have Good Dining Hall Food?

Rafi Taherian, an Iranian-born, classically-trained chef who was the executive director of Stanford Dining when Yale hired him in 2008 to revamp its dining operations, has not only put Yale Hospitality “back in blue,” but has also made its food much healthier, more plant-based, more sustainable, more locally sourced, and more culturally diverse—all on the scale necessary to serve a large institution.

Despite a change in leadership at Yale Hospitality, Yale has established a national reputation as a trailblazer in supply chain management, culinary authenticity and quality, industry-leading food procurement, and health and wellness initiatives during the previous ten years. Through a few accolades and awards, it has maintained its position as a leader in the food industry, most notably by being named an IFMA (International Foodservice Manufacturers Association) Gold and Silver Plate Society Member.

If you’re curious about “Does Yale have good dining hall food?” the culinary staff masterfully creates menus centered around the best, freshest ingredients available, and Yale Hospitality serves up excellent and nourishing food at every meal according to the future-forward menu philosophy. Discover the possibilities of their menu, which is influenced by the Mediterranean diet, the adventurous bowl choices (bibimbap or falafel, anyone?), the gourmet brick-oven pizza selection, renowned hand-breaded chicken tenders, and the daily-baked signature granola and muffins from Yale Bakery.

The open kitchens offer a delightful behind-the-scenes experience, allowing visitors to interact with the chefs and cooks as freshly prepared student meals are prepared. Everyone’s palette can be satisfied, from the health-conscious to the crave-worthy.

To make it simple to store and reheat grab-and-go meals, Yale put a microwave and refrigerator in each suite at the start of the academic year. Hot cereal that could be made in the microwave was a component of several of the breakfasts.

Moreover, Yale Hospitality has pledged to solely purchase halal meat, including halal chicken and Australian grass-fed beef and lamb, as another example of inclusivity at work.

According to Bob Sullivan, senior director of Yale Hospitality, “Everybody gets the same piece of meat, so the Muslim students don’t bring attention to themselves by asking if it’s halal when they select their meal.” The menu is the same for everyone, with a few minor variations, for students who eat halal. If Yale Hospitality discovers that a meal contains pork or alcohol, they replace the meat or remove the alcohol while maintaining the integrity of the dish, Sullivan explains.

Before the epidemic, Yale hired cooks from all over the world to collaborate with the school’s chefs on developing authentic cuisine.

How Much Is the Yale Meal Plan?

Yale Hospitality has created a variety of meal plans for on-campus, off-campus, and graduate students in accordance with the legal requirements required by both Yale University and the State of Connecticut. Let’s check the following summary of how much is the Yale mean plan and its inclusions.

2022 Full Meal Plan Information

Eligible Students: Undergraduate Students (On & Off Campus)

Meals Per Week: 21 (three meals per day, seven days per week)

Lunch Transfers Per Week: Five (Monday-Friday) at Yale Schwarzman Center (Commons and The Bow Wow) and Steep Café

Guest Swipes: Five per semester (Yale dining halls only)

Cost: The 2022-23 Full Meal Plan is $3,975 per semester.

Requirements: All students living in residential colleges and on Old Campus will be required to purchase a meal plan.

2022 Flex Meal Plan Information

Eligible Students: Upper-level Undergraduate Students (On & Off Campus)

Meals Per Week: Any 14 meals throughout the week

Lunch Transfers Per Week: Three (3) at Yale Schwarzman Center (Commons and The Bow Wow) and Steep Café.

Points: 300 per semester to be used in Residential Dining, Commons, The Bow Wow, Ivy, Elm, Steep Café, Ramen at Becton, Café Med, West Campus, Café 25, and Health Center Café.

Guest Swipes: Ten per semester (Yale dining halls only)

Cost: The 2022-23 Flex Meal Plan is $3,975 per semester.

Requirements: All students living in residential colleges and on Old Campus will be required to purchase a meal plan.

2022 Grad 30-Meal Plan Information

Eligible Students: Graduate Students

Meals Per Semester: Any 30 meals at Commons and The Bow Wow.

Cost: The 2022-23 Grad 30 Meal Plan is $330 per semester.

2022 Connect Meal Plan Information

Eligible Students: Yale College Students (Off Campus Only)

Meals Per Week: Any 5 meals in residential colleges throughout the week.

Bonus Meals: 30 per semester throughout Residential Dining, Commons, The Bow Wow, and Steep Café.

Points: 100 per semester to be used in Residential Dining, Commons, The Bow Wow, Elm, Ivy, Ramen at Becton, Steep Café, Café Med, Café 25, West Campus, and Health Center Café.

Cost: The 2022-23 Connect Meal Plan is $1,500 per semester.

Enrollment: To make it more convenient to participate, you will be automatically enrolled in this 2022 Connect Meal Plan with the charge appearing on your term bill.

Not only enrolled students can visit any Yale dining hall but guests from all over the world. If given the opportunity, you can visit or try the dining options at Yale to experience where and when Yale students take their meals. Furthermore, if you want to fully live college life at Yale, here are some tips from AdmissionSight on how to get into Yale.

Yale’s overall admission rate is just 4.46%, comparable to other Ivy League schools. The truth is that applying to Yale is a shot in the dark for everyone, even for exceptional applicants. The Yale interview and Yale supplemental essays are two areas of your application that you may polish to give yourself the best chance of acceptance. Additionally, you should make sure your GPA meets Yale’s requirements and that your SAT scores are on par with Yale’s average.

Book an initial consultation with AdmissionSight experts to start preparing your application materials as early as now.