The ultimate ranking of all 11 cafes on the Uni of York campus

Uni of York has several cafes on campus, serving a range of food and drink for students. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to get started on those January essays for a few hours, or a comfy sofa to sit and have a coffee with a friend, here’s my personal ranking of all 11 campus cafes that Uni of York has to offer.

11. York Sport Cafe

This one would definitely rank higher if it was closer to both Campus West and East. The York Sport Cafe serves Costa food and drink, and their bacon rolls are definitely something to look forward to after a workout or a swim at the sports village!

10. Piazza Starbucks

Located in the Piazza Building on Campus East, the Piazza serves Starbucks coffee as well as confectionary, hot toasties and quesadillas. It was not one of my top choices mainly based on its location, however it would be a good option and a popular choice for students with a lot of their contact hours on Campus East.

9. Library Cafe

It felt slightly criminal that the Library Cafe was ranked quite low on this list as it is so popular and busy every day, but it’s still a great choice.

Serving Costa coffee, the Library Cafe also has a huge range of food available including sandwiches, paninis and butties. However, the seating in the Library Cafe is limited, and its popularity means that at certain times of day there can be quite a queue.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for some food or drink to take with you for your library study session in Morrell or Fairhurst, it is definitely the best option!

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8. Roger Kirk Cafe

Located near James College, the Roger Kirk Cafe was another campus cafe that I did not know about until I started research for these rankings. With lots of seats available, as well as being the only campus cafe to offer freshly made smoothies, as far as I am aware, the Roger Kirk Cafe is another great place for study – especially if you have a seminar later that day in James! However, they do blast music pretty loud.

7. Hub Cafe

The Hub Cafe is another cafe on Campus East, located in The Ron Cooke Hub. It serves a wide variety of food including breakfast until 11am, shakshuka, omelettes, ramen, crumble pots, and okonomiyaki, as well as hot drinks, sweet treats and bubble tea. The wide range of food available, which is quite different from a lot of the food on offer on Campus West, makes it a good choice of campus cafe. Plus, we tried their new menu quite recently, and it really is good.

6. Vanbrugh Cafe

Located near Greg’s Place, the Vanbrugh Cafe offers sandwiches, baguettes and cakes, very similar to the food in Cookies.  Another great option for when you’re looking for somewhere to quickly grab some food and a coffee between lectures, or if you are looking to sit for a while, there is also the option to sit in V-bar.

5. The Kitchen @Alcuin

Another cosy cafe with lots of seating and a wide range of hot drinks available is The Kitchen @Alcuin. They also run Study Sessions, where every weekday from 2:30pm you can have unlimited filter coffee and tea with a cake for just £8, or unlimited filter coffee and tea with a sandwich for £10 until 4pm. All you need to do is ask for your drink refill at the counter when you would like one! However, The Kitchen didn’t rank higher on this list because it does tend to be on the pricier end of the campus cafe price scale, but if you are looking to sit on comfy sofas and get some work done with a delicious coffee, The Kitchen is great!

4. The Link Cafe

In my opinion, The Link Cafe is a hidden gem on campus, located on Church Lane near Alcuin College. The Link Cafe serves Starbucks coffee, including delicious festive drinks at this time of year, as well as great food. This includes breakfast food, bao buns and bubble waffles.

This is another great campus cafe to know about, especially as we head towards exam season and the library gets busier and busier!

3. Courtyard

Arguably one of the most popular cafes on campus, as well as a bar, it’s probably not surprising that Courtyard ranked highly on my list. In a good central location on campus, at the moment they are also offering lots of festive drinks, like The Kitchen @Alcuin, as well as great food too, like focaccia.

They also rank highly on my list for singing happy birthday to my friend and giving her a pint!

2. Cookies

Another hidden gem on the Uni of York campus is Cookies, located in Biology. Cookies is especially great if you’re looking to quickly grab a coffee or some food between seminars and lectures (or in the mid-seminar break if you are fortunately in Biology).

Cookies also offers sandwiches, baguettes, freshly baked cakes, as well as all types of hot drinks. It also tends to be less busy than the Library Cafe!

1. Derwent Cafe 

Finally, I have given first place to Derwent Cafe, which serves Costa coffee, like the York Sport Cafe and the Library Cafe.  They also have a very impressive range of food on offer too, including the Burger Kitchen, soup, salad bowls and sandwiches, as well as cakes and sweet treats.

Derwent’s Costa is full of comfy sofas and seating too, and there is also the option of sitting in the Derwent Dining area too, if the cafe itself is too busy.

I have given Derwent Dining first place in my ranking for the range of food and drink they have on offer, as well as the amount of seating – a good tip as we head towards exam and deadline season in January!

There really is something for everyone on the Uni of York campus, especially when exam and deadline season creeps closer, and the library gets more full! Whether you’re looking for a break from study or a change of environment, perhaps give some of these places a go. You never know, you might find your new favourite study spot!