A Guide To Eating On The SFSU Campus
If you are a freshman about to attend SFSU, you might be wondering what you are going to do when you are not living with your parents anymore and you won’t have any home-cooked meals. The biggest question on a lot of freshman’s minds is “WHERE’S THE PIZZA?!?!” and that’s a pretty valid question. There are places all across campus that can supply you with all sorts of food. Some of them even serve pizza. So don’t worry. We have the answers for you. Keep reading for a guide to eating on the SFSU campus!
City Eats (Student Dining Center)
For those with a meal plan:
For those of you in freshman housing, you will become well acquainted with the dining center. One part being that you are forced to have a meal plan, another part because it seems free because you’ve already paid for it.
For those without a meal plan:
For those who do not have a meal plan, or who have a meal plan that does not go into the weekend, you have to pay $8 for every entry.
Hours of operation:
During the week this place is usually open at 7am and closes around 8pm and on the weekend they open at 10am and close at 6pm.
How is the food?
The food here ranges from surprisingly good to mildly terrible. Most of the time the food is good and they tend to have a calendar with a menu of upcoming food so you’ll know ahead of time if you will be interested in the food.
The most busy time:
The most busy times are 8am, 11am-1pm, and 6-8pm where lines are long and tables are scarce. Going about a half hour before or after the most active times is probably the best idea as there will be tables and hardly any lines, also going any later (or earlier) will end up with you finding NOTHING.
The Bricks
Another one of the places that are available for students to use their meal plan at is this little pizza place attached to Mary Ward Hall which has pretty decent pizza.
How is the food?
Aside from pizza they also have hot sandwiches and pastas that they offer so you don’t have to get pizza all the damn time.
Hours of operation:
They are open Sunday through Thursday from 5-11pm and, unfortunately, they are closed Fridays and Saturdays.
When is the best time to go?
Going at any time while it is open is fine as the line isn’t ever too long with the exception of the last hour before closing when everyone decides that they want some late night pizza and swamp the tiny dining room.
Cafe in the Park
Hours of operation:
With some strange yet convenient hours, Cafe in the Park is great for grab and go lunch or late night sit in eating. Opening on Sundays from 6-12pm then from Monday-Friday they open from 7am-2pm and 6-12pm.
How is the food?
While most of the food is pre-packaged, it is all fresh and very delicious. They also have some junk food that you can pick up along with other goodies like toothpaste that make this more than just a place to grab a bite.
Can I use my meal plan?
This is yet another place where you can drop in and use your student meal plan. This is great for those days when you know you will be busy and won’t have time to get lunch at another time of the day, or those nights when you either are studying really late or getting back to campus after an afternoon of hanging out with friends. Because everything else is closed or you don’t feel like selling your soul to Village Market.
Which brings us to…
Village Market Pizza “Villmar”
When is it open?
Open 9am-12am Sunday through Wednesday and 9am-3am Thursday through Saturday.
How is the food?
The food they sell here is great, the pizza tops Bricks by a whole lot, the sandwiches are crazy good, and the coffee will keep you up.
How are the prices?
Village Market Pizza offers some of the best pizza for your money along with sandwiches and coffee, among other things. However, that is as far as good deals go.
Pro Tip: Where you should be wary of VillMar is its unscrupulous shelves. Some items are priced fairly while others are just insanely over-priced which can leave you out of money that you could have saved by walking to Trader Joe’s.
Additional Pro Tip: If you come to Villmar, just buy the food, your bank account will thank you. Buying other things from here, such as cups or laundry detergent, should only be done with need (eg., time constraints or late night purchases).
Subway
Right across from the Village Market is Subway, open from 9am-6pm (sometimes later) there to provide sandwiches that are good and at a decent price.
Good to know: This is your basic Subway with the only extra being that lines here are almost never too long.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIaXZV5gNuc/?tagged=subway&hl=en
Cafe Rosso/SFSU Station Cafe
How is the food?
Sandwiches, bagels, pizza (at Rosso) and coffee. They have most of the same stuff as Villmar with the exception of specialty coffees and burgers that are only available at these cafes. All the food is very good and worth the money.
Hours of operation?
Open Monday through Thursday from 7am-9pm, Fridays from 7am-5pm, and Saturdays from 8am-3pm.
What are the prices like?
You can find the same quality stuff as you can at Villmar and they’re at the same price.
Is it busy?
Lines are sometimes long and peak around 7am-9am and 12-2pm.
Taza Smoothies and Wraps
Burritos? Yep. Nachos? Yep. Smoothies? Yep. While the prices here are a little higher than anything from above, the food you can get here is amazing.
Hours of operation:
Taza is open from 8am-7:30pm Monday through Thursday, 8am-5pm on Fridays, and 9am-3pm on Saturdays. The lines here are hardly ever long and you can get the food you want pretty quickly.
Cesar Chavez Center
There are TONS of places to get food here and this list would be about ten times longer if I listed all of them individually.
Hours of operation:
They tend to open around 10am and close as late as 5pm.
What is the food like?
You can get pizza, sandwiches, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, and a whole lot more with all of the different choices you have. The most notable places are Ike’s (yes we have one on campus), Quickly’s, and the SFSU bar for those of you who are of age.
https://www.instagram.com/p/VabZxeOzn1/?tagged=cesarchavezcenter&hl=en
What is the price like?
All of the food in this food court is a bit more costly than other locations on campus and the lines are always a bit long as well but it is very rewarding.
Is it usually busy?
This area is much more popular among commuters as none of these places require a meal plan, but it is also a great place for everyone to hang out as there is also an arcade and billiards lounge. There is something for everyone.
