At Sidney you can decide on a daily basis whether to visit Hall for a tasty meal or cook for yourself.

Many of our students visit Sidney's servery to choose their lunch and supper on a daily basis, and enjoy meals in our beautiful rococo Dining Hall or modern cafeteria area.

Sidney's Catering Department is well known for their excellent standards of catering with varied seasonal menus, locally-sourced produce and value for money. You'll always find options for healthy eating, a grab and go meal, or great home comfort foods like lasagne, toad in the hole or a hearty Sunday roast.

A key element of the collegial experience is being together, and students are encouraged to visit Sidney's Hall to enjoy lunch and dinner with one another as often as possible to participate in College life through communal eating.

Many Cambridge Colleges enjoy a traditional and popular part of College life known as Formal Hall. Formal Hall dining takes place three times a week at Sidney, and students can bring guests along and enjoy a three-course meal served in our Dining Hall.

Our servery dishes up a variety of hot and cold options for lunch and supper throughout the week.

Take a look at our typical opening times below, along with some other useful information about eating in Sidney.

During term-time
Meal typeDays availableTimes available
BrunchSaturday 11.00am - 1.30pm
LunchMonday to Friday12.00pm - 1.30pm
SupperMonday to Sunday5.45pm - 6.45pm
Outside term-time

Supper is not usually available during the vacation period, although lunch is normally served Monday to Friday where possible.

Costs

Meals can be purchased using your College card, and the College Bill (sent to students at the beginning of each term) will include any food purchased during the previous term.

Catering charge

Catering charges underline the principles upon which the Collegiate University is based. A key element of the collegial experience is being together, especially through dining, and students are encouraged to participate in College life through communal eating.

The College objective on catering charges is both to encourage students to participate in College life by communal eating, and to ensure that it remains viable for the College to provide brunches, lunches and suppers.

The College's Minimum Meal Charge (MMC) is a termly pre-paid catering charge that encourages the use of the College’s shared catering facilities. Students will receive a termly dining credit which students may use at any stage during the academic year. Any unspent credit will be carried over to the next term, but students are encouraged to use this before the end of the academic year as any unspent credit at this stage will be removed.

Up-to-date charges for undergraduates can be found on our Finance and funding page. Postgraduates can access this information in the Postgraduate Handbook. It is worth noting that there are a number of meals that students do not pay for directly over their time in College (eg Matriculation, Freshers’ Buffet, Graduation, Sidney Greats lectures and more).

Special dietary requirements

Particular dietary needs can usually always be accommodated for on request.

The College cannot take responsibility for food choices made by students or guests suffering from severe allergies, or who have restricted dietary needs, if the catering staff are not informed in advance.

Our friendly Catering team are always very happy to answer any questions you might have about the food at Sidney.