Catering on the West Cambridge site

Sandwich vans

Several sandwich vans visit the vicinity of the William Gates Building:

Mon Panier Mignon
Offering various sandwiches and Italian cakes, this van appears at the front car park weekdays at 12:30 (outside Microsoft Research at 12:00).
Mannamexico
Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and salad, on Clerk Maxwell Rd., just behind Microsoft Research, each Tuesday and Thursday 12:00–14:00.

William Gates Building Caféteria

Refreshments, hot drinks and snacks are available from the Café located in the south-west corner ground floor (GW24) area of the William Gates Building. It is open:

Monday – Friday
9:00 – 16:30

All day menu

Various sandwiches and baguettes
Fairtrade teas and coffees
Dilmah flavoured teas
Fairtrade juices and squash drinks
Various fizzy drinks, and bottled water
Sweet and savoury snacks including crisps, yoghurt and Fairtrade chocolate
Fruit

Breakfast menu

Bacon sandwiches
Croissants

Lunchtime menu

Soup and roll
Jacket potatoes (with various fillings)
Paninis with various fillings

For a wider selection of hot food at lunchtime, you can use West's across the road, or any of the other catering facilities listed below on this page.

Out-of-hours, vending machines selling snacks and drinks are also available.

Note: If you take china mugs away from the Café area, please ensure you return them promptly.

Hauser Forum

The Hauser Forum at the southern end of JJ Thomson Avenue houses a cafeteria operated by Compass Group under the SO Deli brand.

Kitchens in the Computer Laboratory

Kitchenettes can be found on every floor, on every corridor. Most of them have their own kettle or coffee machine as well as a fridge. Microwaves and dishwashers are located in the kitchens at FC35 and GS13.

Kitchen safety

If using the microwave, always check you have set the timer correctly (never more than 5:00) and never abandon your food while it is being cooked. We have already twice had the fire brigade arriving because of unattended food in microwave ovens catching fire after 20 minutes!

Be particularly cautious outside normal office hours when there is no fire safety officer on the premises. If an emergency occurs out of usual office hours and there is no-one around to assist, you can call the Cambridge University Security Services on 01223 3-31818, but bear in mind they are based in the City Centre, and may not be available for immediate help.

Vending machines in the Computer Laboratory

A wide range of hot drinks, snacks and refreshments can be obtained at any time from the vending machines located next to the Café on the ground floor.
This includes a machine vending sandwiches, pasties and desserts.

Hot drinks are also available from the vending machine located in the common room kitchen in FC35, next to the Common Room.

A vending machine with cold drinks and snacks can be found on the first floor in front of Lecture Theatre 2.

Canteen at the Cavendish Laboratory

The Cavendish Canteen or Common Room can be found in the Bragg building of the Cavendish Laboratory.
The main entrance is opposite reception.

Visit the Cavendish Laboratory canteen website for details on opening times and menu.

CAPE – Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics

The catering facilities at CAPE are available to anyone with a valid Cambridge University card.
Access to the canteen is via a turnstile. To have authority to pass through this, take your card to the CAPE receptionist who will authorise your entrance. From then on you should be able to use your card to gain access without visiting Reception first.

CAPE is marked as number 3 on the West Cambridge Site map.

Happy Hour

Happy Hours are held every Friday from 17:00 in the Common Room (FC24) on the first floor of the William Gates Building.

Happy Hour is a time to relax after a week's work and catch up with friends and colleagues, and meet other members of the department.

Local beer, juices, soft-drinks and nibbles are on sale (self service).

Catering in the wider area

Evening catering at Churchill College

Churchill College (on Storeys Way) runs self-service dinners which are open to anyone.
All members of the Laboratory (staff and students) are welcome.
People who are not members of the College can pay by cash.
The service runs from 18:15 to 19:00.

First-time users are advised to go via the Porters Lodge in Storey's Way and ask for directions for the dining hall.

University Centre

Situated by the River Cam in Mill Lane, the University Centre offers a wide range of catering and social facilities, 9:00–24:00 every day except major bank holidays.

Pubs

There are a range of pubs in the area. The closest is in Coton which can be reached via the Coton footpath, plus there are pubs in Madingley.

There are various pubs on Mitcham's Corner which provide food and sometimes live bands.

Mitcham's Corner is also home to various restaurants and take aways.

Local Secrets

The Local Secrets website has a lot of ideas of how to get good food at good prices in the Cambridge area. Money off vouchers are available. Consult the website for details.