Food and drink

You won’t go hungry at Essex - we offer a wide choice of cafés, restaurants and bars to suit all tastes and budgets both on our campuses and close by.

About food and drink at Essex

Essex Food Rewards with Upay

Essex Food Rewards is our loyalty and cashless payment app. Collect points with every purchase in selected outlets and use them towards your favourite treats!

Essex Food

At Essex Food we have a duty of care to provide our customers with a fountain of well-informed knowledge as well as a clear, demonstrable choice of traceable, sustainable, seasonal, local fresh food.

Colchester food outlets

Food and drink at Colchester Campus

A huge variety of food and drink options are available daytime or evening, 7 days a week at our Colchester Campus.

Bonds

Bonds serves a variety of options for both breakfast and lunch, including hot lunchboxes, snackpots and freshly made wraps. Enjoy a Costa Coffee, London Tea Company tea or pastries all day long, and with our hot cabinet you really can grab and go!

Buffalo Joe's

Buffalo Joe's is open until late, seven days a week and is a great place to meet up with friends, daytime or evening with indoor and outdoor seating.

Canteen

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which is why you need to head to Canteen. Freshly cooked and lots of options for all it’s a great place to fuel your body and your brain for the day ahead.

Cantina

Cantina is on a mission to bring you quick and tasty freshly baked jacket potatoes. Choose from a range of fillings that'll keep you satisfied all day.

Crumbs

Crumbs is the new Essex Food outlet serving a range of cookies and Union Coffee.

FUNc.

FUNc. is a dedicated social space for staff and students to study, meet friends, or have a work meeting.

Fusion East

Fusion East

Lakeside Theatre Café

Lakeside Theatre Café is a great place to pick up a coffee and pastry en route to campus. This stylish cafe situated in the Lakeside Theatre foyer, offers hot and cold drinks, paninis and pastries, sandwiches, cakes and snacks.

Roost at Canteen

Feel the heat at our PERi-PERi chicken restaurant.

Stem and Root

Located in the STEM, our vegetarian café offers a seasonal and freshly prepared range. We’ve got avocado toast, Buddha bowls, fresh soups and stews, bakes, cakes, freshly brewed coffee and more. With charge points and plenty of seating why not meet up with colleagues or work on your assignments.

Street Food Huts

Our Street Food Huts are serving up fresh food, great for when you are on the go.

The Greenhouse Café

The SU's newest social space and serving Starbucks coffee.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen is fitted just like your kitchen at home and designed for those in a hurry, with a great range of food and drink to take away throughout the day.

The SU Bar

Serving as a social hub for students, the SU Bar hosts popular evening events like pub quizzes and karaoke, as well as screening all of the biggest sporting events.

Top Bar

Top Bar has a wide range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks as well as a pool table and darts board. Top Bar is a laidback place to enjoy a drink, catch up with friends or study.

Wivenhoe House Hotel restaurant

A winning combination of classic dishes and modern cuisine in the Wivenhoe House Hotel Brasserie and bar.

Zest fresh

Zest fresh is a vibrant eatery where you can grab a footlong sub, salad or wrap made your way and a cup of Change Please coffee. There’s touch-down internet facilities and an adjoining learning space, the Orangery for students and staff to use.

Southend and Loughton food outlets

Food and drink at Loughton Campus

We have recently redeveloped our food and drinks services at Loughton with newly refurbished facilities at Hatfields and Rodings.

Food and drink at Southend Campus

Our modern accommodation in Southend provides excellent self-catering facilities and there are lots of shops in the town centre to pick up ingredients.

Delivered catering and events

Catering for conferences and events

Essex Food provides catering for the many conferences and events which take place at the University of Essex.

Catering for meetings

Essex Food supply catering to internal meetings at our Colchester Campus both during the day and in the evening.

Fruit box office delivery

Essex Food offers a selection of fruit boxes delivered to your office every Monday morning.

Special diets

Catering for special diets

Our Special Diets Focus Group is working hard to improve and expand menus and food available to customers with special dietary requirements which relate to both health concerns and religion and lifestyle choice.