Cheap eats that do not rinse week one

Start with the on-campus wins first: Coffee Pod, My SU Shop and SU Bar deals, then let Bloomsbury be optional rather than urgent.

SOAS and the SU already give you a much easier first-week food map than wandering central London hungry. The Coffee Pod is in the Paul Webley Wing, My SU Shop is in the SU building, and the bar deals are on campus too. That is the sensible base camp before the city starts making every quick lunch feel like a financial decision.

Start with Coffee Pod

See bar deals

Students eating and socialising on campus

Campus already has the easy wins

The Coffee Pod says it is on the ground floor of the Paul Webley Wing, right in the middle of campus, serving barista coffee, snacks and meal deals at student prices. That is the obvious first stop if you need caffeine and something edible between induction events.

The brochure’s own Welcome Week timetable even includes a Bloomsbury Coffee Walking Tour, which is a nice reminder that you do not have to choose between exploring London and using the cheap options already built into your campus routine.

Students hanging out after getting food on campus

Use the in-house food map first

Coffee Pod

Organic 100% Arabica coffee, pastries, muffins, chai, matcha, vegan hot chocolate and a pastry plus hot drink deal for £3.75, a few steps from the middle of campus.

My SU Shop

The SU calls it its own local corner shop. It stocks drinks, lunches, snacks, coffee, stationery and SOAS merch, open Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 18:00.

SOAS Bar

Your on-campus bar with student prices, live events and a relaxed space to eat, drink and unwind. It opens as a social space from 11am, then runs late from 4pm Monday to Friday.

Drink Deals

Term-time deals include 2 cocktails for £9, draught pints at £3.95, 4-pint pitchers for £15.80 and post-mix soft drinks at £2.50 per pint on the LG floor of the main building.

Make London the optional extra, not the daily rescue plan

Keep one campus fallback for every long day

If you already know where your cheap coffee, snack and lunch live on campus, London prices stop ambushing you every time plans run over or rooms change late.

Use food to make freshers easier socially

The SU Bar is not just about nights out. It is also a low-friction on-campus meeting point with student prices, which means you can suggest a plan without dragging everyone into a central London spend spiral.

Explore Bloomsbury when you actually have bandwidth

Welcome Week includes a Bloomsbury Coffee Walking Tour for a reason. Learn the wider area once your basics are sorted, not as a replacement for eating properly in the first place.

Coffee Pod My SU Shop SOAS Bar Drink Deals Welcome Week brochure

Feed yourself on campus first, then let London be optional

Grab a Coffee Pod run

See SU drink deals

Save lunch fallback