JTo

Thanks for the advice. I ended up calling today, which isn't one month to the date, but five weeks and they were happy to take my booking, so you were completely right

I went six years ago for a memorable lunch. I'm planning to return for lunch in in October. Does anyone have any tips for reservations: I note they only take reservations a month in advance, so do I ring up exactly a month to the day at 9am?

I've been involved in the BA society of Trinity over the past few years. How you find the hall food is a matter of preference, but I found it average to better-than-average (for institutional food). Other people's perceptions, as read above, seem to differ from mine, but then I have limited experience of their college's food for comparison. Much of what I say agrees with and elaborates on Jackal10's advice. As a 1st year grad you'll be in central college accommodation (so shared kitchens, no comfy flats) unless you're in married digs. Cooking facilities will be a little limited- usually a small fridge to be shared, two hotplates, a microwave and if you're lucky an oven. You'll usually save money by cooking for yourself, and you'll eventually find some decent suppliers around town. As for college food, the Feasts are excellent (4-5 course affairs, great old wines and port), but you'll only get one at Matriculation, unless you're on committee or a scholar. The fellows dine like that much more often, but forget about that for now. BA dinners (usually every friday in term) are good for what they cost. I contend that they are much better than the usual hall food, and although the wine is cheap house stuff, you end up with sherry, wine, port and three courses for about 6 quid once subsidised for members. This compares very favorably to many restaurants around town, where the same quality food will set you back many times as much (you do forgo choice, of course). Other "normal" formal halls are less outstanding, but are usually the preserve of undergrads, unless you're active in a drinking society or particularly keen on them. Onto normal cafeteria food: it's institutional stuff of course, and when so many are catered for then details are less than perfect. Some veggies get a bit overcooked, many dishes reappear with monotony. If you're choosy, you'll cook for yourself most of the time like I did. But if you value convenience and reasonable prices, then the food is quite good (unless you're a vegetarian... then you have fewer options). For many other colleges you'll need to know people inside to invite you in to dine, and anyway it's not much fun eating alone. The more involved you get in department and societies the more people you'll know who can invite you, and then you'll get a feel for the food elsewhere. From my experience I've seen far worse food than Trinity's, and some better stuff too. I won't go into details here. Miscellanea: The ice cream is good and made in-house. The wine cellars are massive, but for the benefit the fellows, so enjoy what you get at feasts or befriend a fellow. BA brunches are cheap but nothing too gourmet- a good chance to catch up with fellow grads and try to stuff yourself for 1-2 quid. Overall, you won't starve. The food is certainly edible if a little institutional, but that's what you get at such a large college. There are some good people involved in the college catering, and if you have special requirements they're usually happy to accommodate them. Ultimately you'll make up your own mind, and unless you chose the college solely for its food, I doubt you'll be disappointed with Trinity. If it's that important anyway, I imagine you'd be better off cooking where ever you went. Bon voyage for your way over here. I hope you have as much fun at Cambridge as I have had.

Since no-one (according to a search) has commented on La Paradeta, I thought I'd throw in my experiences there. It's in a bit of a random location behind the (disused) market of Santa Maria del Mar in the Born. I've been twice for dinner and enjoyed each time, although both times I went there were companions who didn't like shellfish. It's a bad place for that- this is definitely shellfish central. It's unique in my experience in being set up like a fish-market in front, and then a canteen out back. At the beginning of the night (8pm opening for dinner), it's mostly elderly ladies in there and not too hectic, but by 10 people cram in, and there's quite a queue at the front. The drill is this. Wait in line until it's your turn to be served. It helps to ask ¿Quien es el ultimo? when you arrive, so you know who to push in after. That gives you some time to decide what you want to eat. There's no english spoken, so pointing and nodding is mandatory if your castellano or catala aren't up to speed. Almost everything you can have is right in front of you, so it's pretty simple. You tell them how many people you have, then how much of each thing you want, and choose how it is cooked- grilled, fried, steamed or marinara are the most common, and for many things you don't get a choice anyway- consult the notice on the wall for the options. They weigh things, key them in the computer and then send them to the kitchen. The only things I recall that aren't on ice at the counter are a salad- pretty standard spanish garden salad- and fish soup. Then you move to the side counter to order your drinks (amazingly cheap wines- bottles around 6-12 EUR), purchase your bread and sauces (5 at last count- mayonnaise, allioli, romesco and a couple I forget) at 0.5 EUR a tub, and collect your plates, cutlery and glasses. You pay at this stage and find a seat (I think they manage it so that you only get to this point when there's hope of getting a table). Then you wait for your number to be called, and go to the kitchen window with your receipt each time a dish is ready. Keep your receipt until you have all of your dishes. A lot of the fun is in the experience and theatre of it all- it draws a good mix of people of all ages- mostly locals when I've been there. The food is really simple, cheap and great. There's nothing fancy here- go to commerc 24 around the corner for that- but what is there is fresh and well done. I wasn't a huge fan of the percebes- but that's probably a personal thing and an acquired taste. Monkfish is the only fish I've seen on the menu when I've been there, but where they shine is in the huge amounts of mussels, clams and tallarines. The bogavante are probably the most expensive things on the menu (17 EUR). the sepia a la plancha and pulpito frito are personal favorites. There are also a few pre-cooked things like the crab - stuffed with lettuce and meat separately (about 6 or 7 EUR) and prawns, that are served cold. Desserts are in the freezer section. Haven't tried them, since there's helado not too far away. All up, I really enjoy this place, and have started to go in preference to Cal Pep (not a fair comparison in price or complexity though) - especially with large groups. It's cheap and the more people you have the more you get to try.