The Loop Cafe

Food is just okay for the price. I only went today because Mercante was too busy. The girl at the hot bar was friendly (unusual for UBC food services) but the woman at the checkout was much more what I’ve come to expect.
Also, it’s really hard to eat bone-​in chicken with wooden cutlery.

Best place to get food on campus. Most veggies come from the UBC Farm and then locally-​sourced.
Great light and often quiet when you can get a seat. The only drawback is the terribly disorganized queues for food and cash. It’s a tight squeeze and is usually chaotic at lunch time.

What to do after touring the campus and memorial garden? Go to the Loop Café! While small, we had some tasty treats at this little place while at UBC. I envy the students who can go here more often. Not your usual campus type food place. Check out the hot food, some good curries and other treats.
Also very cool how everything is designed around sustainability and composting.
While on campus make it a point to stop in this place and have a great lunch.

Hi!
I bough a salad at the loop today. And mid-​way through eating it I feel something ripping my tongue. THERE WAS A SHARP ALUMINUM WIRE IN MY SALAD!!!: (No fun… When I went to talk back with the lady that sold me the salad. She didn’t apologize and was extremely unpleasant.: (
This place is over-​priced and the personal has no respect for the students/​costumers.
It’s sad! Avoid eating here at all costs! I know I will!

*18/​30*
Great food, drinks and atmosphere. I love the soup and house-​made iced teas. Because the café is kind of in the atrium of CIRS, there’s a lot of reverb, which is like nice white noise. It’s a great place to relax or study and it’s out of the way from a lot of campus mayhem since it’s on west mall. There are also enormous windows which help let in whatever tiny amount of light that’s shining through the Vancouver rain clouds inside.
Its a bit pricey for a student café but I love it here! I’ll definitely be back for some calm morning study sessions.

This is the best place to grab food on campus: it’s quiet, the café is managed sustainably, they offer fair trade coffee and freshly made iced tea and lemonade, and the food is much better than what other cafes offer on campus.
They have a salad bar and provide hot food (e.g. chicken ratatouille, goulash, lentils, wraps), and the menu is different from the other cafes on campus, which serve soggy samosas, boring paninis, and dry pastries.
The building is also in a more secluded part of campus and coming here helps you avoid the lunch crowd in the SUB and other places.
(9÷30)

Hands-​down my favorite campus eatery.
I actually feel good when I eat here, because for the most part, I know where my food is coming from and where it’ll be going. The menu changes every other day, and relies on ingredients that are available seasonally and locally. I’ve had cuisine that spans the entire globe, and all of it delicious.
The hot foods bar is always my first stop, but they’ve also got soups, salads, and desserts. No bottled beverages. Just self-​serve Italian sodas, coffees, and freshly-​brewed teas, encouraging you to bring your own cup.
And in keeping with their philosophy, all take-​out containers and utensils are 100% compostable. All of this eco-​friendly goodness can mean that costs are on the high end, but they offset that by making their portions just right, and therefore more affordable for us!
So where does the food come from? They source first from the UBC Farm, and then in descending order from (1) within 150 miles of campus, (2) within BC, (3) within Canada, and (4) outside of Canada. But you won’t ever see any mangos or coconuts on their menu — too many food miles!
Located in the CIRS, one of the greenest buildings in North America and UBC’s living lab for eco-​friendly, sustainable practices, their goal is to be energy-​neutral, so no gas-​supply in the building, which means they prepare the food off-​site in a production facility a block away and deliver it fresh to the Loop Café daily. So, best to stop by around noon when the food’s just arrived.
For the article I stumbled upon when the Loop Café opened back in September 2011, visit
I’ve never been disappointed… unless of course, they run out of food.