Centra UCD

I really hate UCD. I mean, I hate UCD with such a vitriolic passion that I think I once traumatised a poor Swiss Erasmus student I ranted about my loathing for the place.
But I really can’t hold that against the Centra IN UCD now can I? Not really. They do the basics and they do ‘em grand. I used to end up in Belfield a lot after a night out and a stop off in Centra was always a must before I got the bus. Kit Kat, Chipsticks, coffee, Lucozade. Sounds like a good combo, but often made my hangover worse.

If you’ve ever been to UCD on a Sunday, you’ll realise what a ghost town it turns into. Especially in summer. Having attended a course requiring my presence for two weekends midsummer, and in desperate need of a constant supply of caffeine, I discovered this unfortunate fact. It took me until the second day to realise that there was a Centra just a five minute walk away (which in UCD terms is essentially as close as you’re going to get). AND it has tea, coffee and a delhi. A godsend at 11 on a Sunday morning when you’re not even halfway through a dreary day of presentations and lectures. Possibly my favourite place on campus. Pity they don’t have student prices though… I think this could be a mission for the Students’ Union. Else I’m just cheap. But then, so are students…

It is so handy having this shop near the college. Whenever I need credit or a snack I go there. It is very well laid out and the staff are friendly.

Such a handy thing to have on the UCD campus. It’s right next to the accommodation areas in UCD so can be got to real quickly. It stays open till about 10 at night and opens early in the morning if you can be bothered getting out of bed! The bad thing about the place is that they don’t sell alcohol so you need to make a trip to the spar out of campus for booze. They do great rolls here and the queues at lunch time tend to be huge, with everyone having the same great idea to visit the deli. They have a decent range of food, almost everything that you will need but the prices are quite steep!

The students favourite supermarket. Centra supplies to hundreds of hungry students every day, especially at lunch time when the queue for chicken rolls and hot food stretches right around the shop. It was recently renovated, and the shop is now much bigger with more room to move around. The staff are very efficient. Centra can be quite expensive apart from its own brand products, which are cheaper. I love the rolls, and the pizzas, which are very tasty. In the summer, students flock to centra to pick up icecream and then laze on the green across from it all day in the sun.