Everyone surveyed was offered space for additional comments. These comments are all listed below and ordered by college. Comments that were not specific to a college or hall are under "general." If a college or hall is not listed below, that means there were no specific comments provided.
General
The University Club is also terrible.
There's a tendency for college kitchens to think that 'vegetarian' = 'cheese + masses of puff pastry', rather than getting inventive with vegetables, nuts and seeds, and a range of flavours.
My general impression: not a lot of vegan food. When there is vegan food, it is often not as nice as other dishes (like plain vegetables whereas others get a really nice dinner and you have to pay the same price. Plus, I get the impression that not all staff knows exactly what vegan means. And (omg) PLEASE LABEL THINGS.
Balliol College
Balliol offers a vegan meal at lunch OR dinner, very infrequently both. Food generally of a good standard and legume-based.
The time I visited, Balliol only had some salads and chips for a vegan meal, as the vegetarian main had dairy
"Enjoyed" a semi-frozen vegetable bake at Balliol, ten minutes after the rest of the guests at a major University dinner had got their food. I signed up as a vegetarian but it seems they had not prepared sufficient meals.
Brasenose College
Special mention to Brasenose College!
Campion Hall
I can speak for the provision at Campion Hall: various options catered for, as numbers make possible.
Great selection of vegetarian and vegan meals that cater to all tastes.
Christ Church
I really do think ChCh are giving it a good go this term! Their veg options are creative and mainly delicious (although their vegan pumpkin pie was a lot to be desired). They have a set vegan option on the menu every day which is much appreciated as I can plan in advance the best days to visit.
The three [Christ Church, Somerville, and Magdalen] are atrocious; you may as well go eat grass in a park.
I’ve heard from many vegans at Christ Church that there is either neither available for them, or it’s bad quality.
All three are terrible [Christ Church, Magdalen, Oriel].
If there were two more rows I would add Christ Church and Pembroke to the 'worst' list.
At Christ Church they were not really sure what vegan means and asked me if I can eat fish. The only option they basically had (breakfast) was fries and beans.
Corpus Christi College
Corpus has changed with the dean support last year, now it's truly amazing.
Exeter College
At Exeter, regularly ate non-formal lunch and dinner, often without giving notification like you're supposed to if you're vegan: Better than in previous years, still quite hit and miss but sometimes the food was really good.
It's always tofu which sucks.
Green Templeton College
GTC really put an incredible effort into the vegetarian main!
Green Templeton has excellent food overall, but also a hot veggie option and veggie cold buffet options every day for lunch, as well as Meat Free Mondays. Tasty!
GTC had a decent vegan menu which was really nice!
Hertford College
Hertford even makes vegan cakes every once in a while! The dishes are also healthy because they allow light choices, not carb-heavy if you don't fancy it, always try to incorporate sources of protein (legumes, tofu etc). Great and delicious!
Hertford - sometimes a bit weird, but at least they try new things.
Massive recent improvements in the vegan food, great job.
Hertford vegetarian formals are tasty, though I've not tried their lunches much.
I just think Hertford either has exceptionally good food, or completely uneatable unidentified dish. Nothing in-between.
Hertford: they always provide a vegetarian option, but the catering staff never make enough so often people have to wait 20 minutes at the end for more to be made. As far as I am aware, this is only a problem for the vegetarian option. As a result, several flexitarians choose the non-veggie option instead of waiting. Most of the vegetarian options have lots of peppers, mushrooms or butternut squash in them, and although there have been a few very good meals - such as vegetarian cottage pie - these have been served too rarely. The vegetarian brunch options are good.
Hertford food - sometimes good but often really not! Often very greasy and quite expensive for what it is.
Jesus College
Not so healthy, and imbalanced, just left the meat out.
Kellogg College
Kellogg has good options for lunch and they're clearly stated in advance. It would be good if the menus for formal dinners were published in advance so vegans knew what they were getting, though.
Healthy choices, not just replacing meat with cheese.
Kellogg really puts an effort in this.
Kellogg is amazing for food all round - but consistently has really good veggie and vegan options which sometimes I think are better than the meat options.
Fine but not outstanding.
Veggie with IBS not catered for and when requested is awful.
Lady Margaret Hall
I was taken to lunch at LMH but that was at High Table and was better, but I am a strong believer in egalitarian meals. I have spent 40 years in Oxford but always 'on the edge'...
LMH had vegan sausages and vegan croissants (!!!!) for breakfast.
Linacre College
Several veggie options available every day, and really nice.
Linacre has many options for veggies and at least 1 vegan option for every meal.
Fine but not outstanding.
Linacre gets a vote because while it consistently has vegan food (which is an accomplishment in and of itself) it's not always good or nutritious.
Linacre had an entirely vegan menu for World Vegan Day. All of lunch and dinner was vegan including desserts! And there were 3 or 4 kinds of desserts that day. Not every dish was a hit but I appreciated their effort and consideration. Since then they have started to have more vegan desserts, although they are not served every single day.
I haven't attended enough formal dinners at Linacre to comment but the one I had was very nice. The daily menu has a vegan option nearly everyday, which is great, although sometimes it is not particularly well-balanced.
Lincoln College
Once got a baked potato with couscous as a main. The lentil pie makes me want to cry.
Lincoln tend to just give a whole piece of fruit as a dessert for vegans or any other dietary requirements in formal hall.
Magdalen College
Magdalen served me just two pieces of asparagus as a starter.
Magdalen's food is arguably in the top 3 worst, regardless of dietary needs.
Went to a lunch at Magdalen and the veggie option was inedible. Not just by me, but by every other veggie there. And I payed quite a lot for this privilege!
No meat-free day. No vegan meal and lots of cheese in vegetarian meal. Salad bar is freaking small. Old kitchen bar doesn't even have vegetarian food.
The three [Christ Church, Somerville, and Magdalen] are atrocious; you may as well go eat grass in a park.
I’ve heard from many vegans at Magdalen that there is either neither available for them, or it’s bad quality.
All three are terrible [Christ Church, Magdalen, Oriel].
Mansfield College
Food at Mansfield (especially Formal Formal) is exceptionally good.
At Mansfield: Always at least 2 vegetarian options, with one of them also vegan. Almost always good quality. On Meatless Monday’s there are 4 vegetarian options, with 2 of them vegan.
Mansfield College's vegetarian range is superb, and meat free Monday is an excellent idea. I very often opt for the vegetarian option as they are always delicious and often very imaginative.
Mansfield is by far the best. It really isn't comparable. The selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes, as well as their quality, is unparalleled.
Too good.
Mansfield's vegetarian options are so good and so varied that they outdo most restaurants in Oxford. They are almost always better than the meat options, and as good as the lovely fish served.
Mansfield by far the best in terms of choice and quality.
Always varied, never just stuffed aubergine. And a wonderful meat free Monday.
Mansfield was especially fantastic.
Mansfield provides amazingly varied vegetarian and vegan food, and of consistently great quality. Beyond what almost all students could cook, even the ones who complain that it isn't twice cooked souffle every day. Fantastic, dedicated, passionate chefs. Love to them.
I've only eaten at Mansfield in recent years - but the vegetarian food is very good!
Mansfield is the best at providing top quality vegan and vegetarian food.
There is always lovely choices made available and on formal dining the quality is fabulous. Choices are classic and modern so always good to look forward to.
Beautiful food.
Mansfield College has meatless Mondays every week with several vegan options. All other days there is at least one main vegan option. The chef is dedicated to making nutritious vegan meals, and formal hall has always been wonderful as well. Yesterday I was provided a full vegan Thanksgiving meal!
Merton College
I was just wondering whether we could send all of the chefs for compulsory classes in Merton? Their vegan food is not only amazing and varied, but you also get a lot and it is dead cheap.
I've been very pleased with the veggie and vegan options at Merton. Food is plentiful at lunch, and very good value. There is always a vegan option -- jacket potato and beans, soup, bread, and salad bar, so while not the most varied everyday choice it is flavourful and very filling. The vegetarian offer for lunch has usually been very good in terms of flavour and nutrition. Formal dinners are a little bit hit or miss but for the most part delicious and I've been more than happy with the portion sizes.
Merton has to spend the same amount on vegetarian and vegan meals as they do on standard meals, so the quality and size are really outstanding.
You get so much extra food if you get a vegetarian option at formal to compensate for it being cheaper!!
I've been really impressed with the quality of the vegetarian and vegan food offered at Merton. The meals can vary quite a bit from day to day, so one never gets tired of going to Hall to eat; and the enormous sizes of the servings provide excellent value for money. The staff have clearly put a lot of work into the vegetarian/vegan menu, and I really appreciate that on their part, it has made dining at Merton a very enjoyable experience.
The vegetarian meals I have had at Merton were a bizarre mix of all kinds of food that don't go together at all.
New College
Guest Dinners at New College are worth going to as well.
Nuffield College
Nuffield provides vegetarian food for every meal. It is almost always excellent.
Nuffield did a vegan menu for my friend (the only vegan dining that night) that was better than my meat one!
Oriel College
All three are terrible [Christ Church, Magdalen, Oriel].
Pembroke College
I attended for SCR Lunch in the Forte Room, it was a disappointment, quite tragic.
Pembroke's food is an insult to anyone's tastebuds.
Pembroke's mushroom-coated Quorn escalope with mushroom sauce needs to be seen to be believed. Truly dire.
If there were two more rows I would add Christ Church and Pembroke to the 'worst' list.
Regent's Park College
Mark Rippington cuisine for the win.
Somerville College
Somerville's formal not only made my own college's food look bad but was genuinely one of the best meals I've ever had.
The three [Christ Church, Somerville, and Magdalen] are atrocious; you may as well go eat grass in a park.
St Anne's College
Vegan option at lunch and dinner at St Anne’s - all food clearly labelled. Wish they had more vegan deserts.
Always has vegetarian AND vegan options. Good selection of mains including curries, pasta, gnocchi, chilli, stuffed aubergine, pies, pasties, falafel, stew. Also always has veggie soup and salad bar. Plus cheap and pay as you go so you only go when you want to and can cook for yourself too.
St Anne's College always has a vegan option and is careful to include some form of protein in it. The only criticisms I have are the lack of vegan dessert options.
St Antony's College
At St Antony they didn't have many vegan options, mostly just some vegetables and fries (not labelled).
St Catherine's College
The catz chef is very creative with desserts and replacing cheese with a creamy substance. The range of potato sides is incredible.
St Cross College
St Cross also has vegan options on most days for lunch.
Always has great vegan food, at lunch, dinner and afternoon tea!
-St Cross has lots of vegan options for lunch. For formals, the vegan food is not as great and when other people get like really nice things, you only get like a filled paprika.
The time I visited, St. Cross only had some salads and chips for a vegan meal, as the vegetarian main had dairy. Same for Balliol.
St Hilda's College
Almost no vegan food- or just carbs.
St Hugh's College
Shoutout to St Hugh's for providing VEGAN mains for lunch and dinner EVERY DAY!
Hall and formal here are incredible.
In TT19 St Hugh's started serving both a vegetarian and a vegan option at lunch and dinner, which is great!
I once received fruit in water as a desert at St Hugh's.
St John's College
Should note for St John's that Kendrew cafe almost always has a vegan option (or 2) at lunch time and often vegan cakes!
But formal hall is poor for vegans, good for veggies.
Vegetarian food in St John's, at formal dinner, was of excellent quality and was very varied, although there could have been more of it to reflect caloric content! All courses were delicious though, and prepared with care.
St John's veggie HIGH TABLE dinner was awful.
St. John’s serve meat at every meal, there are no meat free Mondays etc. The veggie option is usually something in pastry or a vegetable stack. It would be amazing if they could do a meat free day as it would give the chefs a chance to experiment with veggie and vegan food. The fruit salad for dessert for dietary requirements like vegan is yummy but it’s always the same.
St Peter's College
I was served non vegan food on a "vegan" meal at St Peters.
St Stephen's House
Great salad bar in addition to a daily main meal option and soup option.
St Stephen's House - at lunch there is a veggie main or a soup option with a salad bar. As the college is small with relatively few vegetarians the veggie option isn't cooked in bulk, which gives it a home-cooked feel. I am not vegetarian but choose to eat vegetarian when at work as the veggie option is so good! Likewise for the formal dinners - the veggie option is usually more interesting than the meat option.
The Queen's College
Queen's - genuinely delicious.
Queen's: vegetarian lunch, dinner, and formal dinner were good quality, and very good value for money. Decent portion sizes too! On a few occasions, the vegan (and even vegetarian) dessert option was a single banana or apple when meat-eaters were getting cake, but mains have always been delicious.
Queen's once gave me a full giant onion with a tiny bit of cheese on top and called it a meal?? Enough said.
University College
I got like two kiwi slices, two strawberries and, two other berries at University College for a formal dinner dessert :(.
I went to Univ for lunch once and the houmous wasn't vegan... a TRAVESTY.
Wolfson College
Great fresh choices.
Wolfson always has a full, balanced, and filling vegan hot meal option, for lunch, dinner, and Saturday brunch (including delicious vegan croissants)!
Wolfson College really improved itself and offers delicious, balanced and healthy vegan and vegetarian food for every lunch and dinner. As a vegan I am extremely happy with the food at Wolfson. Furthermore, Wolfson offers a delicious brunch on Saturdays, which includes vegan pancakes and croissants.
Wolfson College staff listens to our wishes and are always trying to improve their vegan and vegetarian menu. By the way, they make the best vegan lasagne you'll ever have!
Wolfson stands out for its dedication to offering nutritious, tasty, and varied vegan and vegetarian meals on a daily basis. At my previous college we were thrilled when they started offering protein in most vegetarian meals, though this often consisted of Quorn - at Wolfson I can nearly always count on my meal having a good source of protein, and not having the same meal in a week (n.b. I'm staff so I eat lunch every day but other meals only rarely). Quorn is thankfully only a rare feature!
Wolfson is great in providing Vegetarian and Vegan dishes at every meal - plus salad bar and other supplementary items. So there is always a wide choice, and always the option to eat plain, "pure" food which I find healthy and also tasty :).
Wolfson is the only college I am a member of and have eaten in regularly and has I think really tried.
All I can say is that Wolfson is trying.
Worcester College
At a formal at Worcester, the dessert was amazing (chocolate and orange mousse), good main and okay starter (both a bit carb-heavy).
Worcester is the only hall I have been to this term. The Veggie and vegan options were great - the vegan even better than veggie! There were three full courses, inc bespoke dessert, not just fruit. All delicious. Great work!
Fine but not outstanding.
Worcester has often very high quality vegan food this year (tofu nicose salad/mushroom filo pastries/stuffed tomatoes - all delicious), but are still held back by minor (but very easily resolved) issues such as: not providing vegetarian gravy (it's so easy to, so I don't know why they don't), and not providing vegetarian/vegan menus in advance. It would be a signal of respect to vegans to show they had thought out menus in advance. It might, also, encourage others to try these positive options. Also, as a diabetic, it's pretty difficult to know how much insulin to inject if you don't know what you're being served.
Worcester had a few/ not many but nice vegan options as well.
Worcester - only had 1 vegan option on world vegan day.\nWycliffe Hall
I will only have eaten at Wycliffe during my time here, but I can say that it is EXCEPTIONAL.