Number-crunchers fall for transparent prices

Cafeteria review: There could be a better selection and it’s difficult to forgive a coffee machine that’s not working. But the food is tasty and the prices are easy to understand at Caf'Inn at Fuglesangs Allé.

[Translate to English:] Bjørn Vinding Andersen (tv) har sat sig for at teste kantinens sandwichudvalg, men ser misundelig ud, da Jesper Kjærgaard Graversen øser dagens varme ret, kylling supreme, op på tallerkenen. Kyllingen viste sig dog at være stegt til den tørre side. Foto: Anders Trærup
[Translate to English:] Foto: Anders Trærup
[Translate to English:] Foto: Anders Trærup
[Translate to English:] Foto: Anders Trærup

Reviewed by: Jesper Kjærgaard Graversen, business controller at iNANO, and Bjørn Vinding Andersen, project finance administrator at ST Finance.
As told to: Marie Groth Andersen
Photos: Anders Trærup

Food: The Studenterlaugets cafeteria Caf'Inn at Fuglesangs Allé in Aarhus serves one hot dish of the day supplemented with a salad bar, sandwiches and healthy snacks. Which is okay as long as the dish is well-prepared. But the concept is a little limited in our opinion, because if the dish of the day is not to your liking, then you’ll have to make do with a sandwich or salad.

'Chicken Supreme' is on the menu today. That means a breast fillet with salt and pepper fried somewhat to the dry side. Along with a salad of broccoli, bacon and a good, slightly spicy dressing as well as fried potatoes. Quite tasty even though the chicken is overdone.

We also tried a bagel with salmon, feta cheese, carrots, red onion and dill dressing – a good lunchtime sandwich in our opinion. Not all the ingredients in the salad bar seemed fresh but more like they came out of a bag. To make the salad bar really interesting they needed a bigger selection of dressings, toppings, humus and tzatziki.

The choice of drinks is good and includes a soft drink vending machine so you don’t have to carry a plastic bottle around, though we washed down our meal with bottled water.

The cafeteria also offers dessert. In the fridge they have skyr (sort of like Icelandic yoghurt) and fruit in bite-sized pieces. But we chose to test the two cakes from the buffet. A really good, spongy muffin with blueberries and a crunchy top. We can’t really say whether it was home-baked or bake-off, but that doesn't really matter because it tasted fantastic. The carrot cake with cream cheese icing was also good and a good size. But the critical factor was that the latte and cappuccino coffee vending machine was out of operation. That’s a no-no! So we were forced to drink a chai tea with mango and ordinary filter coffee. Both tasted absolutely fine.

Price: At Caf'Inn you pay a fixed price per 100 g for the dish of the day or a salad. And that is something we can understand. In many other cafeterias the staff seem to work out a price in their head which isn’t always particularly transparent. But here the prices are very clear and that is a big plus in our book. We end up paying DKK 114 for a large portion of the dish of the day, a sandwich with salad and two bottles of water. Plus ten kroner for a piece of cake and seven for the coffee. That’s good value for money.

Atmosphere: We like the space, which is new, airy and bright. The cafeteria itself functions well and the staff were quick to open an extra till when a queue began to form. You can either sit inside with a nice view of the grounds or sit outside and eat in the sun.

Conclusion: The cafeteria does not have a large selection but what it does have tastes good. It is not a culinary experience that inspires you to try something new. Just plain and simple cafeteria food. We would eat here again if we were in the neighbourhood on a course or something – but it’s not a lunch that we’d drive across town after. Though the transparent prices are certainly a plus.

Translated by Peter Lambourne  


Grading:

Food: 1-5 Omnibus logos

1: Ugh!
2: Just barely edible
3: Not exactly a culinary experience but the food does at least fill you up
4: Happy taste buds!
5: Yummy! I want to come and eat here again....

Atmosphere: 1-3 Omnibus logos

1: Boring/cold/packed/empty
2: OK but not very interesting
3: Cosy - I could sit here all afternoon!


Are you peckish and are your taste buds discriminating?

Then you could be an Omnibus cafeteria reviewer. You must be a student or member of staff at Aarhus University and preferably a bit of a foodie. As a minimum, you need to be interested in finding a good, well-prepared meal at AU at a fair price. We review both the food and the atmosphere in the cafeteria.

Write to us at: omnibus@au.dk