Dining around the campus: students can look forward to special offers

Following the long-planned closure of Academic Restaurant in the Campus Square Brno shopping centre on 30 June, three third-party establishments on the university campus premises will continue to provide their services, which include full meals, salads, sandwiches, baguettes or desserts.

Hot meals, which include five “lunch menu” options, will remain as permanent options of the buffets Morfo and U knihovny. They already offer a soup and main dish combo for the fixed price of CZK 125. The choice of meals always includes one vegetarian option, such as roasted chicken with rice, traditional breaded pork cutlet, dill sauce with boiled egg, stuffed pork roll with cabbage, pork ragout with rice or vegetable salad with mozzarella cheese.

Discounts for students

The management of MU’s Accommodation and Catering Services (ACS) has reached an agreement with the proprietor of the establishments on the campus premises according to which, as of this summer, students will be granted a CZK 18 discount if they present their ISIC card. The reduced price of CZK 107 for the soup and main dish combo should remain in effect until the end of the calendar year, and it could be extended based on demand. “The management of Masaryk University highly appreciates the cooperation of the owner of these establishments,” says Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and External Relations Jana Fialová. “It was our aim that the restructuring of the operation of our own canteens would have little impact on patrons. We are trying to negotiate with the third-party proprietors in the campus and the immediate vicinity so that our students and employees can enjoy the lowest prices possible,” Fialová added.

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Pre-ordering of meals

Both campus buffets offer MU students the opportunity to pre-order a meal for the next day in a “reservation book” to ensure the meal of their choice will be available the next day. In addition to hot meals both buffets offer a variety of fresh salads, open-faced sandwiches, baguettes, pastries or desserts. The Morfo buffet also offers toasts or hot-dogs.

The proprietor of the buffets has recently responded to feedback from students regarding their demands. Among the options mentioned were gluten-free options, or the listing of allergens for desserts. The proprietor agrees with the requirements and will respond accordingly.  

Snack soup

The third establishment in the campus, the Na lávce café, specialises in desserts and hot drinks, but it also offers tortillas, baguettes, sandwiches or eggy bread. As of 1 July the café will offer hot snacks, salads and snack soup. It will also test the sale of “box meals”, the future of which will be decided according to demand.

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Other options

The nearby Campus Square shopping centre offers a variety styles and cuisines, such as salad bars, sushi bars or fast food chains, but also modern European, Mexican or Indian cuisines. Specialised restaurants, salaterias or foodie markets cater to vegetarians and vegans, with products from small regional farmers.

“Our students and employees like the Campus River restaurant for its offer and quality of services as well as atmosphere even on busy days. As of this summer it will offer a discount for MU students and staff in the form of “happy hours” from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will serve the lunch menus at reduced prices, compared with the lunch-time prices. We wanted to respond to many students’ concerns about not having enough time for a conventional lunch break with the full menu, which leaves them no other choice than more expensive and less nutritional meals,” Fialová explained.  

Optimised canteen costs

Since March 2024 the operation of all MU canteens is streamlined and optimised. Every day, students can choose from two soup and main dish combos for a reduced price, plus three other meals, which include the most favourite of them all, fried cheese with French fries. All meals are now prepared in the central kitchen at the Vinařská dormitory. “We have managed to reduce costs without reducing the quantity of portions compared with last year, which I think is a success. However we did not see the expected significant increase in the number of portions sold, compared with the same period of 2023. We can only speculate whether the demand would remain the same even without these changes, considering the increasing prices of foodstuffs and related costs,” says Head of Catering Services Tomáš Kala.

The offer was reduced as part of cost reduction measures in the costly operation of the canteens, and in order to keep prices at acceptable levels. “The new 4+1 menu is much more realistic with regard to the offer. Our biggest issue pertains to the estimate of the number of portions. It would help us a lot if more students could order their lunches in advance. They would know for a fact that the meal of their choice will be available, and they would be actively helping us with more sustainable cooking,” says ACS’s Head of Purchasing Veronika Hrozková.