Living on your own can be really exciting, but it comes with one new, major responsibility: managing your own money.
As students, a lot of us are trying to save some of the money we made working all summer at minimum wage. Here are some spots that offer quality food and drinks for cheap.
Common Ground (CoGro)
Cheap scale: 8/10
CoGro is easily one of the best social spots on-campus for cheap drinks and food.
Located on the top level of the ARC, CoGro is a quaint café where students can work, socialize, or grab a quick bite between classes.
Whether you’re in the mood to chat with the girls about your crazy night out, or really need to focus on studying for a midterm, CoGro is the place for you.
It offers everything from coffees and lattes to delicious sandwiches and sweets—an honourable mention goes out to their red velvet slice of cake, which is absolutely to die for.
Not only does CoGro offer quality food and comfy couches to chat with your friends, but it comes at a super cheap price. Black coffees cost as little as $1.90 and their amazing lattes that give Starbucks a run for their money are under $4.
Score Pizza
Cheap scale: 7/10
In need of a pizza night with your housemates? Score Pizza is the place to go.
At Score, you can customize your pizzas to your liking for just under $12 and they’re absolutely delicious.
Score is located on Princess St., right in the heart of downtown Kingston. Here, you can have a nice sit-down meal, or, if you’re in a rush, take it to go.
Lizzy’s Tall Fry
Cheap scale: 9/10
Okay, hear me out on this one.
Yes, Lizzy’s Tall Fry is, in fact, a food truck parked outside of Mitchell Hall on Union Street. Trust me—the food is worth the somewhat unappealing image of eating from a food truck.
If you’re in a rush but super hungry and craving something unhealthy, Lizzy’s will give you a burger for under $5, or a combo of a burger, drink, and fries for only $5.50.
Even better is that, unlike the massive Starbucks line inside Mitchell Hall, Lizzy’s lines are quite short, so you can grab food and still make it to your next class.
The Toucan
Cheap scale: 9/10
I’m not going to sugar-coat this. Nearly everywhere you go for drinks—and I mean adult beverages—you’re going to be fighting an internal battle of whether you want to spend nine dollars on a glass you can finish in three minutes.
This is where The Toucan stands out from other bars like Ale House and The Brass Pub.
It’s located down Princess Street, right near the waterfront. It’s bit longer of a walk, but it’s totally worth it to save an extra couple bucks with their happy hour specials.
On Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., you can get a pint for $4.75. At the same time on Friday and Saturday, pints are $5.50. This is likely the cheapest pint you’ll ever get, so if you’re looking to save some money in exchange for a longer walk, The Toucan is the place for you.
Trinity Social
Cheap scale: 6/10
On the topic of alcoholic drinks, Trinity Social offers dollar beers every Saturday night. Trinity is located on Princess Street, closest to the strip with The Brass Pub and the Grizzly Grill.
While this seems like a great deal, you often get roped into buying quite a few beers while justifying to yourself that each one is only a dollar. When you buy 20 beers—small beers, might I add—you’ll quickly realize you aren’t really saving much money.
Trinity is always a good time, though, so if you’re willing to turn a blind eye to how much you really spend on dollar beers night, it’s totally acceptable.
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