Spending quarantine in halls? Here's some food delivery options for you to consider

You can have your food delivered by third-party, non-UCL providers to halls every day between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm. Once your food arrives to your hall reception, a member of the UCL Accommodation team will bring it directly to your door in a contactless drop off.

Remember – unless the whole of your household with whom your share a kitchen is self-isolating or if you’re living in a studio flat, for the safety of yourself and other residents, you won’t have access to a kitchen during quarantine. We will be providing you with a small welcome package of non-perishable items to get you started when you arrive, however after this point you will be responsible for making arrangements for your meals.

1. Deliveroo

Download the app or go to their website at deliveroo.co.uk. There are loads of ways you can go about your search for dinner. Start by entering your postcode into the white search bar. Then, you can look at local favourites, see where nearby is doing deals or offering discounts, search by cuisines or even just by your favourite dish. Looking at customer ratings is a good way to judge whether a food place is good or not.

Add what you want to your basket and then hit ‘go to checkout.’ You’ll need to pay online in order to complete your order – this can be done via credit or debit card, via Apple or Google pay or using PayPal. Even if a vendor offers you the option of paying with cash do not select this option as you will not be able to leave your room to pay the delivery driver.

Once your payment is complete, you’ll be able to see how far along your food is in the preparation process and track your driver’s journey once they set off with your meal. Your food will be delivered to reception where it will be met by one of our team, who will then bring it to your room. Make sure to specify your room number and name when completing your order details.

Discounts to look out for:

• If you’re a brand new user, you’ll get free delivery for your first 14 days of using the app when you spend over £10.

2. UberEats

Much like Deliveroo, UberEats offers you a load of options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beyond! As well as meals, you can also order convenience and grocery items – although remember that unless the whole of your household with whom your share a kitchen is self-isolating or if you’re living in studio flat you won’t have access to the kitchen and won't be able to refrigerate things. UberEats also offers lots of casual eateries and cafes like Costa Coffee, Pret a Manger and Black Sheep Coffee which are great for lighter meals or if you just fancy a hot drink.

UberEats frequently spotlights local hotspots and hidden gems so can be a great way to get to know your area from the comfort and safety of your room ready for when you can get out to explore on foot!

Order via the app or their webpage. Enter your postcode, add what you want to your order and then proceed to checkout. You’ll need to pay online and make sure to specify your room number and name. After that, sit tight and one of our team will bring your order right to your door.

Discounts to look out for:
•    Regular promotion of vendors offering free delivery – check the app or website for the latest deals.
•    UNiDays offers its members £15 off their first order and 10% off every order you make once you’re registered with them. Head to myunidays.com to join.
 

3. Just Eat

Much like UberEats and Deliveroo, Just Eat allows users to order via an app or their website. Based off your location, they’ll start by telling you which vendors delivering to you have offers on that you can benefit from. From local independent takeaways to household names, Just Eat has a huge amount of food suppliers for you to choose from. They also helpfully tell you before you even click on a vendor how much delivery will cost you, what the minimum order total is and how long you can expect to wait for your food to arrive.

Add what you want to your order then head to the checkout. Be sure to specify your name and room number during checkout. Remember to pay online and don’t select any option that involves you paying in person as you won’t be able to meet your driver when they arrive. Once your food arrives to your halls one of our team will bring your food to your door.

Discounts to look out for:

• Just Eat often run discounts throughout September especially for new students – check their website for updates.

4. Supermarket delivery

Another option is to have some groceries delivered to you from a big supermarket chain. Supermarkets offering delivery to our halls are Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado and Waitrose. You’ll need to register via their websites and book a delivery slot. Whatever time you choose, make sure it’s between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm, or else there will be no one available to accept your delivery. 

Many supermarkets now standardly pack their deliveries without using any plastic carrier bags – whilst ordinarily we encourage students to use re-usable bags and not by new plastic ones every time they shop, on this occasion we ask that you pay the very cheap price (generally around 50p) to have your shopping packed into bags, as this allows our Accommodation Ambassadors to bring your groceries up to you efficiently and with minimum contact.

Remember, unless the whole of your household with whom your share a kitchen is self-isolating or if you’re living in studio flat with your own cooking and food storage facilities, you will not have access to a kitchen for the duration of self-isolation. We do not recommend buying any food that needs to be refrigerated, cooked or heated otherwise it could be wasted.

Amazon Fresh also offer an on the day delivery service – visit their website to find out more.

Please notify us if you make a particularly large order so that we know to expect it. If this is the case, send an email to your site team once your delivery is booked and confirmed. You don’t need to email us about every food order though, just make sure to include your name and room details when in checkout.
 

We hope that this gives you a flavour of the options available to you whilst completing self-isolation. This list isn’t exhaustive – it’s definitely worth doing some research if you want to find even more options for yourself. If you have any issues or have questions about any of the above, message us on Facebook or Instagram or email your site teams.

Food is a great way to start learning about your new neighbourhood, even during self-isolation. Remember to let us know as soon as possible if you haven't yet arrived to UCL Accommodation and plan on completing quarantine with us. If you haven’t already, you can let us know your plans by completing a Late Request Notification. If you’ve got any other questions about how coronavirus might affect your time in halls then visit our coronavirus webpage for prospective students, or contact us on the details above.