Alma

Hi again, guys!

Today I'm going to talk about food and how to feed yourself easily and cheaply in Leuven. The cheapest place to eat lunch and dinner during your Erasmus exchange in Leuven is the chain of student restaurants called Alma. Don't forget to bring the student ID card they will give you at KU Leuven with you, though, else they won't apply the discount and the price will be more or less the same as it is in a normal restaurant.

The Alma restaurants are open from Monday to Sunday only at mealtimes. This being said, I'd recommend you try to forget Spanish mealtimes and get used to Belgian ones. Don't expect to find an Alma open later than 2pm or 9pm. Another thing worth remembering is that there are three in the city.

Alma number one is at Tiensestraat 155 (right next to the Psychology, Philosophy and Law faculty). It's on the street where almost all the fakbars are, so quite central.

Alma number two is at E. Van Evenstraat 2. Although it's further away from the city centre, it's next to Pangaea and Agora (I'll explain what these two places are in another post) and you'll end up passing by there quite frequently. If you're lucky, they´ll hold a macro cantus in this place which you must go to. The only disadvantage is that it's in Dutch so you can't understand much, but this doesn't have to stop you from drinking beer, singing and having a good time, right? :)

Last but not least, Alma number three is in Heverlee. So, if your faculty is further away from Leuven city centre (no more than fifteen minutes by bike from Grote Markt) like the Engineering and Architecture faculties for example, don't worry, you can still eat for a good price. It's also the restaurant with the prettiest views. :)

Here's the webpage for the Alma restaurants: http://www.alma.be/nl

You can take a look at the prices, opening times, location and everyday menu yourself using the link. Generally though, they offer meals from 3. 90 euros and soup for 90 cents.

So there you have it - if cooking's not your thing, go to Alma!