Storrs CT Restaurants: Dining Near UConn

Storrs CT restaurants cluster around Storrs Center, the walkable main street beside the University of Connecticut campus in the town of Mansfield. Cafes, pizza counters, pubs and sit-down dinner rooms sit in a few blocks of shops and apartments, and the students who fill them give the place its pace.

Storrs is a village in a rural town, so the food is concentrated in one small area.

Beyond that area, Mansfield is farm country: fields, woodlots and old stone walls. A short drive in almost any direction gets you to a farm stand, a country store or a diner that has been there for decades. Students with cars treat these drives as a break from campus, and visiting families often treat them as the highlight.

Which Storrs CT restaurants suit a first visit?

Start at Storrs Center, which was built as a downtown for the campus and the town. Park in the garage or the nearby lots and walk. Most of what you want is within five minutes, and a loop of the main street shows you the range. Read menus in the windows and glance at the rooms.

Check the outdoor tables. Storrs Center was designed with sidewalks wide enough for seating, and on a mild day they fill first. In winter, the interior rooms keep the street alive, and a window seat with a view of the snow is a pleasant place to wait out a cold afternoon.

The university sets the calendar. In term time the street is busy and lively, and in summer it slows to a village pace.

What is Storrs Center dining like?

Casual, quick and varied. Expect pizza, burgers, burritos, sandwiches, noodles, breakfast plates and a few dinner rooms with table service. Many places have outdoor tables, and in warm weather the street feels like a small plaza. Evening crowds are students and families, and midweek is easy.

Because the campus is large, the menu mix includes international kitchens that serve a diverse student body.

That range is one of the real pleasures of eating here. A student can have noodles for lunch, a burrito for dinner and a slice of pizza at midnight, all within a five-minute walk. Families visiting from out of state are often surprised by how much variety fits into so few blocks.

Where can you have Mansfield CT lunch?

Within a short walk of the center, and also out along the main road toward Willimantic, where farm stands and roadside counters appear in season. A weekday lunch is quick, since classes set the schedule. Students and faculty fill the cafes between noon and one, and a table is easier at eleven thirty.

A picnic is another option. The farm fields at the edge of campus are open to walkers.

If you drive, remember that Route 195 carries heavy traffic on game days and move-in weekends. Leave extra time, and consider eating before you arrive or after you leave. Back roads through Mansfield Hollow are quieter and prettier, and a lunch at a country counter makes a good detour.

Where is dinner near the UConn campus?

In a dining room at Storrs Center or just beyond it. Friday and Saturday evenings fill earlier, and game weekends and parents weekend fill the town. Phone for a table of six or more, and consider an early seating. The game day page covers the busiest nights.

Many families make a dinner at Storrs the centerpiece of a campus visit.

Where do you find Storrs coffee and study cafes?

At Storrs Center and on campus. Cafes serve students who study for hours, so tables with outlets are prized. Mornings are busy at eight and quiet by ten thirty. If you need to work, arrive early, buy something and settle in.

A coffee shop here is also a meeting room. Study groups, advising sessions and families on a visit all share the space.

What tags help in a campus town?

When someone rates a meal in the Mosey app they can add tags, and the Find sheet lets a diner search by them. In a campus town the helpful ones are Quick Service, Great Value, Good Portions, Late Night, Group Dining, Coffee Shop and Family Friendly. Treat a tag as a hint from one rater, not a guarantee.

Each tag you add helps the next student.

How do you rate a Storrs meal?

Stars first, then the dish, then a line on the room: "Tuesday lunch, outdoor table, fast, big portion". Friends who were there can be tagged, and they can add their own rating of the same meal. You can also rate as you eat: the app asks what you are having, then how it was.

A list called Storrs regulars keeps favorites together and is easy to pass on to a younger sibling.

Where next from Storrs?

The US food guides hold the rest of the country, and the quiet corner guide covers the countryside around the campus.

For the rest of the state, start at the Food in Connecticut page.

After your next meal at Storrs Center, open the Mosey app, rate it by the dish and add it to a list for the next family visit.