Hours and Prices

Want to eat at the Kosher Kitchen? Just a swipe, for any Yale student on a meal plan. (Regular YUDS restrictions apply, i.e. only one swipe per meal, etc.)

Slifka Center has made some big changes in our dining operation and we are excited to share them with you.

First, we are changing our name.  Slifka Dining is the brand you’ll see in our ads and on our uniforms.  Our name change reflects the evolution of our operation from one a dining hall focused primarily on providing kosher food to a full service dining option for all, serving excellent food that happens to be kosher.

We are expanding our service to offer kosher dining options seven days a week when school is in session.  We’ll be having brunch every Sunday, rotating our famous bagel brunch with other offerings.  In addition, we will be serving dinner Sundays.  These additions in service address the most frequently received comment and we hope our expanded meal options will give you even more reasons to hang at Slifka.  Our hours of operation are as follows:

Breakfast – Monday – Friday – 8:00 AM – 10 AM

Lunch – Monday – Friday – 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Dinner – Sunday – Thursday – 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Shabbat Dinner – Friday – 7:00 PM

Shabbat Lunch – Saturday – 12:30 PM

Brunch – Sunday – 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

When you arrive in the dining room, you’ll notice some changes.  Our hot food service is now inside the servery, allowing us to serve smaller batches of freshly prepared foods and, on some nights, a carving station.  You may find yourself waiting a minute or two while your food is prepared in front of you, but we are sure you’ll find that the food is worth the wait.  We are working with a variety of vendors to add locally grown and fresh vegetable options at every meal.  We know that you want food that is both good and good for you and you’ll see a big change in our food offerings so we can meet your needs. We’ve also added a Keurig coffee maker, giving everyone the opportunity to brew the coffee or tea they want with any meal.  The locations of many food options have changed.  If you have any questions, just ask – we’ll help you find what you’re looking for…and if we don’t have what you want, tell us that, too, and we’ll try to get just what you want.

There are also programmatic changes kicking off this semester.  Monday nights will feature food prepared in Slifka’s kitchen under the direction of chef’s from favorite New Haven restaurants.  Friday nights we will be complementing our choice of services with a happy hour for those who prefer to unwind from the week with their friends over some treats before dinner.  We’ll follow dinner with a Shabbat Oneg in Susman Hall and, weather permitting, Cullman Courtyard.  Our Shabbat lunch will be served family style, allowing a relaxed and social dining experience in keeping with the spirit of the day.  Sundays, we’ll shift gears and offer pub and grill food for dinner, along with the game of the week.

As you complete your meal and prepare to leave Heyman Commons, you’ll notice a big change – a brown bin has replaced one of our tray return racks.  Slifka Dining is joining forces with the rest of Yale’s residential dining halls to compost all waste from meals.  When you finish eating, put all of the waste from your plates and glasses right into the brown bin and place your plates, glasses, silverware and trays on the racks.  We are also dramatically decreasing the use of disposable items in the dining room.  If you want to take your meal to go, you may request an eco-friendly to-go container when you swipe in.  Otherwise, we ask that you use the plates, silver and glasses in the dining room.  Sustainability has been the second most frequently raised issue regarding Slifka Dining and we hope you’ll agree that we, with a big hand from our partners at Yale Dining, are making big progress toward a more sustainable dining operation.

One of the biggest challenges we face is offering an all-you-care-to-eat plan with delicious, nutritious, kosher food at an affordable price.  Fresh food, locally grown food, and kosher food are all more expensive than other options in the market place.  Our goal is to serve food that is all of those – and there is a price to do so.  We also know that our customers have limited resources and we want to help you get the most for your money.  For those on a Yale meal plan, meals at Slifka are still, “just a Swipe.”  For those who are not on a regular meal plan, we offer three rates: one for guests; a discounted rate for Yale students, faculty and staff; and a half-price option for children 3-10.  Children under 3 are welcomed at no cost when accompanied by a paying guest.  The rates are:

Guest Price Discounted Rate
Breakfast                                       $8.00                                                   $6.00

Lunch                                             $13.00                                                $11.00

Dinner                                            $16.00                                                $13.00

Shabbat Dinner                          $20.00                                                $16.00

Shabbat Lunch                           $17.00                                                $15.00

Sunday Brunch                          $15.00                                                $13.00

Special Deals for Graduate and Professional students and Slifka Center Membership holders

• Wednesday dinners for $8: Graduate and professional students and Slifka Center JGAP members can enjoy JGAP’s Cheap Eats for $8.00. No reservation necessary, just a Yale ID or a Slifka Center JGAP membership.  For more information, please contact Sue Jeanette at 203-432-1134 or susan.jeanette@yale.edu .
• Shabbat dinners for $5: Graduate and professional students and Slifka Center JGAP members can enjoy Shabbat dinners for just $5.00. Reservations must be made by 5:00pm on Fridays.  To make a reservation or for more information, contact Sue Jeanette at 203-432-1134 or susan.jeanette@yale.edu.

To increase the ease of access to the dining room, we will be changing the methods of payment we accept.  First, we are adding a credit card swipe machine at the dining room door.  For all meals, except those during Shabbat and holidays, guests will be able to charge their meal at the dining room entrance.   For Shabbat and holidays, pre-payment can be made in our business office or right at the check in desk.  We have also eliminated the KK Bucks program – if you have a balance remaining in your account, please see our business office for a refund.  If you’re not planning to eat, but need to meet your friends for a meeting, to study, or just to hang out around the dinner or pool tables, we ask that you sign the guest book at the check in desk on your way in.

As you will see, a lot has changed, but one thing remains the same.  The staff of Slifka Center and, especially, Slifka Dining is committed to delivering a high quality dining and social experience to all who come to eat, study, or just hang out.  We know that there will be kinks to work out in the system and we look forward to hearing from you regarding additional changes that would continue to improve your experience.  My email is steven.sitrin@yale.edu and my office is right off the first floor lobby.  Let me know what you think – it’s the most valuable tool I have and I appreciate your comments.

Thanks in advance for your patience, support and feedback.