dining hall
Campus eating room
A dining hall is a large room where meals are served and eaten, typically in institutions like universities, boarding schools, military bases, or summer camps.
Unlike restaurants, dining halls usually offer set meal times and cafeteria-style service where diners select food from a common serving area.
The freshman dormitory is right next to the main dining hall.
In British usage, the term often refers specifically to the formal eating spaces in colleges at Oxford and Cambridge.
Self-service dining facility
- refectoryInstitutional dining room
- canteenPortable liquid container
- lunchroomCommunal eating space
- commonsShared community resources
commissary · meal plan · tray · queue · self-service · serving line · food station · meal card
Self-service meal display
- salad barSelf-service vegetable station
- hot barHeated self-service food display
- sneeze guardProtective buffet barrier
- chafing dishHeated vessel for serving
ladle · tongs · portion · seconds · all-you-can-eat · daily special · dessert table · soft serve
Shared dining surface
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
- camaraderieGoodwill among companions
breaking bread · mealtime · passing dishes · social hour · college tradition · high table · grace · announcement
Arched overhead interior surface
- chandeliersOrnate hanging light fixtures
- wood panelingTimber boards covering walls
- portraitsImages of specific people
- stained glassColored window art
benches · head table · dais · fireplace · gallery · balcony · collegiate · Hogwarts
cafeteria
Self-service dining facility
commons · commissary · meal plan · tray · queue · self-service · serving line · food station · meal card · swipe
buffet
Self-service meal display
- salad barSelf-service vegetable station
- hot barHeated self-service food display
- sneeze guardProtective buffet barrier
chafing dish · ladle · tongs · portion · seconds · all-you-can-eat · daily special · dessert table · soft serve · condiment bar
communal table
Shared dining surface
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- fellowshipMutual goodwill among companions
- conversationExchange of spoken ideas
camaraderie · breaking bread · mealtime · passing dishes · social hour · college tradition · high table · grace · announcement · community
vaulted ceiling
Arched overhead interior surface
- chandeliersOrnate hanging light fixtures
- wood panelingTimber boards covering walls
- portraitsImages of specific people
stained glass · benches · head table · dais · fireplace · gallery · balcony · collegiate · Hogwarts · Oxford
- cafeteria termscafeteria, lunch counter, meal plan, hot food, snack bar
- campusdorm, dormitory, dormitories, dorms, quad
- historic mansiongrand staircase, ballroom, library, drawing room, parlor
- summer camphiking, campfire stories, camp director, camping, camp counselor
- boarding schoolsboarding school, boarding house, dormitory, dormitories, dorm
- Cohousingcommunity meetings, consensus, common areas, community room, potluck dinners
dining hallrestaurant
Place serving meals
private dining room · room service · personal chef · home cooking · takeout
dining halleating alone
Consuming food unaccompanied
bedroom · desk lunch · kitchen table · TV dinner · solo dining
hall, dinner, hallway, dine, diner, dining, halls, dined, dinette