The Best of Kamloops- TRU Student Edition
Congratulations! You have been accepted to Thompson Rivers University. You are now facing the reality that you will have to find a new favourite study spot, coffee shop, and brewery. Well, you have come to the right place; this article lays out my favourite spots throughout the town.
Coffee Shops
Lets be real, we would not survive without coffee. Throughout the last five years I have tried many coffee shops, but I will share my two favourites.
Amplified Café
Amplified is one of Kamloops’s newest coffee shops. It is located in the downtown area, inside the library. In addition to the great coffee, they also have awesome food. Amplified even sources local suppliers. This is not my go-to coffee shop for studying, but it is my favourite place to meet with a friend for coffee or grab a cup to-go before heading to the Farmers’ Market. They even deliver coffee beans!
Five Bean Brewbar & Café
Five Bean is centrally located in the Sahali area, very close to TRU. Here, they serve JJ Bean coffee and have a wide variety of pastries to choose from. Their tables leave room for your laptop and book so you can sit and study for a while.
Food
“We all eat, and it would be a sad waste of opportunity to eat badly.” -Anna Thomas
Gold Leaf Pastries & BlackSalt Catering
Where do I even begin? This place is my absolute favourite. They have coffee, pastries, brunch, and lunch! The atmosphere is so beautiful at the store, they really have it all. There is no shortage of good food. They use REAL ingredients and never take any shortcuts. My favourites from there would have to be the chocolate croissant, banana bread, Portuguese tart, and brave chicken club sandwich. Carly and Jahren, the owners, have done a fantastic job of creating such a wonderful place! And if you don’t believe me, Kamloops voted Gold Leaf Pastries gold in ‘Best Bakery’ and BlackSalt Catering silver for ‘Best Catering’ in the Best of Kamloops 2020. Must visit!
*** “Best of Kamloops” is a program put on by the local newspaper where residents vote annually for their favourite places.
Sushi Mura
This sushi restaurant is walking distance from TRU. They also give 10% off when you bring your valid student ID card. Sushi Mura has great sushi and awesome service.
Red Collar Brewing Co.
Red Collar is a great place to meet with some friends for dinner a good beer. Red Collar is one of the only dog-friendly restaurants in town. They have a fairly large space to accommodate large groups, usually the Law Faculty hosts social events there. If you are a TRU student, you will most likely end up there at some point!
Friday Night Fun
Commodore Grand Café & Lounge
This bar is one of the busiest in town. In the evenings they do dinner, but by nighttime the lights turn down and the music turns up.
Bright Eye Brewing
Bright Eye Brewing is the newest brewery in Kamloops. Not only does it have great beer, but the food is delicious and interior is beautifully done. This brewery also took home the gold for Best of Kamloops for best brewery, pub, burger, and nightlife venue. Definitely worth checking out!
Monte Creek Ranch Winery
Monte Creek is a beautiful winery on the outskirts of town. Their wine is great and they even have a terrace restaurant. The scenery is fantastic here too, the winery overlooks the river.
TRU Campus
Since you will be spending a lot of your time on campus, it is important to know all the best spots there, too.
Scratch Café
My friends and I would often run over to Scratch on our breaks. Here you get the food that the culinary students have made. This is definitely the best bang for your buck on campus. You can get everything from a turkey dinner, to chicken strips and fries, to salads, and everything in between. You will want to keep an eye on the Facebook page to watch for the daily specials.
The Den
The Den is a great pub to meet with friends after a long day of classes. Sometimes the professors will even get together in a group to meet with the students here.
Group Studying
TRU Room Bookings are super helpful! The link you want to follow is attached below. This is where you want to do to book rooms throughout campus to meet up with your friends to study, or with your group for a project. My favourites would are the rooms in TRUSU or 4th floor of HOL.
https://libguides.tru.ca/groupstudyrooms
Quiet Studying
The best place to have a quiet place to study would be the reading room. You will need to bring your fob to get in. In my experience, this has been the most consistently quiet place. It also has plenty of windows, a nice view, and plenty of outlets. My next favourite place is behind the stacks in HOL library. There, you will find a row of seats and near silence. This spot is not widely known so finding a seat is not difficult.
