My Favorite Spots Near Campus

It goes without saying that there are many great places within campus to visit and admire, such as the Arch building, the Starbucks inside 1920 Commons, Williams Cafe, etc.. However, I also think it is important to acknowledge that there are some incredible places worthy of visiting outside of campus too. 

The first place I would like to mention is Board & Brew. This is a two story restaurant/cafe about a block away from campus. The food and drinks are great! I especially love their vegetarian chorizo tacos and their matcha latte. The first floor is a great place to do some work with friends. However, I mostly frequent the place to go to the second floor, which is where they have over 600 board games. Paying a small fee of $5 gives you access to all of these board games for as much time as you’d like to stay there. My friends and I love going on Friday nights!

The second place I would like to mention is Ochatto. Ochatto is a restaurant my friends and I go to at least once a month. It is about 1-2 blocks from campus. They have great prices and great flavors. My go to is usually their $16 three sushi rolls + 1 miso soup meal. I also love their teas, especially their peach green tea. This was the first restaurant my friends and I tried when we first came to Penn, and we have loved it since then!

Finally, I would like to mention the various boba shops around campus. The boba shops I know of are Boba King, Kung Fu Tea, Tea-Do, and Ochatto (they also sell boba there!). My favorite boba shop out of all of these is Kung Fu Tea, which is about 3-4 blocks away from campus. My friends and I like going to this one because they have some board games, such as Jenga and Connect 4. Boba runs are a very quick and easy way to do something fun with your friends during the week!

- Emma L.