After months of renovation construction, and weeks of delays, the revamped Hotung Caf?© is finally open in the campus center, serving sandwiches, pasta, smoothies and beer.
Since its official opening on April 10, crowds of students have flocked there to try the new food and check out the new look. But are the lunchtime mobs a sign that students are happy with the new dining establishment, or is business booming due to the novelty of its grand opening?
Students gave mixed reviews of both the menu and the design of the renovated Hotung.
"Yeah, I think it looks really cool - it's a new innovation, and there are a lot of new dishes that look interesting," senior Ben Sternberg said as he sat in the Hotung eating area with a sandwich he had bought at the Commons, because the lines at Hotung were too long. "I just hope that it becomes a little bit more efficient ... the people before me said there was a really long wait."
Senior Alex Bayne agreed.
"It seems like the lines are a lot longer," he said.
As for the food options, students had varying opinions.
"All the food that I've tried is good, and I think it's great that they're offering fruit as a side," senior Jillian Warner said. "It seems like it's a lot healthier than the old Hotung."
But Bayne said he longed for that greasier menu, and wished the new Hotung could be more like the old.
"It seems like a really big departure from where [Hotung] was before, and I'm kind of taken aback by the frou-frouness of the food - paninis and flat-bread pizza." he said. "I was kind of comfortable with the bar food, the steak and cheeses, the chicken fingers.
"But it's nice that they have beer," Bayne added.
Junior Ekene Ownuka, who works for Tufts Dining Services in the campus center, was nostalgic for the old Hotung as well.
"I'm not too excited about the menu," he said. "It's mostly paninis and stuff like that. It's a healthier choice, but I kind of liked the old food."
But while not all students were thrilled about the dinner and lunch choices, most liked the new smoothie bar, where students can order real fruit smoothies.
"It's been a really long time since we've had a new caf?© on campus ... we haven't had any good smoothies," Senior Kevin Ng said. "It's time we've gotten something after three years."
Senior Angela Anderson agreed.
"I'm excited," Anderson said of the smoothies. "I think this might be one of the only things I actually get in the new Hotung."
Regardless of their feelings on the new menu, some students were perplexed about the new design. Currently only the kitchen and ordering areas have been renovated, while the dining area looks the same. The dining area will likely be renovated as well over the summer.
"It feels like two different restaurants - one old and one new," sophomore Victoria Alberini said. "The place where you get your food is a completely new place, but this is the same, older and darker Hotung that we know."
Warner said she had expected the furniture and layout to be different after renovations. "I was surprised that they didn't change the couches, but other than that, I think it's good," she said.
Bayne agreed.
"It's kind of surprising that they didn't do more renovations to the sitting area," he said."
Some students said they liked the new layout in spite of the strange incongruity between the ordering area and the eating area.
"I like the design and everything - it's nice," Ownuka said.
Anderson was a little less positive, but still approved of the changes.
"I like the actual setup of the new Hotung," she said. "It looks really nice, but it kind of looks odd."
