Restaurants Near Dalhousie: Where Students Eat Well for Less in Halifax
A Halifax student guide to eating well for less near Dalhousie: the walk or the U-Pass bus downtown, filling rice plates, leftovers and group dinners.
Barrios Restaurant & Bar
9/22/20264 min read
Restaurants Near Dalhousie: Where Students Eat Well for Less in Halifax
Campus food gets old by October, and the real money goes on the small stuff. A coffee here, a snack between classes, delivery at 11 at night. Those add up faster than one proper meal a week does.
Barrios is not on campus. It is about 30 minutes on foot from the Killam, or about 18 minutes on a bus your U-Pass already covers. That is the trade. You go once instead of every day, and you plan the meal so it earns the trip.
Getting to Barrington Street from Dalhousie
From Studley, head east along Coburg Road, which becomes Spring Garden Road at Robie Street, and keep going downhill. Spring Garden ends at Barrington, at the Old Burying Ground. Turn left there and we are about a block and a half north on your left, at 1571 Barrington Street, just before Sackville Street. King's sits on the same corner of Studley, so it is the same walk.
From Saint Mary's it is a different route. Head north along Barrington instead of going through Spring Garden.
If you would rather not walk it in February, the bus is already paid for. Dalhousie, King's and Saint Mary's are all on the Halifax Transit U-Pass from September through April. Check the transit app for the route and the next bus from your stop.
We are open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 AM and closed on Mondays. Tuesday to Thursday we close at 9 PM, with the last booked table at 8 PM and walk-ins until about 8 or 8:30. Friday and Saturday we are open until 11 PM, with the last seating at 10 PM. If walking down is not happening, we are on Uber Eats and DoorDash from noon to 8 PM, Tuesday to Saturday, or call 902-444-2515 to order for pickup.
Cheap eats downtown: the lowest-priced ways to eat here
Prices are from our menu in October 2026, before tax.
Taco Tuesday. Every Tuesday our tacos are $5 instead of $7, so three tacos come to $15. The sisig taco is chopped roasted pork with soy sauce and chili in a soft shell.
Torta, $12. A Filipino eggplant omelette with pico de gallo, crispy onions and banana ketchup. Vegetarian. Add steamed rice for $2.50 if you want a full plate.
Pinakbet, $14. Squash, beans, okra, eggplant and crispy tofu, made without shrimp paste or fish sauce, so it is vegetarian and vegan-friendly. With steamed rice it comes to $16.50.
Why a rice plate is the better student order
A cheap meal only counts if it keeps you full. That is where a rice plate does the work. One plate, one price, and no building a meal out of sides.
Beef tapa is the one to start with, at $18. Thinly sliced beef marinated in soy sauce and spices, pan-fried until the edges caramelise, served with garlic rice and two eggs, which makes it our tapsilog. Bangsilog is $17: pan-fried milkfish with garlic fried rice, a sunny side egg and pickled daikon and carrots. Either one is a full meal on one plate, rice included.
Make one Filipino meal into two
This is the part that actually saves money. If you order a dish that survives a night in the fridge and it is more than you want in one sitting, take the rest home.
Caldereta is the one to pick. It is better the next day, once the sauce has had time to sit. Pancit comes back fine in a pan with a splash of water.
Spring rolls will crisp up again in an oven or an air fryer, never a microwave.
The food safety part, quickly. The two-hour clock starts when the food stops being hot, not when you leave, so a plate that sat on the table for half an hour has half an hour on it already. Fridge within two hours, eat within three days, reheat once, until it is steaming hot all the way through (74°C if you have a thermometer).
Eating out as a group in downtown Halifax
Filipino food is built for sharing, which makes a group dinner easier to split. Put a few plates in the middle, a pancit and rice for the table, and add another plate if people are still hungry. Kare-kare has peanut and comes with shrimp paste, so check allergies first.
Sort out the money before you order, not after. If everyone is sharing, an even split is faster than working out who ate what. Call 902-444-2515 if there are eight or more of you, so the table is ready when you get here.
For a society event or a bigger group, party trays are the cheaper route. A family size pancit bihon tray is $35 and serves about five people, which is about $7 a head. Trays need 24 to 48 hours notice and are pickup only.
For Filipino students far from home
The first term is the long one. Food is the thing that reminds you how far away you are, and it is also the quickest way back to something that feels like yours.
Our Filipino Sunday brunch runs from 10:30 AM to 4 PM, at $29 for adults, with tocino, longganisa, pandesal and siomai on the spread every week. Bring the classmates who have never tried Filipino food, or the friends who already know exactly what you are missing.
Quick answers
How far is Barrios from Dalhousie?
About 30 minutes on foot from the Killam, or about 18 minutes by bus. Walk east along Coburg Road, which becomes Spring Garden Road at Robie, turn left onto Barrington at the Old Burying Ground, and we are about a block and a half north on your left. King's is the same walk. From Saint Mary's, head north on Barrington.
Can I use my U-Pass to get there?
Yes. Dalhousie, King's and Saint Mary's are all on the U-Pass from September through April, so the bus downtown is already paid for.
What is the cheapest meal at Barrios?
Tacos on Taco Tuesday, $5 each. Otherwise the torta at $12 or the pinakbet at $14, plus $2.50 for steamed rice.
What should I order if I want to be full?
A rice plate. Beef tapa is marinated beef with garlic rice and two eggs at $18, or bangsilog is milkfish with garlic fried rice and an egg at $17.
Which dishes are good as leftovers?
Caldereta and pancit. Spring rolls reheat in an oven or air fryer, never a microwave.
Do you deliver?
We are on Uber Eats and DoorDash from noon to 8 PM, Tuesday to Saturday. You can also call 902-444-2515 to order for pickup.
Are you open late?
Friday and Saturday until 11 PM, with the last seating at 10 PM. Tuesday to Thursday we close at 9 PM. Closed Mondays, and Sunday is brunch, 10:30 AM to 4 PM.
Barrios Kitchen & Bar, 1571 Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Book a table or call 902-444-2515.