A new semester brings late-night quiz-cramming at Bobst Library and giddy chatting with a gradually solidifying friend group. Whether you’re looking for a snack to fuel you through a night of academic agony or to bond over with new friends, one of the best perks of going to college in New York City is the unlimited food spot options that stay open deep into the night. While that one food truck parked in front of Bobst may seem appealing due to convenience, here are six places near campus where you can satiate your midnight cravings.

Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe

95 MacDougal St.

Unfortunately, I don’t have just one sweet tooth — I have roughly 20-40 at any given time, all desperately craving the most intensely sweet drink possible. If that’s also you, Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe’s mildly insane drinks will hit the spot. In addition to boasting smoothies, milkshakes, coffee and matcha, Bora Bora also offers ice cream, decadent crepes and waffles as well as a set of croissant waffle, croffle, hybrids. My favorite drinks are Rainbow Rocket ($6.99), a blueberry, strawberry and mango slush topped with a rocket popsicle, and the Unicorn ($10.99), a strawberry and mango milkshake topped with an ice cream cone. When I’m craving something iced, I reach for the Pink Freez ($6.99), filled with crushed ice and decorated with a stack of peach rings, an entire stick of cotton candy and a bottle of Freez soda sticking out the top. Usually, something this Instagrammable ends up falling flat on taste — but Bora Bora has consistently surprised and delighted me. It’s excessive, sickening and absolutely wonderful.

— Sam Donagi, Deputy Culture Editor 

Mango Mango

23 St. Marks Place

During the trenches of midterm season, I always enjoy ending my night with a well-deserved sweet treat. Finely honed over the last semester, my gut response is to head to Mango Mango, open until 11 p.m. on weeknights and until 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Only a small detour from my dorm in Union Square, this cozy dessert spot tucked into the East Village offers a multitude of mango-forward dessert options, ranging from coffees, milk teas, smoothies, crepes and sundaes. There are a few that always call my name, however, such as the Brown Sugar Bubble Mille Crepe Cake ($9.95), which embodies traditional brown sugar milk tea in a rich, silky cake that melts in your mouth. If I’m looking for a lighter dessert before heading to bed, my go-to is the mango coconut sticky rice served with ice cream — it’s soft, airy and less sweet than most items on the menu. When the study session ends, Mango Mango is where the night should too.

— Shreeya Goyal, Beauty & Style Editor 

Creperie NYC

112 MacDougal St.

When it comes to a late-night study session at Bobst, I always crave something insanely sweet to satiate my sadness and reinvigorate my senses for another hour of studying. Casual and convenient, with violently bright yellow walls, Creperie NYC on MacDougal Street is open until 3 a.m. They serve an extensive menu of savory and sweet crepes, including vegetarian options. My go-to is the decadent House Special Crepe for a somewhat pricey $16, where soft folds of crepe are generously topped with Nutella, whipped cream, strawberry and my favorite — a whole piece of tiramisu. Because the creperie is almost always busy, be prepared to stand out in the cold for at least 10 minutes — it’s less of a store and more of a hole-in-the-wall booth. 

— Julia Kim, Culture Editor

Spot Dessert Bar

13 St. Marks Place

Most students have their go-to spot for their go-to dessert — but for me, Spot Dessert Bar’s range of unique treats, from bubble tea to avant-garde pastries, makes it the perfect place to satiate those late-night cravings that you can’t quite name. When my immediate reaction after a study session is to treat myself, celebrating with one of Spot’s sophisticated desserts feels like a true reward. Located on St. Marks Place and open until 12 a.m., Spot serves up a fusion of Western-style desserts with Asian flavors. Whether it be the matcha lava cake ($14.95) or a scoop of Vietnamese coffee sorbet ($9), Spot packs a flavorful punch that will make walking outside in these arctic weather conditions worth it. 

— Noor Maahin, Identity & Equity Editor

Prince Street Pizza

27 Prince St.

While this iconic pizza spot is a bit more of a trek than the other snack locales on this list, the harrowing journey from campus to below Houston Street is made worth it the second I sink my teeth into Prince Street Pizza’s pillowy, soft crust. The perfectly greasy, savory pepperoni slices of its signature Naughty Pie — combined with a drizzle of tangy hot honey — provide the much-needed kick to my spirits after a long coma of monotonic intellectual haze. Slices range from $4 to $9, and closing times range from midnight to 5 a.m. throughout the week. Always lively from the fast-moving queue of New Yorkers and tourists, Prince Street Pizza provides a break from the fluorescent lights of Bobst, reminding you that even when you’re holed up studying, you’re still working in a lively city. 

— Ivanka Sun, Culture Editor

Insomnia Cookies

Multiple locations

At nighttime, my sweet tooth awakens, often reminding me that the day can’t truly end without dessert. Thankfully, in the early 2000s, college student Seth Berkowitz understood this universal impulse and, from his University of Pennsylvania dorm room, conceived a solution to the college student’s late-night snack dilemma — Insomnia Cookies. Open until 1 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, Insomnia Cookies offers night owls a variety of soft, warm cookies, as well as a selection of milkshakes and sundaes. The cookie chain targets young adults with late-night cravings by strategically placing its stores near college campuses. Students living in lower Manhattan can enjoy Insomnia Cookies’ locations in Greenwich Village, the West Village, Chelsea and Union Square, while students at the Brooklyn campus can reach Insomnia Cookies via a short walk to Smith Street. 

— Colette Yehl, Food Editor 

Contact Sam Donagi, Shreeya Goyal, Julia Kim, Noor Maahin, Ivanka Sun and Colette Yehl at [email protected].