At Euston, 200meters up Eversholt Street, (the road up the side of Platform 1, is Double 6 (66) café, been there years, does all the normal breakfast options, snacks and dinners,(Shepherds Pie sort if stuff) excellent value, decent food reasonably priced for London, full English options for £5 plus dinners for £6+, I always use it especially when needing breakfast
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( ?Trivia ) Largest Station with the worst food ( I Vote Bristol TM )
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jamesst
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Yeah I'll second this. For all the money spent on the platforms the concourse and shop area is very poor.
alistairlees
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It's the City of London. There are hundreds of decent restaurants (to suit all budgets) around the station.
coradiafan2000
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Reading this I'm surprised how picky some people are. As long as there's a Pumpkin or Upper Crust I'm sorted. Not really gonna want more than a sandwich.
edwin_m
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And Greggs, Starbucks and Costa and a couple of other coffee type places. I make it about 15 places to get a coffee in or within 5min of the station.
thenorthern
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Given the size of it Crewe is a large station, the catering options there are pretty bad.
47271
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Glasgow Queen Street has got to be the worst very large station until the building works are complete. The nearest supermarket is the Sainsburys at the top of Buchanan Street, hardly convenient if you need to nip in for something just before your train goes. It'll all be fixed soon though, I hope.
More seriously, I agree that Bristol Temple Meads is dire. The very least that we could expect in a station of that scale is a Sainsburys or M&S. Newcastle, which comes in for some criticism upthread, has both.
What about flipping this round, where's the best? St Pancras and Birmingham New Street have got to be up there?
More seriously, I agree that Bristol Temple Meads is dire. The very least that we could expect in a station of that scale is a Sainsburys or M&S. Newcastle, which comes in for some criticism upthread, has both.
What about flipping this round, where's the best? St Pancras and Birmingham New Street have got to be up there?
Yes Glasgow Queen St does not have any catering apart from a Coffee stand. Theres a new Costa that opened across the road on the east side and a Greggs/pret across the George Sq. That said Queen St is not a station that i linger.
Peregrine 4903
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I think he was talking about Liverpool Lime Street.
I'd definetly agree with you that Liverpool Street has great food options.
Will keep that in mind.
alistairlees
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Oops. I will claim that I was confused by the post after the one I replied to, which referred to "Liverpool Street".
Sorry, my fault.
voyagerdude220
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I changed at Warrington Bank Quay recently, about 21:00 ish and noticed the staff at the Costa going home, then wondered whether there were any other food places on the station. I stayed on the platforms and didn't go downstairs or near the entrance to the station, but thought it seemed very basic.
Going back on topic, can anyone remember the company which used to run a small kiosk in the middle of the subway at Bristol Temple M, serving hot and cold drinks, alongside sandwiches and hot paninis? They always did a very good mint hot chocolate and their paninis were very good (although of course both were naturally rather costly).
Peregrine 4903
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Don't worry, happens to the best of us.
coradiafan2000
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May as well join in I guess. I've always found Cardiff Central to be somewhat lacklustre. Only one tiny Upper Crust stall on the platforms, although plenty of shops down on the concourse.
I'd agree with Crewe as well, I can only remember one cafe on the station, I've never actually left the station at Crewe so I don't know what there is outside.
As for the best, the first two that come to mind are Manchester Piccadilly and Euston.
I'd agree with Crewe as well, I can only remember one cafe on the station, I've never actually left the station at Crewe so I don't know what there is outside.
As for the best, the first two that come to mind are Manchester Piccadilly and Euston.
voyagerdude220
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I thoroughly enjoyed late brunch at Carluccio's at Manchester Piccadilly last Sunday at around 12:45. It was quite busy, but still plenty of space. Service was good and the food was great. A bit pricey, but very good quality.
Best - St Pancras and (now) Birmingham New Street - both excellent and lots to choose from. Paddington is pretty good these days - I frequently get a beer and food at the Mad Bishop & Bear above the food hall.
Worst - Bristol TM is lacking for sit-down food, but that said Bristol itself has one of the best selections of food and drink in the country, so why would you want to dine at the station anyway?
My view on station catering is that the most 99% of travellers will want is a sandwich/baguette/wrap and a tea/coffee, so unless it's a grand terminus like St Pancras where there is a reason for getting there early and having a meal before travel, there isn't any incentive to allocate station space to substantive station catering.
I don't know if this is true for others, but what grabs my attention is a shop/stall/bar selling locally sourced offerings.
There is also the footfall issue - Bristol TM actually has a lower number of entry/exit than Cardiff C (although that's also due to the valley's lines commuters who just walk in and out every day), but I guess it depends on who your travellers are in order to free up floorspace for catering. Which is probably why it's viable to have food at a London Terminus as the people buying it are loading up before a long inter-city journey.
Worst - Bristol TM is lacking for sit-down food, but that said Bristol itself has one of the best selections of food and drink in the country, so why would you want to dine at the station anyway?
My view on station catering is that the most 99% of travellers will want is a sandwich/baguette/wrap and a tea/coffee, so unless it's a grand terminus like St Pancras where there is a reason for getting there early and having a meal before travel, there isn't any incentive to allocate station space to substantive station catering.
I don't know if this is true for others, but what grabs my attention is a shop/stall/bar selling locally sourced offerings.
There is also the footfall issue - Bristol TM actually has a lower number of entry/exit than Cardiff C (although that's also due to the valley's lines commuters who just walk in and out every day), but I guess it depends on who your travellers are in order to free up floorspace for catering. Which is probably why it's viable to have food at a London Terminus as the people buying it are loading up before a long inter-city journey.
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kentrailman
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Agree ! Carlucchios Manchester Piccadilly excellent !
Thanks for all your replies to my post so far. I never knew about Hart's bakery at bristol .. ' under the arches ' ?! I will go and look for it next time I am there !
The leon at paddington is nice, always ( nearly always) room to sit down unlike many other places.
ChiefPlanner
Established Member
Seconded - very good value for money and decent food. If you are tight for time , they will fast-track your order too.
Yeah Warrington BQ is another , i think theres an Aldi nearby.
Liverpool Lime Street not London Liverpool Street!
Next door to the station though? As I recall Temple Meads is quite a trudge from the city centre and a choice of restaurants. That may have changed of course.
But it's not the fairest comparison to judge station food outlets without taking into account what lies just outside. Some city and large town stations are quite remote from the commercial hub, while others are right in the middle.
The only options at Bradford Interchange are a coffee cart on the platforms and Greggs downstairs in the bus station part. Forster Square has a kiosk, so a bit rough for anybody going to London either way.
Scarborough has a coffee shop with a range of sandwiches and Ginsters which is a bit paltry when the majority of departures are going to places some 2-3 hours away.
Scarborough has a coffee shop with a range of sandwiches and Ginsters which is a bit paltry when the majority of departures are going to places some 2-3 hours away.
If you want to avoid the crowds at the North Western spoons at Liverpool Lime Street station you've got Ma Egerton's pub who serve freshly made pizzas. It's tucked away behind the back of the Empire Theatre.
And on the other side of the station is The Crown which does reasonably priced pub grub. It's also handy for a swift pint if your Northern train home has been cancelled and you have half an hour to wait for the next one because it's quicker to get served here than in the North Western spoons!
A new Tesco Express is also opening soon on the ground floor of the new student block on Skelhorne Street. This will complement the Sainsbury's Local over the road and will be a welcome distraction from the rip off M&S Simply Food on the station concourse!
Back to Bristol Temple Meads station, I've used it dozens of times over the years as I used to live down that way, and I agree that the facilities there aren't very good.
That spoons is a godsend, as is the McColls convenience store that has a bigger, better and cheaper selection of drinks, snacks etc than the WHSmith in the station!
And I also miss the Reckless Engineer, but at least the Barley Mow, Cornubia and The 7 Stars aren't too far away.
And on the other side of the station is The Crown which does reasonably priced pub grub. It's also handy for a swift pint if your Northern train home has been cancelled and you have half an hour to wait for the next one because it's quicker to get served here than in the North Western spoons!
A new Tesco Express is also opening soon on the ground floor of the new student block on Skelhorne Street. This will complement the Sainsbury's Local over the road and will be a welcome distraction from the rip off M&S Simply Food on the station concourse!
Back to Bristol Temple Meads station, I've used it dozens of times over the years as I used to live down that way, and I agree that the facilities there aren't very good.
That spoons is a godsend, as is the McColls convenience store that has a bigger, better and cheaper selection of drinks, snacks etc than the WHSmith in the station!
And I also miss the Reckless Engineer, but at least the Barley Mow, Cornubia and The 7 Stars aren't too far away.
Ashley Hill
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It used to do good beer festivals too!
Dai Corner
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That's the one directly opposite the Temple Meads approach road? I used it in the 1980s when it was the Isambard Kingdom Brunel, I worked in the offices above and lunchtime pints were a thing. Didn't know it had closed.
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