Canteen-style restaurants

[ChrisC]

That's just reminded me of the 1970s and a trip to the Littlewoods cafe in Dundee. Rank lookwarm food kept going by the orange glow lamps.
Happy days!

Thanks!

Littlewoods, Woolworths, BHS, Debenhams etc. They all had them.

 

[nlogax]

Littlewoods, Woolworths, BHS, Debenhams etc. They all had them.

Very early childhood memories right there... the smell of cabbage and disappointment.

 

[Snow1964]

Littlewoods, Woolworths, BHS, Debenhams etc. They all had them.

Childhood memories of BHS Bournemouth, which had a long conveyor belt one side where you put your tray at the end with dirty plates.

There is a very good canteen style motorway services on M5 at Gloucester, which also has a farm shop, and quick takeaway, best quality motorway services by a mile.

 

[yorksrob]

If you like buffet breakfasts, you don't have to be staying at Premier Inn to eat at one, at least the ones where the breakfast is served in the adjacent pub. Book a slot on the Web and just rock up and pay on the day. They may be less willing to accept walk ins at ones with just a breakfast room as there is often not enough capacity, though.

You can generally buy one in the hotel ones as well !

 

[adc82140]

I'm very happy with canteen-style in the office or at client sites. However I HATE this when I'm travelling (airports etc.) as carrying a tray is an utter pain if I'm travelling alone and have luggage....

Particularly a challenge on a cross channel ferry in a force 8. I found this out the hard way.

 

[yorksrob]

Particularly a challenge on a cross channel ferry in a force 8. I found this out the hard way.

Fair play, if that's your biggest concern in a force 8 on a cross channel ferry (retaining previous meals would be my main concern !)

 

[Big Tim]

Being involved in motorcycle racing at circuits across the U.K. - which tend to be several miles from civilisation - unless we're doing our own "in-house" catering, the options tend to be eating from a questionable "burger van" or in the on-site canteen style cafe, which usually doubles up as a bar in the evenings. There's generally set periods for breakfast, going straight into lunch at about 11.30am and then a break until evening meals are served after 5.30pm.

I've found these arrangements to generally be pretty decent - pick your meal and it's plated in front of you, stick it on your tray along with a drink, pay the member of staff at the till then pick up cutlery (used to also gather condiments at this time, but these are rationed at the till now - probably down to cost-cutting). Breakfast is usually a "create your own" or set affair, with the option of bacon rolls etc, whilst lunch / evening will have four or five hot dishes where you can select sides - usually rice/chips/potatos plus vegetables or beans. It's not going to win any awards, but I'd always happily pay an extra £3 or so to sit down and have a plated meal with a pint than stand outside with a dubious burger! Obviously the prices are inflated for a captive audience - but that's to be expected.

n.b. - these canteens are open to spectators when organised events are on; and also the public on non-race days (assuming the circuit is open for other business), not just team members / competitors who are working on site

 

[Busaholic]

Harveys in Halifax - the last remaining independent family-owned department store in Yorkshire, if not in the whole UK -

Not quite, there are still a few e.g. Austins in Newton Abbot, Devon, featured on BBC local TV programme a few weeks ago. I admit to not having heard of it, let alone been in it.

 

[Ediswan]

Not quite, there are still a few e.g. Austins in Newton Abbot, Devon, featured on BBC local TV programme a few weeks ago. I admit to not having heard of it, let alone been in it.

Also Roys of Wroxham. It is in the nature of independent department stores to be little known outside their local area.

 

[DelayRepay]

Childhood memories of BHS Bournemouth, which had a long conveyor belt one side where you put your tray at the end with dirty plates.

My childhood memory is going into the town centre at Christmas to see the lights with my mum when I was little. She'd take me to see Father Christmas in BHS and then we'd have something to eat in their canteen. It was a real treat when I was a child!

 

[westv]

We used to have these type of restaurants at BHS, Debenhams and M&S in central Hull. Now they are all gone together with House of Fraser.

 

[route101]

These canteen types are something I have sampled in Poland and Russia but not so much here except Tebay Services or school.

Motorway service areas always used to have a large canteen style eating area, though many have now fragmented into various (franchised?) fast food counters around a shared seating area. Service was usually a mixture of self-service for cold items, and servers behind the counter for hot meals.

The last time I stopped at Tebay services on the M6 in around 2019, it still worked that way - there were several counters with ready-cooked hot food as well as displays with self serve bakery items etc. You collected the combination you wanted on a tray and paid at the end. Good quality too, although the prices did reflect that, and it's my preferred stop when going to/from Scotland.

Stopped at Tebay last year and it was queued out at 11am. 11am is not a good time as they have stopped breakfast and not yet serving lunch.

 

[Gloster]

Tebay is, reportedly, the only independently owned motorway service station. Again reportedly, coach trips and tours are run that include a visit to the services as one of the attractions. Yet again reportedly, it has been said that the publicity has gone to their heads and it is not as good as it used to be, although it is still better than anywhere else.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Tebay is, reportedly, the only independently owned motorway service station. Again reportedly, coach trips and tours are run that include a visit to the services as one of the attractions. Yet again reportedly, it has been said that the publicity has gone to their heads and it is not as good as it used to be, although it is still better than anywhere else.

They have I think 3 sites - Tebay, Gloucester and Cairn Lodge. They are a bit of a cut above the others but I don't like the canteen style food as it is often not of good quality due to being sat there for a while, I would prefer they used foodservice style food "cooked" to order like most pubs. They are also very bad at cleaning the restaurant in my experience.

 

[D6130]

When my wife worked for Bradford Council in the late 1990s/early 2000s, the council staff canteen on the top floor of the Town hall extension was also open to the public and was a valuable source of income for the council. There was a similar operation run by Calderdale Council in the basement of Halifax Town Hall. I believe that, very sadly, COVID has put paid to both of these public facilities and that eating facilities for staff have been very much scaled down. Most of the larger Italian towns and cities also open their staff canteens - known as the 'Mensa Communale' or communal table - to the public and serve very reasonably-priced good quality meals at economical prices....although, again, that may have now stopped due to the virus.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I recently had an appointment at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport and the restaurant there always catered for a good range of cooked meals and lighter snack meals for both staff and visitors (who paid a surcharge...staff at lower price showing ID). However, following the Covid outbreak, admission there was only now restricted to staff members. The hospital news shop fortunately sold packaged sandwiches and soft drinks and there was room to eat it there.

 

[ChrisC]

We used to have these type of restaurants at BHS, Debenhams and M&S in central Hull. Now they are all gone together with House of Frasers.

With this type of restaurant in department stores going so has the breakfasts that they used to serve. 6 item or 8 item breakfasts at a very cheap price. The only problem was that a drink wasn’t included and you ended up paying more for a coffee than for the actual breakfast.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

With this type of restaurant in department stores going so has the breakfasts that they used to serve. 6 item or 8 item breakfasts at a very cheap price. The only problem was that a drink wasn’t included and you ended up paying more for a coffee than for the actual breakfast.

I remember the Debenhams restaurant in Stockport having reasonably-priced main cooked meals, but the drawback in that particular store was that cold air was blasted downwards from the ceiling vents and anyone unfortunate to have a table situated under this cold air soon found the meal went cold quickly. The Debenhams store restaurant in Bolton was far better in all respects.

Stockport ended up losing both their Debenhams and Marks and Spencer stores.

 

[DelayRepay]

Debenhams or BHS for breakfast used to be a regular way to start my day if I was going out on the rails.

Sadly today's options tend to be Wetherspoons or McDonalds. Or occasionally Morrisons.

Even though they weren't canteen style in recent years, I note that Sainsburys have closed most of their instore cafes, and a lot of the Tesco ones have turned into Costa Coffee outlets.

Options for a reasonable cooked breakfast or a hot lunch seem to be limited to pubs, these days.

 

[najaB]

Stockport ended up losing both their Debenhams and Marks and Spencer stores.

Stockport isn't alone in losing Debenhams: they folded a year or so ago and exist as an online-only retailer (owned by Boohoo), and a very large number of M&S's were closed en-masse about five years ago.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Stockport isn't alone in losing Debenhams: they folded a year or so ago and exist as an online-only retailer (owned by Boohoo), and a very large number of M&S's were closed en-masse about five years ago.

Still a pity that a town the size of Stockport lost its two better-quality department stores.

 

[DelayRepay]

Still a pity that a town the size of Stockport lost its two better-quality department stores.

Many other towns suffered the same fate. Sheffield even lost its John Lewis store.

 

[urbophile]

The downside of this layout was explained by Jasper Carrott at one point - "all day breakfast that really has been there all day".

Haha. I'm not sure if it's fair to say that about Tebay though.

 

[Dai Corner]

Options for a reasonable cooked breakfast or a hot lunch seem to be limited to pubs, these days.

Have you tried a 'greasy spoon' cafe? They're usually not as the poster below describes.

Greasy Spoon Cafes

One thing I cannot stand is traditional greasy spoon cafes. To me, I can think of nothing worse than sitting in a busy terraced building with a dirty beige "Jimmy's Caf' " sign on the front eating greasy thick-cut fatty bacon in cheap rolls with milky tea and an industrial-sized bottle of...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[DelayRepay]

Have you tried a 'greasy spoon' cafe? They're usually not as the poster below describes.

Greasy Spoon Cafes

One thing I cannot stand is traditional greasy spoon cafes. To me, I can think of nothing worse than sitting in a busy terraced building with a dirty beige "Jimmy's Caf' " sign on the front eating greasy thick-cut fatty bacon in cheap rolls with milky tea and an industrial-sized bottle of...

www.railforums.co.uk

Yeah, sometimes. But in a town I don't know it was always easy to find a Debenhams or BHS. Finding these small hidden gems is not as easy. And while some are great, others are rubbish!

 

[najaB]

Still a pity that a town the size of Stockport lost its two better-quality department stores.

That's the nature of modern-day retail. The High Street has lost its dominance - out of town centres and online rule the space.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Haha. I'm not sure if it's fair to say that about Tebay though.

It definitely is. The coffee is good and the shop sells a more interesting range of sweets than WH Smuggs Voucher Shop and Reading Room, but the hot food really isn't up to that much.

One place you do still get canteen style is Asian places like Kokoro and the likes. That works better as "meat in flavourful sauces" actually tastes better if left to stand for a bit, or even when reheated.

 

[ChrisC]

Many other towns suffered the same fate. Sheffield even lost its John Lewis store.

I have very happy memories of the waitress served restaurant at John Lewis (Cole Brothers) in Sheffield from the 1970’s and 80’s, before it became self service and I suppose initially canteen style. It was always the highlight of a shopping trip to Sheffield with my mother. I remember having to queue before being shown to a table. They were round tables with white tablecloths and I especially remember the the large heavy Sheffield steel cutlery which was amazing. It was such a shock and a disappointment when one day we arrived there to find it had all been modernised and turned into a self service place. I don’t think we ever had lunch there again. John Lewis in Nottingham (Jessops) in Nottingham was similar on a smaller scale but nowhere as impressive as Sheffield.

 

[johnnychips]

With this type of restaurant in department stores going so has the breakfasts that they used to serve. 6 item or 8 item breakfasts at a very cheap price. The only problem was that a drink wasn’t included and you ended up paying more for a coffee than for the actual breakfast.

Masarellas - not sure if I’ve spelt it right - does this at the Peak Village outlet at Rowsley. I think they have other outlets in the North. But you are right about the coffee, good though it is.

 

[route101]

Harder to get a Full English at Motorway services now except Tebay. Even on the A roads most of the Little Chefs have now become Starbucks which are no good for food.