First Class On Virgin

[gareth taylor]

Im going in first class next weekend for the first time. And Im wondering what the meals are like.

Any help is welcome.

Thanks.

 

[MCR247]

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but there isnt any meals on weekends

 

[Old Timer]

The Full English Breakfast consists of one sausage, hash brown, one egg, one tomato, and two slices of bacon.

In total you will get two cups of tea, one before, one after, and a glass of fruit juice/water, plus two slices of toast.

Whether it is served on a plate or delivered separately to you is dependent upon the catering crew, and also sometimes on how busy First is. That also has an impact on how hot the food will be. G is served last, K first because that is where the kitchen is.

If you are travelling without a reservation you may end up in G if you want to select your own seat/ 4-seating bay. If you have NO reservation then go directly to G, do not walk through if you can avoid it.

Dinner consists of normally one hot meal. Haddock I can particularly recommend. There is also Salmon. There are some hot vegetarian dishes.

If you don't opt for the hot meal then you will end up on a Cheese sandwich or ham roll and a sice of cake / fruit.

Tea and fruit juice is available as well as red / white wine, lager, and beer.

Depending on the crew, you may be offered a top up.

A word of warning to the wary. Manchester-originating morning peak trains seem to run out of breakfast before their last booked calling point for some reason, either due to Mancunian parsimony or gluttony. Be aware therefore that you stand less than half odds of getting breakfast if you join from Stafford south.

 

[dk1]

Last time i travelled in 1st on Virgin one of the evening meals was chicken curry pie. It did look & smell delicious. Fortunatley the TM told me to sit in first but unfortunatley i was travelling on a standard class staff pass so couldn't tick the taste buds.

 

[Old Timer]

Last time i travelled in 1st on Virgin one of the evening meals was chicken curry pie. It did look & smell delicious. Fortunatley the TM told me to sit in first but unfortunatley i was travelling on a standard class staff pass so couldn't tick the taste buds.

I forgot to mention the Game Pie....Duck, Chicken, Venison and pheasant.

 

[bengolding]

A word of warning to the wary. Manchester-originating morning peak trains seem to run out of breakfast before their last booked calling point for some reason, either due to Mancunian parsimony or gluttony. Be aware therefore that you stand less than half odds of getting breakfast if you join from Stafford south.

Not true in my experience. I've recently used the 07:07 Nuneaton to Euston several times. This is the 05:55 from Manchester and Nuneaton is the last call before Euston. On all ocassions, I have been offered the full breakfast range, even on Monday mornings when I find First to be particularly busy in all 4 carriages. The same applies to the 08:44 from Nuneaton which is the 07:35 from Manchester.

Also note, that Virgin have reduced the period of evening meal services. Used to be 16:00-19:00, but is now 17:00-19:00.

 

[Old Timer]

Not true in my experience. I've recently used the 07:07 Nuneaton to Euston several times. This is the 05:55 from Manchester and Nuneaton is the last call before Euston. On all ocassions, I have been offered the full breakfast range, even on Monday mornings when I find First to be particularly busy in all 4 carriages. The same applies to the 08:44 from Nuneaton which is the 07:35 from Manchester.

Also note, that Virgin have reduced the period of evening meal services. Used to be 16:00-19:00, but is now 17:00-19:00.

Well for example although being lightly loaded last Friday, the restaurant had run out of breakfast at Nuneaton.

And on both occasions just before Christmas when I have used the 0627 Manchester to Euston from the West Midlands it has run out of food by Wolverhampton. I was told by other passengers that this is not an uncommon occurrence.

Breakfast is served on services until 1000.

 

[bengolding]

That seems odd, Old Timer. The 06:27 takes almost an hour longer to reach Euston as it goes the scenic route via the West Midlands in the path of the XC to Bournemouth. In theory, customers from Manchester through to Stafford can get faster VTs to Euston instaed of this train. This train picks up plenty of FC at New St (08:10), Int and Cov, so it seems bizarre they had run out at Wolves. Not sure if VT should be offering complimentary breakfast for FC customers making short journeys to the West Midlands.

I'm not a big fan of VT breakfast, since they got rid of the Primo breakfast so no more black pudding, tomato juice or mushrooms, but I can't complain as it is complimentary. I just hope they could improve the Light Bites offerings. Some of the more recent combination of sandwiches they've come out with leads much to be desired.

 

[Old Timer]

I'm not a big fan of VT breakfast, since they got rid of the Primo breakfast so no more black pudding, tomato juice or mushrooms, but I can't complain as it is complimentary. I just hope they could improve the Light Bites offerings. Some of the more recent combination of sandwiches they've come out with leads much to be desired.

To be honest I plan my days around having breakfast on the train, and although Virgin may say its complimentary, you can be pretty damned certain that its actually in the ticket price. It is simply called complimentary so that no-one can complain when it does not arrive, but it most certainly is not being handed out as a free gift by any means and for Virgin to suggest it is, is to say the least disingenuous as is much of their marketing and hype.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

To be honest I plan my days around having breakfast on the train

Blimey! Didn't have you pegged as a foodie?

 

[MCR247]

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but there isnt any meals on weekends

So bad luck mate

 

[ChrisTheRef]

I know we're all fantasising over English breakfasts, but to answer the original question, you will get an offering of tea,coffee, cold soft drinks and biscuits.
This will be brought to your seat if you join at the origin station. If not, and you haven't seen anything for 10ish minutes after departure, go to Coach C, show your ticket, and grab whatever they'll let you!