London North Eastern Railway (LNER) First Class service

[Bungle73]

That should be coming soon though, LNER have stated that they intend to show what menu you have when booking the train.

I don't understand why they can't give that info right now. How long have these menus been "coming soon"? Six months? How is that not long enough?

 

[Blindtraveler]

Thanks all for the various replies. I'm not bothered if I don't get served the full Great British heart attack experience but was more just wondering as I'll be up early if I need needed to take my own sandwiches. As long as they keep a steady flow of coffee and orange juice going for the over 3 hours that I'll be on that thing. The new trains certainly provide a wealth of interesting diversion opportunities but by goodness does it cost a lot of money as the standard class seats are really not great

 

[takno]

Thanks all for the various replies. I'm not bothered if I don't get served the full Great British heart attack experience but was more just wondering as I'll be up early if I need needed to take my own sandwiches. As long as they keep a steady flow of coffee and orange juice going for the over 3 hours that I'll be on that thing. The new trains certainly provide a wealth of interesting diversion opportunities but by goodness does it cost a lot of money as the standard class seats are really not great

The service has been pretty reliable as far as I can see in the last few months. I'd probably take along a couple of emergency butties just in case though, or make sure you head to the first class lounge and fill up on essentials before departure.

 

[ainsworth74]

The service has been pretty reliable as far as I can see in the last few months. I'd probably take along a couple of emergency butties just in case though, or make sure you head to the first class lounge and fill up on essentials before departure.

Yes I think the only issues I've had recently is a first choice option running out. But there's always been an alternative available of some description. Certainly there's always been something available at least!

 

[westv]

I don't understand why they can't give that info right now. How long have these menus been "coming soon"? Six months? How is that not long enough?

I wondered that too.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Thanks all for the various replies. I'm not bothered if I don't get served the full Great British heart attack experience but was more just wondering as I'll be up early if I need needed to take my own sandwiches. As long as they keep a steady flow of coffee and orange juice going for the over 3 hours that I'll be on that thing. The new trains certainly provide a wealth of interesting diversion opportunities but by goodness does it cost a lot of money as the standard class seats are really not great

Your comments have wet my appetite enough to book a 1st class trip in each direction on the diversion route on 5th Feb!

 

[LucyP]

It's a pretty poor offering now. You might get 2 offers of drinks if you are on for a couple of hours, otherwise it will be one. The drinks are as they used to be pre-Covid. The days of hot food served on a plate are seemingly over. The only hot food is a bacon roll. Everything else is just sandwiches or something in a box. No sign of a plate. Very small portions. You need to cake, crisps and biscuits to pad it out. It isn't a full meal anymore. Don't forget that your station might have a 1st class lounge. They vary in size and facilities, but there is normally a coffee machine, water, crisps and biscuits.

 

[Andy Pacer]

It's a pretty poor offering now. You might get 2 offers of drinks if you are on for a couple of hours, otherwise it will be one. The drinks are as they used to be pre-Covid. The days of hot food served on a plate are seemingly over. The only hot food is a bacon roll. Everything else is just sandwiches or something in a box. No sign of a plate. Very small portions. You need to cake, crisps and biscuits to pad it out. It isn't a full meal anymore. Don't forget that your station might have a 1st class lounge. They vary in size and facilities, but there is normally a coffee machine, water, crisps and biscuits.

Interesting thoughts as their photos on the website show meals on plates.

Agreed its not as good as pre Covid, I used to enjoy the evening meal trains out of Kings Cross pre Covid

 

[AlterEgo]

It's a pretty poor offering now. You might get 2 offers of drinks if you are on for a couple of hours, otherwise it will be one. The drinks are as they used to be pre-Covid. The days of hot food served on a plate are seemingly over. The only hot food is a bacon roll. Everything else is just sandwiches or something in a box. No sign of a plate. Very small portions. You need to cake, crisps and biscuits to pad it out. It isn't a full meal anymore. Don't forget that your station might have a 1st class lounge. They vary in size and facilities, but there is normally a coffee machine, water, crisps and biscuits.

They literally started the full menu today, and even before, there were a few hot options. I had beef stew both today and yesterday. I'm writing this from the train. Four drinks runs LDS-KGX today.

 

[Kite159]

The chicken sandwich they were serving on Sunday was very tasty.

Shame the atmosphere of First class was ruined by a group who were in a competition at who could drink the most free booze.

 

[greyman42]

The chicken sandwich they were serving on Sunday was very tasty.

Shame the atmosphere of First class was ruined by a group who were in a competition at who could drink the most free booze.

Not unusual on a weekend.

 

[greyman42]

It's a pretty poor offering now. You might get 2 offers of drinks if you are on for a couple of hours, otherwise it will be one. The drinks are as they used to be pre-Covid. The days of hot food served on a plate are seemingly over. The only hot food is a bacon roll. Everything else is just sandwiches or something in a box. No sign of a plate. Very small portions. You need to cake, crisps and biscuits to pad it out. It isn't a full meal anymore. Don't forget that your station might have a 1st class lounge. They vary in size and facilities, but there is normally a coffee machine, water, crisps and biscuits.

If i was you, i would do myself a pack up and eat that. You will also save money by not buying pre-made sandwiches, pies etc in shops.

 

[takno]

Shame the atmosphere of First class was ruined by a group who were in a competition at who could drink the most free booze.

That's usually about half the carriage isn't it? I managed 5 beers by Edinburgh last time, which was very nice for a weekend

 

[westv]

When I next travel to my London office I am tempted to try again the cooked breakfast although I am disappointed to note a 35% increase on the ticket price compared to what I had paid in Dec 2019.

Edit: Scrap that idea. Seems like full cooked won't be returning to the service as its now scheduled to be "dish".

 

[williamn]

When I next travel to my London office I am tempted to try again the cooked breakfast although I am disappointed to note a 35% increase on the ticket price compared to what I had paid in Dec 2019.

Edit: Scrap that idea. Seems like full cooked won't be returning to the service as its now scheduled to be "dish".

How did you find that out?!

 

[westv]

How did you find that out?!

Asked on Twitter.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Has anyone got a clue what trains the Dine menus are on? They seem to be pretty much sporadic with no clear confirmation. From what I've seen on social media, most of the Edinburgh/Leeds services seem to be running as Dish or Dine.

 

[westv]

Until covid came along it was quite simple to know when you might get cooked breakfast or evening meal. From memory the first was provided on all weekday arrivals into Kings X before 10am (I think) and the evening meal was on all weekday departures from Kings X between something like 5pm and 6:30pm.
Clearly that isn't the case now.

 

[deep south]

How can you tell which first class menu is on offer? Their website makes great play of the new deli / dish / dine menus (which have a great deal of overlap) but I can't see anything that tells you which option will be available.

We are on the 1027 from Newcastle (0900 from Edinburgh) on Monday 7th February. The timetable does say dining car available, so does that imply the full breakfast is on offer?

 

[800001]

How can you tell which first class menu is on offer? Their website makes great play of the new deli / dish / dine menus (which have a great deal of overlap) but I can't see anything that tells you which option will be available.

We are on the 1027 from Newcastle (0900 from Edinburgh) on Monday 7th February. The timetable does say dining car available, so does that imply the full breakfast is on offer?

The website doesn’t show that yet, it should show it in the next few weeks.
If you use twitter if you ask them, they should be able to tell you.
I would think it would be the Dish menu.

 

[Falcon1200]

We are on the 1027 from Newcastle (0900 from Edinburgh) on Monday 7th February. The timetable does say dining car available, so does that imply the full breakfast is on offer?

I was on the 0830 from Edinburgh this morning, the Dine menu was offered with (very nice) full cooked breakfast.

 

[yorkie]

I travelled on LNER recently.

On a recent Friday I took the 0957 York to London and had the 'Full LNER' breakfast (I asked for no beans though) and that meant I didn't bother with lunch as it was so filling. My return journey was also excellent and I had the beef & mash which was excellent (a word of warning for people who dislike mushrooms: it contains a small quantity of mushroom; that doesn't bother me though!)

On Saturday I travelled York to Newcastle & return. Outward service was excellent. I had the porridge, which was filling enough for me and was actually quite decent. On the return, no hot options were available and so I had the chicken sandwich, which was pretty good. Some people may dislike the amount of salad in the sandwich but I consider that a bonus. Other than the lack of options, the service was otherwise very good. (I didn't like being told I was eligible for a fine via the public address system but I'll gloss over that and the actual service provided by the 1st class host was excellent)

 

[Huntergreed]

I travelled to Aberdeen using LNER on Friday. I was extremely impressed with both the frequency of food and drink offerings and the quality of the food (their stew was very nice, and snacks and drinks were plentiful).

I’m yet to try their full breakfast, but I intend to soon.

 

[ainsworth74]

On Saturday I travelled York to Newcastle & return. Outward service was excellent. I had the porridge, which was filling enough for me and was actually quite decent. On the return, no hot options were available and so I had the chicken sandwich, which was pretty good. Some people may dislike the amount of salad in the sandwich but I consider that a bonus. Other than the lack of options, the service was otherwise very good. (I didn't like being told I was eligible for a fine via the public address system but I'll gloss over that and the actual service provided by the 1st class host was excellent)

I was on the same trains and would echo the praise. I had the bacon roll in the morning and it was tasty with a good amount of bacon (two decent sized rashers) and served on a plate. It's not the same awful microwave effort that you get in standard class to be clear! Plenty of drinks on offer as well.

Return was disappointing in that there were no hot options but I'd put that down to the chaos that was reigning on the ECML that afternoon and lack of time to restock the train at Newcastle (terminated from the south and departed back south again within about ten minutes I'd say). But the actual service from the 1st class host was excellent and what options were available were good. Chicken sandwich was tasty with nice chunky bits of chicken and there was a chocolate mousse pot which was divine. Plenty of drinks as well.

Looking forward to trying the Dine menu but for the time being thumbs up to LNER on the revamped first class catering! But they really do need to advertise which trains will have what menu. I assume the delay is for a mixture of things including they might not have fully settled on which trains are going to have which menu and might also still be dealing with some supply train and staffing issues. But still, they need to be advertising is sooner rather than later.

 

[Andy Pacer]

I was on the same trains and would echo the praise. I had the bacon roll in the morning and it was tasty with a good amount of bacon (two decent sized rashers) and served on a plate. It's not the same awful microwave effort that you get in standard class to be clear! Plenty of drinks on offer as well.

Return was disappointing in that there were no hot options but I'd put that down to the chaos that was reigning on the ECML that afternoon and lack of time to restock the train at Newcastle (terminated from the south and departed back south again within about ten minutes I'd say). But the actual service from the 1st class host was excellent and what options were available were good. Chicken sandwich was tasty with nice chunky bits of chicken and there was a chocolate mousse pot which was divine. Plenty of drinks as well.

Looking forward to trying the Dine menu but for the time being thumbs up to LNER on the revamped first class catering! But they really do need to advertise which trains will have what menu. I assume the delay is for a mixture of things including they might not have fully settled on which trains are going to have which menu and might also still be dealing with some supply train and staffing issues. But still, they need to be advertising is sooner rather than later.

I travelled on LNER recently.

On a recent Friday I took the 0957 York to London and had the 'Full LNER' breakfast (I asked for no beans though) and that meant I didn't bother with lunch as it was so filling. My return journey was also excellent and I had the beef & mash which was excellent (a word of warning for people who dislike mushrooms: it contains a small quantity of mushroom; that doesn't bother me though!)

On Saturday I travelled York to Newcastle & return. Outward service was excellent. I had the porridge, which was filling enough for me and was actually quite decent. On the return, no hot options were available and so I had the chicken sandwich, which was pretty good. Some people may dislike the amount of salad in the sandwich but I consider that a bonus. Other than the lack of options, the service was otherwise very good. (I didn't like being told I was eligible for a fine via the public address system but I'll gloss over that and the actual service provided by the 1st class host was excellent)

These reports are really encouraging so thanks for sharing. I'm doing the York - Newcastle runs on Saturday so hopefully mine will be good!

 

[Big Tim]

I also travelled York - Newcastle on Saturday; which of course was a challenging day for the north east, not only due to the onset of the storms which caused major disruption, but also with scheduled diverts via Hartlepool and Sunderland (missing out Darlington and Durham).

This afforded a journey time of just short of two hours between York and Newcastle, and as in the case of @yorkie I found the outbound service to be excellent. Hot drinks (and juice / water) offered passing the NRM, with biscuits automatically handed over too! Menus were in place on the tables (This was the "Dish" offering); with orders taken on departure from Northallerton - with the hot drinks trolley hot on it's heels once more. A very substantial bacon roll was enjoyed. Shortly after, just north of Middlesbrough, I was somewhat surprised there was a passing of the cold drinks trolley - and despite being only around 1115, I felt it rude to decline and enjoyed a whisky and ginger ale. (Whisky is now Johnny Walker Red Label).

We looked like arriving at Newcastle around eight minutes early - however things were getting a little chaotic with line closures north and west, and most trains having to terminate, occupying the majority of platforms. Thereafter, I enjoyed a pleasant day out in the north east, with a combination of walking, beer drinking and waiting on non-existent buses. (That's a story for another day!).

Returning to the station at around 1700, it appeared that the booked service (1801) was still running, albeit around forty minutes later, and a different set formation to the one originally booked (2*5 car instead of the 9) - therefore our seat bookings in "L" were unavailable, but a grand total of six passengers opted for the front set first class section, therefore easily finding seats in "D".

I hadn't expected any complimentary offer to be perfectly honest on the return leg due to the challenges of the day, and was surprised when the trolley rattled through about ten minutes following departure. Again, I happily took a whisky and ginger, before food was then offered. There was no hot food (or drinks), but sandwiches (chicken salad or a Coronation Chickpea Wrap) were available. As a self confessed "salad dodger" I just opted for crisps, and also a rather delicious salted caramel chocolate dessert! A further cold drinks run appeared about forty minutes later, which was a welcome unexpected bonus.

In all, I felt this was an excellent first class service in both directions. It's a huge improvement on the weekend first class offerings which used to be presented in the early days of the "complimentary offer", with hot food and alcoholic drinks available, and seemingly a more regular passing.

I also spent thirty minutes in the York first class lounge prior to the 0955 departure. Comfortable and spacious with plenty of assorted seating suitable for both relaxing or working, tables, plug and USB sockets etc. BBC Breakfast News was on a television in one corner, with plenty of departure boards prominent throughout. Two coffee machines and plenty of water in the fridges. The member of staff was kept busy refilling the supplies of crisps and biscuits, as people were eagerly helping themselves to generous amounts!

One thing in general I would like to see in terms of the LNER First Service is an indication of which menu is intended to be served on each service (or where offers change en-route, what the menu changes to) - particularly useful for those travelling long distance. Dish / Dine appear adequate for my needs, but if it's Deli I would probably choose to eat beforehand. I know the website does say something to the effect of they are "working hard" to update this aspect, so hopefully this is in the pipeline. (Timetables used to be shaded back in the E.C. days when they ran a load of different menus - Breakfast / Mid Morning / All Day / Afternoon Tea / Evening Meal / Evening Menu - I think was the varients).

 

[LowLevel]

Done a few journeys on LNER in first lately and generally been very impressed. I think their service standards in first class are just about the best in the industry.

First trip was Grantham to Dundee on a Saturday, train had come from London via Cambridge and was booked to terminate at Dundee vice Aberdeen then run empty to Craigentinny.

Drinks service was good all journey, hot drinks first, then cold (alcohol after York) with liberal quantities of biscuits, cakes etc being chucked about and no huffing and puffing if you wanted more than one type of cold drink at once.

Had a bacon roll after Doncaster, perfectly pleasant, two good rashers of bacon on a nice soft floury roll. The train was very busy as the previous Edinburgh train had failed at Peterborough and been cancelled so they ran out of bacon halfway through coach L. More was loaded at York.

Crew changes happened at York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

After Edinburgh, which was reached 20 late and left 5 late due to a points failure at Peterborough and extra stop at Berwick, due to the amended working we were all offered another bacon roll or ciabatta rather than any afternoon options (it had gone half 2 by this point) so I had the ciabatta which was nice enough, rather like a folded over pizza. Hotter than the sun inside though so I had to open it out to cool down. There was one hot and cold drinks run each with more snacks after Edinburgh, perfectly sufficient for just over an hour's journey to Dundee.

On the way back the journey was in two legs, Stonehaven to Edinburgh and Edinburgh to Newark.

On the first trip we were offered the bacon roll, ciabatta, teacake etc which we declined having had a good breakfast at our hotel.

Two hot and cold non alcoholic drinks runs followed with biscuits before and after Dundee and we left at Edinburgh.

Later in the day we boarded the train to Newark and it was the "dish" option.

Again plentiful drinks and snacks, the beef and mash was nice but as mentioned above, beware of mushrooms if they aren't your thing. Dopiaza was also sampled - very tasty but also quite spicy.

Tickets were checked frequently on the journey - two full checks by the guard and revenue protection going north, after Grantham and Edinburgh, and then again after all stations on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh and after Edinburgh and Newcastle on the second train.

Special mention to the on board cleaners who were constantly up and down, I've never been on a long distance train that was so consistently clean in all respects - brilliant work.

 

[westv]

How can you tell which first class menu is on offer? Their website makes great play of the new deli / dish / dine menus (which have a great deal of overlap) but I can't see anything that tells you which option will be available.

You have to guess. It's would have been far too complicated for LNER to just add an simple icon to the online pdf timetables.

 

[voyagerdude220]

This sounds so superior to what Avanti are providing in First Class on their trains. Huge contrast between the two TOCs.

 

[Scotrail314209]

It sounds like the new menus have also brought back some motivation into the hosts now. Perhaps they feel happy that it’s back to the way it was before.

Stark contrast to the reports of stinginess from earlier on in the thread.