Worst Catering

[2HAP]

Worst catering:

British Rail Ham Sandwich, down side buffet, Tonbridge, c.1979.

 

[tspaul26]

Re CS, the best way to give the feel of quality even with microwaved meals is to do stuff that microwaves well - things like haggis, stew, curry, chilli, spag bol etc - and packet cold stuff like the cheeseboard - and serve it on proper crockery with proper cutlery and proper cups and glasses. The DB BistroCafe concept is very similar. Such a concept I think would sell quite well on longer distance services while still keeping well (presumably it could be packed for indefinite life like tinned stuff and therefore a stock kept on board of most of the base items).

To use a phrase from the film 'Calendar Girls': if it's for something really important, get it from Marks and Spencer.

 

[Sprinter153]

Upon IEP introduction I'm led to believe the GWR offering in both classes will be - 'revised' I think the diplomatic word is - on both IEPs and HSTs, to get people used to the trolley offering.

Though I believe they are going to throw in some more substantial continental breakfast offerings in First, like fresh pastries that aren't suffocated in cellophane, yoghurts and porridge.

 

[Phil H]

What is the current Pendolino First Class catering like at the minute?
Wondering of the cost is worth it.

 

[cjp]

What is the current Pendolino First Class catering like at the minute?
Wondering of the cost is worth it.

Coming down from Glasgow tonight Virgin West's Coast offering was really good with excellent service.
I am stuffed and my thirst quenched.

 

[James H]

Ice cream on trains always seems to go down well (inside you, less so one's sunglasses or on other pax). I remember during the 2012 Olympics I was offered a free and fairly substantial ice cream upon boarding a train from Euston to Holyhead, and I believe VTWC have done the same on various other occasions of fairly high footfall in the summer. It was an excellent gesture, and selling ice cream on a train during a summer's weekend is really the next best thing.

Big queue (getting in the way of commuters) for free ice cream from SWT / NR tonight at Waterloo as a 'sweetener' during the blockade.

 

[NSE]

I don't get why anyone would buy more than a brew and a kit kat on board or perhaps a sandwich at the outside. Just get to Greggs or a local supermarket and stock up before your board. The prices on board are excessive and the quality low.

Sums my thoughts up completely. If I'm running late I know I can get a snack and drink to keep me going or worst case scenario I just stay hungry. It's not the end of the world.

 

[Please Explain]

I just got back from a short trip to Penzance tonight -(went down Saturday afternoon to bash the 57 daytime diagram which was also good fun ), and this thread caught my attention.

I came back up tonight on 1A94 (15h59 ex PNZ), which had the Pullman restaurant service from Plymouth.
I did the Welsh Brunch service to Swansea a couple of years ago and was mightily impressed. I've wanted to try out the evening dinner service ever since but just haven't seemed to find the time, my FGW jaunts were a lot more frequent back then with the First Group boxes -(one of the few things I miss from FCC days! )

Anyway, when the Pullman crew joined at Plymouth they made an announcement just after Totness inviting us to the resto for the dinner sitting, so took a wonder down and glad I did when I did as it filled up rather quickly and got quite busy!
The crew were all very friendly and attentive and took our drinks orders, and were then round a short while after to take our dinner orders. I went for the Brixham Crab Cocktail (£11) which was absolutely delicious ??????. For my main course, Prime Somerset Fillet Steak (£29) which came with roast potatoes and vegetables with Café de Paris butter a selection of sauces. Now I love a great steak, I was out with family at a newish place in West London last week where I thought I'd tasted one of my best yet but tonight's treat quickly changed that.. It was cooked medium-rare to perfection. For dessert, I had Strawberry-Lemon Chillboust -lovely.
Dessert was followed by some good quality coffee with some after dinner mints, the crew were very generous with refills and before I knew it we were on the approach to Reading when it was time to settle up at £52.30, which included bread, butter, table water as well as the coffee and mints. I had a glass of cider too.
There was no rushing back to your seat, the friendly crew were happy for us to stay and relax in the restaurant car for the last leg on into Paddington.
I chatted with a lady from Ipswich who mourned the death of the Anglia restaurant cars on the GEML.. She told me that this was a nice surprise to find onboard the train back to London after suffering an injury during an unfortunate Morris Dancing Accident in the West Country this afternoon!

All and all, not cheap, but it is an absolutely fantastic service with beautiful food, combined with great scenery, quality rolling stock -(for now at least.. ) and excellent crew who are a credit to GWR and the Railway.

Other TOC's please take note, this most certainly is the way to run things!

Go and give it a go, it's a great unique experience which I can't recommend it enough and you sure wont be disappointed!!

 

[yorksrob]

I couldn't imagine myself using a Pullman type service as it's too expensive. I would be happy to use a travelling chef type service, however I always ended up travelling on the Saturday at the time it was operating.

 

[jimm]

I couldn't imagine myself using a Pullman type service as it's too expensive. I would be happy to use a travelling chef type service, however I always ended up travelling on the Saturday at the time it was operating.

Travelling Chef was available on a number of FGW services on a Saturday morning into London, with brunch on the trains taking the crews home later in the morning.

 

[berneyarms]

The WAG Express catering is very good. You can purchase some good dishes from the buffet car if travelling in Standard, full English breakfast on the morning train which you can take back to your seat.

It most certainly is not an English breakfast - it's a full Welsh breakfast with Welsh ingredients.

Well, quite, I think my point has been proved with that list!

What I'm talking about is the decline in the possibility of being served a square meal onboard. I don't mean fancy silver service but just something tasty that fills you up on a three or four hour journey in First Class, not an unreasonable expectation. If CS can manage it with a microwave - and so it seems ATW - then the ever diminishing quality and portion size of the others using full kitchens is pretty poor.

I'm especially thinking of VTEC over the past year, but I still contend that nothing's more disappointing than that TPE 'Enjoy Any Time' effort.

ATW have an onboard chef on the loco hauled Holyhead-Cardiff train who cooks the food to order - it's certainly not microwaved.

 

[Spineynorman]

I recently travelled first class on a late night Virgin Voyager service from Llandudno Junction to Birmingham and was served a pot of tea (the last time I got a pot of tea on a train was on Hull Trains if I recall) and a pleasant cake. Alcohol was freely available but I declined as I was trying to work ! In fact on a previous recent Virgin Voyager from Rhyl to Chester I was given so much food I had difficulty finishing it (all very nice too).

 

[sluf]

I can recommend the great english breakfast on Virgin west coast pendalinos! had them many times, both on way up to london and also on the odd trip to Glasgow where the return fare in first class is embarrassingly cheap, even when you get a teatime train on friday evening with hot meal and complimentary G & Ts!

 

[MKB]

Virgin West Coast between the West Midlands and Euston is very poor now in first class, essentially just a snack. Virgin's short-lived Primo service was good on the other routes, but it's all gone downhill in general.