Motorway service stations - Cathedrals of despair

[Pferdestarke]

fk me. The god awful slop these places serve up and call it food is simply disgusting! Then they charge you ridiculous sums of money for the low-rent, processed crap and even have the cheek to charge 30p for a little canister of ketchup that ends up down your suit.

Why do we Brits put up with it? Why do we accept a terrible breakfast with greasy fried bread and an over-cooked egg served by a grumpy middle-aged woman at £9.

I turned up hungry recently and asked for a bacon and sausage sandwich. I got a dense, dry bread bun, no butter, a rasher of fatty bacon that had been boiled in its own cure with a sausage that had so little pork in it, it may as well have been a Linda Mcartney special. £5! £8 with a coffee.

Rarely do I venture in to motorway service stations but when I do out of necessity I can't help but marvel at the state, and price, of the food on offer. In France they serve excellent quality fresh food at reasonable prices. Why can't we have some of that?

[kiteless]

"Cathedrals of Despair"



'kin love that.

It does make me wonder if there is a guide, some sort of tome, that details and maps out those little islands of greasy goodness that are the roadside "caffs"?

For example? Not far from me is J4 of the M54. Just off the exit in either direction are two lay-bys each of which have a "greasy spoon" that serve up quality sarnies using decent bacon / sausage / black pudding with essential accompaniments such as hash browns.

[dontfollowme]

If I have to eat at one I go for fast food as it is usually better vfm.

[hornetrider]

Never ever use them. Apart from one on the recommendation of a friend - Tebay services on the M6. It's like a farm shop with fresh local organic produce and simply no processed ste. Simply awesome. Apparently they are doing another one on the M5 near Gloucester, lovely.

http://www.westmorland.com/tebay-services

Edited by hornetrider on Friday 13th January 23:58

[calibrax]

You need this website.

http://www.5minutesaway.co.uk/

Gives details of alternative places to eat/stay within 5 mins of motorway junctions.

[Gaffer]

Not exactly motorway service stations but worth noting:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[davepoth]

hornetrider said:

Never ever use them. Apart from one on the recommendation of a friend - Tebay services on the M6. It's like a farm shop with fresh local organic produce and simply no processed ste. Simply awesome. Apparently they are doing another one on the M5 near Gloucester, lovely.

http://www.westmorland.com/tebay-services

Edited by hornetrider on Friday 13th January 23:58

Tebay is awesome; brilliant food, decent prices and a fantastic location. People go on holiday there!

[Wacky Racer]

davepoth said:

hornetrider said:

Never ever use them. Apart from one on the recommendation of a friend - Tebay services on the M6. It's like a farm shop with fresh local organic produce and simply no processed ste. Simply awesome. Apparently they are doing another one on the M5 near Gloucester, lovely.

http://www.westmorland.com/tebay-services

Edited by hornetrider on Friday 13th January 23:58

Tebay is awesome; brilliant food, decent prices and a fantastic location. People go on holiday there!

Another vote for Tebay.....With superb views thrown in for good measure.

[fatboy b]

I wrote to one of the big chains a few years back to ask why they couldn't make a decent effort like they do at Tebay. Their reply basically told me to stop bashing the the big guys as they are as good as the independents.

So what hope do we have?

[AmitG]

calibrax said:

You need this website.

http://www.5minutesaway.co.uk/

Gives details of alternative places to eat/stay within 5 mins of motorway junctions.

There is also a good book called "Breaks near the Motorways". It has a homely, slightly amateur feel to it which I really like; it's clear that the author is visiting these places personally (or trusting others to do it), not just compiling lists of addresses. I seem to remember that it also has pictures drawn by the author. I keep it in the glovebox.

I agree that motorway services are dire. They seem to be run by big operators with a pure profit motive serving a virtually captive market. Either that or the rents and other fixed costs are too high.

Presumably, the quality difference between here and France is due either to government regulation, or lower fixed costs, or the French having higher standards.

[Fatman2]

Pferdestarke said:

In France they serve excellent quality fresh food at reasonable prices. Why can't we have some of that?

er, sadly because people like you still pay for it. And let's face it, the Brits don't usually give a stuff about decent food.

Unfortunately there are enough of the same people in this country that these outifts don't have to bother serving up anything better.

I don't spend any money in these places so am voting with my feet. I suggest you do the same and take some food with you on your travels. Works for me.

[evilmunkey]

leicester forest services have some of the worst breakfast slop at outragous prices i have ever had... once got a breakfast and chipped a tooth on a piece of bone in a sausage.... i emailed them to complain and got a reply saying that their food was of restaraunt quality. i replied saying i woudnt feed it to a cat and then actually ask for payment... i included a pic of the bone and the dental damage too... got a reply back saying they would pay for the dental treatment and a very grovelling apology plus a card saying i had a full breakfast free of charge at any of there chaines for six months.... i used it but every one was utter crap. i could have bought the ingredients in any value or own brand at any supermarket and made the same for a fifth of what these charge... gimme a greasy spoon anyday !!!!

[mph1977]

the problem with motorway services is

1. captive market

2. often is places which have little in the way of local population to staff it - plus it;s hardly an aspirational working environment - which leads to the 'cooks' being 'fitters and turners' rather than cooks who take pride in doing the job

3. you have a balance to strike between food on the hotplate ready to serve NOW! because Gareth Cheeseman has a tight schedule to keep in his silver A4 1.9 tdi and not having food on the hotplate and cooking ( or even reheating from chilled/ frozen) to order..

exactly how long has that vat of beans been on the hotplate ?

[davepoth]

fatboy b said:

I wrote to one of the big chains a few years back to ask why they couldn't make a decent effort like they do at Tebay. Their reply basically told me to stop bashing the the big guys as they are as good as the independents.

So what hope do we have?

Tebay are opening a second one in Gloucestershire, so the big chains will start getting a bit edgy if that goes well.

[Pferdestarke]

Fatman2 said:

er, sadly because people like you still pay for it. .

No, I don't. At least not more than twice a year.

So bks.

[Fatman2]

Pferdestarke said:

Fatman2 said:

er, sadly because people like you still pay for it. .

No, I don't. At least not more than twice a year.

So bks.

Well sadly you obviously do, as you've just posted your dissatisfaction.

I wasn't having a go but merely stating the obvious. Sadly the more people buy this ste, the more they sell it. But like I said, us Brits are not food focused enough to put these people out of business.

[Pferdestarke]

Fatman2 said:

Pferdestarke said:

Fatman2 said:

er, sadly because people like you still pay for it. .

No, I don't. At least not more than twice a year.

So bks.

Well sadly you obviously do, as you've just posted your dissatisfaction.

I wasn't having a go but merely stating the obvious. Sadly the more people buy this ste, the more they sell it. But like I said, us Brits are not food focused enough to put these people out of business.

What's with all the 'sadly' crap? I was pointing out how poor these places are. If I take the plunge once in a while and order from one of their menus I'm hardly responsible for the st that they serve.

If you weren't 'having a go' then why post in such a direct manner?

The PH food pages are some of the friendliest on the site and most of us try and contribute positively.

[anonymous-user]

davepoth said:

Tebay is awesome; brilliant food, decent prices and a fantastic location. People go on holiday there!

the true secret is a trucker cafe run by Westmorland which is not as fancy but cheaper.

[Hugo a Gogo]

more annoying, to me, is that fact you have to go on a magical mystery tour to find the fuel pumps and somewhere to have a piss

everywhere else in Europe, fuel pumps within a hundred metres of the road, stop, fill up, pay, go - not a winding trip round truck parks and hundreds of people who've parked up to go to Burger King and Costa Coffee, buy books and pillows and play shoot-em-ups then find the petrol station which is a mini version of the same with an interesting "find the person in the middle of the shop who is actually operating a till" game

[Fatman2]

Pferdestarke said:

What's with all the 'sadly' crap? I was pointing out how poor these places are. If I take the plunge once in a while and order from one of their menus I'm hardly responsible for the st that they serve.

If you weren't 'having a go' then why post in such a direct manner?

The PH food pages are some of the friendliest on the site and most of us try and contribute positively.

But that's where we differ. A paying customer creates a market need, irrespective of the number of times you visit.

Apologies for the 'matter of fact' comment but if I wanted to call you a prick for buying their food then I'd come straight out with it. I don't incidentally but I just find it odd to despair about something you're still willing to buy into (occasionally or not). It's not like you can't see what's on offer before parting with your cash.

That's what I think is 'sad', that us Brits often complain about stuff but still buy into it. This applies to work canteens, cafes, restaurants, bars etc. and then wonder why these places still exist.

I'm not being unfriendly, just straight up with my opinion.