Reply to: Motorway Services

[NickFitz]

I lived not far from one on the M4 in the late '80s and in those days it was the only place with any life after 11pm - I mean you could get a meal and play space invaders at 3am so we often used to ride our bikes up to the back entrance through the lanes and spend much of our misspent youth in there.

Some friends of mine lived near Leicester Forest East in the 1980s. Whenever they had a party, we'd all head out about four or five in the morning, cross a couple of fields, climb over the fence, and head up to the café on the bridge for a proper trucker's fry-up. Good times

[Guy At Charnock Richard]

Indeed they were and are quite versatile.
Last year, during lockdown, my brother identified that motorway service areas were the only places where you could legally have a sit-down meal indoors - so he visited quite a few for this purpose.
..I started calling him Alan Partridge.

Does he loiter around the checkouts with a takeaway coffee in hand making small talk with the staff?

[TheDude]

I refuse to recognise the Waitrose branches at motorway services.

If I saw someone wearing branded sportswear in a 'proper' Waitrose i would complain to the manager.

[GJABS]

I lived not far from one on the M4 in the late '80s and in those days it was the only place with any life after 11pm - I mean you could get a meal and play space invaders at 3am so we often used to ride our bikes up to the back entrance through the lanes and spend much of our misspent youth in there.

Indeed they were and are quite versatile.
Last year, during lockdown, my brother identified that motorway service areas were the only places where you could legally have a sit-down meal indoors - so he visited quite a few for this purpose.
..I started calling him Alan Partridge.

[hairymouse]

https://www.sanef.com/en/area/servic...e-a16-motorway

its in about the right place, its clean, the free viewing platform is superb and the kids love the water fowl.

Most british service stations are soulless trumpholes.

Good ol' Baie-de-Somme! Exactly one meal distance from my house and the perfect place for a picnic. It's a family tradition.

[vetran]

I worked in a Little Chef, in Littlehampton, when I were a young lass. It's now a Burger King I think.

A3 North!

Ex cheffers unite!


Starbucks now.

I was in Coventry yesterday, they have 2 starbuck restaurants and one drive through in the one services. That does at least have tables and grass ...... overlooking the car park!

[ladymuck]

I quite liked the services near Chertsey when they first opened. No idea what they're like now.

The only other ones I've stopped at are somewhere on the M40 and probably Watford Gap.

[ladymuck]

I do still miss Little Chef though.

I worked in a Little Chef, in Littlehampton, when I were a young lass. It's now a Burger King I think.

[vetran]

https://www.sanef.com/en/area/servic...e-a16-motorway

its in about the right place, its clean, the free viewing platform is superb and the kids love the water fowl.

Most british service stations are soulless trumpholes.

[courtg9000]

The Olympic Breakfast was the best hangover cure ever

Breakfast of champions that

[d000hg]

I'm sure I always got the "little spaceman" breakfast on long journeys to Cornwall holidays. Fried egg, sausage and deep-fried bread. I think I got to go as an adult maybe only once, as there was on near the A66 (Brough perhaps).

All about the lollipops though really.

[Guy At Charnock Richard]

As a kid I used to dream of the Olympic Breakfast, of course we were never allowed one. My dad would make us share one round of toast and one pot of tea between four of us.

I swore if I ever got an expense account, it would be the first cool thing I did, eat breakfast (the Olympic) at a Little Chef on the way to some client site.
I managed it eventually and lived the dream. The Olympic breakfast did not disappoint.

Actually I miss the days of taking time to get to site, of a day of travelling (paid for by the client) at leisurely pace rather than this awful 'pass the stuff through the window' and gone at breakneck speed.

Yes, they were great - and our local one had really comfortable banquets in booths that afforded you a bit of privacy as well. I believe that Heston Blumenthal revamped one of these up near Basingstoke and they made a TV doc about it. Sadly, it's now a Starbucks like most of the others.

If you're ever in France, check out the Buffalo Grill - it's about the closest you'll get to the Chef experience though, admittedly being France, the food is better. Le Menu Sheriff is the one to go for ;-)

[GregRickshaw]

The Olympic Breakfast was the best hangover cure ever

As a kid I used to dream of the Olympic Breakfast, of course we were never allowed one. My dad would make us share one round of toast and one pot of tea between four of us.

I swore if I ever got an expense account, it would be the first cool thing I did, eat breakfast (the Olympic) at a Little Chef on the way to some client site.
I managed it eventually and lived the dream. The Olympic breakfast did not disappoint.

Actually I miss the days of taking time to get to site, of a day of travelling (paid for by the client) at leisurely pace rather than this awful 'pass the stuff through the window' and gone at breakneck speed.

[GregRickshaw]

I lived not far from one on the M4 in the late '80s and in those days it was the only place with any life after 11pm - I mean you could get a meal and play space invaders at 3am so we often used to ride our bikes up to the back entrance through the lanes and spend much of our misspent youth in there.

God yeah we did this too

[Guy At Charnock Richard]

I do still miss Little Chef though.

The Olympic Breakfast was the best hangover cure ever