Virgin First Class Offering

[edinight]

I'm travelling on Virgin in the next few days and was wondering if any kind member could clue me in on what to expect from the FC offering?
Are the menus published online anywhere?
I'm travelling on:

• the 0940 from Glasgow Central to Euston this Friday
• the 1803 from EUS to Birmingham New St on Saturday
• the 1920 from BHM to GLC on Monday

Thanks for any assistance!

 

[yorkie]

Yes. See http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/trains/first-class/

As you can see, breakfast applies to the first train, and light bites applies to the last train.

As for the Saturday train, I think you may have to go the shop to get anything, and it'll just be basic stuff. There may be a trolley, but there isn't table service as such at weekends. Someone will probably be along to clarify this shortly.

Previous topics asking about the food in 1st class on Virgin:

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=29896
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36359
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=50937
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=48648
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42654

Loads of info there! The menus do change every so often, though.

 

[All Line Rover]

I'm travelling on Virgin in the next few days and was wondering if any kind member could clue me in on what to expect from the FC offering?
Are the menus published online anywhere?
I'm travelling on:

• the 0940 from Glasgow Central to Euston this Friday
• the 1803 from EUS to Birmingham New St on Saturday
• the 1920 from BHM to GLC on Monday

Thanks for any assistance!

09:40 Friday 2nd September: Full Pendolino breakfast - smoked salmon and scrambled eggs or the "Great British Breakfast", followed by plenty of toast/croissant and drinks.

18:03 Saturday 3rd September: Biscuits/crisps/drinks off the trolley (nothing special TBH). It will be served "at-seat" since you are travelling on a Pendolino. DO NOT RELY ON THIS TO FILL YOU UP!

19:20 Monday 5th September: "Light Bites" - an "Outdoor reared beef and red slaw sandwich" (goes well with salted crisps ) or an "English cheeseboard sandwich." Plus crisps, "fruit cake", drinks and alcohol. This is the only service on which you will be served alcohol.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

19:20 Monday 5th September: "Light Bights"

Grrrrrr

 

[calc7]

To clarify - a weekend 1ST advance single MAN-EUS will not include complimentary alcohol or any snacks other than biccys?

 

[voyagerdude220]

19:20 Monday 5th September: "Light Bites" - an "Outdoor reared beef and red slaw sandwich" (goes well with salted crisps ) or an "English cheeseboard sandwich." Plus crisps, "fruit cake", drinks and alcohol. This is the only service on which you will be served alcohol.

You should be offered the full range of cold drinks/alcohol etc south of Preston, on tomorrow's 09:40 GLC EUS, maybe even a little before it.

I used this train a month or so ago, and was surprised that the onboard crew still offered breakfast rolls after Oxenholme, even though it was just before 11:30.

I fully agree with what you said about the weekend offer, ALR, it takes the biscuit (you're lucky to get even that with VT on a weekend )

I was talking to a passenger onboard the Arriva Premier a few weeks ago about the various FC offerings which TOCs provide, and she mentioned how much she disliked the beef and red slaw sandwich on a recent journey with VT. I rather liked it. I can see why many wouldn't though- very unusual combination.

One of the best sandwiches I had on VT before, was a Rare Beef and Stilton.

 

[premier01]

You should be offered the full range of cold drinks/alcohol etc south of Preston, on tomorrow's 09:40 GLC EUS, maybe even a little before it.

I used this train a month or so ago, and was surprised that the onboard crew still offered breakfast rolls after Oxenholme, even though it was just before 11:30.

I fully agree with what you said about the weekend offer, ALR, it takes the biscuit (you're lucky to get even that with VT on a weekend )

I was talking to a passenger onboard the Arriva Premier a few weeks ago about the various FC offerings which TOCs provide, and she mentioned how much she disliked the beef and red slaw sandwich on a recent journey with VT. I rather liked it. I can see why many wouldn't though- very unusual combination.

One of the best sandwiches I had on VT before, was a Rare Beef and Stilton.

I'm starting to get annoyed with the VT sandwiches recently! They really should offer some plain choices-while I think they are good quality and a good size the fillings are really horrible some times!

I was recently on a Pendolino to New Street and was offerde chicken and brie or cheese and egg-not much use to someone who doesn't like cheese! I then requested some crisps and was grudgingly served these-it would seem the Wolverhampton crew are a surly bunch in my experience-no offence to any Wolverhampton crew that I've not met with yet and are pleasant!

I'm sorry to say but VT are 10 times more efficient and friendly on the whole than EC though who think customers are just an inconvenience and are greedy if they want an alcoholic and soft drink

 

[All Line Rover]

I was talking to a passenger onboard the Arriva Premier a few weeks ago about the various FC offerings which TOCs provide, and she mentioned how much she disliked the beef and red slaw sandwich on a recent journey with VT. I rather liked it. I can see why many wouldn't though- very unusual combination.

One of the best sandwiches I had on VT before, was a Rare Beef and Stilton.

Crayfish and rocket was a good one! (I don't like Stilton. )

The beef and red slaw sandwich only tastes nice when eaten with a packet of salted crisps.

I certainly wouldn't say it's worth upgrading to First Class on Virgin for the sake of a sandwich. You can get some far better ones from Sainsbury's and M&S.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I'm starting to get annoyed with the VT sandwiches recently! They really should offer some plain choices-while I think they are good quality and a good size the fillings are really horrible some times!

I was recently on a Pendolino to New Street and was offerde chicken and brie or cheese and egg-not much use to someone who doesn't like cheese! I then requested some crisps and was grudgingly served these-it would seem the Wolverhampton crew are a surly bunch in my experience-no offence to any Wolverhampton crew that I've not met with yet and are pleasant!

I'm sorry to say but VT are 10 times more efficient and friendly on the whole than EC though who think customers are just an inconvenience and are greedy if they want an alcoholic and soft drink

I agree that is it getting a bit ridiculous - the Summer menu in particular.

Rotation 2 is just ridiculous: "Line and pole caught tuna nicoise wrap" OR "Welsh goats cheese and red onion marmalade sandwich." I find both of these disgusting!

I don't know what was going on on your Pendolino, as there isn't a chicken and egg sandwich. Rotation 4 is: "Free range chicken brie and coriander roll" OR "Free range double egg and cress sandwich."

I found the Spring menu to be far more reasonable, with at least one of the sandwiches on offer in each rotation being nice.

I don't know why the staff on the LBW route were being stingy about crisps. You're supposed to be able to have as many as you like!

I am also highly critical of Virgin's "desserts." I don't consider them to be a "cake." I class a "cake" as being what you get served in Costa Coffee or Starbucks - it's a slice of cake. Not a little pot! :roll:
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

To clarify - a weekend 1ST advance single MAN-EUS will not include complimentary alcohol or any snacks other than biccys?

Correct. Only crisps/biscuits/tea/coffee/Pepsi/water.

 

[premier01]

Crayfish and rocket was a good one! (I don't like Stilton. )

The beef and red slaw sandwich only tastes nice when eaten with a packet of salted crisps.

I certainly wouldn't say it's worth upgrading to First Class on Virgin for the sake of a sandwich. You can get some far better ones from Sainsbury's and M&S.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I agree that is it getting a bit ridiculous - the Summer menu in particular.

Rotation 2 is just ridiculous: "Line and pole caught tuna nicoise wrap" OR "Welsh goats cheese and red onion marmalade sandwich." I find both of these disgusting!

I don't know what was going on on your Pendolino, as there isn't a chicken and egg sandwich. Rotation 4 is: "Free range chicken brie and coriander roll" OR "Free range double egg and cress sandwich."

I found the Spring menu to be far more reasonable, with at least one of the sandwiches on offer in each rotation being nice.

I don't know why the staff on the LBW route were being stingy about crisps. You're supposed to be able to have as many as you like!

I am also highly critical of Virgin's "desserts." I don't consider them to be a "cake." I class a "cake" as being what you get served in Costa Coffee or Starbucks - it's a slice of cake. Not a little pot! :roll:
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Correct. Only crisps/biscuits/tea/coffee/Pepsi/water.

I referred to Chicken & Brie and Egg & Cheese-it probably was Egg & Cress but I don't like egg sandwiches either! Yes sounds picky but anything like Ham & Mustard as per EC would be acceptable!

It could have been offered as Egg & Cheese to be fair though-I was recently offered a Beef & Straw sandwich on the 16.30 out of Euston Not a 1 off mistake as this was repeated each time with some laughs from customers along the way

I'm not sure what u are saying about the deserts-are u referring to the 'sweet treats' on the all day offer-if so they are usually slices of cake etc that are quite good-or the Evening Meal desert-that's in a pot and is something like cheesecake which I find very good-sure u can always get the all day offer if u want that.

I liked the Primo meals they used to do which include things like a curry night and fish 'n' chips

 

[Butts]

Earlier this year I made a journey from Wolverhampton to Glasgow on a Virgin Service where the Catering was just Biscuits and Coffee (delivered by a steward) in 1st Class.

I e-mailed a complaint about it had to quote booking ref (booking was made through Virgin)

I received a £10 Rail Voucher through the post.

Money for old rope

 

[philjo]

I did a couple of Virgin first class trips last week (booked while they had the 1st class seat sale on).
08:30 Euston -Glasgow I had the smoked Salmon & scrambled egg which was very nice. Though I was only offered one round of the toast basket which was odd considering the journey length as I have previously been offered the toast basket twice on a much shorter journey from Euston to Birmingham International.

I came back on the 13:40 from Glasgow as far as Oxenholme.
On leaving Glasgow I was offered either a sandwich or the hot option which was chicken risotto (or a vegetarian version was also available) which I had while looking at the scenery over Beattock summit.
The chicken risotto was very nice - a decent piece of chicken and it is much more substantial than the hot options currently offered by East Coast.

 

[delt1c]

09:40 Friday 2nd September: Full Pendolino breakfast - smoked salmon and scrambled eggs or the "Great British Breakfast", followed by plenty of toast/croissant and drinks.

18:03 Saturday 3rd September: Biscuits/crisps/drinks off the trolley (nothing special TBH). It will be served "at-seat" since you are travelling on a Pendolino. DO NOT RELY ON THIS TO FILL YOU UP!

19:20 Monday 5th September: "Light Bites" - an "Outdoor reared beef and red slaw sandwich" (goes well with salted crisps ) or an "English cheeseboard sandwich." Plus crisps, "fruit cake", drinks and alcohol. This is the only service on which you will be served alcohol.

Plenty of toast? lately found that theyt come round once with toast and that was all.
Last time I used 1st on Sunday all that was available was tea , coffee or smallest can of cola I have ever seen and packet of crisps

 

[furgus2]

Several comments based on what has been said already:
Virgin are not as generous with toast as they once were. Occasionally offered twice but more than not these days, only once. In particular, going south from Glasgow, I've sometimes been offered it once between there and Carlisle or it's been just put on the plate with the breakfast. They come round with it again after Carlisle but it's only offered to passengers who have boarded there.

Also with cereals, never are on offer from Glasgow. In fact, less and less Virgin services seem to have them available these days. Is this a sign that they will be totally withdrawn at some point?

Sandwich fillings have been over the top in recent months. I've enjoyed the egg sandwiches but none of the others have been attractive to me. I accept the quality is good and the size is adequate but I just wish they would have simpler fillings.

I often use the Wolverhampton to Euston journey and, personally, I've found most of the Wolves based crews very friendly. There again, I like the attitude of most of the onboard catering staff on Virgin.

Weekend offering is awful. At least most Pendolino services have an at seat service again these days but what is offered is appalling. They should at least have sandwich packs available as on weekdays. As sandwiches come pre-packed, they could easily be served by just just one person per train so not increasing staffing costs.

 

[ApAp]

Wow, so weekend on East Coast is actually better than weekends on Virgin? What's Virgin's current policy on weekends for those who want something extra? Will the host be able to sell items (both food and drink) from the shop?

My biggest complaint with EC at the weekend is they went from a service where you could buy anything they sold at-seat (and some services had a chef for at-seat dining) - now they're down to a sandwich pack and soft drinks and off to the buffet if you want more (and at least the EC buffet is located between first and standard even if it's positioned in a way that assumes no one in first would need to visit it).

 

[All Line Rover]

Wow, so weekend on East Coast is actually better than weekends on Virgin? What's Virgin's current policy on weekends for those who want something extra? Will the host be able to sell items (both food and drink) from the shop?

My biggest complaint with EC at the weekend is they went from a service where you could buy anything they sold at-seat (and some services had a chef for at-seat dining) - now they're down to a sandwich pack and soft drinks and off to the buffet if you want more (and at least the EC buffet is located between first and standard even if it's positioned in a way that assumes no one in first would need to visit it).

EC's old "At-Seat" weekend trains were STRIDES ahead of Virgin. It really was excellent!

Virgin will not get you anything from the shop - you have to get it yourself. At one point, they trialled bringing a selection of items from the shop into First Class on a trolley, but I haven't seen that lately.

 

[Intermodal]

EC's old "At-Seat" weekend trains were STRIDES ahead of Virgin. It really was excellent!

Virgin will not get you anything from the shop - you have to get it yourself. At one point, they trialled bringing a selection of items from the shop into First Class on a trolley, but I haven't seen that lately.

Is stuff from the shop at weekends free on presentation of your ticket or upgrade?

 

[All Line Rover]

Is stuff from the shop at weekends free on presentation of your ticket or upgrade?

No. They have a box of bottled water, crisps and biscuits under the desk (identical to what's on the trolley). You only get those items for free - nothing else.

 

[Ascot]

From experience the only thing worth it in First Class is the breakfasts as the day/evening time offerings have dropped in standards. On a weekend I get nothing unless you walk all the way to coach C to collect your free biscuits and mineral water. But with the amount of Weekend First so cheap I can understand the basic service.

Lounges are basic as often found on the entire rail network compared to the airports. Hot and soft drinks with a few biscuits and crisps are the offer with no sign of canapés or strong drinks.

Note: The BHM-GLC is usually a Voyager and I have had no experience of First Class on these in over 6 months. It was then a "snack box" all day every day.

 

[Butts]

No. They have a box of bottled water, crisps and biscuits under the desk (identical to what's on the trolley). You only get those items for free - nothing else.

You also get tea or coffee free

 

[FManc]

EC's old "At-Seat" weekend trains were STRIDES ahead of Virgin. It really was excellent!

Virgin will not get you anything from the shop - you have to get it yourself. At one point, they trialled bringing a selection of items from the shop into First Class on a trolley, but I haven't seen that lately.

Not necessarily.
At Virgin, we are supplied with leaflets with the shop prices that we are meant to hand out at some point in first class during the journey i.e. I do it during the first trolley service. Then on my way back/during the second trolley service I'll ask if they want anything from shop and I'll go get it for them. From what I've gathered most crew seem to do this, but ofc I'm not 100% sure.

 

[philjo]

You also get tea or coffee free

Providing of course that it is offered to you.

I travelled from Wigan North western to Euston on a sunday a few weeks ago & the trolley never appeared in coach G between Wigan & Euston.
I saw it in coach J when boarding heading towards K.
The whole of first class was full (we took the last 2 seats in coach G with several people standing in coaches J&H) so it may be that they decided that the trolley couldn't get through but there were no announcements if that was the case.

On a Birmingham to Euston service earlier in the year it was announced that there was no trolley available so you would have to walk to coach C to collect the free tea/coffee.

 

[Butts]

Providing of course that it is offered to you.

I travelled from Wigan North western to Euston on a sunday a few weeks ago & the trolley never appeared in coach G between Wigan & Euston.
I saw it in coach J when boarding heading towards K.
The whole of first class was full (we took the last 2 seats in coach G with several people standing in coaches J&H) so it may be that they decided that the trolley couldn't get through but there were no announcements if that was the case.

On a Birmingham to Euston service earlier in the year it was announced that there was no trolley available so you would have to walk to coach C to collect the free tea/coffee.

The whole of First Class was full - that is a rarity - were they hanging off the roof in 2nd !!!

 

[strange6]

The whole of First Class was full - that is a rarity - were they hanging off the roof in 2nd !!!

I would imagine 1st class would be popular at the weekend with the small extra outlay of 15 pounds required for the upgrade.

 

[graham43404]

On a Birmingham to Euston service earlier in the year it was announced that there was no trolley available so you would have to walk to coach C to collect the free tea/coffee.

That has been a very regular occurrence on Virgin trains when we have travelled first class at the weekends. Maybe we have been unlucky, but it must have been about half the time there was no at table service available.

 

[philjo]

The whole of First Class was full - that is a rarity - were they hanging off the roof in 2nd !!!

The train was running about 18 late due to overruning engineering works near Oxenholme.
The train from Glasgow-Euston that should have been an hour ahead of us (which is also the first one of the day from Glasgow on a sunday) was running 75 minutes late & our train was a few minutes behind it.
The first one was so full I don't think you could get many more people onto it even in first class - all of the doorways were full of people! As we had off-peak return tickets we let that one go!