Best Refreshments avialable on trains

[DarloRich]

I wondered which TOC fellow posters think have the best refreshments. In particular I am interested in views on standard class.

it might be that you have a view on the cost or the quality of the offerings but I am interested in your views. For what it is worth, my views are below in no particular order

1) Virgin - I like the layout of the shop and the food and drink they offer. There seems to be a wide range and while the price could be better it isn’t outrageous. Tea and coffee are bog standard PG Tips style stuff but it is always warm and wet! I have noticed they also seem to offer a trolley service on some trains now.

2) East Coast - Yorkshire Tea gold! The finest tea known to man. They also have a selection of Taylors teas of various sorts such as green tea. That was offered form the trolley which is really good. The sandwiches are nice (when the trolley has some) and the buffet itself seems ok. I wonder of 2nd class fare has got better recently

3) XC - Terrible as with everything to do with this company. Often no hot water for tea and no food on the trolley6. It must be hard working as a catering person for them!

4) TPE - OK , quality average and trolley service seems to be limited to York-Manchester. I am sure they used to cover a bigger route in the past.

5) LM - OK - but very few trolley services on trains. Perhaps something they could expands.

6) GC - very nice, decent quality stuff, price also very good. Lots of it seems to come form towns they serve and they offer decent ale in bottles.

7) Northern - (OK Friends of the S&C!) nice quality, locally sourced stuff. Very welcome on such a long journey. Nice tea and cake!

 

[cuccir]

GC - very nice, decent quality stuff, price also very good. Lots of it seems to come form towns they serve and they offer decent ale in bottles.

Does anything else need saying?

--
Couple of other comments: East Coast's coffee is horrendous, particularly for a long-distance operator with a cafe-bar - I am more forgiving, for example, of TPE's relatively poor coffee. Cross Country's Starbucks coffee is, as instant goes, possibly the best I've ever had.

 

[Intermodal]

Cross Country's Starbucks coffee is, as instant goes, possibly the best I've ever had.

Yes but you may need to take out a remortgage on your house before you buy a cup!

 

[Lampshade]

I don't mind TPE's coffee at all

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I like the coffee from VT and ATW.

Grand Central once gave me a cup of coffee with no sleeve on it or bag to put it in. It took me five minutes to walk back to my seat with it as I couldn't hold it for more than ten seconds without it burning my hand quite badly.

 

[DarloRich]

I am not much of a coffee fan so base my opinion on the quality of tea/beer on offer

 

[SS4]

I am not much of a coffe fan so base my opinion on the quality of tea/beer on offer

Agreed, I can't stand coffee (but I do like the smell) so I usually go for tea (when I don't bring a thermos with me that is)

LM's tea is good in both taste and size and reasonably priced relative to the standard onboard. However, their trolley service is as infrequent as a good MP!

Virgin's tea isn't bad and the crisps are nice too. I heard a rumour that there was rekorderlig cider on board (which would make virgin instantly number 1) but I'm yet to see it make an appearance. Their water also comes in handy because it's invariably too hot on-board.

Disclaimer: I rarely travel with VT in standard because my time is cheap and so are LM so I'm extrapolating the complimentary weekend goods to what is in the shop.

 

[All Line Rover]

I don't like coffee, I don't like alcohol, and I don't drink tea (unless I'm in First Class where it is "free.")

I like water and am always annoyed at how much of a rip-off it is on a train!

I also like Coke, and Virgin are very reasonably priced at 2 bottles for £2. (I still don't understand why they have Coca Cola in the shop but Pepsi in First Class.)

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I don't like coffee, I don't like alcohol, and I don't drink tea (unless I'm in First Class where it is "free.")

I like water and am always annoyed at how much of a rip-off it is on a train!

I also like Coke, and Virgin are very reasonably priced at 2 bottles for £2. (I still don't understand why they have Coca Cola in the shop but Pepsi in First Class.)

I can get Coke for 96p at some outlets on stations - £1.20 with a BITE Card discount

Another good one is free bottles of water with papers in WH Smith or 2 x 750ml Buxton for £2 in another outlet which I forget.

 

[SS4]

I like water and am always annoyed at how much of a rip-off it is on a train!

The train is cheap compared to gigs/festivals where it's ~£2 for 500ml of water (although you can get free water from a tap at festivals - H&S does do good despite what the news media say... :roll

Compared to the supermarket though it's a rip off and I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that the sainsbury's at Euston ran out of bottled water on Sunday.

 

[trentside]

I also like Coke, and Virgin are very reasonably priced at 2 bottles for £2. (I still don't understand why they have Coca Cola in the shop but Pepsi in First Class.)

Didn't Virgin have their own brand of Cola? Was it ever served on the trains - I seem to remember it was horrible...

As for refreshments, I've not tried too many - but never been keen on the coffee served on East Coast. The same can be said of EMT, the last time I was in first I was given a cup of water and a tiny packet of instant coffee powder. As for tea, I recently bought some from the trolley in standard on EMT, and was given a cup of PG Tips tea, which I found to be quite drinkable.

I don't normally buy food onboard, but once had an East Coast chicken sandwich, which was lovely. Not had anything since the changes to the catering, so I don't know if this is still the case.

 

[All Line Rover]

Compared to the supermarket though it's a rip off and I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that the sainsbury's at Euston ran out of bottled water on Sunday.

Oh yes that new little Sainsbury's. It's wonderful! I can't believe it ran out of bottled water completely! 2l of water for 40p is fantastic value.

M&S do 1.5l of water for 40p. It often runs out (although sometimes they keep it hidden away in the stockroom downstairs - just ask one of the staff ). At least there is now an alternative - Sainsbury's.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Didn't Virgin have their own brand of Cola? Was it ever served on the trains - I seem to remember it was horrible...

Virgin Cola is no better than Tesco Cola! Years ago it was the only brand of Cola available on Virgin Trains. They have replaced it with Coca Cola now.

 

[SS4]

edited out part about cola since All Line Rover did indeed know.

Oh yes that new little Sainsbury's. It's wonderful! I can't believe it ran out of bottled water completely! 2l of water for 40p is fantastic value.

M&S do 1.5l of water for 40p. It often runs out (although sometimes they keep it hidden away in the stockroom downstairs - just ask one of the staff ). At least there is now an alternative - Sainsbury's.

They ran out of the plain stuff but not the flavoured stuff, I reckon they must sell a lot of it there due to the tube too. I'll make note of M&S though for next time since I find the tap water in London to be lacking.

 

[Greenback]

Didn't Virgin have their own brand of Cola? Was it ever served on the trains - I seem to remember it was horrible...

Yes, it was an evil taste. I was appalled when I first tasted it on a Virgin train shortly after they took over. One of the first things they did was to replace Coke and Diet Coke with Virgin Cola!

To be honest, I rarely buy refreshments on board, but I always used to like the FGW shortcake biscuits!

 

[All Line Rover]

It was previously sold in the on-board shops on Virgin Trains but this is no longer the case.

So evidently it is no longer sold on Virgin Trains.

I don't think Virgin Cola was one of Richard Branson's biggest successes!

 

[northwichcat]

4) TPE - OK , quality average and trolley service seems to be limited to York-Manchester. I am sure they used to cover a bigger route in the past.

Actually limited to York-Manchester, Manchester-Sheffield and Manchester-Preston, with the exception of the Scottish services which are supposed to have refreshments beyond Preston. There are also time limits as well on the trolley service and on some services the train is too packed for the trolley to make it's way through.

I'm sure EMT have cut back on Liverpool-Norwich - they don't provide refreshments on the Stockport-Liverpool section.

LM could do with providing a trolley service on Crewe-London and they should probably offer free drinks to FC customers.

 

[Masbroughlad]

So evidently it is no longer sold on Virgin Trains.

I don't think Virgin Cola was one of Richard Branson's biggest successes!

I take it it doesn't exist anymore? I can remember it replaced Coca-Cola on XC overnight when VT too over. (I quite liked it).

Do any of the TOCs sell Pepsi rather than Coke?

 

[BRX]

Caledonian sleeper lounge car - reasonably priced beer and decent food. The coffee/tea in the morning isn't up to much though.

 

[Greenback]

Caledonian sleeper lounge car - reasonably priced beer and decent food. The coffee/tea in the morning isn't up to much though.

Oops, forgot about the sleeper. Loved the cheeseboard!

 

[Asian Demon]

Agreed, I can't stand coffee (but I do like the smell) so I usually go for tea (when I don't bring a thermos with me that is)

LM's tea is good in both taste and size and reasonably priced relative to the standard onboard. However, their trolley service is as infrequent as a good MP!

Virgin's tea isn't bad and the crisps are nice too. I heard a rumour that there was rekorderlig cider on board (which would make virgin instantly number 1) but I'm yet to see it make an appearance. Their water also comes in handy because it's invariably too hot on-board.

Disclaimer: I rarely travel with VT in standard because my time is cheap and so are LM so I'm extrapolating the complimentary weekend goods to what is in the shop.

Rekorderlig cider is a VT first class offering as part of complimentary drinks. 330ml apple cider cans. Love the stuff.

 

[philjo]

East coast - finally you can get some decent tea again - now Taylor's of Harrogate. since NXEC dropped Twinings for the undrinkable PG tips for some time & would purchase tea on the platform & take it onto to the train with me.

VT - You can get Earl grey tea on Virgin which I think is a better alternative to the standard tea - I find the standard one to be far too strong. But no green tea in standard (I have occasionally managed to get it in 1st)

Hull Trains - good selection.

FGW- Good selection. I think it is Twinings teas - there were about 3 or 4 different ones available last time I travelled including Green Tea.
Sensible that they used a pack of empty cups & put the appropriate tea bag into it.

EMT - not used recently but 2 years ago the trolley was excellent - they had run out of the tea & wanted from the trolley so one of the staff went back to the kitchen to get one for me (2 members of staff were with the trolley)

ATW - trolley on the Cambrian route was OK.

Scotrail - Edinburgh-Glasgow route the trolley was quite good considering the shortish length of the journey.

Northern- The Settle & Carlisle Route trolley is run by friends of S&C - excellent & they also had a coolbox of locally made ice creams which boarded the train at Appleby!


I don't drink coffee so can't comment on that.

 

[MCR247]

Do any of the TOCs sell Pepsi rather than Coke?

Virgin give free cans in FC

 

[DarloRich]

Caledonian sleeper lounge car - reasonably priced beer and decent food. The coffee/tea in the morning isn't up to much though.

How could i forget that one - They serve Deuchars!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I don't like coffee, I don't like alcohol, and I don't drink tea (unless I'm in First Class where it is "free.")

I like water and am always annoyed at how much of a rip-off it is on a train!

I also like Coke, and Virgin are very reasonably priced at 2 bottles for £2. (I still don't understand why they have Coca Cola in the shop but Pepsi in First Class.)

MY GOD - How do you survive? :cry:

I was told, when i started, that the railways ran on 4 things:

Brews (Tea)
Beer (Ale - Lager ONLY used in emergencies ) (Cider if Western based! )
Bacon Butties
Benson & Hedges

 

[cointreau_rove]

I travel FGW a few times a weel (Bristol - London and back

I have to say that I have got addicted to their Bacon Baguettes first thing in the morning - not cheap £4.99 including a cup of tea....

Had an awful run with their Ham and Tomato sandwich - absolutely tasteless and best described as a carborad slice. Disgusting. With their over damp egg mayo sarnies I tend to stay away form their sandwiches, however sometimes a race past the M&S and Sainsbury's at Paddington ends up with my being hungry enough to grab a sandwich on the train - yeuch.

During pre pendolino days I regularly did VT 1st class early morning Euston to Lancaste (06:28??). Breakfast was a dream, cooked to order, fresh toast, loads of te and so I would arrive for a days work in Lancaster fully ready for the day! The return around 4pm was glorious, meal and drinks on the way down and a straight run from Preston to Euston being spoiled. The Pendolinho - well lets say I am glad I don't have to travel that route too much.

TBH there really is not much use for on board FGW grub - there is so much on offer in both Paddington and outside the station.... But I do like their Bacon Baguettes....

Yep - will be tucking into one on the 7:13 tomorrow!

C

 

[philjo]

Forgot to mention one thing regarding East Coast - quite often the trolley isn't working. The last couple of times it had emptied its contents of hot water all over the floor so was limited to selling cold drinks & snacks only.

 

[DelayRepay]

Forgot to mention one thing regarding East Coast - quite often the trolley isn't working. The last couple of times it had emptied its contents of hot water all over the floor so was limited to selling cold drinks & snacks only.

Which reminds me of a great announcement:

"Unfortunatly there is no trolley service today because a wheel has fallen off".

I hope no passengers awoke from their sleep just to hear the last four words!

 

[premier01]

Agreed, I can't stand coffee (but I do like the smell) so I usually go for tea (when I don't bring a thermos with me that is)

LM's tea is good in both taste and size and reasonably priced relative to the standard onboard. However, their trolley service is as infrequent as a good MP!

Virgin's tea isn't bad and the crisps are nice too. I heard a rumour that there was rekorderlig cider on board (which would make virgin instantly number 1) but I'm yet to see it make an appearance. Their water also comes in handy because it's invariably too hot on-board.

Disclaimer: I rarely travel with VT in standard because my time is cheap and so are LM so I'm extrapolating the complimentary weekend goods to what is in the shop.

Yes VT have rekorderlig cider but currently only in 1st class-complimentary-it's excellent and 1 of my favourite ciders! It's Bulmers in the VT shop which is also quite good.

I think the VT shop is good-excellent coffee @ tea selection and recently some good offers like the 2 bottles of Coca Cola for £2-it is strange about selling Coca Cola in the shop and offering Pepsi in 1st-like both though and Pepsi goes well when mixed with vodka etc which is possibly why they do this.

The plain ham sandwiches are also good-not often that you can get plain sandwiches without salad or horrible fillings-ok if they're fresh but not pre-packed!

I recently bought some refreshments from the EMT trolley and found that to be very expensive.

The TPE trolley is less expensive and the coffee is ok.

I used to enjoy going to the buffet coach on the West Coast Intercity 125's-excellent coffee there-if anyone has any old menus or photos etc please post as would be good to see the menu etc!

 

[Turbocharger]

I don't think Virgin Cola was one of Richard Branson's biggest successes!

Or his trains

 

[bnm]

A freshly prepared BLT on a FGW Travelling Chef service is one of my personal favourites. Thick rashers of smoked bacon and delicious farmhouse bread. Divine.

The 'build your own' burger is also rather nice.

Both a little pricey, but quality ingredients and cooked to order so just about worth it.

 

[philjo]

A couple of years ago, I was on a TGV in France & went to the buffet for some tea. I was given a cup of cold water with a tea bag in it!
It turned out that the water boiler wasn't working & the buffet steward hadn't realised that it was just dispensing cold water. He was eventually able to get some from a kettle.