After we wrapped up our sales activities in Farnborough, with a small side trip to visit companies in Harwell, we found ourselves briefly back in London at Kings Cross Station, waiting for our train up to Leeds in West Yorkshire. On my last trip on the UK’s East Coast main lines (back in 2016, after our trip to the Faroe Islands), the trains were being run by Virgin Trains East Coast, but due to low revenue, Virgin returned the operations to the British Government, and they are now run by London North Eastern Railway Limited (LNER), a state-owned rail operation company. So this was my first chance to experience LNER trains and their meal service (on our first class tickets).
While there have been a few exceptions (mostly with Southern Railways), I’ve generally enjoyed rail travel in the UK; once you get used to the rather enormous set of different train operators (all partially coordinated through National Rail) and terminology, the UK has one of the better-run train networks, and it’s been a great way for us to travel around the country and do sightseeing, without needing to spend a lot of time driving rental cars. And most of the time, I’ve opted to spend the relatively modest sum to get a first class ticket, primarily since those tickets generally include food service. So this was a good chance to get a light meal and beverage as we took the ~2.5 hours to get up to Leeds from London.
Just a few minutes after pulling out of Kings Cross Station, and letting people settle in for the ride, our coach’s two stewards quickly walked through the cabin distributing small place mats (interesting, that was one place they were surprisingly strict: beverages were required to always be kept on the place mats; with four of us sharing one table between two benches facing together, this had the odd effect of all four of us trying to keep our beverages on the same ~A4-sized placement) and menus. For a reasonably-affordable and quick trip to Leeds, the menu was surprisingly good, they maintain both breakfast and lunch menus, with a handful of items on both menus available throughout the day. Nothing terribly fancy here, but the selection is serviceable enough: several pastries, sandwiches, salads, and wraps, with a few slightly more elaborate items, like a Smoky Bean Pasta.
The beverage menu was slightly more extensive than what you’d usually find on an airplane flight: a good variety of teas, coffee, and soft drinks, with enough variety of spirits that you can get the same sorts of beverages you’d get on a flight like a Rum and Coke or a Gin and Tonic, and I opted for the latter: a decent Gin and Tonic made with a decent gin from Ellers Farm Distillery in North Yorkshire, and a pretty flavorful tonic from BritVic. Certainly a good drink to relax as we speed across the parched countryside up to Leeds.
Indeed, the smoky bean pasta (beans and pasta in a smoky tomato sauce) sounded good enough to actually order… but then found they had run out of it for the day. So I went with my backup choice: the Mumbai Chicken Toastie. Chicken, melted cheese, herbs, and just a bit of chutney, nicely toasted to order before service. I actually enjoyed this dish: some nicely tender and spiced chicken, a good cheese, and a nice chutney, and just enough toast on everything to make it warm and pleasant without being overly toasted. Not a bad item for a train.
Indeed, that’s the real take-away here: if you are looking at traveling on LNER Trains, consider first class: the seats are reasonably comfortable, the staff pleasant and attentive, and if you were wondering if you had to visit either a restaurant or store for securing a meal or provisions before your trip? I wouldn’t bother, the food on board the train was definitely pleasant and tasty, if not terribly elaborate.
