WelshBluebird
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Mind you it doesn't look like you can book for any day in October yet. Even looking at days after the strike (e.g Friday 6th) it says there aren't any running.
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GWR Pullman dining reinstated
- Thread starter alastair
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I spoke to someone on GWR's chat and they said those dates should be available to book towards the end of this week (emphasis mine).
I'm checking daily in any event, just in case…
How hard would it be for GWR to employ people on regular services to cook up basic hot food that can be ordered by and served to all on board.
It seems a terrible waste to have all these 'travelling kitchens' largely lying unused for the most part - bar a very small handful of Pullman services.
It seems a terrible waste to have all these 'travelling kitchens' largely lying unused for the most part - bar a very small handful of Pullman services.
Hard? Probably not very. Cost-effective? Unlikely.
matt_g_uk
Member
It’s bookable every weekday in October except 2nd to 4th.
Yes, as I said. I’m travelling Tuesday 3/10 hence my dejected post.
I use the Pullman dining most weeks either to or from Plymouth (35 trips so far this year...!). It's a fantastic service on the whole.
The website can help you figure out how busy it will be, but even so sometimes it can be unexpectedly full e.g a random Tuesday in February. 2 weeks later I was just 1 of 3 people in the carriage. I've certainly seen standard class ticket holders turned away, but more often than not they have a seat found for them. Higher chance of being given a seat at one of the tables for 4 as they normally hold the singles back for people who book. Friday night down is the toughest gig as there is a regulars club who book it up!
The current post June menu is solid. The starters are better than the previous version (the ham hock terrine is excellent), the mains a bit less good as the sage chicken isn't a patch on the previous version with blackberry sauce. Eating bouillabaisse on a train means lots of splash on your shirt front... Don't do it. The food is genuinely good, I'd happily pay for it in a normal restaurant let alone rolling through the countryside at 100mph.
Crews are normally excellent. There are a couple from Plymouth who could do with a bit of charm training but most are really sweet. There is one London-based service lead who I almost always see at Plymouth and she gives me a wave and ensures I get my favourite seat.
The website can help you figure out how busy it will be, but even so sometimes it can be unexpectedly full e.g a random Tuesday in February. 2 weeks later I was just 1 of 3 people in the carriage. I've certainly seen standard class ticket holders turned away, but more often than not they have a seat found for them. Higher chance of being given a seat at one of the tables for 4 as they normally hold the singles back for people who book. Friday night down is the toughest gig as there is a regulars club who book it up!
The current post June menu is solid. The starters are better than the previous version (the ham hock terrine is excellent), the mains a bit less good as the sage chicken isn't a patch on the previous version with blackberry sauce. Eating bouillabaisse on a train means lots of splash on your shirt front... Don't do it. The food is genuinely good, I'd happily pay for it in a normal restaurant let alone rolling through the countryside at 100mph.
Crews are normally excellent. There are a couple from Plymouth who could do with a bit of charm training but most are really sweet. There is one London-based service lead who I almost always see at Plymouth and she gives me a wave and ensures I get my favourite seat.
MrJeeves
Established Member
Did the Pullman today — only one in the carriage! I booked from Newport to Paddington.
Absolutely lovely experience, and the steak is delightful. Staff extremely cheery and friendly.
There really is nothing to complain about.
Absolutely lovely experience, and the steak is delightful. Staff extremely cheery and friendly.
There really is nothing to complain about.
dk1
Veteran Member
Looks absolutely lush it does.
MrJeeves
Established Member
I'd argue that goes to Avanti based on some pictures of food from LNER's "Dine" service. I'll send some pictures on Avanti later (currently using a day of my 1st Interrail in the UK -- done Avanti in the morning, XC, then GWR Pullman, now Avanti again).
I agree, but I don't think anything today compares with what was on offer at the end of BR. I can now afford the time and money that I'd happily get a slower train with better catering, but I don't think the economics of today's railways allow for good food to be provided, and it's not seen any more as a way of tempting people to travel by train as a loss-leader or whatever. And I'm not representative of the market so the demand isn't there.
I'd use the GWR Pullman dining I'm sure if it were on my route, which it no longer is, but today I'd rather buy food on the way to the station or at the station than take my chances with the expensive and poor on-train dining options that exist.
That said, I've no recent experience of LNER so might give it a try one day. All-line rover ought to be pending.
Butts
Veteran Member
It does look excellent - but "only one in the carriage" is a worrying indicator of it's sustainability ?
How much was the steak ?
Doctor Fegg
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- 9 Nov 2010
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Well, the fact that we're all subsidising you (GWR doesn't make a profit) to have your own private dining car, in trains that could desperately do with more luggage and bicycle space... some of us might complain about that.
But it does look like a lovely experience, and I can't blame you for taking the deal that's on offer!
Mainline421
Member
I'd rank Caledonian Sleeper as the second best, followed by Transport for Wales. Both are better than LNER and Avanti - although they're still good too.
MrJeeves
Established Member
I haven't been in their club car, but when I got some food ordered to my seat, I received dry (inside), stale and soggy (outside) chips, sadly.
Mainline421
Member
Actually, thinking about it maybe TfW should be 2nd
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Surprising that they sell chips. As you won't have a deep fat fryer on a train, they are never going to be good. You need to concentrate on food that at worst isn't degraded by being reheated, or even better food like chillies, curries and stews that are sometimes even enhanced by it.
MrJeeves
Established Member
My oven chips at home are very much passable, and certainly not soggy and dry!
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Trouble is people aren't going to accept waiting 20 minutes for their food when ordering on board as would be necessary to cook good quality oven chips from frozen. Admittedly an air fryer might speed things a little but I doubt trains have those.
Best just to avoid chips entirely for on board dining. Plenty of other options.
Indeed CS appear now not to offer chips, and GWR I don't think ever did.
MrJeeves
Established Member
As promised...
Was also very happy with this. Obviously not as substantial as the Pullman, but enough to keep me going nonetheless, and at no extra cost.
HamworthyGoods
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The IÉ mk3 kitchens used to have deep fat fryers!
berneyarms
Established Member
And very tasty the chips were too!
Ashley Hill
Established Member
I wouldn’t recommend them for the B+H
.I have pics of me as a kid in the 80's enjoying chips on the train up to Aberdeen from London. Don't know if they were deep fried or not!
GWR Pullman is probably the best dining experience on the rails in the UK, with TfW a close second. Avanti imho is the best of the 'free' food first class options. LNER feels more downmarket to me, more about throwing pre-packaged cheap food at people, and portion sizes for hot food are ridiculous.
GWR Pullman is probably the best dining experience on the rails in the UK, with TfW a close second. Avanti imho is the best of the 'free' food first class options. LNER feels more downmarket to me, more about throwing pre-packaged cheap food at people, and portion sizes for hot food are ridiculous.
Sad Sprinter
Established Member
I was more than prepared to use the Pullman service earlier this year, but as the train was two 5car units coupled together, I couldn’t get to the dining car! So close yet so far…
Butts
Veteran Member
Anyone remember the late lamented Wrexham & Shropshire Railway ?
Cooked up a decent scran on that one.
Certainly on the Plymouth run you normally board the dining car when you get on and you can stay there till your destination. If it's 2 x 5 cars the dining car has always in my experience been at the Paddington end. RTT will of course give you the formation before you board.
Sad Sprinter
Established Member
Won’t that clog up people wishing to use the service after Reading etc?