Station fare
Our editor finds a number of surprises, not all of them good, as he sets off on a tour of Somerset stations to find out more about the plight of the station cafe. What can Somerset travellers expect?
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Andrew Lee - Editor
The romance of travel. Imagine steam trains hurtling through the countryside. Trains that cross the seas by being loaded onto a ferry. The wood and chintz upholstery of a Pullman carriage, the dining car with subdued lighting, crisp linen and silver service. The adventure and exoticism promised by the Orient Express – London to Istanbul – immortalised by Agatha Christie and in Graham Greene’s “Stanbul Train”.
The golden age of train travel more or less coincided with the high point of the Art Deco era in the interwar decades of the 1920s and 1930s.
The popularity of nostalgic trips organised on Pullman trains that criss-cross the country each summer is testimony to the enduring appeal of that golden era of train travel. And to our desire relive and revisit it. Customers happily pay hundreds of pounds for a single day just to have the experience that our parents or perhaps grandparents took for granted.
One of the great glories of the golden age of train travel was the station restaurant. We are definitely not talking of the tired British Rail buffet of the 1980s with the much lampooned British Rail sandwich.
the much lampooned British Rail sandwich
Think instead of the Art Deco restaurants of the 1920s and 1930s that were dotted across Europe and could turn travel by train into a gourmet’s paradise. Grand restaurants that could compete with the best, think 1e Klas at Amsterdam’s Centraal Station, Järnvägsrestaurangen, at Stockholm’s Östra Station on the one hand but also the buffet groaning under a literal smorgasbord of delights at the old Railway buffet in Copenhagen’s Main Station.
Some are long gone, some have provided the spiritual inspiration for new takes on an old theme (think Lazare at the Gare St Lazare) but there are also survivors of those golden days of travel. They are notable and still highly regarded.
Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon is perhaps the epitome. It is a restaurant like no other and most definitely a station restaurant like no other. Where else can you dine on classic Lyonnaise food under a riotously frescoed ceiling complete with chandeliers, gilded stucco? If you haven’t tried it already this is definitely one for the bucket list!
The Brasserie du Nord (now known as the Terminus Nord) may not be on the concourse of the Gard de Nord but it is right outside and retains the Parisian chic and sophistication of the classic brasserie. It is as much a part of the station as the platforms and the Gard du Nord would be diminished if the Brasserie Du Nord were not a part of the scenery. From the simplicity of eggs mayonnaise to the classic Fruit de Mer or perhaps a steak Béarnaise? And île flottante for dessert anyone?
Of course not all French stations offer such glamorous fare. But even in regional stations such as Reims you can still find gems such as The Grand Comptoir restaurant. Like Terminus Nord it offers a sumptuous Brasserie style with a substantial choice of wines and all on the station concourse.
not all French stations offer such glamorous fare
None of which is to say France does not have its share of corporate America food offerings on its stations too. There are plenty of fast food outlets and Starbucks coffee units on offer.
But if Europe and the Art Deco era are our inspiration, the true purpose of this piece is to examine how the experience of food on the go in Somerset stands up. We sent our editor out on tour to look at Somerset stations, interchange stations for Somerset trains (Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids) and in the hope of something grand, to the London terminus of the GWR service, Paddington Station.
Has the British Rail sandwich lived on? Are our stations awash with corporate blandness and insipid offerings?
Here's what he found……
The first thing I’d have to say is that embarked on the exercise with a degree of prejudice. My experience of food on the go on the rail network has not been a good one. My overriding impression before setting off on my journeys around Somerset was one of independent cafes being squeezed out largely bland pre-packaged corporate fare.