Service stations are unlikely to ever be the jewels of the UK's culinary crown, but getting the food right at these facilities is perhaps the most crucial element in ensuring that customers have a pleasant experience. When news came that a services just outside Nottinghamshire had been voted as one of the top 10 UK motorway services areas, our minds immediately turned to the food.
The Tibshelf Southbound motorway service station is located on the M1 and a survey by Transport Focus has revealed that 97% of its customers were satisfied overall with the facility. The study looked at 119 motorway service areas across the country, with cleanliness and catering being among the key highlights for customers at Tibshelf.
Branches of McDonald's and Costa can be found at the services but these international chains are unlikely to offer anything outside of their usual uniformity, and so it was to the Fresh Food Café that we headed for a real sense of the food at this services. The Fresh Food Café is an own-brand offering from Roadchef, the motorway service area giant that runs Tibshelf.
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In terms of the time of day to sample the food, we plumped for breakfast, a truly make-or-break meal in getting the day off to a good start. The first thing of note on the Fresh Food Café's breakfast menu was the impressive range of choices on offer for vegetarians and vegans.
From a plant-based version of the traditional English breakfast to a vegan sausage bap, those taking the meat-free route are spoiled for choice. My dining partner went for an omelette and mushroom breakfast bagel with tomato salsa, whilst I kept things traditional with a standard English breakfast featuring sausage, bacon, beans, mushrooms, a fried egg and two slices of toast - which along with two mugs of tea came to £18.28.
The service was very friendly and efficient, whilst the food itself was piping hot and every breakfast item was cooked to perfection. I had to have a try of the breakfast bagel and after doing so, it is something that I would heartily recommend.
Eating in the services itself was a genuinely pleasant experience, with every inch of the place being immaculately cleaned and maintained. On the survey result, Mark Fox, the CEO of Roadchef, said: "It is good to hear that, in general, our customers are very satisfied with the service that we provide and would recommend us to their friends and family.
"Over the last few years, we have invested a lot in improving the facilities at our sites – particularly the toilets and catering offerings – so it's great to see that these developments are paying off. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and we are continually looking for new ways that we can innovate and improve our sites so that we can consistently provide the top-quality service that our customers have come to expect from us."
They say that you shouldn't fix what isn't broke. In terms of future ways to "innovate and improve" at Tibshelf then, it's to be hoped that they don't touch the breakfast.
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