Eurostar Business Premier food
Eurostar claims on its website “Travelling Business Premier affords you the efficiency and flexibility to make the most of your time on board, and in such a premier service you can expect the food and drink to reach the same high standards. That’s why when you travel Business Premier you’ll enjoy delicious meals suited to your time of travel.”
Delicious meals? I travel quite frequently on Eurostar – and make a point of trying to reach the station early enough to be able to eat something in the lounge before the journey. Because the food onboard is so incredibly awful. Think of the worst of economy class airline food 20 years ago (they’ve improved enormously since then) and you’ve about matched Eurostar business class meals. I honestly don’t know how they do it. How can a train that travels to/from France multiple times a day still serve up stale and previously frozen (apt to crumble) bread? It is especially horrid on the Brussels route… How do they do it?
Airlines (whose food is rarely this bad) at least have the excuse of altitude, highly restricted space and time/distance from places where the food is produced. But a train that makes just a 2-hour journey? What follows is pretty typical Eurostar fare. And tasted about as good as it looks 😉
Eurostar meal
Minced meat
Closer...
What we have here is some wilted salad (that means salad most likely made yesterday, but in any case old and drooping), some minced lamb (I think – it really isn’t certain), and some (powdered?) mashed potato. No flavour, no seasoning. Honestly, unless you’re starving, do yourself a favour and either eat first or wait for the nearest McDonalds on arrival. Your stomach will thank you for it… The dessert was an apricot pastry accompanied by some canned apricots. Again, old and dry. Probably made in the morning (this was an evening train) and left out or refrigerated uncovered since that time. If you really want an apricot pastry, I recommend trying them in the St Pancras lounge before departure in the morning – at which time they are actually fresh.
Cost and conclusion: the meal is appalling for a business class. Take advantage of the lounge before departure if you missed your lunch/dinner! It is really too bad since the trip on Eurostar is much more comfortable than flying to Brussels/Paris where we waste time with all the security.
