Little Chef, A64 at Bilbrough Top (From York Press)

Little Chef, A64 at Bilbrough Top

11:33am Saturday 1st August 2009

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Heston Blumenthal has transformed York’s Little Chef. MIKE LAYCOCK stops for lunch.

YOU can always tell when a restaurant has gone upmarket by the drizzle. Not a reference to the miserable weather we’ve been enduring but to the menu. Find mention of a “drizzle of olive oil” and you know this certainly ain’t a bangers and chips greasy spoon.

Find references to free range eggs, outdoor bred sausages, organic beef, strawberry compote and Ramsay of Carluke black pudding, and you might imagine you’re in a top notch restaurant, perhaps Heston Blumenthal’s famous Fat Duck in Berkshire.

But no, I found all these and more on the menu of the Little Chef on the A64 at Bilbrough Top, traditional home of bangers and chips and the all-day breakfast.

The menu – and the service – have been transformed by Heston at a cost of £1 million. And all in all, I can conclude that, while a little surreal, it’s generally quite a good thing.

Some things haven’t changed. The distinctive Little Chef colours of red and white remain, although the ceiling consisted of sky blue tiles decorated with fluffy white clouds. The tables still had that formica feel. But it looked spruce and clean, with individual lamps hanging down over each table.

The service has undergone an astonishing transformation. I’ve queued in the past at Little Chef counters and been served by, shall we say, rather surly staff.

This time, it was waiter service with a capital S. “Can I get you a drink, sir?” I was asked. Then: “Are you ready to order, sir?” Followed by: “Is everything OK, sir?” And then: “Can I get you another drink, sir?” Not to mention: “Is there anything else you would like, sir?” And when the guy behind me dropped his coffee all over the floor, the mess was cleared up in seconds and without a hint of a grumble.

Admittedly it was mid-afternoon and quiet, but the level of attention was not the kind of thing you’d expect at a roadside restaurant. Nor was the food.

It ranged from starters of Scottish mussels to main dishes of coq au vin. I skipped starters and opted for ale and vegetable casserole, a selection of seasonal root vegetables, stewed in ale, topped with mustard dumplings and served with chopped parsley, and yes, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, not to mention grated parmesan cheese. All accompanied by a small Carlsberg. The course cost me £7.50. It tasted really good but the quantities weren’t huge, and I felt I should have had that starter after all.

For pudding, I opted for strawberry ice-cream sundae for £3.75, that included a strawberry compote topped with crunchy granola and soft whipped ice-cream, and freeze dried strawberries. Lovely.

The menu did offer one or two traditional favourites with new names, such as The All New Olympic Breakfast, served all day for £6.95. This dish featured “outdoor bred British pork sausages,” which conjured up an amusing farmyard image. There was also Wiltshire-cured back bacon, two free range eggs and a slice of Ramsay of Carluke black pudding.

But the diners behind me said they were very pleased with what they had eaten. “It’s got away from that greasy food,” said the lady. And cards filled in by customers, and placed on a display, were generally very positive.

There were one or two gripes. “Miss the hash browns,” said one. “Restore them to the menu.” Another said: “What no toasted teacakes?”

But many praised the move away from “greasy food,” and the clean appearance of the restaurant and the good service offered by staff.

So all in all, it’s a case of well done Heston. But maybe you should be worried: will anyone want to visit your Fat Duck again if they can get grub like this at their local Little Chef?

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