If you have not visited a Little Chef roadside restaurant in the U.K. for a while, it might be time you took another look!

Yesterday I travelled from my home in Peterborough to Lowestoft in Suffolk to attend and speak at the launch of a brand new business networking and support group – a round trip of over 200 miles. On the way, I stopped at a well-known supermarket on the outskirts of Norwich for breakfast – to be honest, I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the breakfast and the person who served it to be table was surly and uncaring. Driving back late in the evening I was hoping to find somewhere to eat where I could have ‘seaside’ fish and chips, but decided in the end to stop at a Little Chef at Thickthorn Services near Norwich instead. What a pleasant surprise to be greeted by a professional, smiling young lady named Claire.

It’s a rare experience to be greeted with a smile at a roadside restaurant, especially as it was around 9 p.m. There were a few other customers there and Claire seemed to be running the restaurant with just herself and the chef, Graham, on duty. I ordered fish and chipos and a pot of tea, and it was served quickly, professionally and with a smile. I was asked if everything was alright part way through my meal, and I was so impressed watching Claire and Graham working together as a team that I decided to stay for dessert too.

Little Chef is definitely back on my list of places to eat and I wanted to share this great news!