http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012 ... rants-jobs

600 jobs to go, which is sad.

Had a meal at the Capel St Mary one (just before Ipswich) about 8 years ago, there were three staff and me. Had a bolognese, which was pretty nice actually, did have to wait about 15 minutes for the privilege mind. Sad, but inevitable I feel.

They are terrible places

Sad for the staff but great for the future of roadside food

LC shouldn't be struggling though, it's a classic brand that hasn't been looked after/evolved and it's paid the price. OK, many of the locations were loony, but still.

Full of them here, and they lost their way with the demise of the Breakfast, and I waited forever at one of them

No criticism of the quality whenever i have been but tiny portions, way over priced. Only surprise for me is how long its taken to happen.

True

Anyone see Heston blumental's struggle with their management ?

Dinosaurs

Looks like they are going for the Heston route.

We recently stayed near york and there was little chef next to the travelodge.
The missus was obsessed with going in after seeing the heston blumenthal program
I have to admit it was very good. Value for money and tasty, fresh looking food in a decent portion.
The salad in my burger was obviously fresh and the chips appeared homemade
The missus liked the singing toilets the best

Have any of you been recently?

Vowed about 20 years ago never to set foot inside a Little Chef ever again after being forced to eat in one near Northallerton.

Amazed they're still going.

I thought they'd all been closed down years ago ...

Never been in one, never will

They are on A roads rather than motorways

F ing 303 has loads of them

And the A14 and A12. apparently they have the contract for the megafast London to Brum trains

a mate at work was just saying on Monday he was in one over the weekend, his exact words were "had a really nice meal in a little chef" - I said is that even possible??

he reliably informed me that all the food is prepared fresh and was decent value for money unlike all the other motorway services.... I'll take his word for that (and he is quite fussy!)

Wouldnt get served in time

To be fair, would anyone be disappointed going to one? It couldn't be as bad as imagined

No more Olympic Breakfasts

They are getting better for food quality but you still feel like a saddoe eating in there (especially on your own).

The 'Olympic' breakfast needs renaming though as the portion ain't that big. More of a 'Commonwealth Games' Breakfast.

The Heston ones actually have a worse menu (theres one on A14, a convenient spot for me if breaking up a morning drive to Brum).

Like most chains,the individual outlet's location can adversely affect their ability to recruit good staff.

The quality of the food served and pricing should be consistent however,and often it's the same snobbery that causes some people to vow never to set foot in a Macdonalds no matter how convenient it might be for them to do so,that means they don't get to judge for themselves.

Little Chef's demise is no cause for celebration in my view,as although it's a long time since I was last in one, the chain often provided a convenient stop off on motorway journeys,with customers knowing what they'll get for their money.

In such a fierce recession as we're presently experiencing, not everyone can afford to go up-market,as presumably the critics here of Little Chef's quality are able to afford to do - perhaps dining off motorways. We need choices,to provide competition.

I stop regularly (well, 3 or 4 times a year) with the family at the Little Chef near Kettering on the A14 - it's a Heston one, and the food is excellent, nothing fancy (OK, apart from the braised ox cheeks), just simple food cooked well. Even my very food-fussy daughter loves it. If they roll this out to more branches, they might have a chance.

A bit on the pricey side but I have always enjoyed eating at a Little Chef. Bit of a family tradition to stop off to signal the start of a holiday. The food is always cooked fresh and they do a magic cherry pancake with icecream!

Not managed to find a Heston one yet, although I didn't realise the one in Kettering was, so I will be visiting there soon.

I think this is more closing down restaurants which aren't performing rather than a company in severe trouble, though. Big number of jobs to lose which is a shame.

I remember those from when I was a kid

Magic cherries? Are they like magic mushrooms?

the one on the a249 in Kent has become a 24hr indian restaurant - very odd!