Another taste of TfW fine dining

Almost two years on from my only previous experience (feature: April 2024) and the offer of a bargain-priced First Class single from Newport to Crewe in the January Rail Sale (£32.80 with railcard) meant a chance to sample once again the fine dining available each day on a handful of Transport for Wales (TfW) Cardiff-Manchester services and one Holyhead-Cardiff working.

As I wrote two years ago, dining on the line is a pleasure that takes me back to my early working career in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when I had some memorable meals aboard the all-First Class Manchester Pullman and was also the only enthusiast aboard the last ever restaurant service in a 4-REP unit from London Waterloo to Bournemouth (2 October 1981)

Rail privatisation was pretty much the death knell for full on-train dining, with the honourable exceptions of GNER and the GWR Pullman Dining service, so it is great to see the scale and quality of what is now on offer to TfW customers travelling between Cardiff and Manchester and, once a day, from Holyhead to the Welsh capital.

Having travelled from Manchester Piccadilly to Hereford aboard a 12.30 departure last time, my plan on 28 January 2026 was to join the 12.53 ex-Cardiff Central at Newport (13.07) from where the two hour 20 minute trip to Crewe (arriving 15.28) would mean plenty of time to savour the three-course lunch menu (a bargain £42.00 including a bottle of house wine).

Consulting the TfW Website, what is truly impressive is the obvious pride in its dining service, where besides finding food and drinks menus for the service, which it describes as blas (taste in Welsh), there are biographies of chefs from the route, showing the pedigree they all seem to have acquired in Welsh restaurants before joining TfW.

So for my culinary experience aboard 1W59 (12.53 ex-Cardiff Central), powered by 67022 and formed of Mk1V coach set HD07, my selections from the current (January 2026) blas menu, and prepared for me by chef Scott Manley, were roasted tomato and pepper soup to start, followed by smoked haddock and leek risotto and rounded off with sticky toffee pudding.

There was no disappointment with my choices – the soup was fresh and fruity, the risotto was delicious and creamy, and the sticky toffee pudding had been specially prepared for me by chef Scott. Washing it all down, the house Chilean Sauvignon Blanc lived up to its menu description as “fresh, crisp with citrus and tropical fruit flavours”.

A check on the TfW website shows five weekday Cardiff-Manchester services offering the full dining experience, with departures at 08.53/10.53/12.53/14.53 and 16.53, all of which have restaurant service available from Newport to Crewe. There is also a single Holyhead service with full dining that departs the Welsh capital at 17.22.

Southbound weekday services with the full dining offer comprise the 05.27 from Holyhead and a total of seven departures from Manchester, at 06.27/08.30/10.30/12.23/14.30/16.30 and 18.30, with all services advertising the full catering offer from the start of their journey to Abergavenny.

The £42 cost of three courses and a bottle of house wine on the TfW dining service compares well to the current £49.00 cost of three courses in GWR Pullman Dining, with drinks costing extra, although the latter can include a valuable “free” upgrade to first class for anyone with a standard class ticket.

It seems remarkable that anyone travelling from the Welsh capital towards London has just one opportunity each weekday to sample on-train dining, with lunch aboard 1I27 departing at 13.18, yet every two hours there is the chance for full restaurant service for anyone heading north towards Crewe and Manchester. Like GWR’s offering, the TfW service is quite superb, and a “must try” for anyone who appreciates dining on the line.

For anyone tempted by the dining option, but reluctant to buy a first class ticket in advance, there is apparently (according to the guard on my train) a standard upgrade price for a Cardiff-Manchester (or Newport-Crewe) journey of £21.00, regardless of what type of standard class ticket you hold.