Great Central Railway Cafe in Leicester

We made the café / bar late in the afternoon and the young lady there was the first class. She was pleasant and helpful willing and knew what she needed to do to keep people moving.

Excellent Bacon Butty and cup of tea in a heritage station buffet. Very frieldly staff. Relly nice steam train experience.

Sorry to say I am left unimpressed. Today I recieved two meals via deliveroo but sadly the meals wasn't great. The meals were tasteless, the sausages didn't taste like pork however I'm not implying that it wasn't, the miniscule amount of beans, tomatoes and especially mushrooms are hideous. I was really looking forward to receiving my meal and trying the great central but sadly due to my experience today I will put it on my avoid list, sorry Great Central just not a great experience

Having dined with GCR before covid it was a great experience but our recent experience has not been good. In February it was so cold we ate our meals with our coat, hat, and gloves on. The food was OK but it was cold before it reached the table. Our recent experience of the 24 October was even worse! The first course of mushroom was OK. The parsnip soup was passable but tasteless. The main course was just OK but the sides were poor. The broccoli was cold, the heads were dark and soggy and the stems were raw, Our carrots were sliced with three or four peas while the people across the way had chantonay carrots. The potaroes were barely cooked. Pudding was even more of a laugh- fresh fruit salad! Apple and watermelon with two grapes. I do not eat either watermelon or apple so I exchanged my pud with my husband who had ordered gateau, The gateau was a disgrace, it was the leftovers from the afternoon tea. No cream was offered with either. we waited and waited for coffee and eventually the cheese board arrived-quite nice but no plates or cutlery. One woman who asked for a plate was told no-they were all in the dishwasher. We left before the coffee arrived,. The whole experience was incredibly disappointing. Our guests had travelled from Cambridge for such an appaulling experience. On top of it all we did not have our second run on the train as the lights failed in the first carriage so we spent most of evening sitting in Loughborough station.

Must be good as there is always a queue - great selection of food, alcohol and teas/coffees - sitting inside or outside. Great coffee and even with a queue the staff are very efficient. One of the best places I have visited that actually caters for people with celiac disease and have the best choices of cakes on offer for those suffering and whose cakes actually taste good like proper cakes (not pre-packed as most other places). Highly recommend

We were attending the winter steam gala and wanted something for lunch so visited this café. It was extremely busy but the very cheerful and friendly staff produced excellent jacket potatoes for us at a very reasonable price. This is well worth visiting if you re having a day on the railway.

Just what was needed on a cold day. Roaring coal fire, hot chocolate, and a sausage cob all served efficiently and with a smile. Not the biggest of cafes but really nice place to take a break if travelling on the railway.

The wife and I had After noon tea & cakes and it was very yummy. The staff were all nice and Friendly.It,s next to the steam Railway station.

Only stopped for a warm drink on a cold day but really welcoming and friendly. Will have to go back and try the food next time.

Had lunch here while on a day trip with friends who were doing a train driving experience. The food was fresh, made to order, delicious and excellent value. Definitely recommend

Lovely platform cafe with roaring fires, a shop and a small museum all on the platform. Nice period features too like the luggage, silver cross pram and lots of helpful guards and station personnel on great uniforms. Lots of special interest weekends/days too for every taste, jazz, curry, peppa pig, Thomas the tank engine, murder mystery, Easter specials etc Great place!

this is a very friendly little restaurant open Tuesday to sunday,the food is cooked on order,its fresh and tasty and if you travel on the train its worth getting off for.

Great central railway run weekend dining experiences for special occasions,I ent for my wedding anniversay.This is the third time ive been on this train and wasnt dissappointed.The meal was excellent and the waiters and waitresses were very courtious and friendly.I will certainly go again.Dave P.

My husband and I bought my father-in-law Saturday lunch on the GCR as a gift, which we did yesterday. It came with an all-day rover ticket and we spent a good 8 hours on the line. The whole line is brilliantly presented and a real trip back in time. The museum and working shed at Loughborough and the NAAFI theme at Quorn & Woodhouse were our favourites. The dining experience was wonderful. The food was piping hot and delicious; home-made soup, well-presented (we liked the piped potato swirls) and lovely puddings. There was a wide range of drinks (extra charge but not ridiculous) including special GCR-labelled wines; the merlot which was lovely. Service was no problem; well organised with information announcements and your main and pudding choices taken in advance so service was smooth. The table was set beautifully too. It was novel and lovely to eat with the Leicestershire countryside rolling by, we could get used to it! The train got back to Loughborough just as coffee and mints were served, and you finish and leave in your own time. We happened to visit during a diesel gala but the dining trains were pulled by a steam loco. We noticed there are buffet cars on every train and tearooms at every station so food isn't an issue even if you're not booked on a dining experience. After lunch we hopped on trains to visit the other stations properly. The station staff were very helpful with how the timetable worked. The whole experience was good value especially as you know it's going back to the railway. We're looking forward to coming back for the Steam Gala next month.

Basic train station cafe.where you can get a nice cuppa and a English breckie at a cheap price.both stations at Loughborough and Rothley serve the same food and welcome to the tired traveller.

Popped in here during the rain for an excellent bacon sandwich and cuppa. Most welcoming at the start of our day.

A wonderful experience - eating a 5 course meal with first class service on a period steam train while it steams down the track. Now waiting for the next special occasion to do it again.

Es precioso para retroceder en el tiempo, con un bocadillo y una pinta, como los buffets oldtime estación de trenes.

A great facility to have and most enthusiastically staffed. Get yourself a light refreshment, or a light meal, to eat in, but really nice to sit outside and watch the steam trains coming into, and out of, the station. Or you can just watch the miniature railway layout which never seams to get boring. When the weather is good this is a superb little oasis to take a breather.

Friendly service, although at peak times you may have to wait a while. Convenient parking at Quorn, means that the Butler Henderson Buffet is usually open for midweek business travellers as well.