Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Grain Store

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store (Visit 4)

    As I’ve posted about (three times before), the Grain Store is part of the Priority Pass scheme at Gatwick Airport South Terminal. I visited here this morning at around 5am and it was moderately busy inside with a staff member promptly acknowledging me on entry. There’s a choice of more cafe style seating or restaurant seating, but as usual, I went for the latter.

    I’m working slowly around the menu and since I haven’t had tea here before, I went for something new. I have next to no knowledge about tea, but it tasted fine to me and there were enough for over two cups full. It was nicely presented in a black teapot and the water was at boiling temperature.

    The chorizo, avocado and poached egg on toast. There was an interesting variety of temperatures going on, with the egg, chorizo and toast being hot and the avocado, feta cheese and the plate all being cold. The presentation was just a little odd as well with some random elements around the plate, it’d have probably looked better on a slightly smaller plate. Anyway, that sounds like I’m overly concerned about the plate used, which isn’t really the case.

    The egg was cooked perfectly so that it was runny when I cut into it, with the portion size of the chorizo in particular being generous. The avocado was evenly spread and had a decent flavour, although it had made the toast quite moist. The toast and chorizo did though both add texture and the chorizo had a firm but pleasant taste to it.

    There was no check back during the meal and the service seemed a little scripted, but it was efficient and the food and drink was brought over promptly. The restaurant was clean and seemed organised, with the pricing being reasonable given the quality offered. The meal price came to £14, which was within the £15 allowance which is provided for by Priority Pass.

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store (Visit 3)

    I’m slowly working through the menu at the Grain Store at Gatwick Airport as access is included with my Priority Pass card. The limit is £15 and on my previous visits I’ve had a breakfast, primarily because I’ve been flying early in the morning and the restaurant only serves breakfasts then…..

    So, this is the first time that I’ve had a later flight from Gatwick South, and so I thought I’d try the restaurant’s Thai crispy squid with a spicy sauce and their sea salt fries. And some sparkling water on the side, which all came to under £14, so within the budget.

    I’m often nervous about ordering squid as it can be overcooked so easily, and it’s not a cheap dish to order. However, the squid here was perfect and melted in the mouth, so it was better than I expected. Appropriately salted chips which were crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the interior went well with the squid, so I thought that it was a cleanly presented and decent quality meal.

    The service was attentive and polite throughout, although I was only in the restaurant for under thirty minutes, which was my deliberate choice rather than me being rushed out. Wagamama next door was full with a queue out of the door, whilst Grain had tens of empty tables, but I’m not sure that many people have really heard of Grain and inevitably just go with the chains.

    Anyway, a perfectly good meal and I’m glad that I popped in. Again.

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store (Visit 2)

    This was my second visit to the Grain Store at Gatwick Airport, which is part of the Priority Pass scheme. The timing is quite fortunate, as this restaurant opens at 04.00, with the BA lounge not opening until 05.15, so this fills in a useful time slot for when I have an early flight.

    I try to avoid arriving at any restaurant at the exact moment it opens, just in case the staff aren’t quite ready and I have to stand there looking confused and slightly desperate to get in. Fortunately,  this time there were two other customers by the time that I arrived at 04.05, so I didn’t look any more out of place than usual.

    The coffee art wasn’t quite up the standard of last time, but it tasted fine.

    I’m trying to work my way round the menu, so this time I went for the Eggs Benedict. It was brought out after six minutes and it looked well presented and an effort had been made with the garnish. The ham was of a decent quality and the eggs were cooked so that the yolk came gushing out in a satisfying manner. The muffin was a bit over-toasted, but I prefer it like that. The egg white itself had a slightly strange taste that I’m not sure how they’d achieved, but it was more unusual than unpleasant.

    The price of this meal and drink was covered by the Priority Pass scheme, but it seemed unusual for this meal to be priced at £11.50, which is more than the Full English. Even given airport prices, the £11.50 does seem to be at the slightly higher end of the pricing scale and more expensive than what the neighbouring  Jamie’s restaurant charges.

    The service was efficient and polite, if not particularly engaging, with the payment process being prompt and without any undue delays. The dining environment was also clean and comfortable, the open-plan nature of the restaurant suits it well. All in all though, I’m still pleased that this restaurant is part of Priority Pass, it adds a little variety to the whole scheme.

  • Gatwick Airport – Grain Store

    I think I’ll be here quite a few times in 2019, not for any other reason but this restaurant is included in the Priority Pass scheme. More common in the United States, this is ideal for people who have unlimited access cards, as it means Priority Pass will pay for the first £15 of any bill for cardholders. So, I might as well take advantage when at Gatwick Airport.

    Nice and comfortable surroundings, not very busy at 04:30 in the morning, although that’s to be expected. Most people tend to be in a hotel, rather than faffing around the airport during the early hours of the morning (and the late hours of the night). All clean and well presented, with quite an airy and open design.

    The bar area.

    The latte, well presented with some coffee art on top, flavour was fine and served at the appropriate hot temperature.

    I don’t usually do full English breakfasts, but decided to use this as a benchmark to judge the restaurant. I opted out of the mushrooms and they pro-actively offered me more tomato or more beans, so I went with the tomato. The presentation was quite clean, so it looked a reasonably well put together meal.

    The sausages were adequate, a decent depth of flavour, but they had a slightly watery texture. The bacon was streaky and this was fine for a couple of the rashers, but one was heavily under-cooked for my taste. I spent my usual couple of minutes cutting the fat off. The eggs weren’t good, the white had a strangely firm texture and was devoid of any taste, which the yolk was only just runny, so it was a little over-cooked. The tomatoes and baked beans were fine, there’s not a great deal that can go wrong there. For this to be described as a full English there probably needs to be another ingredient, whether that’s black pudding, hash browns or something else to add a little extra to the proceedings.

    The service was efficient and polite, with my Priority Pass payment method going through without any difficulties. They seem geared up to the whole Priority Pass process, as there’s a large sign at the entrance and some other customers seemed to be paying in the same way. I hope that this idea catches on in the UK, it’s a handy back-up for when the main Priority Pass lounges get too full.