Road food heaven say the BeeB- Autogrill

Seen and passed many, but never used one, are they any good? Should we have a "Travel" section?

We quite like Autogrills, not so sure about the heavenly bit though !..............we have been in a few dodgy ones, they are easy access, quick in and out.

There is one near Bologna which goes over the Autostrada (A14 ) where we had a half decent meal a few years ago. We always look for one with a ristorante.

V

You need to queue up and pay before you get served (so you need to know what you want before you start!).  

We use them quite often for 'coffee stops' but the food is (IMHO) usually pretty grim so we get off the autostrada if we want a decent lunch!

ghiro wrote:You need to queue up and pay before you get served (so you need to know what you want before you start!).  We use them quite often for 'coffee stops' but the food is (IMHO) usually pretty grim so we get off the autostrada if we want a decent lunch!

This must depend on the size of the AutoGrill you visit.  The one I have described you collect what you want on a tray and pay at the end.  The selection is enormous and it is hard to choose, so I find I am wandering back and forth looking a what is on offer in the salad and desert sections before I order my hot food. Yum.  We will certainly stop there again.

My first message seems to have got lost somewhere.  What I said was that we always stop at an AutoGrill just outside of Milan on our road trip to Italy. We find the food very good and have never been disappointed.

When we pull up it is usually quite late in the evening and the car park is full of families and travellers.  People are rearranging their packed cars, waking up babies from car seats, and small children are running around on the grass. Inside the restaurant the help-yourself selections are very varied with a salad bar, desert bar and a counter where you can order hot food. 

It can be a bit noisy and there are some queues to pay, but nothing horrendous.  I like their shop too, where I can buy milk and bread for our journey's end at our apartment in Lunigiana.  The atmosphere is nice and we enjoy watching and listening to the Italians make their selections and it is a mood setter for our holiday!

Autogrill is part of the Benetton group of companies and I agree in that it all depends on the particular place you visit. Some are excellent and some could improve... Food standards are similar and they also sell some products that prove to be very handy when you arrive at home. Although I always leave a stock of basic supplies at home, I generally buy some bread, milk and other goodies before our arrival home.

I saw the BBC article....here it is.....

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20131001-road-food-italy

The article mentions the location on the A4 that I alluded to 'From a table in the skybridge overlooking the A4, we gazed down at the traffic'

V

Vicino wrote:I saw the BBC article....here it is.....http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20131001-road-food-italyThe article mentions the location on the A4 that I alluded to 'From a table in the skybridge overlooking the A4, we gazed down at the traffic'

I would not have minded reading this but I got this message when I clicked on the link:

We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.


(I will have to search on google).

How strange, it's not actually the BBC article I read (same wording however), but also the link works fine for me in Italy. Odd that they don't let you access it in the UK... I tried to find the article I read, but without success. I but I can't find any history of it... Not too sure if Admin would like me to cut&paste it here....

That is indeed odd ! I just VPN'ed into the UK and yes you're correct, it's not available in the UK ??!! I'll pm you the text !

V

Good thinking V...

JulianaAlice,

I have pm'ed you,

V

Vicino wrote:JulianaAlice,I have pm'ed you,V

Thank you, I was very interested to read this article which isn't available to read from the UK, and yes, I agree with what it says, lovely food. 

Quote : "Bear in mind that in Italy, lunch, even a road lunch, is a production. You sit, you eat, you drink, you relax, you talk, you eat some more, you have a pastry, some biscotti, a gelato and finish with espresso". 

In the restaurant as well as in the sandwich bar you are spoilt for choice ...... and I am very fussy.  I like value for money, and I like fresh, natural ingredients.  As I said above, I am basing my comments on the AutoGrill we visit just outside of Milan and on our road trip to Italy.

In England I won't set foot inside our motorway services.  We use the car parks to change over drivers and visit the conveniences; but never, never, go into the restaurants for so much as a cup of coffee or tea.  What rubbish they serve there at extortionate prices.

This may also help those of us who travel with dogs Dog-friendly service stations
I must add that some Autogrills do not complain if you are carrying with you a small dog, such as ours. I guess that a Great Dane will not get the same type of welcome...

JulianaAlice wrote:

In England I won't set foot inside our motorway services.  We use the car parks to change over drivers and visit the conveniences; but never, never, go into the restaurants for so much as a cup of coffee or tea.  What rubbish they serve there at extortionate prices.

I think you are being very kind saying that they serve 'rubbish'!!

I am in no way a fussy eater, but, some years ago, we needed fuel so called in to one of these so called 'services'; visited the loo (a mess) and bought a cup of 'coffee'. Probably one of worst coffees I have to endure, impossible to drink, all I could liken it to was lukewarm dishwater.

V