After Adam picked up us at Heathrow and drove us to Birmingham, we visited some shops near our hotel for snacks the tepid water I would come to loathe. One shop was called Poundland and it was a cross between our Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores. Basically, the same types of items both brand and off brand name stuff. Other stores we would visit later in our journey would be Tesco Express, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s. All basically grocery stores and some with clothing and drug store items but nothing like Walmart. Boots and WH Smith were popular stores that seemed to be prevalent most anywhere we traveled. These were more of the Walgreens or CVS chemist (pharmacy) type stores but had snacks and travel items as well. As much as I dislike Walmart, I see why Adam appreciates Walmart when he comes to visit us. The stores in the UK don’t have everything all in one place, but I can see how you would just get used to the items they do have. Other stores that seemed to be pretty prevalent throughout were Marks & Spencer (M&S) and TK Maxx (UK version of TJ Maxx) M&S is a department store that reminded me of a Macy’s type but they also had a food market.
One thing you learn very quickly when visiting the UK and the shops is bring your own bags. You can buy your own reusable bags or purchase bags at the tills (registers). Everyone totes reuseable bags or just carries their items in their hands. Despite having a few bags, we still often found ourselves juggling water, crisps (potato chips), and whatever else down the street, because we left the bags in the hotel or car.
Another popular store was Greggs. It is a chain bakery and coffee shop and also has premade sandwiches and snacks. These were everywhere and anything I got from there tasted fresh. The glazed donuts were nice, and they did a margherita pizza slice that I sampled a couple of times for breakfast since there was one right across the street from our hotel. There was always a queue (line) of people waiting to grab a snack. Speaking of premade food, this seemed to be a thing as well. So many of the shops have premade sandwiches, wraps, and other quick grab handheld food. I have never been a fan of eating premade food like this but shops like Pret a Manger, which seemed to be on every corner and in the airport, turned out to be a good way to grab a fresh bite of something in a hurry. They can also heat up anything you want. They have tons of options as well as organic items.
Motorway services in the UK are like what we would call our rest stops. Their services have fast food restaurants, arcades, and small shops inside so they go beyond the typical restrooms, vending machines and occasional fresh Florida orange juice sample you can get at our rest stops.
We sampled McDonald’s and Burger King and while the menu differed, they were basically the same. London had more American type food than we saw elsewhere around the midlands in England and North Wales. We tried a “New York style American” restaurant in Wales and got a kick out of their version of what New York is. We had fish and chips several times and some places were better than others, and like here at home, the chips (fries) are better depending on where you go. Barbeque sauce was on the table like ketchup. They serve lots of food with spices like peri peri and a good bit of the foods had Indian influence. We had chicken at Nandos and pizza and pasta at Frankie and Benny’s. We had authentic Italian at Bizzaro in London, and I highly recommend that place. We ate there twice. It is located about a block away from Paddington and right down from our hotel so it was convenient as well as yummy. You may have to point to what you want on the menu if you aren’t comfortable sounding out the names. The wait staff speaks English but it is heavily accented and gives true Italian vibes.
Outside of London, we found the shops and restaurants close earlier than we are used to so that and the 5-hour time difference had us adjusting our eating times. Each hotel we stayed in had its own restaurant that served breakfast, lunch and dinner so there were always options if we needed to go that route and if we timed it right.
In the areas where we were, most of the sit-down restaurants do not offer take away (take out). I have never eaten a meal at a restaurant alone, so this was a little daunting to me. Just my personal feelings and something I found different than the way I am used to picking up food. Adam said it was not uncommon for places like those to not offer take away food. I found it limited my options if the kids wanted to eat on their own but that is just me and my own anxiety about eating alone in a restaurant.
Food service and the wait staff are vastly different than what we are used to in the US. Many places we visited preferred you order and pay via a QR code on the table. We would see our waitress or waiter only when he or she brought the food. If you didn’t have to pay online, we usually had a substantial wait to get the check to pay. They do not come around to refill your glasses and there is hardly any ice offered. Know the difference between still and sparkling water. Still water is tap water and they do not charge for that. We usually ordered still water as well as a drink or maybe a soda, but I did read that ordering just still water isn’t always looked upon favorably. Depending on the type, sparkling water could be pricey. Wait staff are compensated much better than in the US, so tipping is not common and not expected unless you have extraordinary service. It felt funny not having that option on the credit card slips. When we did tip, it seemed to be genuinely appreciated. Tipping was something Adam had to adjust to when he started visiting us here. People in the UK are pretty shocked when they find out how little our service staff are paid hourly.
All straws are paper straws and if you are lucky to have access to napkins, you may only get 1-2.
Plastic bottles in the UK are all equipped with the same damnable tops that are designed to stay attached to the bottle. You can wrestle with them like the entitled American I discovered I was, tearing them from their plastic bindings simply because it was imposed on me or you could finally acquiesce and accept there are ways to flip the top back and cope with it like the people who live there do.
Sodas and candy taste different in the UK. They don’t use the color additives we do and do not use high fructose corn syrup. They use sugar and the Cokes tasted so much better to me. Fanta orange is a favorite of mine and it seemed to be everywhere. I tried one and didn’t finish it. It was yellow instead of orange due to the food dye and also tasted more like citrus juice. I don’t need to mention that all of these were room temp at best. It was impossible to find a cold drink ANYWHERE no matter if it was an open or closed cooler. Adam and I had Coke in a bottle at Bizarro and they were so cold and the best thing I drank the whole entire time. I think mostly because it was cold. Did I mention they haven’t mastered the development of ice in the UK yet? I tried to not be THAT person but seriously, after the 20th bottle of room temp water, I was done.
Chocolate is more pure and creamier than what we call chocolate here. We visited the Cadbury Factory the first day. In the UK, the cocoa and chocolate in milk chocolate must contain at least 25% cocoa solids to be legally called milk chocolate. We have no such requirement in the US and ours is much sweeter due to adding more sugar. Our chocolates in the US also typically contain higher fat content. It isn’t difficult to figure out why we have obesity issues in the US.
