Hi all , i am new to the forum and i would like to put a poser : is the grand buffet on the n340 cambrils the best transport cafe in europe , as i live near there i might be biased but what is your opinion.
funny, as before i clicked on the your topic, i saw the title and was racking my brains, and it was indeed cambrills that i was thinking of. its very, very good, but hard to pick 1 stand out for the whole of europe as there are alot of good ones.
some of the german ones should be in with a shout, geiselwind and the like.
the old freds in madrid would have been in with a shout, as would the old original victors, and upstairs/downstairs at nules.
the big bp in austria, before vienna, sankt polten i think.
carisio, and the sisters at arluno, or maybe the new truckstop at brescia, that was pretty good.
It is all relative isn’t it, there are dozens of drivers who will only eat McDonalds, and not just the UK drivers.
Poitiers. Bordeaux, Vivonne, Geiselwind,
All places have plus points & negatives! Cambrils is free parking, a big plus point & the buffet is great value, it’s a short walk to the sea front, a supermarket next door which is handy if your there for a few days. On the negative side although cheap the shower is crap & the car park is a dust bowl. Personally i like the place!
For a good feed Cambrills is up there with the best, personally I liked Vivonne more, that was definitely the best in France, Geiselwind was decent, Carisio was a good place to hang out, but the showers were filth and the food, although good by British standards, was ■■■■ poor by Italian standards, best thing to do there was get your dinner in the Paladini over the road and get ■■■■■■ up in Carisio afterwards 
A lot of times the difference between a good place and a bad one was the crowd 
newmercman:
For a good feed Cambrills is up there with the best, personally I liked Vivonne more, that was definitely the best in France, Geiselwind was decent, Carisio was a good place to hang out, but the showers were filth and the food, although good by British standards, was ■■■■ poor by Italian standards, best thing to do there was get your dinner in the Paladini over the road and get ■■■■■■ up in Carisio afterwardsA lot of times the difference between a good place and a bad one was the crowd
couldn’t agree more, especially on the last bit.
lost count of the amount of times when weekended somewhere, how everything starts out polite and normal.
then as the day/night goes on, more ale and vino is consumed, and normal people turn into ■■■■■■■■■■
most of the time you could see it starting to fester, and when it did you knew where it was going.
this was when i’d normally mooch off back to my own wagon, and wait to hear the stories the next day of the outcome.
chilistrucker:
newmercman:
For a good feed Cambrills is up there with the best, personally I liked Vivonne more, that was definitely the best in France, Geiselwind was decent, Carisio was a good place to hang out, but the showers were filth and the food, although good by British standards, was ■■■■ poor by Italian standards, best thing to do there was get your dinner in the Paladini over the road and get ■■■■■■ up in Carisio afterwardsA lot of times the difference between a good place and a bad one was the crowd
couldn’t agree more, especially on the last bit.
lost count of the amount of times when weekended somewhere, how everything starts out polite and normal.
then as the day/night goes on, more ale and vino is consumed, and normal people turn into [zb].
most of the time you could see it starting to fester, and when it did you knew where it was going.
this was when i’d normally mooch off back to my own wagon, and wait to hear the stories the next day of the outcome.
Agree totally. But I like to melt into the background and watch it all go ■■■■ up. Then next day I can tell them what they done !!
What a shame in the Uk with dirty tables and rude service, in the Euro land we get waited on by staff dressed in traditional uniform, have a white linen table clothes, cutlery of all shapes and sizes, not just a knife and fork.
In some places up to 3 starters, mains, pudding, and then a plate of cheese, with free drinks in the cheap price of 10 to 15 euros.
Menu of the day or the drivers menu.
toby1234abc:
What a shame in the Uk with dirty tables and rude service, in the Euro land we get waited on by staff dressed in traditional uniform, have a white linen table clothes, cutlery of all shapes and sizes, not just a knife and fork.
In some places up to 3 starters, mains, pudding, and then a plate of cheese, with free drinks in the cheap price of 10 to 15 euros.
Menu of the day or the drivers menu.
i agree there are some excellent reataurants in spain which could hardly be called cafes and welcome you with open arms free parking clean showers 10 euro 3 course menu with free wine
Personally I preferred Altafulla to Cambrils but as already mentioned there are/were so many. Vivonne,Chatearoux(by the airfield) the old Luc"s at St Hilaire du Loulay, Virage Fleury on the N6, Valverde,Barracas,Almazan etc.etc… You pays your money & takes your choice!
Oakdene cafe.
monkey house
claudes in st dennis. top place.
browncow2:
claudes in st dennis. top place.
If you mean the original Claudes it is Saint Genis (de Saintonage) 
Many a good night and weekend had there. Cracking nightclub 2 villages over on a Saturday night 
The nice chick with the Renault taxi would come on a drunken phone call, pile you into the car and deposit you back at the wagon for a reasonable price 
Although we all used to aim for places we know i always found that pulling of into the nearest town close to your hours and find a routiers and park up or a small village was always the best option. and ive had some cracking nights and weekends and the best part is do you think you could find them again !!! nope.
i remember one such instance near clermont ferrand it was a Tuesday night and a driving ban on the wednesday. i pulled of drove for a bit. saw a disused railway yard in a small village plonked myself in there. and walked into the village found a fantastic restaurant where the owners daughter spoke a little english and my bad French we got by the next day i was asked if i wanted to go on a wild boar hunt with her father and the villagers then the hog roast that night. one memory that will stay with me for ever.
I agree with a few of those. Monkeyhouse, bakehouse, The Algerians on the N6, the one in Pont d Ain that was run by Claude? who used to invite certain “Friends” upstairs to watch ■■■■. He ran the shell at Borg after that then moved up near the Tunnel du `chat. Who remembers the service area at Vallery when it had a proper Routier on it?
Carrisio when Mama ran it. The sisters definately. Pops at Congerezzo and the Frenchmans there too.
Jayat when the old lady and her daughter ran it.
Shwarmstedt BP where to my mind they still do the best liver and onions.
Lots of the really old German places were pretty good. Nowadays it’s not so good, lots of them have gone all American.
Wally stop.
Mind you for the best tasting food ever the truckers place downstairs at Helmstedt coming back from the commie block after a few weeks away tasted like nectar of the gods. The place wasn’t full of Bulgies, rumos, or Russians then either.
One of my all time favorite English places was at the Droitwich junction on the M5. It’s a hotel now.
Think you will find it was Denis not Claude at the “Pub” at Bourg who then moved to Rousillion the Pink house on the road to the Chat!
It was always rumoured that he batted for the other side!!
jacko22:
Think you will find it was Denis not Claude at the “Pub” at Bourg who then moved to Rousillion the Pink house on the road to the Chat!
It was always rumoured that he batted for the other side!!
What…the Germans??
stevied:
I agree with a few of those. Monkeyhouse, bakehouse, The Algerians on the N6, the one in Pont d Ain that was run by Claude? who used to invite certain “Friends” upstairs to watch ■■■■. He ran the shell at Borg after that then moved up near the Tunnel du `chat. Who remembers the service area at Vallery when it had a proper Routier on it?
Carrisio when Mama ran it. The sisters definately. Pops at Congerezzo and the Frenchmans there too.
Jayat when the old lady and her daughter ran it.
Shwarmstedt BP where to my mind they still do the best liver and onions.Lots of the really old German places were pretty good. Nowadays it’s not so good, lots of them have gone all American.
Wally stop.
Mind you for the best tasting food ever the truckers place downstairs at Helmstedt coming back from the commie block after a few weeks away tasted like nectar of the gods. The place wasn’t full of Bulgies, rumos, or Russians then either.
One of my all time favorite English places was at the Droitwich junction on the M5. It’s a hoteL
Wasnt that the “Sunnyside”?
Suedehead:
stevied:
I agree with a few of those. Monkeyhouse, bakehouse, The Algerians on the N6, the one in Pont d Ain that was run by Claude? who used to invite certain “Friends” upstairs to watch ■■■■. He ran the shell at Borg after that then moved up near the Tunnel du `chat. Who remembers the service area at Vallery when it had a proper Routier on it?
Carrisio when Mama ran it. The sisters definately. Pops at Congerezzo and the Frenchmans there too.
Jayat when the old lady and her daughter ran it.
Shwarmstedt BP where to my mind they still do the best liver and onions.Lots of the really old German places were pretty good. Nowadays it’s not so good, lots of them have gone all American.
Wally stop.
Mind you for the best tasting food ever the truckers place downstairs at Helmstedt coming back from the commie block after a few weeks away tasted like nectar of the gods. The place wasn’t full of Bulgies, rumos, or Russians then either.
One of my all time favorite English places was at the Droitwich junction on the M5. It’s a hoteL
Wasnt that the “Sunnyside”?
It was the star cafe ! I always thought it was expensive compared to others. Bloody handy for m5 though.