Chozen Noodle unit at Clacket Lane Eastbound, located in the food court, opposite seating, next to LEON. Chozen has traded at Clacket Lane East since 2014, opening alongside a Fresh Food Cafe, much like Westbound. However, in late 2019, a refurbishment of the food court begun, replacing the Fresh Food Cafe with LEON and making this Chozen outlet larger. Additionally, this used to be a hybrid unit, branded as the Breakfast Kitchen in the mornings and Chozen in the afternoons. Breakfast Kitchen was soon done away with & now this unit solely serves Chozen Noodle. It’s a nice unit, with lots of space to queue and it’s clean & presentable. It has no seating of its own, so shares communal seating with McDonald’s. Considering the unit was refreshed around 4 years ago, it still looks brand new. The white tiles are unusual for a Chozen. This pic also (slightly) shows the Garden Square Deli offer available at Chozen. This is a common grouping at Roadchef sites. Chozen Noodle isn’t exactly value for money, which is one reason why the brand isn’t as popular as it could be. As with most Roadchef brands, they loose lots of custom to McDonald’s as customers are ensured value for money, but they also know what food products they are getting. Because Chozen is a lesser-known high street name, customers may not recognise it and will choose a brand they are more familiar with instead. Due to low demand, Chozen was well stocked during my visit. Chozen Noodle was the first appearance of an Asian themed restaurant at motorway services. Since Chozen, Moto introduced Chow and Welcome Break introduced Chopstix. Asian food provided a unique, more diverse food offer at motorway services food courts. In 2023, Chozen was acquired by Chopstix, and already two Extra Chozen Noodle restaurants have been replaced with Chopstix. It’s not clear whether the same will happen at Roadchef sites as none of their Chozen Noodle restaurants have been replaced with Chopstix yet, but it still might happen, meaning the future of Chozen Noodle here is uncertain. Chozen Noodle was surprisingly quiet during my visit, with only a couple of customers using the facility. The rest of Clacket Lane East was fairly crowded and queues were forming for McDonald’s, so the lack of custom here was very strange. This could be due to the fact Chozen isn’t signposted from the M25 anymore since LEON opened and replaced its advertisement on the signpost, meaning customers don’t expect to see the brand at Clacket Lane East, let alone know the brand from the high streets. Chozen is, however, advertised at a few points around the site itself.

Photo taken on 05/04/2024 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Clacket Lane, Chozen Noodle, Roadchef, M25