Pavilion Restaurant
| Often accompanied by: | Pavilion Snack Cafe |
| Used by: | Pavilion |
| Introduced: | 1992 |
| Removed: | 1995 |
| Predecessors: | Oasis Restaurant |
| Successors: | Fresh Express, Burger King |
| See also: | The Granary, Country Kitchen Restaurant |
The Pavilion Restaurant was a self-service buffet used throughout Pavilion's tenure. It took over from Rank's Oasis Restaurant, and after a brief period where the old style was continued as a stop-gap, a thorough refurbishment was carried out.
The new food options were key to Pavilion standing out from their competitors. Most of the fake plants and dividers were removed, while a tiled floor was brought in, and plenty of globe lights and green and red stripey awning. The entry doors were taken down to create a more free-flow environment. Counters were added such as 'cheese table', 'soups', 'fresh fruit salad', 'snacks', 'tea and coffee', 'beverages'.
A half roast chicken cost £6.95 (worth £14 in 2025), while the 'News Deal Breakfast' was £4.99 (around £10) for a newspaper, fried egg, 2 sausages, tomato, mushrooms, fried bread and beans.
Many of these restaurants were still in awkward places within the building, so signs tried to encourage customers to visit. The site name was also advertised in some instances, such as "Forton Restaurant", written in red neon writing.
After Granada took over Pavilion, the old branding was removed. They continued in this state until Fresh Express launched.
Locations
Pavilion Restaurant was used at all Pavilion service areas. These were:
- Cardiff West (M4)
- Hilton Park (M6)
- Knutsford (M6)
- Lancaster (M6)
- Medway (M2)
- Rivington (M61)
- Scotch Corner (A1/A66)
- Severn View (M4)
- Swansea West (M4)