Yorkie's
| Often accompanied by: | Oasis Restaurant |
| Used by: | Top Rank |
| Introduced: | 1980s |
| Removed: | 1992 |
| Successors: | Truck Driver's Restaurant |
The Yorkie's Transport Diner was a strong brand name applied to the transport cafés at most Top Rank service areas in the 1980s. It was a more traditional café offering cheaper meals for lorry drivers, such as steak and kidney pie (with two veg and two teas) for between £2.85 and £3.65 (now around £6-£7). Egon Ronay called the food "unappetising but not revolting".
As Rank's policy had historically been to put everything under one roof, Yorkie's was usually next door to the main Oasis Restaurant. It often had a dedicated 'rest area', with chairs, a TV and sometimes a pool table.
When Pavilion took over, Yorkie's was replaced by the generic "Truck Driver's Restaurant" (TDR). It kept the same blue colour scheme, but the booth seating was removed. Some of these restaurants remained in place until the 2000s.
Locations
It's assumed that Yorkie's Transport Diner was used at all Top Rank sites. These were:
- Anderton (M61)
- Aust (M4)
- Cardiff West (M4)
- Farthing Corner (M2)
- Forton (M6)
- Hilton Park (M6)
- Knutsford (M6)
- Scotch Corner (A1)
- Swansea West (M4)