American tries UK’s ‘best’ service station but isn’t totally impressed

An American visitor sampling food at what’s been crowned Britain’s finest service station wasn’t entirely won over by certain offerings. Kalani Smith, better known online as Kalani Ghost Hunter, is a social media sensation hailing from Tennessee who’s carved out a niche reviewing British cuisine.

Boasting 3.2 million TikTok devotees and nearly half-a-million Instagram enthusiasts, his content regularly racks up hundreds of thousands of views. On Sunday, December 7, Kalani shared footage of his culinary expedition to Tebay Services on the M6 in Cumbria, a motorway stop that’s repeatedly been hailed as the nation’s premier service station.

He remarked: “We’re here at what some people say is the best service station in the UK, Tebay Services. Let’s go inside. Lets go wee what they have to eat, because I’m hungry.”

The camera panned across an array of pies displayed beneath glass alongside a serving of macaroni cheese.

Kalani explained: “We’re on the road tonight, it’s cold, it’s wet and raining, so nothing sounded better than a steak and ale pie with some mash and gravy.”

“And they also had this orange and chocolate bun with icing on top that looked incredible. They have really good stuff at this service station, lets cut the pie open.”

A look of pleasant surprise crossed Kalani’s face as he sliced into the pie, noting the filling appeared “pretty generous”. He disclosed that his meal set him back £12.95.

After sampling the pie, he remarked: “The meat is class, good quality meat. The gravy is just a hair watery for me, I like it a little bit thicker but [that’s] personal preference. Is really hard to beat hot pie on a cold day here in the UK.

“I’m not a big fan of the mash, but the pie I would do again. One thing you have to keep in consideration is that this is a service station. A lot of service stations the food is grim, but Tebay… this one is nice.”

Moving on, he tucked into the chocolate and orange bun, and whilst savouring the pastry, he revealed that Britain has shown him chocolate and orange make a cracking combination. Kalani then ventured into the farm shop within the service station and was gobsmacked by the butchers, cheese selection and food gifts on offer.

He exclaimed: “Oh my gosh that looks insane. They also have an entire cheese counter over there, I could spend some cash in this place. So much cheese.”

In the comments beneath the video, viewers sparked a debate over Britain’s finest service station. Numerous commenters championed Gloucester Services on the M5, which has previously claimed the crown of “best in the UK”, as their favourite.

One viewer declared: “Gloucester services on the M5 is by far the best service station and the sausage rolls are to die for.”

Another chipped in: “Gloucestershire services are the best. Their cakes are delicious.”

A third chimed in: “Tebay is great and was the OG. It the sister station in Gloucester is way better IMO. The farm shop/patisserie is way better and it you don’t have to drive ages for Tesla chargers heading northbound like you do at Tebay.”