While travelling on the road, Katherine MacAlister heads to Ed’s Easy Diner and The Newbury for some roadside sustenance

Those of you who spent the festive period trawling up and down the country’s motorways to meet up with relatives, exchange presents or drop off children, will sympathise with my eternal hunt for somewhere good to eat en route.

When an M&S sandwich just won’t suffice, and you want to stretch your legs and make an occasion of it, it’s hard to know where to start.

Numerous books have been brought out on the subject, listing pub and restaurant offerings at the edge of numerous A roads, but which one to pick is another matter.

The ones we have tried have either been notoriously unchildfriendly, expensive or downright nasty.

But two new venues I experienced recently might help you out in future. Firstly Ed’s Easy Diner in Banbury, pictured above, part of a national chain which has just opened up off Junction 11 of the M40.

Positioned outside the new Gateway shopping centre, it was absolutely packed on Friday night, McDonalds and Starbucks being emptier than a turkey farm in January in comparison.

Fun, with all the American bells and whistles – red banquettes, duke boxes, chrome, an open plan kitchen, black and white parquet floor, all created an upbeat vibe, for which people were queueing out the door.

And it’s a family kind of place – the music, food and atmosphere quelling the most fidgety youngster. Elvis kept them busy while we chose our food, most of which would give you a heart attack before you even got out the door, but what the hell, as long as it’s not every day.

Mozzarella sticks with jalapeno jelly, cheesy garlic bread and some chicken wings arrived for starters just after we’d finished off our enormous milkshakes in various exciting flavours – butterscotch, Oreo cookie and Nutella (an expensive £4.95 each) which should have carried a warning they were so filling but worth every single calorie.

Then a variety of burgers (two from the kids menu at £4.95 each), a lemon and herb chicken breast platter which came with chips, coleslaw and onion rings (£9.30) and a Cajun burger (£6.85), complete with Atomic American fries (chips with lots of dips none of which were very nice for £5.25).

And while it might not score highly on the gastronomic stakes, (the liquid cheese made me shudder) the place was full of people enjoying themselves, high on the novelty factor. It was like eating on a film set and the kids loved it and were so full they couldn’t even manage dessert, which is unheard of. We even had to take our leftovers home in doggy bags.

But as I left and got into the car I did wonder if this was a glimpse of the future, eating in deserted shopping malls on industrial estates.

The Newbury at Newbury, pictured left, proved otherwise, a great pub in the centre of town which could cater for a gathering of the clan via the M4, or A34 from Oxford, which did a smashing Sunday lunch. Situated on a pedestrian street, there is a multi-storey car park within walking distance.

And the lunch was superb. They catered for the large party of all ages from grandparents to babies with great patience, suggesting they put a few roast beefs and roast chickens down on the table, ready to eat, and let us all dive in, a brilliant solution.

Beautifully cooked and piled high with Yorkshire puddings, veggies, roasties and gravy, we dined like Jocks on Rabbie Burns Day, had a good catch up, some great pudding and got home in time for tea. Somewhere I would certainly visit again.

So there you go, all you road runners out there, somewhere to rest your sporran, crease your tartan and gobble up some top tucker before you head out into the cold. Och aye!

Ed’s Easy Diner, Unit 16 Banbury Gateway edseasydiner.com
The Newbury, 137 Bartholomew Street, Newbury thenewburypub.co.uk or 01635 49000