We’ve all been there, when you’ve forgotten to fill up on petrol in the middle of the night or someone in the car needs to stop for a toilet break and you’ve had to pull off into a service station.

There are two main service stations in Kent - Moto Medway on the M2 between Gillingham and Sittingbourne, and Roadchef Maidstone on the M20, Leeds Castle.

As someone who spends an unfortunate amount of time driving up and down both roads, I’ve taken on the glamorous task of testing them both to find Kent’s best service station.

MOTO MEDWAY, M2

As you approach the Medway services, with its faded grey-white bridge that lurches over the motorway, it’s not exactly enticing.

We parked easily, as it turns out there isn’t much call for services on a Monday afternoon, and tried to ignore the building’s grubby exterior.

They do say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and, while the interior didn’t blow me away, it was at least cleaner than the outside suggests. A few crumbs on the tables and patches of hazard tape on the floor, but nothing out of the ordinary.

We sampled food and drink from a few of the outlets to give them all a taste test, grabbing a sandwich from M&S, hot drink from Costa and sweet treat from Greggs.

The plant-based options from M&S were, as always, delicious, and we gave into marketing ploys and went for a couple of seasonal bites from Greggs.

I chose a Halloween biscuit, which was as chocolatey as hoped, and my partner opted for a mince pie. I won’t repeat our argument about whether mince pies are acceptable in early October but, apparently, Greggs thinks so, and so does my partner.

There were a few people milling about besides us, including a group of three men in their fifties who were chatting and laughing like they were at their local pub. It added some warmth to the place, although I do hope, for their sake, that the M2 services isn’t their regular hangout spot.

Out of five:

Decor: It could do with a good scrub and a fresh coat of paint. I’ve been passing through this service station for most of my life and it’s always looked a bit depressing. **

Cleanliness: Not too bad, but not spotless either. The sinks and hand dryers in the toilets were fairly tidy, but it took me three attempts to find a clean cubicle. ***

Food options: There’s nothing too exciting here, but it covers all bases. Greggs is budget-friendly, there’s fast food from Burger King and convenient snacks from WHSmiths, and higher quality options from M&S and Costa. For two sandwiches (M&S), two hot drinks (Costa), a biscuit and a mince pie (Greggs) it was £18.05. ***

Facilities: There are, somehow, three casinos crammed into the building, and not much else. There’s a petrol station, toilets and a microwave, but that’s about it. There's also a small Travelodge tucked behind the services. **

ROADCHEF MAIDSTONE, M20

I was worried we wouldn’t be able to stomach both services on the same day, but the drive from the M2 to the M20 took so long due to the current closure of J5 that, by time we reached our second stop, our M&S sandwiches were a distant memory.

The M20 services were smaller and quieter, but felt much more modern and open.

We walked straight up to Chozen Noodles, an Asian food stand, and ordered the Thai green vegetables with noodles and pumpkin katsu with rice - much more interesting than the burger and fries we were expecting.

It took about 10 minutes to prepare and I watched the server reheat a frozen, vacuum-packed bag of vegetable sauce in the microwave as I waited, so not exactly fast or fresh food.

It was amusing watching him cut up the portion of katsu pumpkin with a pair of household scissors and, as he poured out the sloppy, green-ish bag of vegetable sauce into the container, the two men in front of me raised an eyebrow at each other as if to say, thank goodness we’re not eating that. I then leant across them to pick up my order.

We were pleasantly surprised with the taste. The closest I’ve got to Thai food is my local takeaway, but the Thai veg tasted similarly creamy and coconutty. The pumpkin katsu was rich, sweet and autumnal, although a bit mushy.

I also grabbed us a couple of drinks from WHSmiths, using the self-service tills to avoid the woman working at the checkout who seemed to have no patience for customers. But it was Monday, so I get it.

The only other people sitting near us were the staff. One from each outlet - Costa, Days Inn, Esso, and so on - sat in their different uniforms around a table for a staff meeting, intermittently chatting about the new Wagamama’s menu and someone’s builders being a nuisance. It felt warm and friendly, and gave it some atmosphere - as much atmosphere as you can expect from a service station, anyway.

Out of five:

Decor: It definitely has more of a modern feel about it, although the smashed window at the entrance isn’t great. ***

Cleanliness: Again, not dirty but not spotless. However, I did manage to find a clean toilet cubicle on the first try, so that was a bonus. ***

Food options: As a vegetarian, you sometimes feel like you’re always eating the same things, so it was nice to have a different option. There was also the Phat Pasty Co. and the Garden Square Deli, both of which closed with Chozen Noodles at 3pm, plus a Costa, WHSmiths and McDonald’s. I can never resist a chocolate milkshake from there, and today was no different. For the Thai green veg and pumpkin katsu (Chozen Noodles), two bottled drinks (WHSmiths) and two milkshakes (McDonald’s) it was £23.38. ****

Facilities: Alas, there are only a mere two casinos here, but it makes up for its lack of a third with an indoor kids’ play area, Days Inn hotel, petrol station, large toilets and a Costa drive thru. ****

THE VERDICT

Overall, given the better facilities, fresher appearance and range of outlets, the M20 services was the hands-down winner for me.

However, I can’t imagine I’ll be rushing out to visit either again anytime soon, at least until the next time someone in the car needs an emergency wee.