Phone-a-Meal

This place was recommended by a friend, but I am afraid that the £20 for two was quite a disappointment. If you like large chunks of chicken in a thick sauce, then maybe this is the place to go. Having eaten Chinese food in places like Singapore, I think I will, in future, cook my own if I want authenticity.

Amongst the great number of takeaways and chippies that are scattered about Formby, I regularly forget that Phone-​a-​Meal even exists let alone consider it as a place to go for scran.
However, I recently visited after watching the footy over the road in The Grapes (if they stayed open a bit later of a Friday and Saturday night I’m sure they’d make a killing) and I was pleasantly surprised.
What first struck me was how cheap it was as I was able to get a sausage and portion of chips for about £1.50, which is excellent value for money, even compared to James’ and Hippo’s. The chips themselves weren’t the best and the portions were a bit small, but when you’re drunk enough I guess it doesn’t really matter too much. They also do a range of Chinese dishes that looked nice enough, although not a patch on their rivals.
If you’re so hungry that you can’t walk down the road to Hippo’s or the village, or if you only have a quid left after too many pints, then you could do worse but otherwise there are better places to go.

Rather than being some sort of chat line focussing on people who want to have conversations with food («Hi, I’m a three cheese omelette with a vinaigrette salad — what do you want to talk about?») this is yet another of Formby’s seemingly endless parade of fish ‘n’ chip ‘n’ Chinese food purveyors.
While being weaker on the fish and/​or chip front (the chips are often a little crispy and lack a proper fluffy middle) this place is far better than most on the Chinese takeaway front (the dragon beneath the sign should probably have given this away). It’s not haute but if you like sticky and aromatic dishes with chicken that slides apart or beef with a little chew to it then there’s definitely nowhere better in Formby.
Unfortunately it doesn’t tend to be open very late, which is a shame really — it could do well mopping up the stragglers coming out of nearby Grapes pub at closing time.