Toby Carvery takeaway is a great idea, so I decided to treat myself and try it out – not just for a main meal, but for Christmas Dinner! Not the whole dinner, just to get half my Christmas Dinner this year from Toby! It made sense, therefore, to write a Toby Carvery Takeaway Review so you’d know how it works and if it’s any good.

Every year I try to cook my Christmas Dinner differently, trying out different things – this year I decided to use the Toby Carvery takeaway to cook my roast potatoes, roast parsnips and cauliflower cheese. I’ll be cooking the rest of the dinner from scratch, but as I use only a slow cooker, microwave and mini oven, that can be very tedious and long-winded, with lots of checking the mini oven.

So I hatched the plan: Try Toby Carvery for those parts of the meal that I find most tedious to cook 🙂

How Does Toby Carvery Takeaway Work?

There are three methods ways to get your Toby Carvery Takeaway:

1. Go online, choose a Takeaway, order it and Click/Collect.
2. Go online, choose the same Takeaway, but to be delivered via one of the popular Food Delivery services. The food delivery choices will change depending on where you live + new services might appear. Today, in my area, there are three choices to get a Toby Carvery home delivery: JustEat, Deliveroo, UberEats.
3. Walk into Toby Carvery, get given the Takeaway Box; queue at the carvery like all the other customers, fill your OWN box, with what you choose, then take it home yourself.

I’d prefer to go and see/pick/choose my own at any time of the year, but as I was there for just three items it was critical. You cannot pick and choose individual items with the Toby Carvery Takeaway online; the only parts you have choice over is whether you want gravy or not; if you want vegetarian gravy or not; if you want stuffing or not. When you click/collect or have a home delivery, you can’t exclude, or double up, on individual parts of the meal.

My Previsit: What to Expect

As I’ve anxiety, I’d been thinking about using Toby Carvery Takeaway for a couple of years, but had never actually crossed the threshold. I used to occasionally eat at Toby Carvery pre-COVID, but the pandemic changed the landscape of options/choices/preferences for a lot of us and I’d not got round to returning.

I won’t bore you with the details, but a perfect storm of events built up in the past month or so and I got the final push to “Just Do It” on Friday 22 December. There it was, decision time. Commit. Do it. Treat yourself. All these ideas, but would I still step back at the last minute? Or would I find the b***s to just do it? Luckily I ploughed on and went to Toby. But, before actually going, I had to go in and establish that my local Toby DID have takeaway and that I COULD walk in and get my own. I went in the day before I intended to actually get my Takeaway, just to enquire how Toby Carvery Takeaway works.

I lovely staff member treated me marvellously when I asked about it. She explained: “You go into the bar and order the Meatless/Vegetarian Takeaway” (which was what I was going to order as I’m cooking my own turkey at home). “You get a receipt and take the receipt to the servery” (At the Toby Servery you queue with any other customers until it’s your turn). “You show your receipt and tell the Chef you’re there for a Meatless Takeaway and he will get the boxes and gravy pot and give them to you”. She then even took me and showed me the box – I was surprised how large it was. I said “and the lid fits on” – and she smiled and said “well, it can ‘float’ a LITTLE bit”. I didn’t mind when I went to collect as I wasn’t going to eat the food right away, so I asked her when it’d be quietest and she told me; her answer gave me a 30 minute window to aim for for my collection time.

How Big is the Toby Carvery Takeaway Box?

I did measure the box; it’s 19cm wide, 7cm high; there’s a plastic/domed lid on the box. You also get:

• A large (too large for one!) Takeaway Paper Bag (without handles)
• A pot and lid, for your gravy
• A small paper bag, for the Yorkshire puddings.

In imperial measurements, 19cm x 7cm is 7½ inches x 2.75 inches (the extra domed lid part probably takes this up to 3 inches high.

When it’s your turn at the servery and you tell the Chef you’re there for the Toby Takeaway, s/he goes to get the set and brings them back/hands them over. The Chef keeps the paper bag, to fill it immediately with (I got two) Yorkshire puddings; Chef then hands the filled paper bag to you and you’re off down the dishes to pick and choose!

I did find, in the queue, with the pressure of it being my first visit, that I had to think how I was going to juggle the large paper bag, the small paper bag, the small pot/lid, the takeaway box lid, while moving along the servery filling the takeaway box. But I “got a grip” as they say and managed it surprisingly well (bearing in mind I’m a bit clumsy and flustered when doing things the first time).

Hands Free?

Note: I had entered Toby without carrying anything – I’d thought that one through, so had gone in with just my debit card and car keys in my pocket, no shoulder/handbag. Next time I might consider taking one of those tiny/folding/nylon/lightweight shopping bags, so I can immediately put the takeaway bag, the bag containing Yorkshires and the gravy pot/lid into the bag and hang that off my wrist.

As I didn’t know what to expect, I’d also got a box and bag in the car to stand it in, just for the drive home. I re-used an empty “Christmas chocolates tub” inside an Aldi Bag for Life, these were in the car for when I emerged. The takeaway box fits well inside the tub (having about ½” all the way round.

Toby Carvery Takeaway – How Does it Work?

Just like buying a carvery to sit down, I simply moved along the servery, in the queue with the regular customers, filling my box as I went. As with all carveries, what’s available on the day will change based on seasons + you might sometimes have to wait while they removed an empty dish and put a new/full one out, but they were very quick to keep on top of it.

Until I was actually there, I didn’t know how much it’d cost me. I also didn’t know what dishes would be available. It worked out fine though. There were three dishes of roast potatoes, so they didn’t run short; the roast parsnips I was after were empty as I looked from afar, but a new dish of roast parsnips was put out just as I was approaching them. Perfect timing!

I did spot a nice looking stuffing at the start of my servery journey – and I found myself putting that into my takeaway box too. A rookie error really, as I’d intended on getting three items. I put too much of that stuffing in my box, but it was tasty (I had a quick taste when I got home). I then just got roast potatoes, roast parsnips and cauliflower cheese. By this point though, the box was level with the top. I couldn’t fit more cauliflower cheese in as that was too large a lump; I also didn’t want to ‘reverse’ along the queue behind me to add another spud or parsnip. But any first visit is a learning curve for the next time.

When I put the lid on my box it was up to the top, but there was still some unused space in the dome of the lid; I’d filled it well, but not over-stuffed it to the gills.

Then it was off to the gravy and condiments table – it’s a good idea to spot this when you start; I’d expected there to be gravy at the end of the servery, but in this Toby Carvery the gravy and condiments were just outside the servery on a separate table, which was great.

There were two cauldrons of gravy there, very clearly labelled with large lettering: Toby Carvery Meaty Gravy -and- Vegetarian Gravy. There are also condiments on the table if you want/use those.

I then put my lidded takeaway box + the lidded gravy pot +the paper bag containing two Yorkshire puddings into the takeaway bag and left.

How Much Food Is In the Toby Takeaway Box?

Once home, I popped the whole takeaway box onto the scales – the gross weight was 860 grams.

I didn’t weigh the Yorkshire puddings or the gravy.

I think that’s a generous amount, especially bearing in mind I could’ve fitted a bit more in the box and still closed the lid. By eye, it looked to me like there’d be enough food for two good sized meals.

If I’d been eating it right away, as I’ll be adding other bits at home (turkey, mashed potato, brussels, etc), one box could even stretch to three meals if one were a little strapped for cash.

Toby Carvery Christmas Dinner

I bought these few dishes from Toby to circumvent having to cook everything myself; I just wanted the ‘tedious to cook’ items. While in the queue I noticed a poster on the wall advertising the Toby Carvery Christmas Dinner Takeaway. Prices vary, depending on location and date, but, to give some idea of prices, this week, in my local area:

• Saturday Meatless Carvery Takeaway: £10.24
• Sunday Meatless Carvery Takeaway: £13.24
• Christmas Day Carvery Takeaway: £31.24

Choosing Meatless on a regular day is probably about £1-1.50 cheaper than a meat carvery choice; it’s possible that a Meatless Carvery on Christmas Day would cost £30.24. The pricing at Toby Carvery is difficult to pin down as it varies so much. However, by collecting my dinner two days early and putting it in the fridge I’ve saved £20 🙂 Not that I’d have paid > £30 for it as I’d just just made my own if it were that much – I’ve included the prices for rough comparison.

Decanting the Toby Takeaway

Once home, it was my intention to decant the individual bits into separate takeaway boxes and put them in my fridge ready for Xmas Day.

The box they supply you with is robust; it’s made of a plasticised material, or has a plasticised coating. It’s perfectly valid to have just put the whole dinner, with the box, into the fridge. It’s quite a good and robust box – in fact I even washed it out and have kept it “in case it comes in handy”.

Is the Toby Takeaway Box Microwave Safe?

It’d be useful if one were informed if the box and lid were microwave safe. I’m assuming they would be as a lot of customers possibly reheat their takeaway before serving, especially if they bought it on the way home and won’t be eating it for an hour or so. The common sense in me says they’d not have created the Takeaway service with boxes/pots/lids that weren’t microwave safe! That’d just be daft, else they’d have stuck a warning label on it.

It is, therefore, my opinion that you can microwave the Toby Takeaway in the container it comes it; that’s just common sense really isn’t it! “Trust Me” when I say: They made the tub microwaveable because most people would be reheating all, or part, of it at some point!

Once decanted into separate takeaway boxes at home, it looked like this:

As I said above, I didn’t ram the food into the box; I didn’t try to squeeze every square cm out of the space available. I had intended to just get roast potatoes (bottom left), roast parsnips (bottom right), cauliflower cheese (top left). I also chose the stuffing (top right). I didn’t expect the two Yorkshire puddings (served in a separate bag), which I’ve popped on top of the cauliflower cheese and stuffing to get them in the shot.

You can see the pot of gravy behind (this comes with a lid, which I removed for the photo).

How Long Can I Store the Toby Takeaway?

I could’ve just put the whole takeaway box in the fridge. It’s lidded, it’s ideal. As I’ll not be eating it for two days I decided to not do that.

I brought my takeaway straight home and decanted it immediately; it was put straight into the fridge. The Takeaway (whether in their box or separated out) will all be fine to microwave and reheat for about three days. I’ll be eating this two days after I bought it; this will be my Christmas Dinner -AND- Boxing Day meal as I’ll be adding more dishes and meat to my plate on the day.

Would I Recommend a Toby Takeaway?

Yes I would. All day long I’d recommend this. Now I’ve done it once I expect to do it more often in the future. It’s a little annoying that prices are unknown/unclear until you’re ordering online or going into Toby, but that’s mostly just a mild irritation. It’s easy to find out the rough cost on any day that it might be, but they do charge extra for some days of the week and peak dates in the year.

Today, just to be clear, this Meatless Carvery for One cost me £10.24; I walked in and picked it up myself on Saturday 23 December 2023. I am typing this the day after, on Sunday 24 December – and when I checked the Toby Carvery website for prices it was showing that if I’d bought it today it’d have cost me £13.24. Who knows – maybe if I’d collected it on a Thursday or Friday it might’ve been cheaper.

The price is very fair and value for money for what you get. Each Toby location is slightly different though; I’ve used another which is 3 miles in the other direction from my house and found they weren’t as good as my local one.

The takeaway box is a good size and is more than strong enough for the job; I’ve even washed mine out and it looks good enough to re-use. Having the separate lidded pot for gravy + Yorkshires served in a paper bag so they’re kept separate will remove most fears and concerns customers might’ve had. You can even use the takeaway box as your eating dish; eat straight from the takeaway box and save washing up. Ideal if you’re away or out for the day and will be eating in your car, tent, a B&B or holiday caravan.

I’ll give it a 9/10 though, just to nitpick. Having to grapple unexpectedly with the bags/boxes/lids was a minor annoyance. The uncertainty of what might be present/absent on any particular day you go might not be ideal if you’re there for something specific (e.g. notice that I was getting this for my Xmas Dinner and if I’d been a fan of Pigs in Blankets I’d have been disappointed as there weren’t any, I suspect they’re a special/extra only on Christmas Day itself). As a sit down customer you can return to the servery as often as you like – as a takeaway, moving along the servery, it can be a bit annoying when you get to the end and think “I could’ve squeezed another potato in there” as, if it’s busy, you don’t really want to be reversing along the queue!

RECOMMENDED: YES.

Toby Carvery Christmas Dinner

The reason I bought this takeaway was to be half my Christmas Dinner this year. At home I’ll be cooking my usual Turkey Breast Joint, plus mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, more stuffing probably, maybe a nut roast. I am “funny about food” and so I used the takeaway box to provide the parts of Christmas Dinner that I just felt were too time-consuming with the equipment I’ve got.

I expect to make a post at some point on the whole Christmas Dinner and which food cheats were used to achieve it – but, I have to dash off right now, I’ve had the turkey breast cooking for the last three hours (a day early) in the slow cooker, so I want to pop over and check how it’s getting on!