When I was first invited to try Deliveroo*, I have to say I was really excited at the prospect of finally having a restaurant delivery service in Leicester. The concept is not new by any means – I remember first using something similar in Arizona about 15 years ago called “Takeout Taxi” and it was a godsend for those really lazy nights that you didn’t want to go out to eat or make something at home. London also has various similar services, and I’ve always been envious of my London friends who can get any type of delicious cuisine delivered any time – as compared to my very limited choice here in Leicester (let’s see – shall we have pizza, Chinese or curry tonight?).
Deliveroo started in London and has expanded to other cities throughout the UK, with their latest branch opening up in Leicester. They handpick restaurants from the city center to work with, and at the moment they will deliver within a 2.2km or 2.6km radius from that restaurant within 32 minutes of ordering. The current list of restaurants includes a real mix of different cuisines – some I am quite familiar with such as Carluccio’s, and others I hadn’t heard of before like Tatra Eastern Corner.
I don’t live near the city center and only work in the city on rare occasions, so finding the opportunity to try the service was difficult. While they only do the city center for now, I’ve been informed that they may expand the zones depending on the success of the current offering. They will also continue to add more independent restaurants and chains in the future, so be sure to keep an eye out for new offerings.
All that being said, this week I did find myself working in the city so it was a perfect opportunity for me to see what Deliveroo was all about. Having a look through the restaurants, I knew it was going to be Mission Burrito for us. I had been there before and was really impressed by the food (my food review will be separate). Going online, I made my choices, added a couple extras and did a quick sign up where I was given the option to save my credit card, making future orders as simple as a single click.
Unfortunately there were only two of us ordering food, and as there is a £15 minimum spend I had to add some side dishes to bring it up. Then there is the flat £2.50 charge, plus a driver tip (optional) so after all was said and done we were spending £10 per person. For lunch that’s a bit pricey, but if you have others in the office who want food you can definitely make this an affordable option.
I placed my order early – around 10:30am or so to be delivered at 12:45. The food arrived pretty much exactly on time, and was still warm which is exactly what you want from a delivery service. And the food was awesome, but again, more on that later.
Deliveroo is a great addition to Leicester, and I am impressed with their easy to use website, variety of good restaurant options and prompt service. Now if only they’d deliver to my house!
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