No matter who you are or where in the UK you come from, chances are, you’ve had (and likely enjoyed) a Toby Cavery.
The restaurant chain has built its reputation on one thing above all else: bringing a traditional British roast dinner to diners across the country, complete with generous carvery stations, roast potatoes and pies. Now, that same brand is making its way into supermarket freezers for the first time, though early reaction suggests not everyone’s convinced by the frozen version.
What’s in the new frozen range?
The new range promises Toby Carvery inspired meals you can enjoy at home, with a selection of frozen roast themed dishes designed for quick, easy dinners. Officially launching in Iceland and Food Warehouse stores from 1 September, though some stores have already started stocking it, the range includes a chicken and stuffing loaded Yorkshire pudding with roast potatoes and gravy, festive carvery pies filled with chicken, pig in blanket, stuffing and gravy, and a pack of ten crispy battered pigs in blankets.
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Other options include an all-day breakfast loaded Yorkshire pudding with pigs in blankets, hash browns and baked beans, sausage and mash in a loaded Yorkshire pudding with onion gravy, and six mini pigs in blankets served in Yorkshire puddings with roast gravy. There’s also a hunter’s pigs in blankets mac and cheese with pulled chicken and barbecue sauce, a slow cooked beef and roast potato bake, and a slow cooked beef loaded Yorkshire pudding served with dauphinoise potatoes and gravy. Between them, the range covers most of the classic carvery staples, repackaged into individual, oven or microwave ready portions aimed at busy weeknights rather than a full sit-down Sunday roast.
Early reviews haven’t been especially kind.
After food fans got hold of the range ahead of its official launch, reactions have been distinctly mixed, with several customers questioning whether the frozen meals live up to the Toby Carvery name.
One food blogger tried the entire range, spending £42.75 on one of each item, and came away unimpressed. According to her review, this wasn’t really a Toby Carvery dinner at all, but rather food simply branded with the Toby Carvery name. While the dishes were clearly carvery themed, she said they bore little resemblance to what’s actually served at the restaurant itself.
She went on to describe the range as disappointing overall, comparing the experience to something you’d expect from a bargain-bin ready meal rather than anything restaurant quality. The meat across several dishes was described as fatty, while the potatoes were called “unpleasant.” The mac and cheese, she said, had nothing redeeming about it, and the gravy came across as thick and gluey rather than smooth. Her overall verdict was blunt: there simply wasn’t much to it, and she left unimpressed by the range as a whole.
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Other shoppers largely agreed.
Reaction elsewhere online has broadly echoed that same disappointment. Comments ranged from calling the meals unappetising in appearance, to describing the range outright as disappointing. Several people noted the food looked nothing like the images shown on the packaging, with one comparing the dishes to looking drier than a desert once cooked.
One shopper who tried the pies specifically said they weren’t anything special and didn’t feel worth the money, adding that the filling portion felt particularly light, though they remained hopeful other items in the range might fare better. A few customers also raised concerns about value for money more broadly, suggesting the range felt overpriced given the quality on offer, particularly compared to other frozen ready meal options already available on the same shelves.
Not every review was negative, though.
Despite the largely critical reception, a handful of customers did have a more positive experience. One shopper said their family enjoyed the hunter’s pigs in blankets mac and cheese over the weekend, while another family member reportedly enjoyed the loaded breakfast Yorkshire pudding.
@jonnyadams1m New battered pigs in blankets from Iceland #newfood #newfoodfinds #tobycarveryuk #pigsinablanket #icelandfoods ♬ original sound – Jonny adams
These more positive reviews suggest results may vary depending on which specific item you try, rather than the entire range falling flat across the board. It’s also worth noting that first impressions from early access reviewers, taken ahead of the official nationwide launch, don’t always reflect exactly how the range performs once it’s more widely available and shoppers have had a chance to try it under normal conditions.
This isn’t the first time a restaurant brand has tried the supermarket freezer aisle.
Toby Carvery is far from alone in attempting to bring its in-restaurant reputation into supermarket freezers. Similar branded frozen ranges from other well-known food names have had mixed results in the past too, with customers often noting a gap between the branded packaging and the actual in-restaurant experience once the meal is cooked at home.
It’s a reminder that recreating a sit-down restaurant meal in frozen, ready meal form is tough, particularly for something like a carvery, where much of the appeal comes from freshly carved meat, a wide choice of sides, and generous portions served straight from the counter, elements that are inherently hard to replicate in a single frozen tray.
Even so, based on the overall response so far, it looks like most Toby Carvery fans will still prefer heading to the restaurant itself for their roast dinner fix, rather than reaching for the frozen supermarket version.
