Mei Lai in Teignbridge

Egg fried rice tastes nothing like egg fried rice. The sauce has obviously been made up ages ago because it was already going solid by the time I had it, I left 2 of my Cantonese chicken pieces as they don’t look fully cooked. Chicken balls were very dry. only ordered as the best Chinese in the area doesn’t deliver and I don’t drive (it’s pouring with rain). I won’t be ordering again. For £60 it wasn’t worth it.

ABSOLUTELY disgusting food and customer service if I had my way I wouldn't give a 1 star rating but that goes to the delivery driver for being polite ,we've ordered from this Chinese in the past but this is the last time !!!! we placed an order for spare ribs in Bbq sauce and a pot of Bbq sauce for the chicken balls on the reciept that came with the order also stated the same but when it arrived both came with Curry sauce that would mould your teeth together ,the egg fried rice and chicken balls were all dried up so obviously this food was pre made and NOT fresh , I rang to get an exchange for the wrong products given and the girl had no clue on how to handle customer service problems and kept putting me hold while she asked someone, to be told they would send the driver back to collect the items to return it back to the shop to check it over before sending a replacement but I explained in the meantime the rest of the food is getting cold , I asked if the driver could bring a replacement and check it there and then she replied " he wouldn't know the difference between bbq sauce & Curry sauce" 🤔🤔and yet again put me on hold , then a male came on the phone who would not give his name but said due to there policy they would need the food back to inspect before replacing after spending over £30 to get this response it was ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING after all this we ended up getting no where as the time was getting late and the whole meal went in the bin , all we wanted was the wrong items replaced not a refund which we never got either from an UNPROFESSIONAL business.

Bought beef curry which I have had loads of times but tonight was the worst curry I have ever had thick stodgy and horrible

On holiday. Popped in and orderd different meals for 5 of us. All came out in about 10 minutes pipping hot fresh and absolutely delicious 😋

I was last in Dawlish in 2016 and used this place then as it was nice and glad to say it's still very good. Food was very nice,prices were decent and service excellent. Highly recommended.

We used this takeaway whilst on holiday and it didn't disappoint us. The service was good, waiting time was approximately 10/15 minutes and the food was excellent. Would highly recommend. I didn't take any photographs as we were too busy enjoying the food.

Large selection of food. Food is as you expect a Chinese takeaway to be. Staff are friendly and helpful. Would recommend

1st time we've ordered from here Food was really nice, especially the sweet & sour chicken & spring rolls

Used to be such a good Chinese. However has progressively gone down hill. I had a meal last night where the rice was so peppery and also had multiple large clumps of egg shell in the rice! So unappetising

Nice food a little more expensive than at home in the Midlands

We spent just over £93 on various dishes and then we're all excellent we all enjoyed our meal well worth visiting

Thought I would try this place again after a previous bad meal a few years ago. Sadly the food was just as awful. I just ordered beef with mushrooms and an egg fried rice. Quite a simple meal but it tasted pre made. It was ready so quick there is no way it could have been cooked from fresh. The consistency was like wallpaper paste and jelly (see the photos), just like when you heat a ready meal from frozen in the microwave. The place is still run by teenagers which is never a good sign. I really don’t how this place is still going after all the bad reviews. Anyone reading this go to Siew May in the town. The best Chinese food around. I would have gone tonight but it was the day they are closed.

Very nice meal, one of the best Chinese takeaway I have had.

Fast and efficient service. Tasty food

The food had clearly been made hours earlier for the gelatinous slop to be spooned into containers. This was poor and disrespectful business, given that £70 was spent for this radioactive matter, so you would hope at least some of it would be made to order. Most people order from takeaways as a hard earned treat, so this only adds to the sickly aftertaste.

small portions and made me very sick

Food was beyond shocking had what was supposed to be crispy beef it came with what could best be described as jelly never again 🤮🤮🤮

Food was really lovely. We ordered a mix of dishes which were all thoroughly enjoyed. Prices were reasonable. Delivered to the campsite which was a bonus. Only downside is we were told 60 minutes for delivery and planned our evening around it - it was actually delivered in about half hour when we were still in the club house. Meant a bit of rushing around.

Unfortunately the food here has become absolutely atrocious, the staff are pleasant and nice but sadly the food is awful! I've ordered here ALOT in the past but don't think i'll ever eat here again after tonight's food. The chicken balls I received was like biting into oil..... the sauce tasted like water and the chips well..... let's say I've had better chips when cooking drunk.... Such a shame as this place used to be amazing!

Ordered a delivery tonight with an estimated arrival time of 7:35! It arrived at 8:20 and was Luke warm to eat! Very disappointing as we were very hungry by the time it arrived. The taste was ok but once Chinese food has gone pretty cold it is not enjoyable.

We were told this is the best Chinese food in the. Area I would hate to see the worst. Very clean open plan kitchen which allows you. To see everything piled up ordered a meal and a couple of extras and it was over £20 I was shocked but paid very disappointed with the quality pre cooked small chunks of chicken in a flavorless sauce with a few (very little) veg in , overcooked cold chips and a small bag of prawn crackers wouldn't be back any time soon

Do not use terrible service if your on holiday use siew Mai instead as this place is terrible and they don’t care. If you complain they will just hang up.

Ordered food at 6pm waited over an hour so decided to ring them to get an update on what’s going on with my order….I was told on the phone that my order would be arriving around 8:55pm! I questioned how that’s possible considering it wasn’t a massive order and was told ‘we’re just really busy’ I understand your busy but to take that long is pathetic and should be mentioned in their site before ordering. My food finally arrived….most of it anyway but not all of it. I rang them to explain I was missing some of my order and was told if I want the missing items of my order I’d either need to collect them or pay ANOTHER delivery fee for them to send the rest of my order out. Absolutely pathetic trying to charge me again to deliver items THEY forgot to put in the first time. Won’t be going here again. Shame as the food is really very nice!

Ordered a takeaway when we had friends over to stay. Fast, efficient service. All food is as tasty and cooked freshly so was nice and hot. We all enjoyed our meals which consisted of Sweet and Sour Chicken balls and chow mein, rice and chips. It was all good. We got some complimentary prawn crackers too, so that was a nice touch too.

Disappointed, usually have the special fried rice which has lots of meat bit of sauce and layers of chicken and duck on top, but today the rice was brown only chicken and prawns and what looked like gravy ontop and very dry meat.

We’ve had takeaways from Mei Lai at least once a month for 3 years. Always ordered via the website and now the app. Deliver ed in good time or ready to collect very quickly. Always got what we ordered which has always been piping hot and tasty.

Had takeaway Chinese. All food was quite bland, expensive for the quality of the meal.

Excellent service and amazing food.

Good tasty food, super busy but not too long a wait

We have been eating from here for nearly 4yrs. But the food quality has diminished. Even with the increase in prices. It's very very salty and everything tastes the same. Or is overcooked. We actually threw most of our take away in the bin. Really disappointed. Please listen to your customers, especially those who are or have been loyal to your business.

One of the best Chinese/Cantonese takeaways we have had in a long time! Great menu selection, good size portions, very helpful and friendly staff. Definitely recommended and can't wait to return next time we're in the area 😋

ON TIME AND TASTY!!!! WOT MORE DO YOU WANT

Fancied a Chinese while on holiday. Took one look at the well overpriced menu and put it back in rack outside shop. Compared to what we pay at home this is well over the top. Glad we did too as found one in Dawlish that was reasonably priced and well nice food. Too. Shame as would of used a couple of times as rest of family came down too

Called in on way back to our holiday park, picked up a takeaway, was ready very quickly, food all piping hot and very tasty. Unbelievable ammount of chunks of meat in all the dishes. Curry was the best we have tasted, yes it's priced slightly high, but happy to pay when you receive good quality tasty food. Thank you!

Friendly girl at the till, but the whole place seemed a bit manic as well as not a lot going on lol first off - chicken balls were superb, now to the nitty gritty - I asked for a milder version of the Singapore noodles and apparently I’m either a huge wimp (I’m not lol), but that meant full on heat and a pint of milk to water down the trauma! The chicken satay was using its skewers to float to shore with whatever watery peanut spice sea it was dunked in, a running theme as the hoisin sauce also seemed to be super runny (not very authentic) - not sure we will eat here again, but to stress, the server at the til was really sweet and for that you have more than 1 Star

2 x special curry and fried rice. EXCELLENT. Not to hot. Very tasty. Lots of meat and prawns. Good choice.

Great place, food is great. Service very quick and staff are lovely

Absolutely cracking Takeaway! Would recommend this to anyone staying in the Dawlish area.

We were in Dawlish Warren on holiday and had a take away delivered .It was delicious and hot we had chicken curry and king prawn Cantonese both were so tasty as was the rice and chips to die for 10 out of 10.

Ordered a young chow fried rice it was very bland with 3 tiny pieces of chicken and 3 tiny prawns no char Sui pork or other meats like it’s meant to be and for 9.50 I find this quite insulting. Also ordered salt and pepper ribs which may aswell of been plain ribs very tasteless and boring. Over priced and very disappointing won’t be going here again.

Very disappointed with the chicken chow mein, 3 were replaced without any issues, however still extremely disappointing, dry, tasted burnt, hardly any bean shoots. Not up to the usual standards.

We read the reviews and wondeered why the food looked good but the review score was low. It looks like they have had problems with the delivery's because the food was absolutely fantastic. Just watch out. The Singapore chow mein (spicy) is very spicy. Well done to all the staff for a fantastic meal. Keith.

Lovely little Chinese takeaway just before Dawlish, wide choice of dishes, lovely food

We stayed at the Cofton park holiday site and wanted a chines as it’s a tradition in our house on your birthday …we tried a few but no joy ,but did the order over the internet with ease,received a confirmation email and approximate delivery time they weren’t the closest but we were very pleased with our order ,it arrived under the time the young chap called my mobile to say he would be waiting by reception . The food arrived hot and there was plenty of it ….not stingy on portions ,nice and fresh too .price was reasonable too .would use again as they deliver .

Down here on holiday, thought weed give it a try. Amazing food. Nice and freah. Staff really friendly. Defo be back again before we go home 😊

We have been going go Mai Lei for 15 years, about 4-5 times per year. The food has usually been great, however last year noticed that it wasn’t completely up to scratch. Tonight we have had some food from there and I can honestly say that it was the worst Chinese meal that I have EVER had. We were so disappointed that we walked all of the way back to Mei Lei to explain how unhappy we were, given the years and years of lovely meals from them. I spoke with the manager who said that they would not be able to offer any kind of refund, despite our years of loyalty!! The chicken fried rice was burnt, the cashew chicken meal tasted like it had come out of a tin, the shrimp curry was burnt and even the prawn crackers tasted horrible !! Mei Lei has always been a highlight of a holiday here and has been for 15 years. The food has sadly gone completely downhill here now and we were absolutely mortified, that after so many years of loyalty, that not even a penny was offered back to us after our whole meal was ruined. Sadly, the poor customer service following such an awful meal will be the final straw for us and Mei Lei and we will all not be returning. Such a shame that once such a lovely take away has ended up like this. They are so busy now, it seems to be run by kids and there doesn’t seem to be any care given to the food that is cooked!!

An excellent Chinese takeaway with great food and pleasant staff.

Generally good food and friendly staff but overpriced.

We have been eating at this Takeaway for 20 years. But sadly today it wasn’t good at all, all beef chicken and prawn recipes were tough, chewy and dry!! It’s like a massive change of chefs!!! What’s happened??

my favourite chinese food place in the world its really good its like a treat every time i go up to dawlish!!!

I've been a regular customer for years, but I thought the quality of my most recent takeaway was poor. Gloopy sauces, and the sweet and sour was an odd - very synthetic - colour. Delivery was quick despite being a bank holiday, but overall I felt that the quality was lacking this time around. Hopefully just a blip.

Have been living in Dawlish nearly 3 years and have really missed my old Chinese restaurant. Saw the poor reviews but thought I would try out myself. Absolutely awful.Possibly the worst I have ever had.Oily and overcooked . Strange texture to the chicken. All ingredients same dark brown colour. Difficult to identify individual items. Like my chines spicy but this was very very hot cost £8:40 . Higher than I have previously paid

We had a takeaway delivered and Sorry to say ot impressed

This place has gone way down hill the big chunky chips are horrible salt and pepper chicken to chewy rice seems like they put half a tub of pepper on it the food is just so poor probably got young kid cooking it won’t be buying again 🤮

Ordered online for a quick collection. Good parking and really tasty fresh food.

We placed our order at 7:30pm and we were told it would arrive at 9pm. 9:35pm it finally turns up and it wasn’t worth the wait unfortunately. The egg fried rice was cold and burnt, the curry sauce was Luke warm, my salt and pepper chicken was burnt. The only thing that was alright were the chicken balls. Left still feeling hungry, haven’t had a bad time with this place a few years ago, they were busy and the only Chinese open in Dawlish tonight I understand that but tonight, valentines night too, was a bit of a let down.

We ordered at 7pm and was told the food would arrive at 8:20 which was a little longer than we hoped for but not the end of the world. Food eventually arrived at 8:50 without our fried rice. Rang them back and was told it would be 20mins or I could have a refund. Took the refund and ate the rest of our order and it was very enjoyable. Shame about the delivery time and missing rice.

Absolutely lovely food every time, friendly service and fresh ingredients. It’s 5 stars from me and we will be back!

Have used Mei Lai quite a few times. The food was very nice but sadly the last few months and few times i have ordered, it is swimming in soya Sauce & salty. It is not fresh, full of flavour or clean taste. Just takes of too much soya sauce. (The dishes i order) I believe the original chefs have been swapped for new team. The team are very friendly, polite and hard working especially all the girls who take the orders are non stop! Shame the quality of the food is not to my liking anymore. Need to bring back the original chefs.

I wouldn't ordinarily leave reviews, but the take away I had on Thursday 17th Nov, has propelled me to do so. I've been having take aways from here since 2013, and I must say the quality has reduced over those years, so much that the latest meal was almost enedable, it was so thick and gloopy, I may as well have been eating wallpaper paste. I've give 2 stars because it arrived early, but unfortunately won't be going back.

Very friendly staff,good food ,value for money..

I'm being kind at 3 stars as some dishes were ok, have used this place for years when in the area...what have you changed, food is average at best massively over priced my view give it a miss

Been to Dawlish few times and have seen this takeaway on my morning walk and this time we decided to to try it.... wow wish we had done it before, absolutely gorgeous from ordering to the delivery lady to the food... beautiful would so recommend Paula & Don Nelson (Barry Island - Wales)

Bought takeout as a treat but not from here ever again , chips horrible, curry sauce was full of lumps and inedible, on holiday so was definitely a treat but we were all left hungry as most of it went into the bin , I still shudder at the thought of it .

I have been using your restaurant for years in Dawlish and tonight has to be the worst. Chips were not cooked and hard, black bean sauce and vegetables was so thick and rich it wasn't edible and the noddle and beansprouts just tasted of a...

Love the food here we often have a take away. The staff are always cheerfull and look after their regular customers

Stayed at ladys mile holiday park for husbands 60th with there being 19 of us and 8 of them where children it was easier to have a takeaway rather than sit the children down in a restaurant. Ordered food at 5.30 it arrived really quickly...

Ordered satay skewers with no veg no sauce only to find sauce all over it when got home. Take away unhelpful manager even more unhelpful sa Yang that's how it comes. Very expensive so thought customer service would be better. EGG fried rice tasteless special...

Lovely food can’t fault it We always have food fro here when in Dawlish on hols yes it gets busy but your expect that Great service thanks

I had ordered a delivery to the campsite i was satying at and i loved the food. The staff was very helpful and very polite over the phone. They are happy to change the dishes slightly for my preference. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it and...

Dried out food. I could have produced better rice dishes in the microwave. We paid £45 for a takeaway that mostly ended up in the bin. Tasteless, poor quality food items and very greasy, dry and over-cooked. My prawns were the worst I have ever...

Had to take food back, tasted like plastic I even made chef try it to show him it was gross! Had to wait a week to then get a refund would never go again! I’ve had to put 1 star but I actually give NONE

The food is just the best I ever had and the staff are so great too. Nothing is not possible for them to please you if I had toeat there every night I would

Very disappointed with takeaway. We have always been happy with meals from Mei Lai previously. Little flavour and far too salty. They really need to improve!

Awful food. So salty and disgusting. I have been buying food from here for literally years and have never been so disappointed - I challenge management to get in contact and refund in full £19 -

I have to agree with all other reviews. Food ready in 15 mins. Tasted far more processed than in recent months. Not my cup of tea and will switch to the other local Chinese now.

Always use this Chinese for over 11yrs, it’s been fantastic in the past. Came to dawlish in November had a Chinese from here thought mmmmm the Singapore rice was clumpy when normally it’s stunning. Same with the egg fried rice my husband had. Thought we...

After a long day’s work decided to order Chinese in this local take-away. Never again!! Ordered via phone, told would be 10 min and we left house to collect - a 5 min drive. The food was bagged up waiting when we arrived. Obviously all...

Inedible and expensive. The food was sticky gooey mess... For instance the sweet and sour chicken was soggy, doughy balls. The food was all lukewarm and as it was prepared within 10 minutes of ordering alarm bells were ringing that nothing was freshly prepared.

Holiday in Devon dawlish every year probably about twice .Always had fantastic meal nice and hot and tasty.Was down earlier in the year had a terrible meal just thought just a one off, tried it again and it was the same awful.Just back down for a break , and thought we would give them another chance.Ordered special fried rice, chips barbecue sauce, pancake rolls. Prawn crackers.Meal was Luke warm phone order taken 2 minutes to get there.Barbecue sauce discussting didn’t even taste like it chicken like rubber ,,chips not bad but warm.Hardly call it special fried small portion little chicken few prawns couple of peas.I didn’t eat the pancake role only had one bite tasted funny, but the wife eat hers.Writing the review hopefully for them to workout what happening.Didn’t used to be like this year or so ago?Sorry for the bad review

Dawlish resident, This used to be good, not anymore, my elderly parents say the same too, many other local people I know have said we don’t bother anymore, it’s rare it’s any good anymore, more than once ! chicken balls for sweet and sour are now half the size they used to be and soggy, chow mein is not tasty? And black liquid in it, pancake rolls were rank and smelt funny, chicken curry is just about ok, but the boiled rice had some blackish brown substance all over it…..Shame cos it used to be good, but not anymore

3rd holiday in Cofton and 1 of the highlights is the food from here Never fails to impress us and the service is just as good

Terrible dish. Inedible. Lumps of chilli paste throughout. Plenty of meat. But no taste other than a burning mouth and I eat very hot Indian curries. Price was £2 higher than my normal ones in the midlands.

We ordered a home delivery last Friday. We ordered prawn crackers, chicken satay, beef chow mein, duck in plum sauce and special fried rice.The order came sooner than expected (good) and everything was hot. The prawn crackers very nice, non greasy and light. The beef chow mein was delicious. The chicken satay didn't appear to have any peanuts in it as the sauce was smooth. The duck in plum sauce, OK. The special fried rice didn't appear to be fried at all, it came with sliced chicken on the top and some odd tasting sauce which made the rice very claggy, not dry as a fried rice ought to be. The sauce for the satay, plum sauce and the one in the rice all had the same consistency and base ingredients, like they were all made the same way, relying heavily on cornflour and flavoured according to the dish.. Didn't seem very authentic to me, but that might be how its meant to be. I have had satay before and its been more spicy and contained peanuts to give it some texture. All in all, not the worst experience ever, but at £40 including delivery I would expect a bit more. Not sure I would order again in the very near future.

Just ordered £35 Chinese for home delivery and after waiting for over an hour it was awful - pancake rolls were so funky - were they off ?? Couldn’t eat them - Salt and pepper chicken was so tough and was like it was three days old, sweet n sour sauce was vinegar and chicken balls were soggy and tasted of foil - only thing that was edible was the chicken curry and chowmein so disappointed after spending all that money - don’t order from here if you want to eat - very unhappy customer !!!!!!!

Had a takeaway as a family of 6 whilst on holiday. Easy to order online, accurate collection time, food piping hot. Was more expensive than our usual Chinese at home but was by far better, the best Chinese we’ve ever had. All of the food was delicious. Definitely worth paying a little more for excellent food.

Good selection on menu, slightly on the pricey side compared to most other places. Food was really tasty and full of authentic flavours. Communication on phone when ordering was very polite and the river was lovely and called us to say she was on her way and was really friendly and helpful when she delivered the food too!

We used to love this place, I don't know what's happened but everything looks the same in thick gravy sauce won't go back 😕

After browsing through the previous reviews we decided to try this Chinese restaurant. We were not disappointed. We had bamboo shoots and water chestnusts, mushroom rice, sweet and sour chicken which tasted very fresh and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Good portion size. Good Covid protocol. They show your name on a board from inside the shop and place your order on a table outside the door to avoid all contacts with customers. Very well organised. Well done.

Phoned up for a takeaway on a Wednesday, placed my order, and they said I could pick up within 10 mins Had to delay until 30 mins, as I had to finish my drink at a local pub. No issue , with this delay.When I arrived after 30 mins, my food was ready and hot

"we are not taking orders because we are busy and puts the phone down" Thank you for you kind words and I accept your apology. Not

I live in Dawlish. I can only assume that people here dont like Chinese food as this is by far the worst Ive ever had !!! spare ribe in BBQ sauce.this was ribs in some kind of totally tastless white stuff.Pancake rolls were so undercooked that the raw batter was running out of the bag.Chicken in the s&sour chicken was undercooked.Little point complaining, will never order from this place again.

Had a take away whilst staying a lady's Mile just up the road. Very tasty had set menu. Good portions. Collect your order outside the shop, no entry to shop to help with Covid looked well organised on my visit.

This is my third review this year, after my praise last time for the excellent service during lockdown the food has gone right down hill. We ordered a selection of dishes last Saturday and the quality was so poor, the worse Chinese I have ever had. Ordered chicken and bean sprouts with bbq sauce, the chicken was so dry it stuck in your throat and can only assume it had been frozen and there was not the usual bbq sauce, more like a watery stock. The spare ribs in hoi sin sauce, well there was no sauce and you would find more meat on a butcher’s apron. To sum up the dishes were bland and tasteless and as a family we have decided not give this place anymore chances and just go to Siew May in town. It’s a real shame as we have been ordering takeaway since this place first opened.

Had a delivery on Wednesday night. Food was nice but not very hot. Thought was a tad expensive to what we pay here in Leicester

Rey tasty, and deliivered on the sit and still hot, and five mins from me so very lucky. Very polite on the phone as well, best Clnnese meal we can actually walk too, but being disabled we are lucky to get it delivered. Friends stayed with us from Windskr, and the had it twice, and really liked it. Love the spare ribs. .

Having had many take away meals from here over a fifteen year plus period it is sad to see how standards have fallen. Don't bother to complain as they just talk but don't listen. Very sad as they used to provide good food but it seems they don't care any more. This image is of the Special Curry. Not a lot of meat or anything else

This takeaway is excellent, stayed for a week in Dawlish and used this takeaway twice. Food delivered to LadyMiles site, arrived quickly and piping hot. The food was amazing would highly recommend.

I often use this takeaway and the food is consistently excellent. The staff are always courteous and professional which speaks volumes for how well managed the place is. They have served the community throughout lockdown and maintain the highest standards of Covid safety. They run an admirable system of taking telephone orders then serving customers outside the shop. You can see the kitchens from outside and all staff wear masks or face shields in addition to very smart uniforms. I often see them cleaning during the evening and all areas are spotlessly clean. Food is amazing and they will modify dishes if required, for example by adding chilli on request to spice things up a bit. My favourites are duck or king prawn dishes and they are always cooked to perfection and served piping hot. I travel a lot and use chinese takeaways often when away from home. Mei Lai is the best. A wonderful takeaway. Do not miss if you are in Dawlish!

Love this Chinese takeaway! Every time we come to Dawlish we always order and it never disappoints. Gutted that they have taken the beef in honey pepper off the menu but doesn’t changes the rating as all the dishes we have tried have been so delicious. Would recommend