England’s first drive-thru Chinese takeaway to open near Liverpool

England’s first-ever drive-thru Chinese takeaway is set to open near Liverpool next week and its owners hope it will become ‘the McDonalds’ of Asian cuisine.

Wiyo - which stands for ‘what is your order’ - sent foodies into a frenzy after it announced its first restaurant, with some diners travelling 35 miles to get a sneak taste at a soft launch last weekend.

Co-owner Leon Freeman spent five years developing the concept with his business partners and said he hoped to make Chinese food “more convenient for the masses”.

“Considering how popular Chinese food is in England, we were confused why no one had developed the concept before now,” Leon added. “The goal is to make Wiyo the McDonald’s of the Chinese fast food industry.”

On the menu: Wiyo say they developed their menu with a leading Chinese chef and will serve up classic dishes including shredded chilli beef and salt and pepper chicken, along with unique twists such as house special chicken.

Diners get a choice of ordering three different meal options - with a single dish and drink costing £7, two and a drink priced at £9, and three with a drink going for £11. They can also opt for the ‘salt + pepper sub’, priced at £11, where chicken is layered on a roll with crispy lettuce, onions and Wiyo’s house special soy mayonnaise.

Open for business: The Wiyo drive-thru is located off Knutsford Road, on School Street, near Bridge Foot, Warrington - a 40 minute drive from Liverpool. It will officially open on Saturday, June 17, and will then be open seven days a week between 5-9pm.

Big plans: “We’re already looking at franchises in Manchester, Liverpool, Essex and hope to make this national,” Leon said. He also revealed he and his co-owner Sally Gallagher and Dominic Freeman had come up with the idea for the restaurant around a kitchen table in 2018.

What they’re saying: Some lucky punters managed to get their hands on the restaurant’s food early when it opened its hatch last weekend during a ‘soft launch’. One diner, who travelled 35 miles from Wrexham, North Wales, to try out its fare branded it ‘delicious’.

• “Very tasty food and super-fast turnaround from order to pick up window,” she added.
• Another added: “Mine was amazing”
• A third said: “Mine was really good!”