REVIEW: Eat Nation, Wycombe Marsh - newest takeaway in town is nowhere near the best

Admittedly many were ordered without the clarity and rationality of sobriety, but also thankfully consumed in their absence too.

But, I'm a firm believer in the kebab as an art form; a dish that deserves to be lifted from the doldrums of its reputation as the nation's drunken takeaway of choice.

After all, meat, bread, spice and salad, what's not to like?

Well, in the case of the example served up at High Wycombe's newest fast food joint, quite a bit.

ALSO READ: We eat in every zero-rated takeaway in High Wycombe

And 'grill houses' go, the very recently opened Eat Nation on London Road is one of the nicer looking ones.

A clean, attractive design both outside and in, it boasts its menu items loud and proud from a neat-looking illuminated board, and the inside is tastefully done.

It's also interesting to see a range of milkshakes on the menu, from Ferrero Rocher and Oreo to Kit Kat and Smarties.

I didn't try these on this occasion, opting instead for the House Special Doner (£7.50).

What's special about it you ask? Well it's fried up with onions and jalapenos, so not that much.

Firstly, the service is painfully slow. When I arrived on a Wednesday evening, a flurry of curious customers sauntered in around about the same time, and I'm just glad I was in front of them.

Granted, this place has just opened and it will take some time for the staff to find their flow, but it felt suspiciously like no one knew exactly what was going on.

The kebab eventually arrived (after about 20 minutes), and I was helpfully offered the option to eat in - despite the kebab having already been wrapped in enough paper to justify a round of pass the parcel. Thankfully I was taking it away.

The kebabs are competent at best. The pitta bread is fairly standard, likewise the salad and chilli sauce, the portion decent.

But the secret to the success of a kebab is all in the meat, and this stuff was on the limp, fatty side, and a little translucent in places. It was cooked though, which seemed a blessing.

I'm a reasonable man, fully aware this was doner meat and therefore hardly expecting anything Michelin-starred.

But there are varying degrees of 'elephant-leg' doner, and I've had much better.

It needs pointing out that Eat Nation is under new management since its previous incarnation 'Pizza Grill King', which was one of only three places in town to have a zero hygiene rating.

ALSO READ: Wycombe chicken shops gets ANOTHER zero hygiene rating

Eat Nation is clearly better, but there's work to do before it matches up to the popular (and superior) Tummy Fillers a few doors down.