Considering how much I love fast food (a Big Mac being my top guilty pleasure), I don’t get takeaways as often as I would like.

Luckily, my best friend recently had her kitchen ripped out to make way for a new one – and when she asked me round one evening to check on progress, I was confident that her total lack of cooking facilities would mean that a takeaway supper would be involved.

While Sarah and our mate Graham huffed and puffed chipping up floor tiles, I took a more strategic role in choosing where to acquire that night’s food, settling on Flames Pizzeria in New Market Street – it having fairly recently moved from its previous home in Fountain Street, after living up to its name rather too literally and suffering a catastrophic fire.

Flames is next door to the Market Hall in what in my day used to be a café called the Coffee Nook.

It was doing a roaring trade for a Monday evening and the seemingly vast number of staff (we counted seven) were beavering away behind the counter.

We ordered two pizzas between the three of us: a Four Seasons for Sarah and me, and a charmingly named Hot ’n’ Smelly for Graham. Chips and some free garlic bread completed our order.

It was fascinating to watch the pizzas being made: they have a huge machine that the pizzas are placed into on a conveyor belt-style operation, cooking as they go through. If you have ever made toast in one of those catering industry toasters to be found at a hotel breakfast buffet, you’ll understand. The Flames pizza oven is basically one of those – and then some.

Time to confess that pizzas aren’t really my take-out food of choice; not least because I usually end up suffering from a raging and unquenchable thirst in the middle of the night.

But the Flames pizzas didn’t have that effect and I can report they were pretty much spot on. The dough wasn’t too thick or claggy and the toppings were lovely. And, having watched everything being prepared, I can confirm everything was fresh and clean.

Gorgeous crispy fries and a garlic bread that was effectively another pizza – our supper cost £17.

There is a delivery service available, and judging by the number of pizzas rolling off the Flames production line, it’s a service that’s proving popular among Ulverston’s pizza preferers.

Sadly (not for her, of course) Sarah’s posh kitchen is now fully functioning – and absolutely gorgeous, I must say, especially the light fitting which doubles as a wine glass holder, chosen by me – so takeaways are currently off the menu for the time being.

I’m hoping the novelty of her range cooker soon wears off, so I can make a return visit to Flames. Their pizzas are pretty flamin’ good.

Food 4

Service 3.4

Atmosphere n/a

Value 4

Pros

Town centre location

Large choice of toppings and sizes

Delivery available

Cons

Parking at a premium nearby