Friend, heading off, had a meal (3)
I believe the answer is:
ate
'had a meal' is the definition.
(ate a meal)
'friend heading off' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'date' (date is a kind of friend).
'heading off' means to remove the first letter.
'date' with its first letter removed is 'ATE'.
(Other definitions for ate that I've seen before include "Bolted" , "upset > Greek goddess" , "Ingested" , "Greek goddess of mischief" , "mischief-maker" .)