Irmas — Restaurant in England

Having lived in Leigh my whole life and never sampling the delights of this well known institution, my partner and I felt it was high time to put this right. Irmas is situated just off the Broadway, the restaurant is large and airy and tastefully appointed in simple, dark wood furnishings. The cleanliness of the dining room is faultless, as was the case with the bathrooms. Staff were very attentive, taking our drinks order soon after we’d sat down, although no mention was made of the specials, of which there are several available. Although we visited on a quiet lunchtime, I was still impressed with how quickly the food came out. The garlic and mozzarella bread starter arrived quickly, hot, and was delicious. I ordered the Napoletana pizza and my partner the Spinaci, both were excellent, the pizzas are cooked in traditional pizza ovens, as you would expect, and arrived perfectly cooked, with thin and crispy crusts, just as they should be. Overall an excellent meal with prompt, polite service. I can highly recommend Irmas and we shall...

From the outside, I thought this place looked worth a try. Oh, how wrong I was.

First off, we walked in and asked if there was a table for 2. The women hosting (4 people who appeared to be perhaps 16 at the oldest), didn't even acknowledge us, huddled over a seating plan, muttered to each other, before asking us if we minded sitting "under the red light", as if the table was made of snakes.

We agreed to the table. The waiting staff asked if we wanted drinks, and had apparently never heard of people just ordering tap water, based on her incredulous laugh before she just walked off - how exciting, we had no idea if we would receive our order.

When I asked if they had vegan options, I was told they had vegan cheese. Great. But when I again asked if they had vegan pizza, I was stared at blankly.

Finally, the jug of water arrived! Slammed down on our table as the waiting staff stormed by. No glasses, no eye contact. Brilliant.

Eventually, we left. So I can't tell you what the food is like, but I can suggest you stay...

I've been going to Irmas since I was a child - the standard of food has always been great. The Pizzas are amazing and the starters/sides are tasty, too.

However, the last 4/5 times we've been we've noticed the service has been consistently awful. Bad attitude from moody, teenage waitresses who somehow make you feel like you're asking too much of them by just trying to order your meal (one example - we asked for items to be taken off a pizza and I repeated myself just to make sure the waitress had got everything, as we were adding and taking off a few things, and was met with a rude 'Yes. I got it.', with a sarcastic smile). Complacency (forgetting items/missing things off items), lack of attentiveness (constantly having to call someone over to ask for more drinks, etc.)

We'll still go, as the food is great, but just don't expect much from the service. It's a...