Albert's Standish — Restaurant in Wigan

I attended Albert’s for a work Christmas party last night so we had a private room, bar and set menu. The restaurant itself was beautifully decorated, lots of natural materials, lights and generally a gorgeous building. Car parking also wasn’t bad and it was easy to find.

The food was average to below par, I had mushrooms in toast as the starter, a beef main and the selection of cheeses and cakes for dessert. The mushrooms on toast starter was ok, the mushrooms were nice, a bit on the cold side, but tasty. However they were rather long thin strands of mushroom that were quite difficult to eat on the toast. The bread was delicious but completely sodden in the middle and only beautifully crispy at the edges, the sauce from the mushrooms and an abundance of olive oil had turned it into mush so the majority of it wasn’t the most pleasant to eat. The main I believe was braised beef on the bone with mashed potatoes and green beans. The green beans, mash and gravy were pleasant. The beef however was 80% fat and what little meat I could find was tough to extract. I did ask to change my main because I could not eat the beef, the manager declined because they were too busy. Please see the attached picture of the fat left when I’d ‘finished’ my meal (I did end up eating the potatoes and green beans). The cheese and cake selection was the best part of the meal, profiteroles, chocolate mousse, pecan tarts, macaroons and a pot of cream. Then a selection of grapes and berries, red peppers and gherkins, a blue cheese, cranberry cheese and a cheddar along with a selection of nice crackers.

The service was generally good. Our bar and wait staff were lovely and really tried their best to make our night go smoothly. It was disappointing that management weren’t able/willing to change my inedible main, as a restaurant I would hope pride in the food served would be the top priority. All of that aside, I did have quite a few disturbing encounters with a security guard stationed in the hallway toward the bathrooms. At one point when I was walking alone he followed me right to the door of the ladies bathroom and at least two points in the night he entered our private party room to stand behind me, and then when I immediately walked away he would walk away too.. I didn’t notice him following any other guests and he came to the same place (right by my seat) each time he entered the room and left exactly when I walked away, so I can only assume he was trying to approach me for some reason. I ended up making sure I was chaperoned to the toilets after that and lo and behold the following stopped.

An uncomfortable end to an average culinary experience.

Update: Thank you to Albert’s for reaching out. I have emailed in a response to discuss the issues further. Having spoken to two separate members of staff who both left the room to query the issue regarding the food, Im sorry to hear the manager wasn’t informed. And please do update me on the ‘chat’ with the security guard....

Restaurant understand their clients mainly come for atmosphere and good cocktails, but food is basic.

Atmosphere is fantastic. Both times I have come here, half a year in between, the service is overall just okay. Polite as expected but depends on your party. When I first came with a friend, I can say that if you’re young, expect to be left a bit ignored and treated offhandedly with long waits, regardless of spend. But for my second visit with family, we were assigned an excellent charismatic waitress which made everything smoother, the waits more tolerable and gave us a higher tolerance and satisfaction for the experience overall. I wish it was consistent for all guests. Both times there is a long wait for first round of drinks; Albert’s should be offering people something like a bread basket or olives for this long time. They give out a free mini dessert if celebrating occasions which is a sign of standard good service. Wait staff prompt clients for reviews at end of their stay, showing management’s commitment to improving the establishment’s image.

A positive for the food is that there is a good menu variety. However. Food is only for show and lots of it is from frozen. Not great quality but excellently thawed, cooked and presented, which makes for a nice photo...? Steak is not good, 1 finger thin or less. Portion size for main varies by dish. With a big enough order, you’ll be full. Sauces and garnishes only have mild, or plain cream flavour with no salt or pepper e.g. main curry, coleslaw for burger. Chips were from the bag (not that hard to do fresh chips in a restaurant!)

It’s all edible for a dinner out, but the decor does try to betray a higher quality, so all menu items should strive for freshness to match for minimum £50-60 a head to eat and drink comfortably. The cocktails have more attention than the food. In truth, the cocktails are excellent here. Desserts are nice.

Overall average restaurant experience. I would come again for the drinks and atmosphere to meet with a friend, but it’s no culinary experience. Can do better at home which is at odds with atmosphere and purpose of dining out, but thankfully not too expensive, apart from steak. Attentive waiters carry the establishment. For a place as beautiful as this, it’s a shame that this is all I...

Were do I start, worth a read

Well firstly we booked a table here for a celebration in what we thought was a well established restaurant. The atmosphere was tacky and attracted some undesirable people that the 1 security guard on duty could not get rid of. The majority of the other people in there appear to be stuck up and 40+ singles who all head to this place to mingle with like minded people and hang around the bar. There was a DJ on in the corner playing trance music, people were hanging around the bar like a nightclub, in the back room there was a kids party and then in the restaraunt part there were around 300 people having dinnner dressed in their best. I could not make my mind up where I was, so I wasn't holding my breath for a decent meal. My wife ordered a gluten-free option that they provide, and low and behold, they gave her a non gluten dish, bare in mind that there was a procedure were a manager has to take a gluten free order to prevent any mistakes. It was only after my wife noticing half way through the dish what she was eating but at this point it was too late. I'll give the staff their due they were more than happy to assist and apologise, but the damage was done and they knew it. Needless to say we left and will not return. I understand now why this so-called "upperclass" establishment was given a hygiene rating of 0 a few years ago. I know from my experience that the organisation from the shop floor to the kitchen in particular has not changed, just knew faces probably. The owners put a lot of effort into curb appeal, bright lights, nice decor, and fancy cocktails, but the basics they do not get right. I base my score on quality and this restaurant has very little, the only thing it has are high...