Forbes On The Lane in Wigan

I went yesterday for lunch with a friend and the food was beautiful and the service was 5 star, the 2 ladies that worked there were very friendly and had a lovely chat with us we couldn't fault it at all and it was warm and cosy.. Thank you both we will be back soon..

We had our Mum&Dad 60th wedding anniversary meal they was 20 people and the service and food was amazing from start to finish thank you so much to the management and staff xx The murphy family.

Great menu great food great service

Great menu great food great service

We ate outside, the food was delicious, we all had home made carrot cake absolutely delicious 😋 Jess served ys and she was lovely, a credit to the company.

We ate outside, the food was delicious, we all had home made carrot cake absolutely delicious 😋 Jess served ys and she was lovely, a credit to the company.

One of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. They only had one waitress who had to do many tables on her own the poor worker. It took around 2 and a half hours to receive our food. They had no drinks menu. The menu they did give were dirty, falling to pieces and old with empty binders. The food finally did arrive and it was rather bad. The starters were good however. The bangers and mash were quite poor, the mash was lumpy and solid and the peas had not been cooked properly from frozen. The table cleanliness was not the best either. Lastly the desserts did arrive and the waffle was so poor, a factory made waffle that is sold for 50p at nearly every single secondary school in the country. Service was terrible. Food was bad for the most part. Cleanliness not to good either.

Impressed with what they have done with the restaurant. Happy just to pop in for a beer plenty of room. Beers £4 prosecco £4 so restaurant price. Not had food yet but based on tonight will definitely go back.

Visited Forbes on the lane with some vouchers I received for Xmas , I have been here before and thoroughly enjoyed it, this time was no different absolutely delicious food and drinks , great staff always on hand to help, all day breakfast is fabulous as were the various tapas items we got , highly recommended.

Visited yesterday out first time with friends that live close to it very enjoyable

Always a good quality meal served here, great friendly staff.

Was OK nothing special, reasonably priced, took awhile to get served, nice decor, won't be rushing back, but wasnt the worse iv had for the price

Had two wonderful evenings here, food & service were excellent. Was extra attentive to my 87yr old mother

Lovely little bar. Inside its really cosy and quite relaxing. Not eaten here yet but drinks were reasonable and they lovely little snacks to sample on the bar. Staff were friendly and smart.

Birthday party wat a good night all staff really helpful and friendly food good too

An underrated place. Good food, good beers, good service and a nice place to visit. I can never understand why it is not more busy. Well worth a visit

Love Forbes, Jess works so hard and makes us feel welcome every time

Great, friendly staff. Lovely place decorated very well. I’ve been a few times and I am always impressed by the quality of the service I receive. Additionally, the atmosphere is great l.

Good food - Quality & Quantity bang on, but what's the go with the (management tolerated) old blokes in the corner constantly vaping away, spoiling the food and air for others. Can still taste that sweet sickly vapour smelll hours later - disgusting

It was extremely quiet when we visited which was surprising for a Saturday evening. The food was really tasty and obviously good quality ingredients but let down slightly due to attention to detail. None our dishes had any salad garnish and although I asked for no peas with my main, the plate had a large gap where the peas should have gone. Just a slight criticism and certainly not enough to prevent us from returning. Excellent value for money and friendly staff.

Amazing food here and reasonably priced. Everything is home cooked, so does take that little bit longer, but absolutely worth the wait! Will be back

One of Wigan's best watering holes! Great selection of lager, gin, cocktails, pretty much anything! The food is amazing and they're so generous with portion size!

Great pub resturant ,not eaten there yet but smelled delicious.

Sitting outside Forbes in the late summer sunshine with a cold glass of wine, we decided it would be a nice end to a lovely day to have something to eat. I went inside for a menu so we could decide. After a few seconds a waitress appeared and I asked her for a menu. A voice from above shouted down saying she was “not allowed “ to give customers a menu. The tone and the way this lady - I assume the owner ? - spoke to the waitress was wrong on every level. I was completely ignored - only spoken over ((literally). Another waitress was then shouted down to in a similarly, aggressive manner. Eventually I was told I could have a menu when I sat at a table. I was horrified at the way the waitresses was spoken to, it was appalling. I did understand the rationale behind what was being said but it was the manner in which the staff were spoken to and the fact thot I was ignored. Also, it wasn’t explained to the staff very effectively so I’m not sure they got the actual message; probably just felt they were being castigated in front of customers. I have been in a senior management position for over 30 years and have coached and mentored numerous colleagues. This was definitely the opposite of what good management should look like. In fact as I stood there, being totally ignored and feeling more than a little embarrassed, I thought I could video this situation and entitle it “how not too” for management training courses. I would have thought everyone who had management experience knew the saying - praise in public, chastise in private. Clearly not. I was so appalled at the way both I and the waitress had been treated, over such a trivial matter, that we didn’t stay for a meal. I wasn’t going to reward this establishment with my hard earned cash when they treat their staff so badly. We walked down the road to Papa Luigis, where we received professional, courteous treatment - not to mention excellent food and was even allowed a menu to select the food from. After the trials and tribulations of the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis, owners of businesses should realise that without staff and customers; they don’t have a business. Hopefully either the owner of the business, or one of her more regular customers (if there is such a thing) will read this feedback and take stock. Clearly what was deemed acceptable practice 20 or 30 years ago, in managing staff, is no longer appropriate or acceptable today - and nor should it be.

The girls behind the bar and the table service was great but was very upset when I wanted to tip the girls for how nice they were and Found out they don't get to keeps there tips. The tips go to the owner. Theses girls are working all hours for just over 4 pounds an hour. I find that disappointing child labour because they don't want to pay older people to work. The owner is so rude to these workers. She's a bully. Belittles her staff now I see why there has been so many different workers over the months. She should be reported.

Dreadful service by awful untrained staff, with bad attitude, chatting behind the bar and not a clue. Could not get 2 drinks right and charged extortionate prices, plus drink tasted dreadful. Waited 30 minutes to order food, still no service offered, after another visit to ask at bar for food order, was told no 'thingy' menus, whatever they where? Then told no food orders being taken and didnt know how long for. Would not recommend. No organisation, totally unprofessional. Did not stay and will not be back. No stars given, although it could have potential if a responsible adult was to take control.

The food is good to alright...no steak and the menu isn't great ....the large front room table where we were, the seats are very uncomfortable the waitress service was prompt but quite quiet as the food was being served we couldn't hear them much ...which could partially be our fault being a large party and a tad loud .. Just being honest not meaning to offend

Went for a family meal for my 30th birthday. There was 15 of us and we were served very well and quickly

Had a lovely Sunday lunch 😋 can tell homemade and lovely chatty staff

Great location and large outside area. Food was good and a very polite young man behind the bar. Will go again!

The wait for food was longer than most Places.They were more than ready for you to order drinks from the bar.

We went for a family meal, the staff were very friendly and accommodating. The food was excellent. We were advised there was only one chef working, so there would be a small delay. When the food came out it was hot, fresh and of good quality, and the portion sizes were on the large size. It was our first visit, and we will definitely be back

Went for a couple of beers. Friendly service & great beers in the sun.

Lovely bar man, next shandy thank you

Came here because of good reviews but very disappointed. Went in and from the get go it was unclear what to do ie. Follow staff to table? Table service? Order at bar? Sat for our meal and the staff were chatting away at the bar, tables around us dirty with cans and plates. Ordered and they didn’t have burger buns so asked if we would accept ciobatta instead as part of burger. Said it was okay because that’s how it is sometimes, but it just got worse. Eventually after an hour we asked where our food was (there was only one other table present and it was four people that already had their meals). Staff ‘went to check’ and said there was a backlog. As mentioned, the place was practically empty. Waited another half hour with no joy so paid for our drinks and left. All we got was an insincere “sorry about that” and funny looks as we left. I wish I had listened to my gut when I felt uncomfortable ordering my meal and saved us time and money. Also want to mention: after that whole time the dirty tables weren’t clean and staff members friends were getting served when they had only ordered minutes before.

Had a Sunday lunch which am sorry to say was disapointing chef put butter on the new potatoes which ran into the gravy and the cabbage was very watery which made it worse and everything was lukewarm

First time here with friends a nice little place quite small but felt comfortable 2 young girls serving drinks which was ok only the brown haired girl thought it was ok to not put the tight measurement of vodka in are glass , I had asked for 2 double vodka and cokes twice with her and both times couldn’t taste no vodka , went to the blonde haired girl on the next round and low& behold yes she did provide me with what I asked for won’t be calling back for this reason as am not happy to be getting ripped off.

Great place to eat very friendly atmosphere and excellent food and first class service 👏👏

Firstly, I'll say that the food was GOOD. It was freshly cooked and we didn't wait too long for it. Unfortunately the service was extremely poor, we were served by someone who was at best stroppy and she also took our bank card as we were going to pay at the end. When it came to paying, they'd forgotten they had our bank card and it was with a selection of other customers bank cards which is deeply troubling as anyone could of swiped or taken my card details. Therefore, I cannot recommend this establishment. A dining experience has to have a number of components and customer service needs to be adequate. Unfortunately it was not and they need to have more staff on so they can do their jobs effectively and also perhaps train them in some basic good manners.

Loved this place. Food and service absolutely perfect. Will definitely be going again.

Got into Forbes at 12.15 for a Sunday lunch ordered 1 starter main meals and 1 sweets... Half an hour later 2 starters came... My wife was due at work for 2 but there was no sign of the mains so we had to reverse to a takeaway and cancelled the sweet so my wife had to wait, 8 hours before she could have hers... I was glad to leave as the room was freezing... Will be a while before we go back

So nice to be genuinely welcomed, made our sad day ( a Wake ) a little lighter. Nice staff, good food, and REAL chips!! Thankyou to all at Forbes.

A welcoming place. Good food and plenty of it, at the right price.

Normally love this place good food and service , not tonight though waited an hour for starters half an hour for mains (lamb) which was so dry I couldn’t chew it , mash was cold, then dessert (two scoops of ice cream ) and a cheese board another half an hour no side plates or cheese knives , I had to go and ask for them , should of known really when we entered and told them we had booked a table and the waitress asked if we wanted menus !!!

Very tasty, lots of sauce in garlic mushrooms but mushrooms cut very small.

not bad food very quiet place staff are very nice

Eat in Forbes regularly. Food and service are always top quality. Wonderful!

After a warm welcome we were sat in a comfortable room to await our meal. Food was piping hot and very delicious 😋

I had a lovely afternoon lunch with my mother. Always driven past and wanted an excuse to try . It was well worth the visit . I'll be going more often in the future.

Fab food, friendly staff, fair prices. Recommended x

WE Had a 60th birthday party there ideal for a party of 40

Absolutely fantastic place had my 60th here everything was superb DJ amazing everything was perfect wouldn't have changed anything 😀 ❤️

Had a fabulous night celebrating a friends birthday. Lovely food and a great atmospher

What a fantastic night with friends, food all homemade, cooked spot on, had various Tapas, my personal favourite was the spicy beef. Had a cracking singer on call James. Great atmosphere, will be back xx

We visited on a Sunday afternoon for evening meal, and booked a table at a time that suited us. On arrival, there were only about 5 other tables with customers. We waited at the front of house desk, however there were no front of house staff. We were spoken to by a couple of different staff, however it took about 5 minutes before someone appeared and showed us our table. We ordered starters that took about 20 minutes, however the main course took a good 40 to 50 minutes. In total, we were in the premises for over 90 minutes which isn’t acceptable when so quiet. The food was ok, decent portions and obviously freshly cooked. Sadly, the visit was marred by what appeared to be chaotic organisation of resources, that clearly lies with supervision and management. A member of staff indicated the slow service due to staffing issues had been a long term problem, which appears to be corroborated by previous reviews. Come on managers, do your job and don’t rely on your staff to have to make the apologies!

Went in for lunch a couple of weeks ago great welcome by the young girl who was serving on her own, took us a while to initially to get served as she was on her own, which both me and my wife felt was unfair on her. We then got asked for a full name and a contact number which we wasn’t sure why, kind of off putting when your just trying to grab a quick lunch as well as this we then got ask to put a bank card behind that bar as we wanted to set up a tab, we didn’t end up doing this and had to pay before eating. Then when it came to ordering we tried to order twice first I tried to order liver (which is my favourite) got told that they didn’t have it then my wife tried to order a pasta dish that also wasn’t available so this was unfortunate. Overall lovely staff, food was to a decent standard however very strange way of running a business felt quite uncomfortable with the “company procedures” with having to give a name, a number and bank card just to order food so for this reason we won’t be visiting again unfortunately. The menu also needs updating.

Quaint is a good description of this fine establishment

Very nice. Lovely staff. Good location

Food was good, bar service has issue's, all in all nice place to go and staff were doing the best they could.

Weird, the minute we walked in the women working there looked at us and said "what do you want" with the look of shock on her face like we'd just walked into her house or something?? Anyway we ordered food which was average but had to give her my full name and phone number which was unusual also paying before we had received our meal which is not very common in most restaurants. The place has so much potential but the management & staff let it down, seems like they have never been in a restaurant before or know how they run it's so unprofessional, it's a hard one to explain but if you go you'll know I mean but I wouldn't recommend going especially if you want quick service, it's slow even when your the only people in there. Actually when I was deciding what I wanted the member of staff sat down next to me leaning in looking down the menu with me to try hurry my order along (very strange) trying to decide what I order because she said she had a party of 12 booked in 30 minutes later and wanted me to have something quick to cook. A party of 12 when we were the only 2 in there is no reason to panic? She also pulled my girlfriends arm to come to the bar and order drinks honestly it was messed up I'm not sure if the lady was on medication.

Our local, friendly welcoming great beer and food is traditional pub grub which is not too expensive.

It was disgusting spaghetti bolognese was cold, chicken burgers was dry until it was stale, best of icelands bosy woman on the till. Very overpriced supermarket stuff. And made feel like criminal don't bother

We called for food as we had viewed the menu online. It wasn't the same menu. I didn't think it was good on arrival felt messed about. Service was slow, I mean took longer than what would be expected. I payed upfront and even that I had to find someone. The food wasn't good, I opted for chicken burger, it was dry and bread very stale, spaghetti bolognese was cold no flavour. Expensive I thought, because I've had better for less. The girl that served us was a teenager so we was polite. Didn't feel comfortable there. The menu we opted for different choices I opted for the burger because nothing else had appetite, but wished I hadn't bothered. It was two pieces chicken burgers like I've seen in Iceland. Probably been stood too long because we did have to wait. My friend was ready for leaving. Can't recommend or visit again

Excellent lunch and a lovely waitress

First time eating here so didn’t know what to expect but it was within walking distance of home so thought we’d give it a try. The menu is absolutely massive…pages of it, and basically features a huge range of bought in pre-prepared pub type dishes as it would be impossible to cook such a wide range from scratch. Tapas, pizza/pasta, Indian, steaks, fish and chips, scampi and chips, sandwiches, burgers and more. It doesn’t seem to know what kind of restaurant it is. Having said that, the food was ok, nothing special but ok and the tapas portions were generous. We underestimated them so also ordered a chicken jalfrezi which was pretty unappetising to be honest. The chicken was very dry and I think it had been sitting around for a while as they cooked it too early and then warmed it up. Prices were fair for this type of food but we were staggered by the drinks prices. £8 for a double G&T (£6 for the gin and £2 for a tiny bottle of tonic) and nearly £5 for a pint of Guinness. The restaurant was empty inside apart from us and a table of 5 girls so pretty lacking in atmosphere and it was a Friday evening but there were people on the terrace outside mostly drinking. Overall, we found it a bit of a strange, rather mixed up place but certainly not a restaurant which focuses on a small but quality menu with locally sourced produce cooked from scratch. If you want a real restaurant experience, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Outrageously expensive for what it is, unless you have a silver spoon avoid! The Brocket Arms is better value!

Brilliant food at good prices. Nice selection of drinks and friendly staff

Had to leave as the smell of guinea pigs was horrific.

Impeccable food & service. Second time iv been & will return

Had a lovely family get together on Saturday Thanks to all the staff very good customer service and the food was excellent. Definitely recommend this venue

Very good meal and pleasant service

Food served hot, lovely 3 course Christmas me today.

We had a lovely day celebrating my daughters Baby Shower @ Forbes on the lane. Thank you to the staff and the owner Reenie for putting on a lovely buffet, nothing was too much trouble. Many Thanks for making it a special day.

Didnt have what I wanted even though it was on the menu, however food was nice and service was good.

Great place to call for a drink and a bite to eat, really nice to sit outside and watch the world go by. Friendly staff and decent food too 👍

Food was lovely and said we're friendly

We decided to call in unplanned on a Saturday teatime. We were met with a very unenthusiastic welcome to Say the least but decided to stay for a meal. The waitresses were quick to take our order but again were very disengaged. The food arrived quickly but the chips were completely covered in salt so avoid the chips if you’re on a low sodium diet. I had the smothered chicken and the bacon was also very salty. The food was reasonably priced and when we tried to pay the bill in cash with some Scottish notes ( my partner is Scottish) the waitress came back and said they couldn’t accept them. I didn’t want to make a scene but I did say she was wrong as far as I’m aware wigan is still in the UK as is Scotland and Scottish notes are legal tender. When I questioned why she wouldn’t accept them she said I’ve just spoken to “her” and she’s not here so she won’t let me accept them. I’m assuming”her” was the owner but the waitress offered no apology or explanation. Like I say I didn’t want to make a scene whilst visiting my home town but I did feel ashamed to be from Wigan and showing my partner my home town. It wasn’t thr welcome I was expecting. I won’t be visiting Forbes on my next visit back to wigan.

Large party visited, the whole restaurant was booked for our party alone, we had pre-booked our meals due to the amount of people attending. This still didn't count for the wait for between courses, not only that, the wait between the different meals, half of the people on out table had finished their meals before the other half of meals had arrived.

Food was cold and hard, the beef not edible the service was the worst I've ever had. Not interested on 3 full meals being sent back. Absolute disgrace. NOT RECOMMENDED. stay clear

Nice place food good staff very good 👍

Food was decent but service was a little bit lacking, however they were all young girls and no manager in sight. Therefore in a situation like this I would never complain as its not their fault. But with a few tweaks things could really be improved. We did feel quite uncomfortable at being asked to leave our credit card behind the bar before we could order food. I've never experienced that before and didn't like having to hand our card over. This is a local restaurant to me so I'd hope to visit again in the future and find it a little better.

Nice pub. Called for a couple of pints Friday afternoon. Not overly busy and the service was pretty slow. Really friendly staff but order 2 drinks at a time.

This is a great little Italian restaurant, the food is delicious with a huge variety on the menu, all at a very reasonable price. The service is very good too, although at the moment due to the ongoing Covid restrictions we still have to wear masks 😷 when not sat at a table.

Fabulous food, love this place x

Went in over the weekend whilst it was nice weather after having a 5* 3 course meal when in lockdown. The place itself is really nice and wasn't waiting to be served, only 4* as food wasn't as good as when we had it to takeaway still tasty however didnt seem to get quite as much, would visit again though

Me and my friend met up outside, had food and a few drinks excellent service, we moved inside when it was very quiet will definitely visit again

Food is amazing had tapas today delicious good sized portions only let down is the service

Nice place,pleasant staff but very very poor service.We booked our table for a meal,4 of us,took 5 to 10 minutes finding our table and then didnt ask about drinks.We eventually managed to get someone to take our drinks order then someone else within 2 mins asked if we wanted drinks ! We then sat what seemed ages before they arrived so from arriving to getting a drink was a real let down it took what seemed forever.Sat for ages again and we werent given menus and no one asked about our food order ! We arrived at 5.45 and managed to order food at approx 6.50 ! We then almost left as it took another age to get 4 straight forward meals. Food was good and all the staff were very nice but seriously its a sheer lack of bad organisation and training.Sit people down and find where they are being seated more quickly not " ill go and find out" when seated ask if you require drinks and take the order not " ill come back in a bit" and dont come back.Ask if we need menus and pop back soon and ask if we're all ready to order. Its not rocket science but it wasnt a pleasant experience but like i said the girls were lovely and i feel a little guilty critisizing them.Sorry but poor service let the place down.

Poor service,waiting for food 4h,unfriendly staff, not recommended to anyone!!!!

We were booked in and let staff know we’d arrived and then waited 40 minutes before anyone asked us for a drinks order. When the food came it was lovely but the whole experience was spoiled by extremely slow service and what we considered to be very poor management. On a number of occasions we were given excuses for the delay such as a smashed glass or a faulty coffee machine but we were sat close to the bar and had already waited 20 minutes before either of these two events happened. A lovely place but poorly run.

Really good food very helpful staff and good prices

We called in here to day to have a drink on our way to Standish. The service was excellent and the drinks were excellent.

Fantastic Sunday lunch take away.

I really enjoy their food. I always get fantastic service there. The place is clean and the employees are always very nice. Would recommend to others.

First-rate environment and very friendly service. The meals were fresh and delightful. Will definitely recommend this restaurant to friends and family. Fair prices and generous portions. Great job.

This spot simply knows how to serve their clients. Regularly with a very welcoming demeanor. The food is conveniently priced, always delicious and clean.

Just ordered Sunday lunch, 3 course special, lovely food, piping hot. Gave Reene 2 mins notice, food delivered to my car, chose the the beef, lovely meal, large portions, well worth a visit. Shop local.

Fantastic atmosphere and super personal service. The food was fresh and yummy. Will surely recommend this place to others. Fair prices and generous meals. Great job.

Tried this place before with my friend and I am addicted since then. I like the awesome atmosphere and delicious food and beverages. Great work.

Tried the new takeaway service for brilliant quality piping hot home cooked food with great service. Ordered over the phone the team have adapted their home cooked favourites for a stunning tasty service. Simple things like steak pie are loaded with slow cooked steak, rich gravy and home made chips are delicious. Service was timed to perfection and the food was as fresh and hot as it is being brought to the table. Pleased to support our local businesses and well done for adapting to cheer us up with delicious food and fantastic service :)