The Fat Italian in West Lancashire

Me and my husband booked for a date night and the Fat Italian did not disappoint!! We had a wonderful evening, the staff were exceptional, really attentive and friendly. I’d recommend the white wine muscles, the sauce was to die for! The portions were really generous, even the starters. They also had a nice selection of desserts, i’d recommend the brownie :) We had a lovely time, would come here again!

The perfect evening meal Amazing restaurant, delicious food Our waitress Ellie was fantastic Very attentive staff ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ would definitely recommend

We had a great family Christmas meal here. Staff were pleasant and efficient. The duck, lamb and prawn pasta were all tasty and it's a great idea to add a glass of prosecco into the dessert choice because we were too full for pudding but the prosecco went down well! It's a pity this place isn't bigger but I would definitely recommend.

Nice food, a lot of attentive staff and a busy but enjoyable atmosphere

Service was great. Food was abysmal. Starters were okay. Lamb shank was ordered and it didn't come out with the other mains. When it finally came out it wasn't a shank, it was dry and was about 4000 degrees. Clearly been blitzed in the microwave. It was around £24 on the menu, Nowhere near good enough. Steak was standard, and the majority ordered pasta dishes which were all bland and definitely not fresh pasta. Ordered pints and each person was given two half pint glasses? Used to be a great restaurant this but it seems standards have fallen off a cliff.

A great place to have tea. Clearly it is a very popular spot, but it still retains atmosphere. It has a broad menu of delicious treats and the Specials Board was great. The quality of the food was excellent and good value. The service was very prompt and the staff very professional and genuinely friendly. Well done for a really nice meal out.

Such a nice place to eat and Lydia was lovely she really took care of us, as did all of the staff there. Will be back again as the food is amazing 👌

Great food, staff are extremely friendly and attentive.

Thanks for hosting Gary's birthday celebrations. Great night for all concerned. Extra special service and the food was excellent.

The seabass was excellent and the service was also very good; professional and friendly. Very good value for money on the set menu. Would love to return

I had the garlic mushrooms to start with. Nice presentation but 5 tiny mushrooms on a long plate. . My bf had the mussels which were ok but the sauce was better. There was some closed ones which is never pleasant to see on your plate. My bf had a sirloin steak which was lovely . I don’t tend to buy steaks as I struggle chewing them but it was my chicken Diane meal that was tough. Very unpleasantly surprised. Was looking forward to it so much. There was one member of staff that was pleasant and the other 4 just kept walking past us. We eventually got someone’s attention think he was head of the bar staff and we mentioned chicken was tough. Big disappointment but they did knock the garlic bread off the bill. Burscough one much better

Lots of choice for vegan and non-vegans. Gorgeous food. Vegan pizza in particular for the kids was beautiful! We had a great time again and will be back again another time.

I just wanted to drop in and leave a little note to say thank you for the service we received last night. We visited for our boys 1st birthday and the guys and girls couldn't do anything more for us, all of the staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. Food was also excellent, fresh, timely and tasty. Thanks all.

Just had a lovely time here,easy parking, nice friendly staff, good quality food with a good choice on menu well cooked and reasonably priced, everyone in our party of 5 got a decent size portion and left well pleased,definitely be back,thank you.

Garlic cheese bread had me reeling for days!! The freshest and quality meals the staff are amazing nothing was a bother, so friendly and attentive we will be back and prefer this out of all of them!!

Lovely food, main menu or special 3 courses for £32. Need to book as very popular!!!

We booked the Fat Italian for my daughter’s 21st. There were 34 of us so no easy task but the whole experience from beginning to end was amazing. The staff are fabulous. Very accommodating and definitely patient! The food as always was lovely. I highly recommend this restaurant and we will 100% be back there soon

Big party of 14 but the staff coped well. Foods was delicious and all agreed it was great. Just a bit lacking in atmosphere and a few drinks were forgotten by staff.

Great food, fantastic, friendly service and excellent lunchtime menu deals

Good food and always excellent service.

Absolutely brilliant from start to finish, there was 14 of us in the party on a busy Saturday night yet everything was super smooth. A whole different bunch of starters from garlic bread to gambas pil pil and various other dishes but everything was fantastic, moving onto mains again variety of dishes from pastas to fish and chips and pizzas again incredible and I had the chicken Diane sensational. The staff were brilliant throughout the night and would definitely recommend and we hope to visit again soon. 5*

***Disclaimer: none of us are individuals who enjoy complaining. But this occasion necessitated a complaint*** My friends and I visited on Thursday for its notorious steak night… safe to say it was a huge disappointment. First and foremost the starters were acceptable, and the mocktails we ordered tasted really nice, albeit on the smaller side considering the price. All of us ordered the ribeye steak medium rare which has always been the go-to at any other restaurant we have been to. When the steaks arrived we were all shocked at how abnormally tough they were. They also smelt a bit funny and were full of gristle. They were difficult to cut into let alone chew. All of us struggled to chew and swallow the steaks- so much so I had to swallow the pieces whole (which was extremely unpleasant!). When the waiter approached and asked us how our food was, we politely asked if he could take it back to the kitchen for it to be cooked more as it appeared to be more on the rare side and we thought maybe that was the problem. Even after this, the steak was the exact same. The lovely waitress eventually took our plates after we finished and we hesitantly told her how we didn’t enjoy the meal. A woman who we assume was the manager, insinuated that it was OUR fault for ordering the wrong cut of steak (ribeye) and kept saying we ordered it ‘blue’ when we stated multiple times we ordered it medium rare which we always request at any other restaurant. She implied that it was our fault for not ordering it medium instead. This is irrelevant anyway as it’s only her opinion, and regardless, we were never advised to order it medium whilst ordering. All three of us felt patronised, and annoyed as we had all been so accommodating and reluctant to kick up any sort of fuss. We didn’t expect a refund, but we were insincerely offered a free cake between us. I understand this matter is subjective but those steaks were truly unpalatable. It was as though it was cooked or boiled in a microwave.

Visited on a Wednesday night to take advantage of the two course deal for a special occasion. The restaurant is warm, inviting and not one table was free. Couldn’t fault the food, everything was fresh and delicious. We had the salt and pepper halloumi and beef arachini for starters, chicken chorizo pasta and Tuscan sausage pasta for main with a side of garlic tomato bread. Only complaint is we wanted more! The cookie dough special dessert was nice but was cooked enough and had turned into a warm cookie rather than dough but was still very enjoyable. All the staff were professional and polite, the floor manager obviously runs a great service for these high standards. We are excited to visit again with more family. Thanks for an enjoyable birthday mid week treat!

We took friends visiting from Canada and we had a lovely meal. Staff are fantastic as always and couldn't fault the food or the service

Took forever to bring food. Tony portions, my meal tasted bland, it was meatballs and pasta, I would have been better getting a smart price sauce. Absolute joke

Food was lovely and service was equally amazing. My boyfriend had the fish and chips and I had the lasagna. Would definitely return!

We had a lovely meal with our two children, we booked for 5pm thinking it would be quiet however the restaurant was busy and had such a lovely atmosphere. From the moment we walked in the staff were friendly and made a fuss of our girls. Food was excellent and we can’t wait to return again in a few weeks. Thanks Lydia and her team, we couldn’t fault the service. One thing I would say is it doesn’t offer Wifi, my daughter wanted to use her tablet to keep her entertained during the meal so as a suggestion can you offer Wifi to customers ☺️

It’s a lovely place; great atmosphere, lovely people, excellent food (and plenty of it), and very reasonably priced. Will definitely revisit next time we’re in Ormskirk.

Nice restaurant with good food and really friendly staff. Pleasant night out

Very good-service and food excellent. Good choice on early menu. Busy . Much improved from a few years ago. Staff excellent

Excellent varied menu Can't fault it

to be honest not a very good experience staff was nice apart from one pizza had barley any cheese just tomato took a while for the food overall you couldn’t pay me to eat hear wouldn’t even eat here for free

Amazing place Great atmosphere, lovely food, friendly staff....

This is a great find, we were not meant to go there, I asked my husband to book The Fat Italian in Burscough, I’m so glad he got it wrong. It had a lovely atmosphere as soon as you walked in, staff were very welcoming and friendly. There was such a good range on the menu, you are spoiled for chose. The food arrived in good time and was absolutely delicious. We had the lamb shank, chicken and chorizo fajitas, a pizza and spaghetti bolognaise with a side order of garlic bread topped with tomato and garlic, this was delicious. The lamb was outstanding and the fajitas had a lovely spice and flavour. It was one of the best bolognaise sauce I have ever tasted. Portions were great, even my growing 16 year couldn’t finish the fajitas. Staff were lovely and attentive enough. I also enjoyed the Motown hits playing in the background! So all in all, I’m glad my husband didn’t listen and booked us in to this one, we will definitely return. The staff are a credit :)

Food was lovely but ordered a dish which was presented not complete crab was not included as requested. Staff especially the young woman I think her name Ellie was great attended to the 25 people party well

Food is great here however the Burscough one is better I feel.

Excellent food and excellent service

Usually book burscough but it was not available We opted for ormskirk big mistake Food came out cold after a lengthy wait Service was very poor we ordered drinks I had to go to the bar to reorder them Only burscough fat Italian for me or the chippy never again not even for free

Food extremely slow and cold when we finally were served. Had to go to the bar for a drink after ordering ten minutes earlier. Never again!!!!

We normally go to the Fat Italian In Burscough regularly, we decided to try the one in Ormskirk, as it’s actually nearer to us. We were a little disappointed, food overall was only warm but still tasty and garlic bread undercooked. We did make a comment about one of our meals., We received £5 off our bill. The young waiting staff were lovely though. Maybe just an off night , but think we will stick to the one in Burscough .

Staff helpful. Limited vegetran options. Fabulous seafood. Pasta to die for! Lovely atmsphere. Despite changes to booking times and numbers staff were very helpful and went out of their way to ensure all of our party were looked after well.

What an absolute gem of a place. The food, starter, main and desert were delicious. The atmosphere was enchanting and welcoming. All the staff were friendly and went above and beyond to make our little group feel welcome. Nothing was too much. Thank you for a lovely dining experience. Lydia I loved listening to your very knowledgeable history of the restaurant and family.

Excellent food and service. We had the 2 course menu for £15.95, great choice on the menu followed by the best Tiramisu we’ve ever had! I love that the tables are well spaced out. Lydia & staff really know how to deliver great hospitality

Our visit to The Fat Italian this evening was a true delight from start to finish. I was dining with two friends and we were made to feel extremely welcome throughout. Lydia took the time to chat to us and ensure we were happy with everything during the evening - thank you! The decor was beautiful in the restaurant and the food and service were both exceptional. The tiramisu is the best I have tasted in a long time…highly recommended! Thank you for making our experience a most enjoyable one. We will definitely be back again and telling our friends to visit too! 🇮🇹 😁

Came as a bigger group on a Monday evening. It was busy as graduations were taking place throughout the week. Meal was lovely, service was good. Felt a little dark and cramped, but this didn't really take away from a really good Italian meal. Everything we ordered was excellent quality, drink were a little pricey.

Good value, a comprehensive menu and specials menu Sad that such a good restaurant have such a poor alcohol free range of beers. Why do restaurants think that Heineken Zero is a worthwhile beer too offer as an only choice? You spend so much effort on your food menus and wine menus please make an effort with your alcohol free drinks range.

Been twice, had great experiences both times

Visited here on a Saturday and opted for the happy hour menu. The portions were big and the mains were good. However the garlic bread was such a disappointment, it was so greasy. The tables are also very close together in here, a large party sat behind us literally and were so loud. Staff were very friendly and the service was quick!

2 meals ordered. Chicken and chorizo - just warm. Lasagne - I'm not sure how old this was but a slab of lasagne turned up covered in sauce, microwaved to death. Unfortunately the lasagne lead to food poisoning with major diarrhoea in the early hours. I think the fat Italian has lost its way sadly, we will never return.

What a lovely experience, the meet and greet was very professional, the table service was excellent and all staff were amazing with my three year old granddaughter. Thank you for a wonderful time

Staff very helpful and friendly and the food was excellent.

Excellent food absolutely wonderful staff. Frim the manageress down nothing is too much. So helpful and knowledgeable. Sonny the waiter is so helpful, very witty and attentive. Obviously staff training and customer satisfaction is high priority.

As always, incredible food and fantastic service. If you haven't been...you're missing out! 🇮🇹

Great food lots of tables and clean toilets. Perfect for families and night outs. There is lots of cheap food options available I ordered pepperoni pizza it was very delicious. Only problem is that my dad ordered food and it came cold.

Best restaurant in Ormskirk. I've had spaghetti Bolognese as well as the pizza from here in the past and they were both amazing. The staff were super friendly and the service was great. The atmosphere was also great, it can get very busy on Friday Nights and Weekends but that's to be expected from a restaurant this good. I will definitely be going back again

Wonderful meal and excellent service, we were a large party and nothing was comprised. We are definitely making this restaurant one of our regular places to eat, looking forward to going back and having the seafood spaghetti. A big thumbs up from all 17 of us.

Booked lunch for myself and my mum to finally celebrate her birthday 6 weeks late! Food was fabulous, all staff are a credit to the business. I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. I had Caribbean chicken to start, Cajun fiesta chicken pasta (literally the best dish in the world) mum had garlic stuffed mushrooms and chicken arribiata, and we shared a banoffee pie which was on the specials menu - I ate most of it! I have plenty of great Italian restaurants where I live, but I choose to travel to here (and the burscough location on occasion) because of that fiesta pasta 🤣

We visited on a Tuesday evening without having made a reservation. Luckily there were only a couple of tables available, it was very busy with a good but loud atmosphere. We opted for the 2 Course Deal Menu for £15.95 available Tuesday & Wednesday 4pm - 8:30pm. (That’s why it was so busy!) It offers a great choice of meals but there are a few with an additional charges depending on what you choose, it was good value for money and our meals were very good. The staff were very pleasant, attentive and always smiled or acknowledged us, I’d not hesitate to eat here again.

We have visited the Fat Italian many many times over the years and always had delicious food and great service. After our recent visit we were really disappointed. The whole evening from entry to exit felt very rushed and pressured. We'd sat down about 2 mins, hadn't even opened the menus and were asked by two different staff if we were ready to order. Drinks arrived promptly, but the wrong wine was served. Our order was taken and the starters arrived within about 5 mins, although 2 of them were barely warm, they were tasty. We were then asked twice had we finished - we had not. The staff were back and forth to us every couple of minutes taking glasses the second you put them down which felt very intrusive to our meal and stopped the flow of conversation. The mains arrived without the normal slight break between courses and the interruptions continued right through the meal, asking if they could take glasses etc. We all like attentive staff but this was just too much. After the meal , the manager (I assume) then came over to ask if he could clear more glasses - there was only one empty water glass on the table and we were hoping to relax with coffee/wine. It was nowhere near closing time and there were other table seated , I mentioned that it had been intrusive and the manager was quite rude in response. The atmosphere was also ruined by the bar manager mopping the floor whilst we were eating! The young lad who took the bill for us asked how things had been and I said I little rushed etc. and he was very pleasant and professional. Such a shame. Food was delicious, staff need training on restaurant etiquette though. We had a special occasion booked in for next week for a group of us which we will now be cancelling.

Not the best Italian I've ever been to - food could of been better, but staff were lovely and prices were good 👍

Not been here for a while but will definitely be returning. Food was great. Staff polite and attentive.

What a lucky find on our way home from The Wirral. A really nice atmosphere, pleasant, helpful staff, and delicious, freshly cooked food. What's not to love?

Love this place food and amazing and staff Friendly .... a must go place our new favourite restaurant

Fantastic food and a reasonable price, although the portions were slightly smaller than I'd like.

4 stars. I ordered a white wine spritzer which arrived in a wine glass rather than a highball with ice . I was unable to determine whether it was a spritzer or a poor oxegenised wine. Below par presentation. My prawn and crab starter was lovely, Save the immature sauce presentation that was waved across the plate, al a 90s style. Unnecessary and old fashioned. My pizza was fabulous, if it wasn't for the same person wielding the same flauncy sauce bottle 🤣. Had the wielding been a chili oil, befitting of my Firenza pizza, it would have been fantastic. PUT THE BOTTLE DOWN. Has this restaurant fallen into fads some years ago and got stuck in the rut? I think so. The staff were really attentive even if the first girl didn't know what a spritzer was, but that's ok. The service was really good. I'll certainly eat here again.

Went today for lunch for the first time. What a lovely place. Staff very friendly. The food was outstanding and excellent value for money. We have booked again for next week and will be making this our regular to go place.

Party of 8 cramped on to table of 6 . 10 % service charge not displayed clearly on 3 course set menu. Tables to close together in some parts of restaurant. Staff did not seemed bothered

A must visit. The restaurant has an authentic feel and the staff were absolutely lovely. The lamb shoulder is to die for, just melts in your mouth. Thank you Taya for your 5* service.

The restaurant has an authentic feel and the staff were absolutely lovely. The lamb shoulder is to die for, just melts in your mouth. Thank you Taya for your 5* service.

Very friendly service but too long of a wait between courses. I honestly think there are far tastier Italian restaurants but thats not to say I didnt enjoy it. Id go back, but not in a hurry

Our fourth visit to this gorgeous restaurant and once again it didn’t disappoint. Had the happy hour menu which is amazing value available every day until 6 pm with pasta and pizza dishes for around £10 so be sure to check this out. I love the relaxed, friendly atmosphere here, the staff are just so welcoming and chatty and give advice on the food which is very welcome when there is so much choice. The Decor is pretty and everywhere is spotlessly clean.The food is just amazing and, even better, they have a fabulous dessert menu. There is also a car park at the rear of the restaurant. The only negative is that we were told we only had 1 hour 15 minutes at the table so we were just conscious of the time when waiting for the meal to arrive but it’s because it is such a busy restaurant. My favourite go to restaurant at the moment locally and I will definitely be visiting again.

This is good italian, authentic food , very good quality, value and experience, highly recommend

Just had meal at Fat Italian Ormskirk.Food fantastic as was the service. Nothing to .much trouble. Had the £18.95 Menu food was so good. Compliments to the chefs

Good honest food at a reasonable price in a nice setting. Recommended.

Absolutely gorgeous food, lovely staff and the Early Bird menu (on EVERY DAY!!!) before 6pm was great value. We will definitely be back 😁

Nice food, very expensive drinks. Felt a bit rushed at the end when the waiting on staff removed plates whilst one of us was still eating.

Me and my girlfriend have been a few times over the past few months and this is my first time leaving a review, I do apologise! Food is absolutely stunning. We had bruschetta with chorizo, garlic bread, the steak stack and carbonara, and then shared a cookie dough from the specials board for dessert. All dishes tasted amazing and were cooked to perfection. Even when busy, service is always friendly and efficient, no matter the waiter/waitress. Couldn’t recommend this place enough, especially Louis who i believe is one of the managers. He is chatty, attentive, polite, and always with a smile whilst serving. This has quickly become our favourite restaurant, worth every penny!

This place was booked for a party of 12 for my granddaughter's 21st birthday, service was slow as it was 30 mins before somebody took our starter order and drinks order, another table in same room was a party of 12 blokes who were shouting over each other all the time we were there and it was so bad a couple trying to have a quiet meal asked to move to another room, service for main meal was a bit quicker and all the food was very good,did not agree with the extortionate service charge with all the noise we had to put up with.

Very friendly, delicious food, good value and even some vegan choices, definitely recommend a visit

Gorgeous food and all the staff are lovely and very polite.

Fantastic food great service only down side for me was the price of the drinks over £5.00 not even a pint over all we had a good yime

busy,vibrant,good food. The 3 course table d hote menu at £29.95 is a great deal. Sadly, the drinks service is very slow.

8 of us had a lovely early evening family meal here on a Friday. Our age range was from 86 to 23! We all enjoyed our food - including 86 year old Rosa who was born in Sicily and knows a thing or two about Italian food! The service was efficient and very friendly. Many thanks to Lexie and Taya for looking after us so well.

Brilliant place to eat and have a nice time. You need to reserve the table as it is very busy. If I have one little gripe it does feel a bit pressured.

We thoroughly enjoyed our food and particularly appreciated having a whole vegan menu to choose from. We swapped dishes and both enjoyed everything we ate. Staff and service could not have been better. This was our first visit but we hope to return at the soonest opportunity.

Our night was amazing. We went for our friends 18th birthday and our waitress Taya made our night so special, she made sure we were all enjoying ourselves and was very attentive to our table. we stayed later and were never made to feel like we were being rushed or that they were trying to make us leave.

Taya was such an excellent waitress! she had such an amazing energy she was so sociable and constantly checked we were ok! always making sure we were having the best time for my bestfriends birthday. couldn’t be happier with the service we received

Thanks to all the staff and the chef,,was was a brilliant delicious night

Aleays good food, good service well done!

Massively Overpriced food, slow service. Chef relies on chilli far to much not really a typical italian seasoning. Then after spending near £200 told the next table is here so we had to leave the table as we just get our deserts still shocked at this cant believe somewhere would actually do that especially when its their service that has been slow. Would of rather gone to the chippy place was awful.

Went for my niece's birthday. It WAS a nice meal until they asked whilst we were eating dessert if they could give us the bill as the next party were waiting, despite the delay between starters & main which was down to the poor service. Absolute shame as we were having a lovely night & it did spoil my niece's 10th birthday. Also just to mention the pitiful child's portion of ice cream!!

The food was absolutely outstanding and was served with a smile. Jess, our server was very knowledgeable about the menu. She went above and beyond, to make sure we had a fantastic, comfortable evening. We will definitely return.

Pizza Italiana ? No Per carità, come si fa a chiamare queste cibo pizza? Mi dispiace però questa è la peggiore pizza che io abbia mais assaggiato. Staff cordiale. assolutamente non raccomandato.

Worst pizza I ever had in my entire life. Disappointed. I cannot say it was an Italian Pizza in any aspect. Staff was polite. There is nothing pizza about it, this is the worst pizza I have ever tasted. it may be something different, but the taste was really strange. Sin. Friendly staff.

Great food,went for my sons birthday,Only disappointing thing was being told we can't really have deserts or coffee because we have to be off the table in 10 mins because the next people are waiting to be seated !! (2 hour slot )) Other than this it was good...

We booked a meal for my husband's 40th Birthday celebration for 18 of us. It can be a little overwhelming with a big family group especially with children but the food arrived quick and the children loved eating all of the yummy Italian food (it was a massive hit). The staff were very helpful, friendly and couldn't do enough. The food was delicious and we all had a lovely time. We are looking forward to coming back for a date night soon.

Called in for an early evening meal with friends. Have to say it was very good, great atmosphere, the food was plentiful, reasonably priced and the service was very good. Will definitely book again!

Venturing around Ormskirk, we stumbled across this devine Italian restaurant known simply as the Fat Italian. We didn't have a reservation, but we were able to be accommodated if we only had the table for one and half hours. This was ample time for us to quickly glance at the early evening diner menu. We chose the spaghetti & Meatballs and the Spicy Beef Alforno. Both reasonably priced at £9.95. The quality of the food was absolutely fantastic, both dishes tasted lovely and you could tell both were freshly prepared. We had a lovely evening and would definitely come here again if we were ever up here in the North West. Spacious car parking is free for diners at the rear, scrupulously clean toilets on the lower level. Staff on shift were very professional and very attentive and friendly. A lovely ambience inside, spacious tables and booths. An exceptional restaurant 👌

I have never been here before and was unsure as to what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised, the atmosphere was relaxing, even though they were busy, and the food was delicious, would go again,

I went here for tea with my boyfriend, on arrival they asked if we had any restrictions or allergies. I explained I needed low/no salt. We were then seated, a waitress came to speak to me and asked what I was thinking of eating. I said lamb and she said she would speak to the chef to see how much salt it contained, she returned and explained the salt content. I agreed it was OK. When the meal was served it wasn't salty at all, I asked if it had been remade and she said she would check. The chef had totally remade the gravy and included absolutely minimal salt, it was incredible. I have never been accommodated so fully. I would recommend this restaurant without hesitation, everything I ate was delicious and accommodated my restrictions. Absolutely thrilled! Service in general was great, very well looked after. Great atmosphere. Leftovers were able to be taken away with no fuss, Food was bagged in separate pots.