Give your elderly loved ones or senior friends a true taste of the town the next time you’re out for a midday meal with these great lunch spots in Wigan.
If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that isolation really, really sucks. Two years of having to hide away inside our homes has left many parts of our communities more cut off and alone than ever before, and no demographic has been hit quite as hard as the elderly. Social interaction and exercise are crucial for our mental and physical health and it is crucial to remain connected; especially to our older loved ones, whom we so often take for granted.
To help get you out and about with your elderly relatives, why not take them out for a spot of lunch at one of these choice selections in Wigan? Few things bring people together quite like a good meal, and we guarantee a slap-up one at these venues.
Bringing a taste of Italy into the heart of Wigan, Franco’s can be found on Rodney Street in a Grade II listed building. Owned by the eponymous Franco, who grew up in Sicily before he came to the UK, the restaurant brings in fresh ingredients from the Italian heartland and whips them up into some of the tastiest Mediterranean dishes you’re likely to find this far north of the Alps.
As a Grade II listed building, keep in mind there are two stone steps leading to the main entrance. However, ask one of the staff for assistance and they will be able to assist any wheelchair-using visitors into the restaurant. Seating is available on two floors, including the ground floor, and there is plenty of space around each table. Lighting is consistent throughout the building and wait staff can help with the menus.
A bar is also present in the restaurant for those looking to enjoy a quick pre-meal drink. Franco’s makes an excellent spot if you want a more substantial Italian lunch. An early-bird menu is also offered.
Take a walk down Wallgate and you’ll soon find Pat & Dad, an American-style bar and restaurant. Serving classic meals and appetisers from the States, from Cajun chicken to BBQ wings, you are guaranteed to find something worth licking your fingers for on the menu. The restaurant was opened by an American chef who settled in the UK and ever since has become a favourite in the town.
The restaurant is accessible from the street with just a single step and heads straight into the ground floor seating area, with plenty of space to navigate between each table. Toilets are accessible down a short flight of stairs. Extra seating can be found on the first floor, up a flight of stairs with a bannister. The lighting is warm and fairly consistent, and some tables come with booths for a little extra privacy.
Tables can be reserved in advance either by phoning the restaurant directly or using the restaurant’s website, so feel free to use this if you need to make special arrangements. Find it on Wallgate opposite Izzy’s Barber Shop.
If you really want to treat your elderly relatives when going out for lunch, take a look at Gallimore’s on The Wiend. Having opened just a couple of years ago in 2020, it offers a posh dining experience at prices you can afford. The menu has a fusion of international and European items, but also has plenty of good British meals too if you want something a little more familiar. Everything about the restaurant represents class and good taste, and it really shows! Offering everything from pasta to fish and chips, ice cream to cake, there’s something on the menu to everyone’s tastes.
Handily the restaurant can easily be accessed from the street, with a ramp providing easy access to the main entrance. Seating is plentiful on the first floor with plenty of room between the tables, and, if the weather is fine, tables can also be found outside on the patio. The staff are friendly and happy to assist if anyone needs it, offering a warm welcome to all. Once more seating can be reserved if you want to plan ahead. Find it on the Wiend off Millgate, behind Wigan Library.
While fine dining and international cuisine is all fine and dandy, sometimes you just want a good old fashioned and hearty meal that you know you can enjoy. Nothing says this more than a nice plate of honest and unassuming fish and chips. Or chips and anything really.
This is precisely what the New Chippery provides; find it on Market Street opposite the shopping centre. Giving no pretensions, only good grub, it makes chips its signature dish and they’re featured literally on every menu item. Chips and gravy, chips and peas, chips and chips – you know exactly what you’re getting. The prices are hugely affordable too, so you can guarantee that you’ll get your money’s worth.
The entrance is completely level with the street, providing clear and easy access, while the floor is completely flat, and the chairs can easily be moved around each table as needed. Lighting is bright and clear, and the menu is simple and easy to read. The New Chippery is nice and informal, so there’s seldom any need to book ahead. You can drop in as you please.
If you’re in the mood for a nice pub lunch, consider visiting The Moon Under Water on Market Place; find it just off Library Street opposite Barclays Bank. In the dead centre of the town, this makes for a great place to stop if you’re out and about as well as a place to head specifically for lunch. As you’d expect from any good free house, the food is all British classics such as chips, burgers, pies, and roasts.
The building itself was a bank, once upon a time, and the Moon Under Water has kept some of that old grandeur to it. You can enter the pub straight off the street with no steps or drops to worry about. Two double doors offer plenty of room for even the most awkward of chairs. Seating and tables can be found on several levels, and a flat, even carpet covers all the floors. Some tables are tucked away into little nooks and crannies, but plenty others can be found in more open and accessible areas.
As they grow older, nothing becomes more essential to your elderly loved ones than companionship. Conversation, sharing memories and creating new ones together ensures health, happiness and soundness of mind more than anything else that you can provide. So as you enter into a post-lockdown world, make sure you bring your elderly relatives out with you – and treat them to lunch while you’re at it!
Is supported living something that could be ideal for your elderly relatives? Find out more about elderly home care in Wigan from Home Instead from our local team now.