Conor's Bar at The Lodge in Glasslough

Went to this bar this afternoon for a friend’s birthday . The food and the place were great, really lovely , but the service was - sorry to have to say it - poor . Service can be a deal breaker and difficult to get right . The first waitress - a Malaysian / Indonesian girl was glum . The water carafe had really wet the table and the menus , however , she made no effort to get a cloth and dry the table . Her attitude towards us was a variety of indifference and quasi hostility . She did not engage with us in any way apart from writing down our order . There was no banter , no smile , no reference to the food . We also ordered a bottle of wine between two . I clearly stated I wasn’t drinking ( as I was the driver ) but yet two glasses arrived . I felt like I was the one who did something wrong when she curtly pointed out that I needed to move my water beaker in order for her to put down the wine glass ( which I was not going to use anyway ) . We both felt almost intimidated to ask anything as feedback and engagement were apparently ‘ not on any menu ‘ ! The food arrived and it was super . That said nobody asked us if we were ok or if the food was ok or if we needed anything . We were left to our own devices . We requested assistance from three other waitresses throughout the course of the meal . Two were business like and one was just inexperienced - we left a tip but she did not even say ‘ Thank you ‘ . This was disappointing . A more mature lady approached at one point and she was somewhat friendly . She offered to refill the water carafe but the water never arrived . Before leaving I went up to the counter to say goodbye and thanks but all waitresses were involved in some sort of kerfuffle and didn’t even look at me or say anything as I said my goodbye and thanks . Again very disappointing . This is a lovely venue and great food but sadly attention to detail was lacking and service should be better . Maybe everyone was having an ‘ off day ‘ but these days shouldn’t really be foisted on the customers . I would definitely return because of the quality of the food and the venue itself but the service needs an upgrade

It was my first time at the Lodge, and I was not disappointed. My lamb was cooked to perfection, and the service was slow but pleasant, and the desert was great . It's a lovely setting, and I would definitely recommend it.