THERE is a group on Twitter called We Want Plates - a self-professed global campaign against the daft things restaurants use for serving food.

Slates, wooden boards, shovels, plant pots and wire baskets have all become cliched ways for pubs and restaurants to serve food - and, if the Twitter group is anything to go by, the tiresome practice shows no sign of abating.

Fancy a cottage pie served up in a pint beer glass? You've got it. Chips in a miniature shopping trolley? Consider it done.

I only hope none of the Twitter group pay a visit to The Townhouse in Barrow, as I did last weekend. My friend and I had a starter each and a main course each: hummus, spare ribs, a fish burger and a pizza - and each dish was served up on a wooden board. Original? No. Irritating? You bet.

First things first, though. The Townhouse in Dalton Road is in the former Boots store. It's unrecognisable - and very smartly done out.

My friend Sarah and I were both very impressed with the decor and atmosphere. We liked the lighting and the way the restaurant area has been divided into discrete sections, with inviting booths abounding. It's been very stylishly done, although the exterior is so unremarkable, it's easy to walk past without noticing it.

And I've no idea why it's called The Townhouse. It was built as a shop and has never been a house of any description. The place was buzzing on Saturday afternoon, with lots of people in the restaurant, and a fair few in the bar at the front of the premises.

We were shown to a table at the left of the restaurant (for those who can remember it as Boots, we were effectively on the perfume counter). The menu is large and consists of all the staple brasserie-style food: burgers, pizzas, pasta and pub classics. You'd be hard pushed to go to The Townhouse and not find something you wanted to eat.

As well, there are all sorts of special offers, light bites, afternoon teas, early and late birds, breakfasts, "Manic Mondays", sharing nights, Sunday lunch and the inevitable (and now uber cliched) fizzy Friday.

We partook of the early bird offers on the menu - two courses for £10.95. Hummus and crudités (or crudities, according to the menu!) for me, followed by a Mediterranean vegetable pizza; half a rack of ribs for Sarah, followed by a haddock burger, comprising Loweswater gold battered haddock in a brioche bun, with chips and salad.

Glasses of chardonnay at a fairly hefty £7-plus quickly got things on the go - the service at The Townhouse is nothing if not swift, with the staff running around as if there isn't a moment of the day to be wasted.

Sarah's ribs were good: a generous portion, with plenty of sauce and a decent salad. My hummus was disappointing. A tiny portion of very bland dip, which had the texture and appearance of baby food. It was far too light on the chick peas and tahini. Sarah, a hummus-making aficionado, tried it and agreed: something was missing.

Our mains came quickly - pizza on a board and a burger on a board. My pizza was superb - one of the best I've had recently.

A lovely thin and crispy base, with a topping of red onions, aubergine and beautiful sun-dried tomatoes, with a very good indeed cheese and tomato sauce to bind it all together. I loved it.

Sarah's burger, however, was a disappointment. The fish - three bits of battered haddock - was stone cold inside the brioche bun, and the chips, which were served in a chipped (deliberately - it was supposed to be trendy, I'm guessing) enamel blue and white mug, were on the flabby side and not quite cooked enough. As no-one came to ask us if everything was OK, we weren't able to point out the poor burger until the manager came to collect our wooden boards.

He seemed surprised that the burger had disappointed, and promised to tell the chef. To his great credit, when we came to pay the bill, the cost of the burger had been removed entirely. I was pleased to see that the manager didn't feel the need to come over all defensive about the food in his premises, and got the concept of putting customer satisfaction above the sensitivities of the chef.

The burger hadn't been good, and he accepted that. Good customer service.

Our meal at The Townhouse had been something of a mixed bag but on the whole, my pizza had been so good, it outweighed the duff burger and the boring hummus. The atmosphere and surroundings are great and the service friendly. I get the impression that if everyone slowed down just a tad and took a little more time about things, it would be even better.

And if they ditched all the daft wooden boards and chips-in-a-mug nonsense, it would be better still.

By LOUISE ALLONBY

The Townhouse, Barrow

Food 3.5

Service 3.5

Atmosphere 4.5

Value 4

Pros

Serves food all day

Stylish interior

Dishes to suit all tastes

Cons

Service a bit rushed

Unprepossessing exterior