Frankie and Benny's, Livingston

...we decided to go to Frankie and Benny's.

Frankie & Benny's bring together the best of classic American and Italian in both style and cuisine. They specialise in home-style cooking "just like Mamma used to make it!" Or so the adverts say!

Quote " It's a great place to take the entire family and represents excellent value for money. The New York Italian Restaurant & Bar is suitable for any occasion, whether ...
.../> Quote "Walking into Frankie & Benny's is like stepping back into 1950s New York, from the clatter and chatter of the open kitchen to the bottle lined bar. Cosy booth seating and tables are surrounded by walls filled with family snapshots showing life in Brooklyn's "Little Italy". Combined with the classic 50s music, a mix of American swing and beat, they definitely provide a fun and friendly atmosphere for all to enjoy!"
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A Night out was planned at work for the "Front Team" in our office. Difficult decision in finding a suitable place. We work in Livingston, a New Town (many years ago!) in West Lothian, which lies between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Our ages range from 30 to nearly 59! What suits one doesn't suit another. Different likes and dislikes were considered, we picked somewhere and guess what it was fully booked for the night we wanted! Eventually we decided to go to Frankie and Benny's.

Frankie & Benny's bring together the best of classic American and Italian in both style and cuisine. They specialise in home-style cooking "just like Mamma used to make it!" Or so the adverts say!

Quote " It's a great place to take the entire family and represents excellent value for money. The New York Italian Restaurant & Bar is suitable for any occasion, whether it's a leisurely lunch, a family meal or a fantastic evening with friends; they guarantee you a great time!"

My View - I don't think Mamma made food like that at all! It was very fast food type of cooking, and although I wasn't sure what to expect, it didn't rank high in my expectations, although the younger people in our group enjoyed it. It wasn't a fantastic evening, but it was OK. There were long queues at the Bar, only one person serving, and he actually used the same measure for the Bacardi and coke, and used it again for Vodka, when this was pointed out he used a clean measure. Nil point!

*What's it like?*
Quote "Walking into Frankie & Benny's is like stepping back into 1950s New York, from the clatter and chatter of the open kitchen to the bottle lined bar. Cosy booth seating and tables are surrounded by walls filled with family snapshots showing life in Brooklyn's "Little Italy". Combined with the classic 50s music, a mix of American swing and beat, they definitely provide a fun and friendly atmosphere for all to enjoy!"

My View - the noise hit me as I walked through the door. I thought this is going to be terrible, how can six people chat over a meal. I have to admit I did become used to it, I learned to shut out the noise when someone was speaking, although I was lucky and sat in the middle of the table, it was impossible for the people either side of me to hear each other speaking! I can't say I noticed Booths as such, but there was a little bit separating some tables. Yes, there were lots of photos on the walls and it was good watching the food being served, although the servery was too high to actually see the food preparation. It brought back memories of music from my youth, and earlier, I would have enjoyed it more had it been turned down a little! Or even a lot!

Quote "For children up to the age of ten, an all inclusive menu is available featuring Frankie & Benny's very own Gangster Mice! For just £3.95, your child can choose from a great selection of main courses, desserts and soft drinks. As an added treat they'll also receive a kid's pack full of activities and stackable crayons to entertain them whilst you eat."

My View - this was obviously a popular place to bring the children. Some were well behaved, but there was a bit of screaming going on at one point! Mental note, don't bother coming here for a quiet night out! I can see that the menu represents great value for parents, they can have a drink with their meal, which they would not be able to in MacDonalds. One child had obviously had an accident and spilled his coke everywhere, he went and told the waitress who immediately went to mop up. First class service there!

*The Menu *
In fact I saw three menus, the lunch one was still on the table, prices ranged from2 courses at £5.95 to 3 courses at £7.45 or you could choose a Main dish at £4.95. The larger menu with the dinner menu was much larger and a smaller drinks and desserts.
Appetizers - a reasonable choice, the cheapest being soup at £2.95 and the most expensive I think was Tiger Prawns at £5.95. There was a Sharing platter at £10.45. There were lots of Pizzas to choose from, ranging in price from £5.75 for a 10" to "15" at £11.25, and some Calzone. I don't eat onions and onions seemed to feature in a lot of dishes, I decided to try the Mushroom Pizza at £5.95, it was a very thin base, but the edges were all edible and the topping was very good and moist. I noticed several people ordering Steak sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburger type meals too. One of our group had a Pasta dish, costing about £8, it didn't rate as good as a local Italian, and there was no offer of parmesan or freshly ground pepper. I nearly choose Salmon Fish cakes, with a lime and coriander sauce, but just before I ordered, I saw a plate sitting for collection and decided it was far too big a plateful for me! They tended to pile the plate with bits and pieces, like very spicy onion rings, which were all left on our table, too many chips - one colleague had ordered a baked potato, but she was given chips and rather than make a fuss accepted it. There were a few salads, but it was a very plain looking Chicken Caesar salad and certainly not worth £7.95. Four croutons and a bit of chicken on a plate of green leaves, does not warrant the title of a Caesar salad! The chicken and Barbecue ribs, were not very appetising looking, although both girls ate them.

My View - although those who had Pizza were pleased with their meal, the salad, Pasta and Chicken barbecue choices could have been better. Passable but not award winning!

*The Dessert Menu*
Most of us have a sweet tooth! Decisions! Decisions! One person decided just ice cream was enough, three had waffles, and one an apple dessert. I can definitely say I did enjoy my cinnamon waffle, it was topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream, and had toffee sauce and toffee pieces sprinkled over it. At £3.95 I felt it was better value than some of the main meals. There were shared desserts too, one with Chocolate Brownies and one with Chocolate cookies.
Drinks were probably priced similar to other restaurants, £1.50 for a regular coke, £3.55 for 250ml glass of white wine.

My View - The waffle was lovely. The ice cream was at a good temperature, and it was nicely presented. The coke could have been better, it was really a glass of ice cubes and a little coke, and ended up so diluted I thought I was drinking water! Lesson learned if I go back, I say "No Ice".

*Birthdays*
I'm not sure if they provide the cake, but suddenly during the evening, the music changed and a waitress carried a birthday cake with candles, music blaring presumably Happy Birthday and everyone clapped.

My View - once in an evening was OK, but another group from work went on Saturday, and said there were about six birthdays, so it got a bit monotonous and very noisy!

*The Music*
They do sell CD's at 2 for £19.99, and 4 for £39.99, if you want to play it at home and deafen the neighbours!

*The Bill*
Our waiter for the evening eventually brought the bill. We divided it up and realised we did not have enough change. He was told to take an amount off the pile of notes, which meant he would have had a tip of over 10%, he brought the change, but had kept himself a tip much larger! He did rectify this but didn't even say thank you!

My View- if we go again we will need to have plenty of change, to prevent the embarrassing problem with the bill.

*The Staff*
Our waiter was very dour, and that was before the problem with the tip! Several of the girls had hair hanging all around their faces, they didn't look very tidy, but were clean. I presume it was the manager in a grey shirt who occasionally appeared but his staff needed to be watched more carefully.

*Will I go back?*
Not if I can help it! The only reason would be another night out if nowhere else could be found. It was easy to park, although not so easy to reach if you don't drive or didn't want to take a car as it was in a small retail park away from the main shopping centre of Livingston.
I didn't try the toilets out! I should have for the review, all I can say was there were toilets available!

PS Well I might just go back to try the sharing Chocolate Brownies if someone will come with me and provide the ear plugs!

 

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