TGI Fridays > Reviews > What is all the hype about

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Standard of Menu
Atmosphere
Standard of Service

Advantages:	Can l get back to you on this
Disadvantages:	Waiting time to be served

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

In Oct 2000, 3 friends and myself were on a shopping trip to Manchester. As a treat we headed for TGI Fridays in Sale, Manchester. One of the girls had been in other branches of the restaurant and therefore reccommend it to us. She said the staff we really out going and fun, the sold cocktails, and the food was to die for. We were sold.

So after almost three quarters of an hour spent in a taxi trying to hunt down the ellusive premise, we eventually found TGI's.

We were told there was a queue and it was suggested that we had a drink whilst waiting - fine, no problem here. Indeed, we actually had to wait less than 15mins for our table, excellent.

When we got to our table, l found it very cramped for four, and it was absolutely freezing - l wore my coat the entire time.

It took the staff ages to actually acknowledge our existence and take our orders - ok l know they were busy, but we were sitting there for nearly 0.5 hours before ordering - this is ridiculous.

I found the staff to have no interest in us as customers and simply there to pay their way through college/uni.

My friend who recommended it to us was mortified - she has been in branches in London and America and said that Manchester was awful.

The food was fine, indeed the Jack Daniels Chicken was lovely - but it was nothing overly special - again a disappointment. It simply took that long for us to receive anything or indeed to get acknowledge that to complaint would have been pointless.

The prices were reasonably - neither too expensive or too cheap - again mediocre. A bit like my entire experience.

I won't discount visiting TGI's again - perhaps in the States - my partner has visited branches in Boston a few times and was quite impressed. But as for the Manchester branch l would have to think twice!

UPDATE

I have since visited another branch of TGI's - the Edinburgh branch - and lm glad to say they have redeemed themselves to me!! The staff were attentive, the temperature was humane, food was delicious and the table was well spaced. A much better experience lm glad to say!