TGI Fridays

This review is only for the drinks I ordered at the bar. My friend and I got a strawberry daiquiri and a piña colada. Let’s just say the bartender here suck and don’t know how to properly make these drinks! If you want these type of drinks, avoid TGI… Might as well try making it yourself, I’m sure it would be better!
The Piña colada didn’t have proper coconut milk and barely had alcohol. It was water down and had no flavour whatsoever. Imagine drinking a poorly made piña colada that’s been sitting for at least 30 minutes so it’s watered down. I totally wasted £8.70 and since I didn’t want to waste my money ended up consuming this waste of calories of a drink! The strawberry daiquiri was the same… Tasted like water down strawberry juice… What a waste of money, if only I could select negative stars!!!

Where do I start…
Well the staff are polite but you can tell nothing said it heart felt it is just something they have to say.
The food although a small menu was very good and hot, the burgers are to die for and the food came within 20 minutes of orders which is the average waiting time.
Now the worst part of the service, we asked for the bill and had to wait half an hour before we got it and another 10 minutes before they came over to take the payment, this is not a place to go to if you are on your lunch break but if you have all the time in the world I suggest you go for the food not the service.

Mr. Snarky was saying how he couldn’t remember the last time he was in a TGIFridays and I think that’s why he suggested it. My last time at a TGIFridays was in the states before my first move to the UK… about six years ago! I do remember that I had favourite dishes I would order and when I was a kid, that was the place I wanted to go because it was so much fun. My dad didn’t like the loud music and I suspect the food.
Fast forward and I’ll be honest, the music was really loud where we were sitting and I remember watching Mr. Snarky’s lips moving, but really couldn’t hear anything he was saying. The staff are super friendly… I think nearly everyone on our way in and out greeted us and our waitress was very attentive. Although I was a bit disappointed in their lack of flair… ‘Office Space’ anyone??? It certainly gives you the American vibe and doesn’t appear to have changed that much since the last time I was in one.
The menu does seem a bit smaller than what I remember, but they seem to be continuing with the sauces made with Jack Daniels. I think that fad died awhile back. They took our drink orders right away and surprise, surprise, Mr. Snarky had his signature strawberry milkshake. I had considered an alcoholic drink as I believe that’s usually why we ended up at TGIFridays when I was at university, but because I was so hungry and there was nothing in my stomach except a soy White Chocolate Mocha, I decided to stick with soft drinks. If you want something a bit different to a soft drink, they do have mocktails and smoothies. Mr. Snarky’s milkshake came out and while it was tasty, it was quite small… which would become the theme.
I ordered the half rack of Friday’s BBQ Ribs while Mr. Snarky chose the Chicken and Shrimp. For some reason we didn’t get a starter, but I do remember their Potato Skins being one of my favourite appetizers back in the states. We saw the nachos come out to the table next to us and I have to say they looked pretty good… and a huge portion as well. Our food came pretty quickly although when the plates were placed in front of us, it was a bit underwhelming… and by a bit, I mean really underwhelming.
If you are really hungry, you may want to order a starter or a dessert because the mains didn’t look that big. I always remember leaving TGIFridays with boxes of our leftovers, but that wasn’t happening on this trip. The fries and onion rings on my plate were warm, but the ribs weren’t very warm and they were a bit on the mushy side. I know place like this tend to steam them, but this seems like it had been sitting around for awhile. Mr. Snarky’s plate wasn’t much better with the piece of chicken being smaller than a deck of cards, in fact if you piled the shrimp together, it would have been bigger than the chicken. The veg looked nice, but the mashed potatoes looked like something you would get in hospital! And the prices… seems a bit expensive considering the small portions.
I think there is a reason we haven’t been into a TGIFriday’s for awhile… and now we have had our fill for another 6 years.

After a casual game of Mini golf we decided to come here… mainly for the cocktails…
Greeted by a nice lady we were seated immediately… this place offers a menu like Burger King except with ribs and sweet potato fries. The waiter Jonny was lovely and enthusiastic, however I felt he was being like this to compensate for what was to come next.
For starters we munched on some mozerilla dippers definitely from Iceland… tasty but not made from scratch…
For the mains. wow…I’m.glad I chose to swap the rice for sweet potato fries! These were good. but my quesadilla brought tears to my eyes… and not tears of joy… this was a deconstructed greasy samosa.
Not pleasant at all… expect I was so hungry. i ate what I could… my friend had the burger… which looked pitiful.
I would have taken a picture but my camera could not take it any more!
The cocktails were average, you could choose a small or large costing up to £9.50.I probably enjoyed the glacé cherry more…
Overall, service was fantastic however the food seems to worsen every time I go to a TGI’s.
The drinks are overly expensive, and the food is expensive for essentially poor quality fast food. As for cocktails they are as tacky as the décor… if you come to the Trafford Centre go to the Thai Chow Pryer instead… This place does not cook things from fresh. definitely a place for mums that shop at Iceland but can’t be bothered to go home and unpack their shopping.

The atmosphere here was great! We had quite a wait for a table even though there were quite a few tables with no one at them but it was only around an hour so it wasn’t too bad.
We went to place a booking so we could go and do some shopping as the wait was over an hour when we first got there but they didn’t take booking so we would have to wait.
The food was nice but a bit over priced for what you actually get in my opinion.
We went for my birthday as we had free cocktail vouchers (steer clear of the cosmo, its vile!) and we even got some free cake and a very embarassing sing song.
I would probably visit again but would rather try out somewhere new.

TGI Fridays is one of those places that I only seem to go if I’m really trying not to have anything too bad to eat. This is always a huge mistake, as the only thing that they seem to do is huge portions of food that, if there was any justice in the world, could give you a heart attack just by looking at it!
Given that they are all the same, the TGIs in the Trafford Centre is absolutely no exception to this. In addition to the huge portions, the restaurant is pretty big too, with a couple of floors and loads of seating. The walls are plastered with all kinds of memorabilia, film and otherwise. I was quite happy to see the Boba Fett helmet on the wall, and they also have a life size astronaut!
Now, onto the important stuff. As I mentioned, the portions are huge, and they generally all come with fries, although the TGI website does helpfully point out that they will swap these out for salad if you ask — not something that they readily advertise once you’re there. That said, a small concession like a salad probably won’t do you much good when faced with a behemoth of a steak (char-​grilled of course), or a burger that’s easily the size of your stomach, if not your face.
There are the regular items of American fayre that you’d expect; burgers, fried chicken and steak all feature heavily, but there are other options. There’s a tapas-​y twist to some of the smaller dishes, with a deal on for 3 or 5. Picking up three would be great for one person, whilst 5 is enough for two. If you go down that road, I’d recommend the pretzels with Sam Adams cheese dip. This tastes almost exactly like warm Dairylea, but is oddly moreish — you’ll hate yourself for liking it.
If you go for anything meaty, you should definitely make sure that you have something with the Jack Daniels sauce or glaze. This is a smokey, sweet sauce, which has a little bit of spice to it, and doesn’t really taste anything like Bourbon (which is a good thing, given that I can’t stand Jack Daniels normally). You won’t find it hard to come across something that you could have this with, given that you can get it on steak, chicken, prawns, and even salmon!
As you would expect, at the weekends, and during the holidays, you can expect this place to be packed, with loads of kids about (it seems to be a popular place for birthdays, with no less than three renditions of the birthday song in the hour that we were there). So, don’t go if you like it quiet. If you don’t mind a bit of atmosphere, which I suppose you wouldn’t, being in the Trafford Centre already, it’s not too bad.
Finally, a word on price — for what you get, this isn’t the cheapest place to eat — most of the mains are in at between £10 and £20, with most hovering in the middle, but, for the occasional treat, it’s not too bad.
So, in summary, TGIs seems to be a great place to go if you’re really in the mood for a slice of faux Americana, with a pretty decent selection of food and drink, with friendly staff and interesting things to look at if you get a bit bored of the conversations. TGIF indeed.

Mmmm food. A big selection of delicious meals, hot or cold! This American diner-​esque place brimming with enthusiastic staff will please not only your appetite with a big plate of food but also your enjoyment of the fun atmosphere with their silly jokes.
Food is flavourful and doesn’t disappoint! Dessert is a must, even if you’re full to the brim.