Teesside branch - brace yourself dear reader, this is a long one! (TGI Fridays)

Member Name: foxylou1980

Product:	TGI Fridays
Date:	14/04/09 (177 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cocktails! Big portions. Great service. Large choice of (meat) dishes on the menu. Children's menu.

Disadvantages: Not enough veggie meals on the menu. Victorian-style highchairs!

Having never visited a branch of TGI Friday's before I ended up at the Teesside Park branch twice over the Easter Bank Holiday 2009 weekend!

Friday night:
The first time i visited was on Friday night; my friend and I had decided to pop out for a bite to eat and after a horrible experience at Pizza Express at Teesside Park (review coming soon!) she suggested we head over the way to TGI Friday's for a drink and a bite to eat (she sent her meal back at Pizza Express as it was basically rotten so was pretty hungry by this time!)

When we arrived the place was pretty quiet, although it was about 9.45pm so I guess most people had had their teas by then. We were met at the door by a waiter who offered to show us to a table, but we said we'd only popped in for something to drink and a quick bite so he directed us to the bar. There were a few people sat around the bar but we got a bar stool each and began to browse the extensive cocktail menu. I really don't think I've seen such a large variety of cocktails on offer anywhere else I've been (except for in Greece) and i've frequented many drinking establishments in my 29 years on this planet! My mouth was immediately watering as my liver begged for mercy at the onslaught of alcohol it was about to face! (unfortunately as we got there so late I only got to try one of the cocktails on the menu, though I fully intend to return another evening and try a couple more!)

Here's a couple of examples of the cocktails on offer:
1) Barnamint Baileys - This is what I chose, as the picture on the menu looked so good, and I'm a massive fan of Bailey's anyway. Many of the cocktails on the menu, this particular one included, are available in a Regular size (prices averaging at about 5 pounds) and also an Ultimate size (prices averaging at around 7 pounds). Being the greedy bloater that I am of course I plumped for the Ultimate! This cocktail consists of a mix of Baileys, mint liquer, vanilla ice cream and Oreo cookies, so really it is more of a dessert than a cocktail I suppose. The drink came and it did look very similar to that depicted on the menu, if not quite as green! It tasted absolutely delicious; although it was mixed in front of me I'm not exactly sure how much alcohol was in it; I do know that I did feel a little bit tipsy after drinking it though! To be honest if we'd arrived there earlier I'd probably have ended the night in the local hospital having my stomach pumped as I would have had to try most of the cocktails on the menu!
2) Long Island Iced Tea - another one of my all-time faves; a delicious mix of Coca Cola and about six shots of vodka, gin, rum and orange liquer; you'll rot your liver but you'll have a great time while doing so!
3) Cosmopolitan - I've never drank one of these before but I know they're very popular; a bit too citrussy for this girl I'm afraid, with it's heavy emphasis on lemon and lime flavours.

As my friend was driving she couldn't have a drink, so she plumped for a Strawberry Oreo milkshake, which she said was really tasty (although I'm sure she would have enjoyed it a lot more with additional booze!) She also ordered some food at the bar; a portion of chips which were served with a side salad and Jack Daniels dipping sauce (£2.49), and Jack Daniels' Sesame Chicken Strips (£5.99). I'm one of those weird vegetarian folk myself so I didn't try the chicken; my friend said it was really tasty though, and the portion size was adequate for her rather small appetite (as you may have gathered by now I have the appetite of a shire horse so it really wouldn't have been enough for me!) I did try the chips she ordered though; I thought they were ok, although they had a bit too much salt on them for my liking, and again the portion size wasn't very big for the price she paid. The Jack Daniels sauce was quite tasty; it reminded me a bit of soy sauce as it was quite salty, and I couldn't really taste much Jack Daniels in it either!

My verdict on Friday night:
I was really pleased with the service at TGI Friday's; although there weren't many members of staff in evidence the two we spoke to were very friendly and professional, especially considering they probably didn't want to be there on a Bank Holiday Friday! The cocktail I had was delicious; although £6.79 does sound quite steep it was served in a huge glass and had a very unusual and distinctive taste which I loved. The food was ok; it was hardly Gordon Ramsey but then this is essentially a burger joint, not Claridges! I found the atmosphere in the place very friendly and relaxed, and am looking forward to visiting again on my next child-free evening (though intend to get there much earlier so I can fully sample the cocktail menu!)

Sunday afternoon:
It was a gorgeous day on Sunday and me and my (then) husband took our two children to nearby Preston Park for the afternoon. We were all feeling pretty peckish so i suggested we call in to TGI Friday's on the way home for our tea. I had had a good look through the main meals menu on Friday night and knew that it was just my husband's kind of food: simple, tasty, not at all "poncey" (him being a Northerner born and bred, he doesn't go in for any nouveau cuisine or anything; basically he's a "chips with everything" kind of man!) I also knew that, this being a family place, they would have something for my 7 year old daughter to eat (my 16 month old son just has a little bit of everything we're having as he's in the "throw my dinner on the floor for a laugh" phase so we don't waste our time and money on ordering him a specific meal!)

We arrived and once again were greeted at the door by a very polite and friendly waiter, who gave us our menus, along with activity packs for the kids, and showed us to our table. Again the place was pretty quiet; I suppose many people go in for the big Easter Sunday dinner, but we're not exactly conventional! My daughter had a quick scan of the children's menu and decided she wanted to order the Jumbo Hot Dog, which is served with crispy fries and baked beans (£2.99). As I mentioned I'm a veggie and there wasn't many options for me, but the San Fran Sandwich (a veggie burger in a toasted bun with salad, served with crispy fries, £7.69) sounded pretty tasty so i ordered that. My husband ordered a Regular Bacon and Cheeseburger (£9.49, again served with crispy fries - I bet you can feel your arteries clogging up just reading this!). We also ordered two side orders of Cajun Onion Rings (£2.99 per portion), and 3 glasses of Coca Cola (I think they were about 2 pounds for a large glass but you can get it refilled as many times as you want).

My verdict on Sunday afternoon:
Firstly, I thought that the service was really good once again; the waiters were very friendly and professional, and i left them a decent sized tip because of this. The food was pretty average i would say; the portions were enormous; even my husband was defeated by his burger (which is also available in an Ultimate size for £12.49!) and although i managed to finish my meal I was really full for the rest of the day! I think that the prices for the main meals are pretty steep; my husband said that although his burger was tasty it wasn't "10 notes tasty"! I think that £7.69 is also quite expensive for a veggie burger, and my daughter said that her (massive) hot dog tasted awful (although she is the world's pickiest eater, and my husband said it tasted ok to him!) Having said that, we saved ourselves some money on the desserts as we were all too full to eat one (a rarity in our family!) This was a bit of a shame as the desserts looked gorgeous!

My major criticism of this venue as a family restaurant is that the highchair my baby son was provided with was like something from a Charles Dickens novel! It didn't have a tray attached to it so the poor little soul had to eat his food off a napkin on the edge of the table (we were given a plate for him but decided against it in light of his recent food throwing behaviour!)

My overall verdict:
I don't think we'll be in a hurry to return here for a family meal, certainly not until my little boy is old enough to sit at a table anyway! Though I'm looking forward to getting my smackers around those gorgeous cocktails soon!

The website address for TGI Friday's is:
www.tgifridays.co.uk
and it contains menus for every branch in the UK, as well as details of any special offers they're running.

Summary: Great service, average food, fantastic cocktail menu!