TGI FRIDAY’S has always struck me as a bit of an odd name for a restaurant.
I mean, what’s wrong with the rest of the week? What about Never Mind It’s Tuesday, Just Eat Out Anyway? That’s what we did.
And start of the week or not, TGI Friday’s still resembled a party in full swing, packed to the rafters, buzzing and all very jolly – jollied along by staff who have clearly been told not to let that smile drop for a second. Which, it must be said, does make for a friendly and vibrant atmosphere.
This was a family “treat tea” to mark the fact one of the gang of four was about to head off on her own wee holiday with relatives.
So, tucked into a booth, sipping our bottomless Cokes, we treated ourselves to a huge chicken nachos sharing platter to start.
This was spot-on ... with each chip individually slathered in cheese, tender chicken and fiery jalapeno – none of that hit-and-miss nonsense you often get.
Meanwhile, the holiday girl was getting stuck into her kids’ juicy chicken fingers while waxing lyrical about the high quality of TGI Friday’s drawing stuff.
Her dish arrived with our starters because our smiling waitress, Marzia, had enough sense to ask if that’s what we wanted. Nice one.
The older ones among us didn’t need drawing stuff to keep us occupied. We were going to be busy trying to get through the mountain of food that had arrived.
A Mexican theme seemed to have broken out. The loon was well-chuffed with his chicken quesadilla.
Triangles of tortilla were stuffed with tender, spiced chicken, onion and pepper, while the cheese brought a smokey flavour.
I thought the rice that came with the dish looked a bit dried out, as if it had spent too long under a hot lamp, but he said it was fine.
Mrs B, meanwhile, was wide-eyed at the heap of veg that came with her vegetable fajita (£11.99).
All that tomato, green beans, mushrooms, baby corn, peppers, and broccoli actually had her conceding defeat – but not until she’d had a good go at rolling it in the four tortillas and smothering it in guacamole, salsa and sour cream. A slice of lime helped give the whole thing a real zing, aiding and abetting the fajita spices.
She asked if I wanted to help her out, but I had my own stack of food to take care of.
The Southwest Prime Choice Burger was a monster ... with a juicy Aberdeen Angus burger, piled with smoked bacon, guac and smoked cheese. Oh, and the finest fries and garlic mayo.
The burger was a bit too seared around the edges – barbecued getting on for charcoaled – but it speaks volumes that it didn’t detract too much from the dish. It was delish.
It must be said TGI Friday’s veers a touch towards the pricey side, but it is still a worthwhile treat – especially when you can watch a birthday boy or girl be subjected to a restaurant-stopping cake-serving all-singing performance.
Just for Friday’s? Thankfully, no.