TGI Fridays Surfers Paradise — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

Updated Review 16/10: TGI took days to respond to us after requesting that we contact them. We then followed up with our email to which we received a generic response from the same contact email. When we were finally contacted by the SP restaurant, we received a rather stupid, cookie cutter, templated response. We then replied to them with our opinions and that was 4 days ago. We have followed up again today and are still waiting to hear.

Original Review: Shocked and disappointed, are two words not enough to describe our experience at your Surfers Paradise restaurant.

We made a booking for your restaurant on Wednesday - two days before we were scheduled to be there. We were specific with our request - 7 people, one needed a high chair. We asked for a bottom floor table with a potential ocean view.

If we’ve asked for a high chair, it is reasonable to assume that it’ll be for an infant or a toddler. When we arrived at your restaurant we were placed at a large high table. Your high chairs don’t reach that height so basically, your staff expected our child to sit at the head of the table - not only unable to see the surface of the table, but having to look UP at her parents and watch the tables legs as she’s eating!!! If we had to feed her in that arrangement, we’d have to lean down to feed her and bend down. Can you imagine how insulting that was? It doesn’t matter how young she is, she still understands! The whole restaurant is watching as we’re being made to sit on a high table with our toddler child having to sit a few levels lower and it makes it look like she’s beneath us.

When we raised this with your staff, your staff moved us to another table on the next level. Frankly, we should have left at this point given your ridiculous service and the fact that your manager did not even bother to come and calm down the situation. When we were moved to the upper level, a woman walked up to my husband and began a conversation with him to try to explain what happened - I asked her to speak to me instead as I was the one who raised the issue. She said that no big tables were available for a group our size on the bottom level that had ocean views. I responded that the simple solution to that was - to communicate that to us as opposed to put such an insulting table setting together but then also go a step further and communicate this to us in advance of our booking - but rather expect us to walk in, sit on a table too high for our child and then expect us to feed her while she looks up at us!!!! She then walked away in a huff.

Just when we thought it couldn’t get worse, we waited 10 more minutes on a new table with no menus!!!!! So first your team place us elsewhere knowing we were upset - they didn’t even bother to go the extra mile to diffuse the situation! Another poorly equipped table with no menus! We tried remaining calm, a staff member asked us if we were ready to order and we said “we need a Menu first!”! We ordered drinks in the meantime and as we were deciding on dinner - it became apparent to us all that our moods were off by the entire experience. We were so incredibly insulted and shocked by your staffs service, lack of forward thinking and any care - that we cancelled the drinks order and left.

In fact, our friend noticed that one of the women (a manager or her assistant manager) gave us the dirtiest stare as we left. She didn’t bother to ask us why we were leaving, she didn’t bother to diffuse or resolve the situation - and her poor management of customers and staff was reflected.

Your staff needs better training and perhaps a lesson in forward thinking. In fact your manager (this is whoever was running the shift that day) could use a lesson in accountability.

From the reviews it appears that service, is your biggest problem. So this isn’t surprising. Just a shame as we travelled all the way from New Zealand and this ruined our Friday night. Quickly redeemed the following day by much better service at a different...

I would have given this restaurant 4 stars if it wasn't for their mix-up with billing and the nonchalant attitude of the person behind the cashier.

I came across TGI Fridays while browsing the restaurants upstairs at Surfers Paradise. I was looking at the menu when one of the employees spotted me and excitedly told me about their sale on wings. He informed me they had $1 wings today!

This drew me in, who wouldn't want $1 wings. So I ordered 3 servings of 6 wings. The buffalo, Texas bbq, and hot honey. My favourite was the buffalo. Highly recommend.

My family, of course, shared with me while also ordering their own meal. They ordered the Mexican bowl and the cajun chicken with prawn and fettuccine. Both were very good.

When paying, I realised the price was relatively high. So I asked the person behind the counter to read out my order, and it was all correct. So, I assumed my math was wrong and paid for my order, asking for a receipt for my records.

After looking at the receipt, I realised I was charged $45 for 3 servings of wings instead of $18. I informed the person behind the counter of the mistake, and he just kept reiterating that this was just for TGI members. He was no help.

I did inform him that two other employees excitedly told me about this promotion. I told him about the person at the door and the waitress.

The employee didn't know what to do and just continued to tell me it was for TGI members.

I then saw the person who had greeted me at the door, informed him what was going on, and he was able to correct the issue with a refund for the amount that was overcharged to my card.

So, for future customers, if you're going to any promotional deal at TGI fridays, please ask if this is just for members, so you don't end up in the same predicament as me. Had I not asked for a receipt, I would have been overcharged $27 dollars.

Some highlights: The view is incredible.

Those two employees were so welcoming and happy. Their happy go lucky demeanour was infectious. (I wish I had gotten their names for my review, I believe they are South American, but I don't know.) The food was pretty good.

I would definitely recommend TGI.

But... All employees should be on the same page, as there was a massive breakdown in...

Shocking experience. Definitely expected a lot more given the location and the prices they’re asking for the food.

To start off, there is zero air conditioning and no fans. If you really must visit this establishment, expect to be sweltering every moment you’re there.

The conduct of the staff behind the bar this evening was deplorable. Screaming and shouting unnecessary garbage or talking amongst themselves the whole time we were there. Drinks took 40 minutes to arrive to the table and were average at best. Very weak cocktails and overpriced premixed drinks.

We stared at what turned out to be our drinks sitting on the bar for well over 10 minutes before they were brought to us after asking what on earth is taking so long.

There was no reason for orders to be taking so long, the restaurant wouldn’t have been even close to half full.

When the food eventually arrived (I ordered the calamari and chips main) the calamari had (no exaggeration) zero flavour, and tasted like the crumb coating had been stuck to rubber bands. It was that bland. The “chips” seemed like they’d been reheated multiple times and were just yuck. Salad was pretty good I will give it that.

My friend ordered a burger ($25!!) which was soggy on the bottom and incredibly plain, to the point he couldn’t finish it.

I honestly would have preferred going to McDonald’s than consume whatever that miserable excuse of a burger was.

Perhaps if the majority of staff didn’t treat their job like they were on school camp and got on with their job it would yield a much better customer experience; but the incompetency displayed tonight by staff combined with the near inedible food and exorbitant pricing, you couldn’t pay me to return. I haven’t had an experience even close to this bad in a long, long time.

As a business owner myself if I found my staff were behaving the way they were tonight I would be extremely disappointed.

The restaurant really does have so much potential given the location and decent menu (could have a wider range of options but it’s not bad.) it’s a shame a few simple things (apparently not so simple) let it down so much.

Do yourself a favour, please go somewhere else...