Frank Bar & Eatery — Restaurant in Manawatū-Whanganui

I don't know where to start! First time I have visited Frank Bar & Eatery in Whanganui. I have heard many mixed reviews from friends and family, so I never bothered to avail myself. However, it was due to a very dear relative of mine that I attended this venue for an event to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. What a disgrace to the industry and a very big disappointment this place is. The event was pre-planned, and you would expect for $20-$25 cocktails and orders from guests attending, the owner/manager would have the decency to ensure the event guests had a dedicated barmaid to maintain and uphold customer service expectations. The restaurant was empty with the private room booked for the event starting at 3 pm. Platters were purchased at $250 and very basic. The 3 bar staff never attended to clearing the glasses or dishes used, and when orders for cocktails continued, they resorted to serving the cocktails in approx 150ml, glasses charging the same price! When this was bought to the barmaid's attention as I simply wanted an explanation, she retorted with "all the glasses are out there," blaming the other guests for them avoiding clearing the tables of glassware. I felt the staff were overwhelmed and inexperienced. I don't fault them they did their best, and leadership falls on the manager to direct, anticipate customer needs, and upskill his staff. They have been let down, and I left feeling disappointed and a little sad for the 3 barmaid's who were clearly left on their own. I will...

The overall experience was sadly quite disappointing. Although the cocktails were amazing and atmosphere was great, here’s a summary of the rest:

Service: a bit appalling. We were sat at the back and after waiting a while, I had to walk to the bar to order because there was no chance any staff were going to come by to take our orders within any reasonable timeframe. The food took 45 minutes to arrive and we nearly gave up on our drinks - they took nearly an hour and came after our food.

Mains: $34 for a Thai seafood curry which contained exactly 3 mussels, 3 shrimp and 3 tiny scallops - nothing else. It felt like a scavenger hunt finding any food on my plate; consider it more of an overpriced entree.

It was a reasonably busy night but there’s a limit on how much a business should stretch this excuse when it begins to impact the...

I would love to leave a review for the awesome Cassidy!!! My mother, daughter and I, had come down from Auckland to stay in Waverley during the holidays and had a look over places to eat in Whanganui. We decided on Franks! I'm so glad we did because (besides the yummy food and great ambiance) we had the most amazing server. Cassidy was funny, she was kind and went above and beyond. I really enjoyed the Playlist playing and she unplugged the phone to show me how to follow on Spotify. Cassidy helped us pick the perfect wine by giving us some testers. She helped us pick our dinner options when we were stuck on 2 choices. She was just 10/10. Made a lasting impact. Even though we are all the way from Auckland, we will be back. You've given us a great outlook on the vibe of Whanganui. Thanks...