TGI Fridays - Teesside — Restaurant in England

It was my first time at TGI's, and it was for a childs birthday. There were 5 adults and 2 children. We arrived at 5:30 and waited about 5 minutes to be seated, which was great. The table was clean and set, and the waitress took the drinks order pretty much straight away, which was again great. About 10 minutes later she came back and took the food order, so I would say it was 6 pm at the latest. Two of the meals ordered were non standard, one was plain, and one no with onions due to an allergy. We waited and waited for food, for at least an hour before it started to come out. It came in dribs and drabs with the adults being served before the children and at least 7 minutes between forst and last. We were brought a burger by a different waitress, it was wrong so we told her politely that it was not plain as ordered so she took it back. She then brought it back again and basically threw it at the table and was clearly annoyed that we had sent it back. Unfortunately, it was wrong again for the same reason. I expected more from the staff member as i was led to believe the grey uniforms are for supervisory staff, and that attitude should not be an example to other staff. The sauces had clearly been sat for a long time under the heat lamp and had formed a thick skin. The chips were loaded with salt, they were barely edible. Worryingly the server didn't know which of the burgers was no onions so I had to physically look be taking the burger apart. The kids had 1 little league and 1 major league meal but both arrived the same size...toddler size, literally a tiny burnt burger and no more than 10 chips. I was told by the others that the kids meals are usually much more substantial, we realised why at the end of the meal when they told us kids eat free over half term. To be honest I would rather have paid and them my 10 year old would not have asked for supper as soon as we got home. The adult food was average at best, I think weatherspoons and sizzler's etc serve much better food and with far better service. We brought a cake for the birthday girl, the staff brought it over and sang to her which was lovely. They also brought a piece of cake from them. The one from them was deliver with a waitresses finger sunk in to the cream and the cake was dry and hard, whilst I appreciate the sentiment, if you're going to give out cake either make sure it's edible or don't bother at all. All in all it was awful. I wouldn't consider going again and I don't get the hype. It's overpriced and the wait time was appalling. There was one really nice waitress called Laila who was clearly frustrated because she knew we were getting an appalling service but did her best to make sure we at least had a drink during...

We haven’t been here in a very long time as a family…but the nostalgia of going there at the end of the school term meant that’s where we headed. We arrived and got seated quite quickly. Our server Fran came over and too drinks orders and delivered them very quickly. Went slightly downhill from there with the food. Fran, once again amazing, took food order. We ordered the big starter to share, burger, 2xfajitas and the chicken strips. Nothing out of the ordinary, no special order, nothing that needed special attention. We waited an hour for the starter. Fran kept apologising over and over but many many tables around us were served before us. Again Fran apologised massively and kept us stocked up with drinks. I have no idea what the issue was other than issues in the kitchen with staffing I’m guessing. The starter we ordered had corn missing (I should have flagged this but it’s a but it’s only when be looked back on the menu that I’ve realised). It also isn’t worth the £24.99 price tag. It was decent, nothing wrong with the food at all as we did enjoy it but pricey. We then had another very long wait for our main food. When it arrived we enjoyed it and no complaints about the food. The saving grace here is Fran the server. Attentive, apologetic (beyond what she should have done). We were comped free desserts with no prompting. We know it wasn’t her fault…beyond her control. She deserved massive credit. It’s a shame as there were clearly issues in the kitchen but we didn’t order anything special and we weren’t a big party. All in all we we were there over 2.5 hours. It’s a good job I like my family!!!! Way longer than we’d normally be somewhere for food. But we weren’t in a rush so we were able to be very understanding of the situation. Both my girls have student jobs in hospitality and said that everyone in life should have that experience so they know how hard it is. I agree…Fran had our sympathy...

Went for food today at 4.45PM no one available to meet and seat for 5mins. Once seated drinks order taken then waited another 15-20mins for someone to come and take our food order. Starter arrived I am still looking for the pulled pork topping on my so called loaded potato skins. Had to ask for cutlery as none provided or available on the table. Mains courses continued the negative theme my wife requested no tomato on her sandwich due to an allergy - they supplied the tomato in full and as for my ribs they were nothing short of cremated with only 4 ribs!! Again had to ask for cutlery. Also out main arrived before the waitress (who was blowing up balloons) thought it time to clear out dirty crockery. No staff member enquired if our meals were ok nor did they offer refills on drinks. Feeling disgusted I complained about the tomato on my wife's order as this could have made her ill and was offered free desserts - my wife declined but I accepted a rocky road sundae described as tipped with a cherry and flake. Guess what neither were apparent. At this point still sitting at the table 1.5hrs later I asked for the bill which took another 20mins for them to bring a card machine for us to pay! At this pint I mentioned the lack of toppings and was confronted with the comment 'why didn't you complain?' To be fair I would still possibly be sat there now if I had. The food quality is diminishing as rapidly as the level of good service - we won't be returning despite previously enjoying the...