The boss is leaving so the gang headed out for dinner and to wish her best wishes as she heads to pastures new. The popular choice was TGI Fridays so we all trekked our way out of the centre of Bristol to the trading estate that is Cribbs Causeway, or more precisely the segment containing the cinema, bowling alley and a selection of dining establishments collectively known as The Venue.
My first experience with TGI Fridays was more than 20 years ago on my second trip to the USA on a failed romance. We had several meals at TGIs over that time and maybe it was the love in the air but I have fond memories. As a university student TGIs was a special treat when we went as a gang for a day out, a movie and TGIs. It was aspirational as a broke student and a chance for us all to have something a cut above fast food and made even better by being complimented by one (or several) of the cocktails they are known for. As I grew older, wiser and in possession of a reasonable income I realised that without the cocktails it was little more than better dressed fast food. Against this backdrop I approached this visit cautiously despite the occasion.
So a dozen of us headed out for a party, but no too much, it was after all a school night. While it is technically possible to get there by public transport, as it is in an out of town shopping centre a car is really your best option. The first thing that struck me when we arrived was being belted by a wall of sound. The place was busy, a lot of parties like ours and a fair number of kids parties providing a relentless din overlayed by an inoffensive soundtrack of “background” popular music.
We were seated at a long table, which is less than ideal for a large group as it is practically impossible to have a conversation with anyone not adjacent to you without yelling, especially with all the other noise. The décor of dark woods with red and white accessories alongside staff bedecked in red and white shirts and braces with badges has not changed (apparently they are about to celebrate 25 years).
Cocktails were the kick off. The cocktail menu is a lot glossier and “designery” (probably not a word, but you know what I mean). Somewhat slimmer than I recall and missing a few of the cocktails I remember, but overwhelming never the less. Some dithering later most of us were armed with cocktails (many of which come in a regular or large version). Barnamint Baileys, Strawberry Shortcake and Silver Mercedes were amongst those selected and while we all enjoyed them the common consensus was that they were all rather light in alcohol, which is probably how they have moderate prices despite using in their words “premium spirits”.
They do get credit though for having sodas (coke, etc) as “bottomless” in the American style, even if getting the attention of a server to get a refill is a little challenging.
The menu is what I would call American/Tex-Mex, think steak, ribs, burgers, fajitas and the like, pretty much all accompanied by fries. The menu is by no means small and perfectly formed, it is rather a tome at 16 pages. A lot of this is because each of the basic items come in a wide variety of permutations. For example you can’t just choose a burger, you have to choose from classic (three types), loaded (3 types), double stacked (3 types) or Prime Choice (5 types). Jack Daniels glazes and sauces are applied to many menu items, billed as sweet and smoky though most of us that tasted them felt they were just sweet.
Fortunately there was a salvation for those of us feeling rather overwhelmed by the choice in the Monday to Thursday special where you can have two courses (starter and main or main and dessert) for £9.99 or three courses for £12.99. For an additional £3.49 you can upgrade your main course. This special menu is mercifully a lot shorter and represents a very good price when compared against the full price for each of the individual components.
Most of us selected from this menu, with a few souls braving the a la carte selection. We had ordered our drinks from the bar which was just as well because it took around 35 minutes for someone to come and take our order. This was rather the theme of the night.
I had stuffed potato skins for starter. The generous portion of potato had a filling of bacon and cheese (mushroom can be substituted for the bacon) and was served with a small pot of sour cream topped with chopped spring onions (a garnish really although billed in the menu). The potato was not bad and the bacon crispy, the filling was uneven with some fuller than others, though all had cheese notably on the sparse side. Other starters round the table included Mushrooms Alfredo (tasty button mushrooms swimming in a vast amount of garlic and cheese gloop) and Mozzarella Dippers (crispy breaded mozzarella with a tomato and basil marinara sauce – not gooey as promised, more rubbery sort of crisp and chewy). The Bruschetta was 4 chunks of grilled ciabatta with a largish blob of tomato, garlic and basil plonked in the middle, not really bruschetta but the portion was almost a meal in itself.
The starter portions were all on the large side but unremarkable in both flavour and preparation and attention does need to be paid to consistency and making sure dishes are properly cooked/heated through.
There followed a 25 minute wait for the main course with an uncleared table. Fortunately we were having fun and the lengthy waits gave too much time for high jinks. I had a full rack of ribs with a piquant beer BBQ glaze (more a sauce really) served with more BBQ sauce, fries and onion rings. The rack was large, but very well cooked with the meat falling off the bone, moist but not at all greasy. The accompanying sauce was taste with a hint of spiciness being a good complement. The fries were on the cool side and limp, like they had been sitting around for a while before hitting the plate. The onion rings seemed to be all batter and no onion.
The other popular main was “Sizzling Chicken Fajitas” which were edible, but definitely not sizzling. The onion had no colour to it which does not match with what I would expect from them being sautéed. The chicken looked like it had been precooked in a commercial kitchen, then heated through and sliced before being dumped on top of the onions and peppers. Definitely lacking in flavour. The accompaniments of guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, Colby cheese and chopped lettuce and tomato came in small portions all in the same bowl. Missable.
Another wait before getting to dessert. My first choice of Chocolate Brownie Temptation, but credit must be given for immediately being offered the Chocolate Fudge Fixation as an alternative at no additional charge even though it was not on the special menu. Unfortunately it was forgotten when the desserts were delivered, though our server did notice before I had to say anything and got it sorted out. For me this was the highlight of the meal, but I am a sucker for gooey chocolatiness. A warm, soft, moist, rich chocolate cake in three layers with a gooey fudge filling served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Yummy!
The Apple Waffle Crunch was judged delicious, a warm waffle topped with a cinnamon apple compote topped with oatmeal crumble, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce . The only observation was there was rather too much apple and it would probably have been better to have that much apple and crumble served as its own dessert.
The Tennessee Toffee Pie was somewhat of a brick on the plate. Billed as soft, smooth and creamy frozen toffee mousse on a biscuit base with chocolate and caramel sauces and honeycomb pieces. Those that had it found it a challenge to get through as it was thoroughly frozen (thus not soft) and incredibly sweet.
While we all had a lot of fun, that was very much about the event, and the zest with which the servers sang a goodbye to our boss, much to her embarrassment, not the location. While not overtly bad Bristol really has so many great mid priced restaurants it doesn’t seem worth braving the noise levels for mediocre food. I think I shall retain my memories of youth and avoid returning.
The Venue
Lysander Road
Cribbs Causeway
Bristol
BS10 7UB
0844 692 0275
cribbs@tgifridays.co.uk
Food: 5
Décor: 7
Service: 5
Cost: £20 per head (3 courses and a soft drink)
Date: 30 June 2011
Naked Lunch 