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T.G.I. Friday's @ St David's 2

Posted by Dan (Sub-Editor) from Cardiff - Published on 20/05/2010 at 23:27
2 comments » - Tagged as Culture, Food & Drink, Work & Training

  • drums
  • shark
  • hulk
  • johnnydepp
  • guitars
  • caek
  • doorwaytonowhere
  • closs

When I heard that T.G.I. Friday's was coming to St David's 2 I was understandably pretty excited, as until now there's only been one T.G.I.'s in all of Cardiff, and the other's a bit of a pain to get to without a car.

This excitement went into overdrive when I was invited to turn up on the opening night and eat all their food for free (if that's not a good reason to get involved with theSprout, I don't know what is!).

Obviously I accepted the invitation, but then a worrying afterthought hit me: how do I review a franchise??

Reviewing a restaurant is pretty straightforward: you go, admire the place, eat the food and say whether you liked it or not.  But the thing about franchises is they're pretty much all identical; you don't send critics to an opening of a new McDonald's or Pizza Hut because you know the food, the service and the dcor will be exactly the same as in every other one you've ever been to.

There'll be two kinds of people reading this review: those who have never eaten at Friday's, and those like me who can recite the menu backwards.  For the first people, all I will say is this: Jack Daniel's Ribs.  There are loads of great things on the menu, but baby back ribs in a Jack Daniel's glaze trumps them all.  Even vegetarians should consider making an exception for these.

As for drinks, be sure to order a Bottomless Coke (as many free refills as you like) and a milkshake their vanilla shakes are divine.  And don't worry if you don't have room for dessert after all that: they have a genius idea for those who desperately want to sink their teeth into all the delicious desserts on offer but feel they would explode if they ordered them all... puddings in shot glasses!  Have a shot of Oreo 'n ice cream or key lime pie before leaving and get your sugar fix without the added indigestion.

For those hardened T.G.I. veterans who already knew all that, you're probably wondering how this place compares to its older brother on Newport Road.  Well the first difference I noticed was the volume: perhaps this is just because it was evening, but the music while better than the tracks they play on Newport Road, with an emphasis on new and old Alt. Rock was so loud we needed subtitles to engage in any form of conversation with the people the other side of the table, and also resulted in one wrong order because the waitress misheard my rather softly-spoken friend.

When it comes to dcor, T.G.I.'s 'thing' is old American memorabilia: everything from old jazz instruments to framed newspaper pages from 50 years ago.  It's impossible to take so much as a step inside a Friday's restaurant without noticing something highly decorated, and that includes the staff: each and every weird and wonderful badge pinned to their uniform has some interesting story behind it.

What set this place apart from the other Friday's I've been in both here and in America is the mix of modern America spliced in with the iconic memorabilia we're used to: they still have surfboards and Stratocasters up on the walls, but among the old pictures of Aerosmith and Willie Nelson lie posters of Glee, SpongeBob SquarePants and Johnny Depp.

This is where the St David's restaurant begins to come into its own: while remaining true to their roots, they seek to connect with a younger generation of people who have a different idea of the things which define America.  There were a number of "updated antiques" on the walls: posters for films like Home Alone and Independence Day, which weren't considered "old" when I first visited a T.G.I. Friday's, but now are.  You no longer have to be in your 40s to experience the nostalgia Friday's seeks to recreate.

The other big change from a usual Friday's restaurant is the layout.  Almost every Friday's employee I've ever come across has had some wacky talent, usually in the form of a performing art: I've witnessed balloon-animal-mastery, death-defying bottle juggling and everything in-between.

The trouble is that half the time these talents go unnoticed, and it takes a birthday or a quiet evening for the patrons to notice the full degree of entertainment on offer.  The designers of this restaurant noticed this wasted potential and decided to remedy it:

No place are these talents better displayed than behind the bar, but if you go out for a meal this is probably an area you never even see.  So instead of the standard raised platform at the back, the entire lower floor is centred around an enormous, glistening bar complete with rubber flooring just in case there are any juggling mishaps!

With bar staff regularly putting on displays of their juggling talents, and a design which allows you to see them from almost anywhere in the building, this is a huge improvement on the old layout and is sure to capture the attention of all who walk in here.

Giving the ground floor a focus on the bar, small tables and booths while keeping the larger dining tables upstairs and towards the back also makes the prospect of coming in just for a drink much less intimidating.  Friday's do great drinks including a wide range of non-alcoholic cocktails but I've never fancied weaving my way past tables of families eating meals in order to get to a bar.  This way is far more relaxed, and removes the pressure to buy food and sit at a table if all you want to do is meet a few friends for a quick drink.

While admiring the mise-en-scne that adorns almost every square-inch of the restaurant, and includes such things as an AC/DC drum kit being played by Animal from The Muppets, I discovered something else which I've never stumbled upon in any other Friday's restaurant: a doorway to nowhere.  That's right, look at the photos if you don't believe me.  Cunningly hidden behind a table and doing its best to impersonate a window, look closely and you will see a door handle.  Fortunately we were unable to open the door, despite much effort, so I don't feel it's a cause for concern but keep an eye out for it!

Following on from this new design, the kitchen is no longer a hidden part of the restaurant.  Nowadays you never can be too careful about what's going into your food, so it's reassuring to see an open kitchen.

Speaking of food, I grilled the manager (not literally) on their vegan options, as pretty much everything on the menu contains either meat or cheese.  I was told that their philosophy when it came to preparing food was inspired by a scene in the Jack Nicholson film Five Easy Pieces [click to watch].  If you know the scene, you'll know the significance (if not, let's just say that if you want part of your meal removed or replaced with something else, they'll do it without fuss).

I have now reached the end of my notes, and glancing up I've probably written enough, so I will swiftly conclude this review as I'm sure you're all quite hungry by now.  T.G.I. Friday's in St David's 2 is now open, and about the most negative thing I can say about it is they need to turn the music down and put more garlic on their garlic bread.  All in all, heartily recommended and I'm sure it won't be long before I'm back.

Links:

T.G.I. Friday's blog: St David's 2

2 CommentsPost a comment

Scattered

Scattered

Commented 72 months ago - 21st May 2010 - 13:10pm

"Even vegetarians should consider making an exception for these." - LOL!

Tom W

Commented 72 months ago - 23rd May 2010 - 22:41pm

let me 2nd that - dan that made me laugh BIG time! great review man!

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