to wonder why the hell someone would CHOOSE to go out for dinner at Frankie & Bennies

[GetOrfMoiLand]

It has got to be the worst restaurant on earth.

And it's not even cheap.

Vile food, and every 20 mins the lights dim and 'happy birthday' gets sung out the loudspeakers.

It's up there with Harvester and Bella Pasta in my opinion.

Where on earth is F&Bs in Gloucester? I know I've been gone some years, but I can't think where it could be.

i have never even heardof Frankie and Benny's

clearly i live on mars

I went to one last night for the first time in years.

Was after cinema with Ds's. I thought it was fine - it was £50 for the 4 of us, we had a shared plate for starter, then the DSs had pizza and sausage and mash, I had steack ciabatta sandwich and DH had a huge burger. DS1 also had a take home pudding.

I would NOT go without the kids though.

I think Nando's is awful, real Emperor's New Clothes stuff; expensive KFC

i agree some are worse than others btw. went to one near my dad's and it was really poor, but the one near us is really nice. lovely staff, which often makes the biggest difference.

I ordered a pint of lager and a glass of wine and it cost me £9.75 - our lunch was only about £11.

YANBU the service was also shit.

We go to the one in Evesham - others we've been to have been a lot worse - as it is somewhere convenient that you can eat with someone who needs food NOW, and DS likes the music. Not a lot of parties in there, and some things are OK to eat.

Can't imagine things worse than Nandos as I don't really like chicken and neither does DS.

I think I object to Pizza Express more though - it's so poncey and the service is appalling

God i can't stand food snobs! If people only want to go to 'nice' restaurants, that are not themed, with lovely fresh, organic food etc etc then that's great. Enjoy, I do (sometimes!)

But why oh why do they feel some amazing need to slag off anything they consider 'beneath them' Either remove the chip from your shoulder, relax and enjoy these places for what they are, or don't go. Surely??

It is no better than macdonalds!Better to spend a tenner in there if you want to eat junk.The brighton one is horrendous had a free voucher for there and even that couldn't soften the blow!It is pre frozen microwave rubbish

well we go because its the only place to eat near our cinema except chiquiqcuita's (would you like onions with your onions?) and the bowling alley...but it is crap apart from the warm brownies in ice cream (drool)

well we go because its the only place to eat near our cinema except chiquiqcuita's (would you like onions with your onions?) and the bowling alley...but it is crap apart from the warm brownies in ice cream (drool)

I have never been but the fact that it is in the same building as the Odeon cinema in Kingston puts me off.

I just don't like these places- if we go out for lunch with the dcs, I'd rather go to Carluccios, Strada or Cote.

Nandos is not vile at all....

Dh and I went on our very first 'date' to Frankie and Bennies In my defence I had never been to one before.

We laugh about what a stupid thing it was to have done for a first date, I mean nothing like yelling across the table to one another above the insanely loud music to aid the ' getting to know you process'

Aside from that, I think it is ££ for what it is, so we only take the boys about once a year.

Don't mind F & B's with the kids, wouldn't choose to go there without them, and there isn't one locally anyway so it's not really an issue. Is Bella Pasta the same as Bella Italia? We go there regularly (again with the kids admittedly - but we all quite like it), and it's free because I use my Tesco clubcard tokens! So it's an "I can't be bothered cooking tonight" kind of place for us!

Last year we stopped overnight in Rugby. Now Rugby I thought would be a nice quaint little place with deli's/restaurants etc. The town centre was like a ghost town, horrible place with loads of teens hanging around. Ok I know most towns are like that, but I just had this image of Rugby in my head and was very disappointed and then to add insult to injury ended up in F & B on some retail park there as we couldn't find anything else. It was grim.

I've never been to Frankie and Bennies, but it always looks massively overpriced for what it is. I only really go to chain places where there are 2for1 vouchers - namely Pizza Express, Zizzi, Prezzo and Strada - and they are always delicious and great value (although all essentially the same thing).

I think the food is ok. On the few occasions we've been in for lunch with the DCs though the service has been appalling............would't go again for that reason.

Frankie & Benny's does a wonderful Slimmers Menu, you really must try it. Why, I lost 13lbs after imbibing one delightful prawn dish....

Skanky & Benny's.

Wouldn' go there for dinner, but I do like going for lunch with the kids if i'm feeling a bit hungover and want junk food. I do like their steak ciabatta sandwich and the kids colouring pencils.

All places like that are terrible shite. The food is just bought in rubbish, rehashed and reheated. No chefs, just 'warmer-uppers'.

I don't like F&B (although ordinarily to me, F&B is Farrow and Ball- prob gives you an idea as to where my line in the sand is....).

Same with the Hungry Horse, Harvester, Toby Tavern, Brewers Fayre and their ilk. Vile.

I'd rather eat out once a year and go somewhere where the food is actually COOKED on site and tastes y'know, nice. Than eat out 3x a year plus at one of those places.

Just to clarify, before I get leapt on for being a snob and not appreciating that not everyone has £x to spend on a meal - food cooked on site that tastes nice doesn't have to mean swanky restaurants or price 'normal families' out of the picture. It just means not spending your hard earned on Brake Brothers frozen gammon and oven chips.

How rude!!!

Our F & B's is lovely

gagamamma - Prezzo, Strada, Zizzi & Pizza Express are tonnes better IME than F&B

I haven't been to a Bella Pasta or a Harvester since the 1990s.

When you go into a Harvester do they still ask "Have you been to a Harvester before?"