Frankie & Benny’s Blackburn Review
Reviewed by Cheryl Lovell
Frankie & Benny’s is an Italian-American restaurant and on arrival at the Blackburn branch we were immediately greeted by a friendly waitress who went to inform the manager of our arrival. The manager seated us and gave us the option to move if our table wasn’t suitable. The table was clean and all menus were available.
Our waiter introduced himself and remained our waiter throughout out meal. He took our order, giving us his recommendations from the menu for the starters, mains and drinks. He seemed knowledgeable and took into account our likes and dislikes. All staff were extremely attentive to customers, I noted how they attended others in the restaurant as well. The time between courses was planned well and we did not have to wait too long.
The restaurant was clean upon our arrival and all tables were cleared quickly when customers left. The atmosphere was fun with jolly music and perfect lighting. The toilets were modern and clean.
For Starters we chose a sharing starter ‘Benny’s Sticky Bucket’ containing four of each – Ribs, BBQ Chicken Wings, New York American Potato Dippers and Chicken Strips with maple flavour glazed pineapple, onion rings, corn on the cob and celery sticks, with blue cheese dressing and BBQ sauce. The food was well cooked, well-seasoned and presented beautifully. There was enough for 4 people, as the menu stated. Our favourite was the ribs!
For Mains I chose the New Jersey Chicken, chicken breast topped with streaky bacon, pulled pork, BBQ and cheese sauces. Served with crispy onion rings, golden fries, coleslaw and corn on the cob, but requested this without the corn on the cob (this was adhered to). The chicken was well cooked and was still tender; not dry at all. The fries were crispy and well-seasoned and the coleslaw was extremely tasty – it tasted homemade rather than processed and really added a kick to my meal. The pulled pork and sauces on the chicken made the whole meal much tastier and complimented the chicken well.
My husband chose the Calzone, a folded pizza filled to the brim, and was pleasantly surprised at the large amount of filling inside! When he has ordered this in other restaurants, the filling has been quite sparse. The sauce was very tasty and complimented the meal well.
My son chose the Children’s Chicken Wrap from the Juniors menu (there is also a Kids menu for younger children with smaller appetites and an Organic Baby Food menu): he loved the presentation which was very appealing to kids and enjoyed his meal because it was fun! He made various different wraps using all the ingredients. This meal was well thought out, filling, appealing to kids and more importantly, healthy.
For Dessert I chose Eli’s Tiramisu, layers of espresso infused sponge cake with clouds of mascarpone mousse, finished with a dusting of cocoa. Served with pouring cream. When it arrived, I poured what I thought was cream onto my dessert but it was a jug of milk! The waitress apologised and quickly brought me a new dessert with a jug of cream. The dessert was very tasty but I felt that it would taste better with some alcohol in it – like tiramisu is supposed to have. It would also serve to moisten the dessert a little more.
My husband chose the East Coast Sundae, toffee and chocolate ice cream layered with chocolate covered honeycomb pieces, mini marshmallows and chocolate malt balls, topped with chocolate flavour sauce and whipped cream, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The portion was huge and there were lots of toppings – it wasn’t just filled with ice cream but instead was varied and he never knew what the next mouthful was going to taste like!
My son chose the Ice Cream Candy Shop, 2 scoops of ice cream and bottles of sweets, all served with a jug of chocolate sauce to pour. We were very impressed with this dessert, as was my son! The presentation was very innovative (as the picture shows) and we even had a sweet shop paper bag to allow my son to bring some sweets home. It tasted amazing! I am sure this will be a hit with all kids!
We all tried the Frankie’s Cream Soda, as recommended by the manager. It was very refreshing, tasted great and looked fabulous! My son enjoyed the cherry in the drink so the waiter kindly brought him some more.
My son also tried the chocolate shake. It was huge, much to my sons delight! It was freshly made and presented beautifully.
Overall, I feel that this restaurant is extremely family friendly and inviting. It takes into account the needs of both children and adults and the staff are attentive to their customers. The menu’s offer a large choice to suit the needs of many but are easy to read and decipher. I fully recommend this restaurant for families.
Rating: 5/5
For more information, to view the new menu or to book a table visit
www.frankieandbennys.com/restaurant/frankie-bennys-blackburn
Frankie & Benny’s, Lower Audley St Retail Park, Grimshaw Park, Blackburn, BB1 1BB
01254 266350
