Frankie & Benny’s Venture Fields Widnes Review
Reviewed by Linzi Davies
Well last night’s visit to Frankie & Benny’s at Venture Fields, in Widnes was certainly eventful. Myself, fiancé and the two children (aged 4) arrived shortly before 5pm at the restaurant which is situated on The Hive Leisure Park. The Hive is also home to a cinema, bowling alley, indoor play centre, an ice rink and Nando’s so parking is plentiful. The restaurant proudly announces that it brings together the best of American and Italian in both style and cuisine so we were looking forward to see if they fulfilled their promises. The restaurant is very welcoming on arrival, the double doors at the front of the premises were open and posters on the door indicating the delights that could be found inside. The boys quickly spotted the Candy Shop dessert they wanted!!
As we entered there was music playing in the background and the restaurant appeared to be very clean and tidy. We were met at the counter by a waitress who showed us to our table on the far side (away from the boys teacher who they had seen having a quiet meal). We explained we were visiting from What’s Good To Do and she appeared to know that we were expected. She introduced herself and provided the boys with some colouring pencils and a picture to keep them entertained. She then took our drinks order, the boys chose a Refresher cocktail and a Missy Licious which met with their satisfaction greatly, we chose soft drinks and we were then left to peruse the extensive new menu.
Our waitress recommended the burger options describing them as amazing and also the New York dippers. Personally I found that there were too many options for me to choose from as most of them sounded absolutely delicious but in the end settled for the Mac ‘N’ Cheese Calzone, a folded pizza filled with Mac n cheese, pulled pork and BBQ and my partner, with only having a small appetite, chose the mighty mixed grill, comprising of a 7oz steak, sausage, chicken breast, maple flavour glazed gammon steak served with flat mushroom, roasted tomato, onion rings and he added cheesy chips instead of regular fries. Our waitress couldn’t add the mixed grill and went away to see if there was a problem, only to return stating they had no 7oz steaks so would an 8oz one be ok ? Obviously this wasn’t an issue. Onto the children, Thomas opted for sausage and mash with vegetables (broccoli and sweetcorn) whilst Sam chose chicken bites with fries and cucumber.
The children’s meals arrived after ten minutes, with my partners arriving a few minutes later. There was a delay of a further 8-10 minutes on my calzone although the New York dippers did arrive which kept me ticking over. A manageress came over and offered her apologies for the length of time I had waited for my meal which was appreciated. Shortly after we had all the meals and were tucking in, Sam announced he didn’t feel very well (not due to the food I have to add) so a mad dash (not quite quick enough) to the toilet ensued. Unfortunately Sam was sick before he made the toilet and despite my valiant juggling attempts some did escape and hit the floor. The staff to their credit were very helpful and offered reams of blue roll and a takeaway box to accompany him the rest of the way to the toilet, they insisted on clearing up the mess whilst I attended to Sam. A shirt wash and dry (under the hand dryer) which worked extremely well and we were fit to resume. Our waitress came straight over to the table and checked how he was doing and also brought him a glass of water. Strangely enough he carried on with his tea which he finished entirely. The calzone was nice but didn’t quite pack the punch I expected it to and I would be likely to try something different next time. My fiancé particularly enjoyed the glazed gammon steak and the cheesy chips which also had bacon on them and a definite spicy kick.
There was not a chance that we could fit in a dessert but the boys were still raring to go and excited about their Candy Shop experience. Two flavours each of ice cream were chosen and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when it arrived on its own tray with little jars of sweets and chocolates to eat and mix with it, not forgetting the chocolate sauce to pour over the top. Two very happy, giddy little boys which probably explains the reason that Thomas managed to knock his very full drink totally over himself, my partner, the table, floor and my feet! Cue more reams of blue roll and laughter from our chatty waitress.
If I had to mention one negative, at some point during our meal, our waitress may have had a break to get some ‘fresh air’ outside, as a non-smoker this was instantly smelt when she next came to the table and did put us off slightly. Aside from that I cannot fault our waitress at all, she was extremely knowledgable about the menu, recommending various dishes and nothing was too much to ask. She was engaging with the children and they reciprocated positively. The restaurant, including toilets was clean, tidy and welcoming. It certainly got busier whilst we were there but standards did not slip because of this and that was lovely to see.
I would definitely recommend the restaurant to friends and look forward to visiting again soon.
Rating: 4.5/5
For more information, to view the new menu or to book a table visit
www.frankieandbennys.com/restaurant/frankie-bennys-widnes
Frankie & Benny’s, Unit No 2A, Venture Fields, Earle Road, Widnes, WA8 0TA
0151 420 2329
