T.G.I Friday’s Poole Review
T.G.I Friday’s
Tower Park, Poole
Reviewed by Sian Manning
T.G.I Friday’s in Poole is located in a big entertainment complex comprising of a cinema, bowling alley, swimming pool, soft play, arcade and numerous restaurants and as such has a very large car park so parking is always available.
The restaurant itself is in one of the newer buildings in the complex, it looks very clean and tidy and has the normal T.G.I branding that you would expect. It is an American dining experience, inside is a bar brightly decorated and very inviting, the general seating area is comprised of booths and tables and adorning the walls are guitars and other musical instruments that really capture your interest.
We booked a table for 5 o’clock as we were eating with our 2 year old who we needed to get back for bedtime, the restaurant was very quiet when we arrived, very clean and tidy ready for diners to arrive.
Myself, my husband and sons were quickly welcomed and shown in, we weren’t shown to a particular table but instead were given a choice of where we wanted to sit. We chose a booth out of the way so that we had room for a high chair and somewhere to put the car seat.
Once we were seated and we had been given our menus our waitress Gabi came over to introduce herself and take our drinks order.
I ordered a delicious raspberry sublime, a refreshing raspberry and mint drink served over crushed ice, my husband Nick had an Oreo milkshake (his favourite!). Within 5 minutes the drinks were ready and bought to our table, along with a balloon sword for our two year old (Thomas) to play with, this was immediately used by Nick to make my hair go static and make Thomas laugh! Thomas’ children’s menu also came with a little bag with a colouring book and stacking crayon to keep him occupied while waiting for food.
Thomas got upset that we had big yummy looking drinks and he only had his juice that he always has. Gabi was lovely and offered to make him his own milkshake as she didn’t like seeing him upset, so he got his very own Oreo milkshake just like daddies and was one very happy boy.
We then ordered our food, to start we had the Times Square Big Share, a delicious plate of chicken, cheese and loaded potato skins with a selection of dips to accompany them. For mains Thomas had chicken strips with chips and beans, his personal favourite, I had the chicken quesidillas and swapped my spicy rice for chips and Nick had the glazed Jack Daniels burger with loaded cheese and bacon fries.
Thomas’ dinner looked delicious and as such I had to double check (as all good mums do!) his chicken was tender, succulent and very tasty.
My dinner came and was as good as it looked, the seasoned fries were crispy but light and fluffy in the middle and the quesadillas went perfectly with the spiced sour cream dip.
Nick’s burger came and again was as good as anticipated, his chips had a beer based cheese sauce (not as strange as it sounds and actually surprising yummy for people who dislike beer) on them and then were topped with chopped bacon. His burger went down very well and he loved the Jack Daniels sauce.
Gabi came over to check everything was ok while we were eating and we ordered another drink each, a Coke for me and lemonade for Nick, a plus point with these is that they are refillable at no extra cost. We made use of this while we finished our meal with another drink each. T.G.I Friday’s also do a large range of cocktails if you prefer a slightly more fun alcoholic drink.
Once we had finished our meal we were offered the desert menu and although we would have loved one none of us had room for another mouthful. So instead we opted for the bill.
The service was very fast from being seated to ordering drinks, drinks arriving, ordering food, starters arriving, mains arriving, plates being cleared and the bill being bought over. It really was a lovely dining experience and one of the best we have received in a long time.
Any questions we had were answered straightaway, any condiments requested were sorted and bought the table. Gabi’s knowledge of the menu was excellent and we were able to substitute items on the menu with no problems which is a big plus point for fussy eaters.
At just under £55 for the three of us to eat it is definitely not the cheapest option but for a special treat it really is a lovely place to go for dinner. The way that they were so accommodating to families and to making us feel welcome even with a tantrum throwing two year old means I would have no questions about visiting again and also recommending them to everyone I know.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information, to view menus or book a table visit www.tgifridays.co.uk/poole.
T.G.I Friday’s, Tower Park, Poole, Dorset, BH12 4NY | 0344 692 0305
