Friendly’s

***Friendly’s is a sit-​down restaurant with a big focus on ice cream; their wide variety of ice cream flavors, sauces and toppings really allow you to customize a sundae to your liking, but their ice cream is similar to grocery store ice cream and a notch below Fentons and Baskin-​Robbins (though you get more variety in sundae sauces and toppings at Friendly’s than you would get at Baskin-​Robbins)***
Friendly’s is kind of like a midwestern and mid-​atlantic Denny’s with a focus on ice cream. It has been over 20 years since I have last tasted their savory options, but they offer the kind of American diner breakfast, lunch and dinner you would find at a Denny’s or IHOP (I remember their lunch and dinner menu not being that good). Like the local Fentons in Oakland, Friendly’s also offers a large ice cream menu (you can even get their ice cream in grocery stores). You can order a scoop of their ice cream (they offer a wide variety of ice cream flavors). They also offer milkshakes and sundaes – both signature sundaes they have created and build-​your-​own sundaes.
I went the build-​your-​own sundae route and opted for their medium size sundae. I had two ice cream flavors – purely pistachio and caramel nut. The ice cream was similar to Thrifty. The ice cream was not icy and had a lot of air whipped into it and the ice cream did not have the thickness, density and smoothness of a great ice cream shop like Jeni’s, Sweet Rose Creamery (Los Angeles) or Bi-​Rite Creamery (San Francisco). The pistachio ice cream had a good flavor (a noticeable pistachio flavor). There were whole pistachios mixed in, but the pistachios were too soft. The nut caramel flavor had a very mild caramel flavor. In a sundae, this was, unfortunately, the type of soft ice cream that definitely melted too quickly.
For toppings, I added marshmallow, hot fudge, whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and a cherry. The cherry and chocolate sprinkles were standard stuff. The whipped cream was very light and not like the thick and freshly made whipped cream I prefer. The marshmallow was not that noticeable. The hot fudge was fairly good. Its flavor was not an exceptional dark chocolate flavor, but it was nice to have this warm sauce for a fall night and the hot fudge was also nicely thick.
Service was quick and friendly.
Their ice cream and sundae prices are very reasonable. Portions are generous and you are paying about the same (maybe even less) than an order-​at-​the-​counter ice cream parlor like Baskin-​Robbins.
Friendly’s is an okay option for a sit-​down ice cream dessert. Their variety of ice cream flavors and toppings allows you to really customize your ice cream dessert to your preferences. Their ice cream is probably a notch below Baskin-​Robbins (in terms of both quality and flavor), but you do get more variety when it comes to toppings. Fentons in Oakland is not my favorite spot for ice cream, but it is similar to Friendly’s and offers a more enjoyable ice cream experience (and while I have not had Fentons’ sundaes, I think they offer a variety of toppings and sauces that would be competitive with Friendly’s). I would suggest seeking out a more local option than Friendly’s, but it is probably an okay choice if you are a fan of similar chain ice cream shops.
This Friendly’s has its own free parking lot and it is easy finding an open space.

Rude… rude…rude…waited forever to even be sat down 5 tables filled and all staff was in kitchen except ice cream girl… stood there for at least 7 – 8 minutes easily and finally asked ice cream girl if we could sit down… she said no just wait then screamed into the kitchen for a girl to come out…3.of them did. I said thank you for seating is I have a very bad back. it feels better to sit down… in a very grateful manner. shel went into kitchen straight to the cook they both laughed then he walked out and looked at me and nodded to her… then they laughed again. I felt extremely embarrassed for some reason and my feelings got hurt a lot. My 2 kids ordered a cheeseburger and fries we got an app and 2 free sundaes bill with 18% tip (not sure why I tipped) came to $ 60 and change. and I had a $ 5. Coupon… WTF??? This was a 2 greasy burgers w about 15 fries and a Philly steak supermelt that was in no freaking way super and had absolutely no melt! What happened to this place??? When my kids were little we came almost every week… you would not be able to pay me to return. Good luck if you go there… I hope your day experience is better then ours was. We should have went to five guys!

Shouldn’t be shocked, the person who took an inordinate amount of time to take a simple Sunday order screwed it up anyway. Apparently chocolate & vanilla ice cream are difficult to differentiate. The brownie was rock hard even after sitting in ice cream & the whole experience has further soured me on this chain masquerading as anything but an overpriced fake food factory. So disappointing.

Friendliest Friendly’s,
There are two Friendly’s in Concord and this is the friendliest. This is the place you want to be if you want is a good burger or quick food without it tasting «quick». The staff truly want you to enjoy your time there. Save room for ice cream. I found myself enjoying many meals here, partly because of the good food but mostly because of the staff.

08.02.14 with 1 other
As a tourist I was told I had to try a Friendly’s. So we stopped by this one. We were still on west coast time and not eating lunch we arrived here at 5pm (2pm) in my mind. It was empty with only a couple tables filled with seemed to be «regulars» older folks.
We shared a Clam strips basket and had our own milkshakes. We couldn’t order much as we had real dinner plans in a couple hours
Food was decent and staff was friendly

Old style family restaurant serving up wholesome, traditional fare. We went for breakfast just after the Columbus Day weekend. Our very friendly and helpful waitress soon had us equipped with tea and coffee and then helped my wife out in her breakfast choice, by pointing out some specials options, thereby saving us a few bucks. My skillet was a good size and very tasty and my wife’s eggs scrambled to perfection.

This was the worst Friendly’s I have ever been too. I get that the chain is dated but this location is horrible. It is dirty and the service is awful. At first we were going to get takeout but the line was taking forever (only three people in front of us), so we decided to go inside hoping the experience would be better. Wrong. It took ten minutes before a waitress came to our table and yet there were three waitresses on duty and only five tables occupied. The waitress was pleasant enough but it took another 30 minutes to get our order to us and we only ordered ice cream. This place is terribly managed and absent a makeover and completely new management, it oughta’ just go out of business completely as it’s a disgrace to Concord. Save your time and money and just go up the street to the new frozen yogurt place.

Walking in the servers kept walking past me and paid no attention to me. Finally when I was sat I was sat next to the kitchen and all i heard the whole time was the servers and cooks banging around. My server paid no attention to my low drink level or my needs. Food was not hot and did not seem fresh. Using the mens room was like walking into the locker room in a 60’s high school. Everything was extremely old and the toilet was so low to the ground.

Food is average … I give it 3 stars.
Ice cream is pretty good. I give it 3 stars.
Service has never been good. It’s totally disorganized… staff wandering around aimlessly… tables uncleaned… seemingly unconcerned about the people waiting to be seated. I give it 1 star.
Average 2 starts
If it weren’t for grandchildren, we’d never come here and we live just 3 blocks away.