Frankie & Benny’s

If you’ve been to a Francois Et Benoit’s before, then you know what to expect and you’ll find nothing out of the ordinary here. If you haven’t, then expect a large selection of burgers, pastas, wraps, etc. The service is usually quick and efficient and there’s the usual desserts, drinks, etc. The toilets are fun — clean and they play learn to speak Italian tapes in there. All in all, not my first choice of venues to eat, but they do generic Italian food pretty well.

I’m a frequent patron at Frankie’s at showcase. Came over to the fort for dinner with a friend and was greatly disappointed. I ordered the chicken and chorizo gnocchi. Sooo disappointed! The chicken and chorizo were so over grilled they were nearly black and really ruined the taste of the dish.

I haven’t been here in awhile and I thought i’d give it a wee try, after all, someone invited me here for a free meal!
So how was it?
It was… alright I guess, But what did I expect from a big chain resteraunt.
I was seated down about 10 mins after I arrived, so I just waited at the
took so long to get a drink that as soon as I recieved my diet coke, it was time to go to our table!
I sat down and the first thing I noticed was the NOISE! It was just so noisy! I had to go to the toilets just to get peace from all the screaming and shouting that was going on in the main part of the resteraunt! Some people were just letting their children scream without even agowledging that they were even there! This left me with sore ears because of my ear
be fair their is nothing mutch the staff can do about screaming children.
Itr didn’t take too long for my meal to arrive. I had the Barbeque Burger which was mediocre, there was nothing special about it. The fries it came with were quite tasty though.
The desert took a little longer to arrive but it was worth it! The Apple & Rasberry Crumble was delish! It was so good! It probably had tons of calories in there or something but it just seemed perfect! It was a decent sized portion too! was really quite sweet and had none of those annoying little rasberry seeds that get stuck in your teeth. Great way to finish your meal!
After that it took awhile to get the waitors attention for the bill. He said that he would give us it in about 2 minutes, we waited for like 25 mins for him to remember that he was to get us the bill!
I saw the price and noticed that it was quite expencive.
All in all, I reccomend maybe paying a visit if you can tolerate noise and you like this sort of American/​Italian themed dining experience.

Colin and I decided we fancied a bit of lunch when we were recently at the fort shopping, and so wandered in here for a bite to eat. Without a doubt, this was the worst dining experience of my life.
We were seated about 10 minutes after arriving as the only available table was being cleaned and so we had to wait, which was no problem as Frankie and Benny’s has a bar. As soon as we sat down he asked for our order. Like, literally, took us to the table and then asked what we wanted. Can I have a wee look at the menu first? We knew what we both wanted for starters though, and so ordered them and asked for 2 minutes before ordering the mains. About 5 minutes later, with no one having taken our main course order, the starters came out. Colin had the dough balls with a garlic butter, which were crispy and dry; no where near the way they come in Hamilton when they’re fluffy and soft, and I had the loaded potato skins which were burnt to the point of blackening. We then ordered our mains, a burger for me and bolognese for Colin, and were told «No problem, we’ll bring out your mains once your starters are finished is that okay?». Is that not how a restaurant works?
I managed to salvage a bit of the cheese and bacon from the top of the potato skins, and then had a bit of Colin’s to get the burnt taste out my mouth. Our mains came within about 5 minutes, so you just know they’re not fresh. The burgers were not freshly made as their shape was too perfect, and Colin’s pasta was mediocre at best. I ate about a third of the burger, and was finished as it just tasted a bit foul. I couldn’t be bothered complaining as I didn’t particularly feel well, but I would’ve had I felt capable of doing so.
During the course of the meal, it was ridiculously difficult to get our waiter’s attention. He seemed better suited to a job where he could just stand about chatting, as that was all he did with the other staff members. Eventually we got another staff member over and asked for the bill, and whilst we were asking her, another staff member came up and started sweeping the table under our feet. I’m sorry, what are you doing? She was at best 16, and I’ve no idea why she wasn’t told off for doing that; it’s a restaurant not McDonalds. Our bill was brought over a good 15 minutes after we asked for it by our original waiter, and our two courses each with two drinks each came to £50. In Frankie & Benny’s. I could’ve had a cheaper 3 course dinner in town for that.
Shan’t be back here. I would advise you not doing so either unless you’re a fan of dreadfully bad service and mediocre at best food.

Ate in here with a mate, we were shown a table straight away. I had already decided what I wanted as you can look at the menu on their website.
I ordered the Meatball Siciliana Calzone which was delicious! I enjoyed every mouthful! Also had a side order of fries which were also nice. After that I got dessert which was the banana cheesecake with vanilla ice-​cream. I suppose the portion size could have been better but it was lovely. I also tried some of my mates sticky toffee pudding which was great :-)
The service we received was quick and we didn’t need to wait too long for our order to arrive. Can’t wait to go back :-)

Part of the Frankie and Benny’s chain of New York Italian restaurants, this particular branch is located at the Glasgow Fort.
It’s a typical chain Italian restaurant, with a small bar and plenty of seating. It’s pretty much always busy, which seems to be typical of Frankie & Benny’s everywhere. They don’t take reservations, so be prepared to take one of those radio dongle thingies and sit at the bar or go for a wee wander before you are seated.
Although every restaurant is almost identical, I still like Frankie and Benny’s. It’s reasonably priced, the food is usually very good, and they have some excellent deals. You can usually bag yourself a 2 course lunch for under a tenner, or 3 courses and a drink for about £12−14, including tip. The limited lunch menu is actually quite extensive. I usually go for the potato skins or garlic pizza bread starter, spaghetti and meatballs or hot dog and chips (soo much better than it sounds!) for the main, and a wee Irn Bru on the side. Delish!
It’s a great place to drop in for a spontaneous lunch with friends, or have a sociable dinner without spending more than £15−20.