TGI Friday’s... I’ll be honest, I was skeptical. It doesn’t fill me with warmth when I hear the name… I mean, just on the first mention of the place I’m automatically filled with memories of hen do’s, of sex on the beach (the drink… don’t be rude) and trying to get the Jack Daniel's sauce out of my best white trousers (Come on... we've all worn them!)

Was I wrong…? Well, not about the trousers... but potentially about the restaurant. If you like gravy, I urge you to read on. 

I decided to take la famille with me for this one. For those amongst you who think that a 33 year old lady like myself might have a husband and children of my own to take, you are very much mistaken. Despite my charm and sex on the beach skills (again the drink… god you guys are monsters) I’m still very much single. With this in mind I took two of my older brothers and my very “new to London” niece.

So off we all went for a lovely family dinner before going to (and this is no joke) Gala Bingo for the first of (and I’m NOT ashamed to admit) many trips I will be making to the bingo over the coming months and, I’m sure, years.

So back to dinner…here we go. So I was late. Family were already there. They’d obvs scoped the menu out before they even arrived and I was 100% right in predicting that both brothers would be going for the “Gravy Seal”.

This is the description: “Can you take on the Sea, Air and Land? A beef burger, chargrilled chicken breast and popcorn shrimp, with cheese, crispy bacon and Friday's®mayo. Served with beef gravy to pour over or dip your burger in.”

It's got Gibson written ALL over it. Those boys are so predictable.

But dare I say it, they got it right. Anything that comes with a gravy chaser to dip the main event in cannot be argued with. But here’s the thing… whilst the meal was massive and a bit dirty (in a good way), the gravy was actually AMAZING. Now we are Northern… we know gravy, and this gravy was good. So good in fact that we ordered about 14 more small bowls of it so we could dip EVERYTHING in it. Moving on...

As the black sheep (vegetarian) of the family I went for the Roasted Vegetable Alfredo Pasta. Description reads: “Penne pasta tossed in a cauliflower alfredo sauce with tomatoes, roasted vegetables and edamame beans. Topped with fresh rocket. UNDER 600 CALORIES.”

Now not only am I vegetarian, but I also have a pretty serious food allerrgy. A nut allergy… walnuts in particular and when I mentioned this to the staff they sent the manager over with an alternative menu that had a list of everything and whether there was any nuts in it. (This I must point out is VERY good service for someone with an allergy such as mine… as they really put my mind at ease).

I was however surprised to be advised "...the pasta is often very dry..." so "would I like some extra sauce on the side?" I mean… if it’s shit, just take it off the menu guys. But also bravo for owning your mistakes and being VERY upfront about it. Luckily for them, I didn’t take much notice of it when it arrived. By this point I had caught onto this gravy business. So I ordered myself a couple of portions of mash on the side so I could get fully involved in that gravy train (If you know, you know).

Now I know what you’re all thinking… what on earth did my niece have? Well, she is the wisest of us all and just went for the chicken fingers and fries with the classic gravy side. She's a girl who knows what she wants... unlike her aunty. 

I must say that the staff were very friendly and pointed out to us that you get free refills on drinks… but not on full fat coke. But as bad as it is for me, I’m a diet coke kinda gal so there’s no flies on me when it comes to refilling my drink. (Which I did 11 about times)

All in all an enjoyable couple of hours but I think the moral of the story is this: If you go to TGI Fridays get the gravy. It then does not matter what you order because the only thing that will matter is the gravy! 

It's all gravy guys. 

*Disclaimer: We were invited by TGI's PR team to come and review the restaurant. Therefore, the meal was complimentary, but all opinions – as always – are honest and our own.*