Chain Restaurants

[chard]

Not all bad, just had a set menu from Loch Fyne 2 courses (Highland Pate followed by Salmon fish cakes and chips)

£10 + £5 for a carafe of house vino

Yum Yum

Chard

[Pferdestarke]

I know Loch Fyne have multiple outlets but they are certainly a better quality establishment than your local Pizza Hut.

I've been to Livebait which is similar. Reasonable , but not great.

[chard]

£10 menu v good value I think

[grumbledoak]

IME, any of Ask, Zizzi, Strada, Ping Pong, Dim-T, Cafe Rouge are pretty good food, generally two courses and wine for £20 per head, less if you print out one of the near constant two-for-one offers. Our local Cote is very good, too, though a little more expensive.

[Wadeski]

Dim-T is pretty horrible imho

not a patch on its errr inspiration/ripped off idea Ping Pong. Which itself is not a patch on a decent dim sum restaurant, but has nicer cocktails.

[RizzoTheRat]

Loch Fyne do a very nice steak. Unfortunatly you have to eat it in a place that stinks of fish.

[chard]

You go to a fish restaurant to eat steak? Whatever next Pizza @ the curry house

[captainzep]

Chain restaurants?

Fecking perverts.

The lot of you.

[t84]

I'm not a fan of Cafe Rouge at all.

Wagamama is nice.

[Truckosaurus]

chard said:

You go to a fish restaurant to eat steak? Whatever next Pizza @ the curry house

My local curry house is very good, but never seems to have many customers, they have just started selling pizzas in addition to their usual menu.

[Lefty Guns]

Wagamama is nice, I agree. Yo Sushi is OK too.

Pizza Express is OK I suppose.

That's about it though.

Subway
BK, McD
Pizzahut
Frankie & bennies
Chiquitos

TGI Fridays is probably better than some of those but still not that great. So they can have too.

[sleep envy]

Lefty Guns said:

Yo Sushi is OK too.

if you can try itsu, far better sushi

[mattley]

Lefty Guns said:

TGI Fridays is probably better than some of those but still not that great.

A few years ago one of my clients was a printer and the boys on the floor used to sell the old ally plates and all go TGIs and I used to get an invite. One of the waitresses could not only control 10 drunken idiots (that's what the crayons are really for ) but would take a whole drinks and two course order for us all without a notebook and get it spot on every time.

I'm easily impressed.

[chard]

The TGI service may be good but the food, drunken idiots (regular happy birthday singing) spoil the evening. Frankie and Bennies is far superior as a diner.

Loch Fyne is in a different league and a £10 2 course menu!!! nuf said

[SirClarke]

My experience at Loch fyne in Bristol was one of the worst meals out anyone in my group of friends has ever had, but from reviews elsewhere etc I guess we were just unlucky.

Bottelinos is the best chain ever only local South West at the moment but growing at a steady pace and consistantly good food and service.

Ask pizzais decent as well. And then KFC obviously ()

[Keaver]

Our town is infested with chain restaurants;) All the normal bandits - Strada, Ask, Prezzo etc.

Strada is ok and you can always get 2 for one deals at the moment.

[TonyHetherington]

I've been to a fwe in my time (not often by choice) and I must admit, I don't think I can think of one which is ALWAYS good.

Which is the problem; they're not employing chefs who are looking to make a career in that restaruant, they're simlpy employing "cooks" to warm up the food and get it out - same with beefeaters and similar.

I live 100m from a beefeater, and so it serves as our local pub (quite a nice bar downstairs - very modern one, which works well) and so we often have bar food and so for that it's fine; burgers, chips, steak sandwiches. but for more than that, it always seems the same quality as the bar food (obviously) - but more expensive!

[Bullett]

I know it's actually a pub but mrsB and I use Weatherspoons for a quick lunch.
You know it's warmed up rather than cooked but it's cheap and consistant(ly ok).

Loch Fyne is generally ok as is wagamamas
The Pizza places (express, zizzi are ok)
the rest I'd rather not bother with but sometimes you have to.

The worst I have ever had was a Chiquitos in Camberley it was awful. Sticky tables, bad food (too salty and tastless at the same time) too expensive for waht you get. The service was friendly but thats about it.

TGI I used to like but it's now heavy over fried food. I met my wife in a TGI (works do) so it was a huge disapointment when we went back to the same place before we got married.

[TonyHetherington]

Bullett said:

I know it's actually a pub but mrsB and I use Weatherspoons for a quick lunch.

Weird you say that - my girlfriend and I tried one of their curry night dishes - a fiver each for curry, all the trimmings (popadoms, etc) and a pint. Baring in mind it'd actually cost us more than that to make it at home, we were most impressed and the curry was really nice! Don't tell anyone I said that though

[GavGav]

SirClarke said:

Bottelinos is the best chain ever only local South West at the moment but growing at a steady pace and consistantly good food and service.

Blimey, you haven't tried the one in Weston then.
Food and service is shocking. One of our waitresses went there with her boyfriend, and the owner spent 5 mins drooling over her. The waitress actually said to them "Ignore him, he's always a bit of a letch". Nice.