Monday 23 April 2012

Frankie & Benny's New Menu

I used to hold a major grudge against Frankie and Benny's after I had a bad experience at one at Stansted airport. I would straight up refuse to go there but now that we live less than two minutes from one I've let go of my grudge. The food has gotten a lot better and their new menu is no exception.

We went to check out the new menu a few weeks ago; the first thing you have to know is the portions are INSANE. Frankie and Benny's isn't actually an American restaurant (my MIL very sweetly took my Mom there after Blondie Boy was home because she thought she'd know it and was a bit embarrassed to learn it doesn't exist in the US) but the portions are giant American sized. NotBlondeHusband and I both had starters but we could easily have split one as neither of us finished our meals.  So what did we have:

Starters:
Breadsticks and Cheese Dip
breadsticks cheese dip


Calamari
calamari with marinara

We'd had the breadsticks before and they did not disappoint. We tend to get them because we know Blondie Boy can munch on them too since they are egg-free. I was really impressed with the calamari; it is really easy to mess up but this was light and fresh.

Mains:

Kid's Margherita Pizza
kids cheese pizza

Chicken & Prawn Alfredo
prawn and chicken alfredo

Double Philly Stack
double philly stack burger
Bacon Cheese Fries
bacon cheese fries

Blondie Boy's main actually came out with our starters which from a Mom point of view is great. It means he can take his time (as toddlers do) and doesn't get frustrated that we are eating and he is not. The kid's pizza was huge; two children could easily split it.

Alfredo is my favourite pasta sauce and you don't really get it in the UK. While this version was not the sauce I was expecting it was still good and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of prawns and chicken in the dish.

NotBlondeHusband isn't exactly a small guy and he could not finish his burger but really enjoyed what he could manage. It was huge as well! I think if we both knew how big portions were we'd have split or skipped starters all together.

I'm a glutton for punishment and fell for the card on the table advertising the new cheese fries-- I freaking love cheese fries (not the same as chips and cheese) and you don't really see them in the UK. They did not disappoint and the crispy bits of bacon were a nice touch; I really wish there had been ranch dressing to dip them in to complete the Americaness.

Dessert:
Vanilla Ice Cream

kids vanilla ice cream

NBH and I had no room for dessert but Blondie Boy's kid's meal included dessert so we decided to let him have a treat and try some ice-cream.  Frankie and Benny's passed the allergy test and the waiter brought me out the tub of ice cream to read the ingredients to double check there wasn't any egg in it. I'm always happy when servers go that extra bit to make sure something is egg-free.  He LOVED the treat and got a little bag of buttons we took home for later.

Frankie and Benny's menu has something for everyone and great value for money when it comes to portion sizes. Right now you can get £10 off the new menu with this voucher when you buy two or main courses! 

Transatlantic Blonde were provided vouchers for our meal but the opinions are our own.


Frankie & Benny's on Urbanspoon

10 comments:

Nickie said...

I love that the waiter brought out the tub so you could check it - cool service!!  We went to F&B recently too and were really impressed by the menu choices.  They had an open kitchen and I wish I'd gone over to take a look - I will next time!

mrs b @crankymonkeys in london said...

Wow, I don't think excessive portion sizes (especially of foods that you should not eat often) are cool. Sorry :) I'm a health freak :|

Melaina25 said...

I like that we could split an appetizer or even a main if we wanted to do so. Just because the portion is large doesn't mean you have to eat it all you know? I know we certainly didn't :)

One thing I miss over here is doggie bags. In the USA I'd take leftovers home and eat the next day!

Txtanya Txtanya said...

I will have to check out their new menu.  My kids love that restaurant!

Kristin & Megan said...

Guess who's hungry now? :)

Rae Gun said...

everything looks so so good wow. Seriously some of my favorites, you're making me want some grease now!

marissa
http://raegunwear.blogspot.com

Rachel said...

this all looks so delish.. and is making me super hungry.. dam you stupid diet!!!!

Lee Wraight said...

That cant seriously be a child pizza? I had a "medium" pizza from Dominos the other day and it looked smaller than that!

Melaina25 said...

Giant right?

mrs b @crankymonkeys in london said...

I do sometimes ask for leftovers to be taken home, but usually restaurants dont' have adequate containers... My issue with big portions is that I tend to eat them all... :|