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What is the perfect
destination for a dinner date? Whether it be the first or a meal
to celebrate an anniversary, what venue should you choose to
ensure a good night?
Ideally the
restaurant would offer privacy, to allow space for conversation
to flow within, yet one with a sense of atmosphere too. Most of
all, the location should be romantic. So my choice was based on
the romantic tale behind the origins of the famous Frankie &
Benny’s “New York Italian” diner.
In 1924, a ten year
old Frankie Giuliani swapped Sicily for New York, accompanied by
his parents. Once there the family opened a restaurant,
contributing equally to both the building and the cooking- with
each family member adding their favourite dish to the menu.
After almost thirty
years ‘Poppa’ retired, leaving Frankie, and lifetime friend
Benny, to take the reins - combining popular American dishes
with traditional Italian cuisine; in doing so creating one of
the most highly lauded restaurants on either side of the
Atlantic.
The restaurant has
a laid-back atmosphere upon entrance, a bar offering the option
for pre or post meal drinks to unwind and extend the Frankie &
Benny’s experience. The eating area is comfortable and spacious
- booths accommodating for all the dinner date criteria as
mentioned above.
The interior
decoration is in the style of a traditional American diner and
the service is certainly based on the model established
stateside; warm, welcoming staff keen to help.
What we needed help
with was food selection - the menu has such an extensive range
of choices that it can prove difficult to decide what to have.
To start we opted to go for the Frankie & Benny Starter Platter
(£11.25) : “A giant sharing dish of our house favourites.”
The selection of
food on the platter was well-cooked and full of taste, the
chicken strips and garlic ciabatta bread in particular, were
delicious. Having enjoyed sharing our starters so much, we
decided that we would split our mains too; ordering the
Manhattan Burger (£10.45) and BBQ Ribs Full Rack (£12.45).
The ribs were so
tender that they literally fell away from the bone and melted in
your mouth. Cooked perfectly, they formed a thoroughly enjoyable
meal. It was now obvious to me why this had become Frankie &
Benny’s signature dish.
The burger, while
having no obvious fault, simply couldn’t live up to the standard
set by the ribs - it felt like an arduous task finishing the
meal. We concluded afterwards, that this was probably down to
the fact that we had enjoyed the ribs so much - by the time we
came round to eating the burger, we didn’t fancy it.
Although I felt
dangerously close to bloated by the time the dessert menu was
produced the dishes on offer proved too tempting to refuse. My
date opted for the Brownies and Ice Cream (£3.95) while I chose
the Banoffee Sundae (£3.95).
My date was vocal
with her enjoyment of the brownies - they were warm and gooey, “just
the way they should be.” Coupled with cream ice cream, it
proved to be an irresistible dessert.
My sundae was
delicious and, as the menu boasts, “to die for!” The well tested
combination of toffee, banana and honeycomb certainly hit the
spot on this occasion, proving to be the perfect conclusion to a
wonderful meal.
Once our dishes had been
cleared away there was no pressure for us to leave, we were
encouraged to remain in our booth and let our food digest or to
head over to the bar if we preferred. In the end we did neither,
we had a film to catch, but certainly enjoyed the hospitality
and cuisine imported by Frankie & Benny’s. |
