Frankie and Bennys

I've eaten at Frankie and Benny's restaurants four times and a Little Frankie's restaurant once and it's one of the most interesting places to eat. Since this review is specifically for the main Frankie and Benny's restaurant chain, I'll give my verdict on my four visits to different restaurants belonging to that chain.

My first time at a Frankie and Benny's restaurant was at the one near Lakeside Shopping Centre in 2007 after a successful day's shopping with my parents. The restaurant is a short drive from the shopping centre but once I got inside, the interior was nothing like I've ever seen before. We all shared the Amazing Skins (6 skins between the three of us) as a starter. I had the Barbecue Chicken Lasagne as my main course and it was delicious but the sauce was more like tomato sauce rather than barbecue sauce. My dad had the ribs but he didn't enjoy them because they were overcooked. He complained about this to the manager and got his money back. I can't remember what my mum had but possibly something vegetarian. I even had dessert but I can't remember what is was.

My second visit to a Frankie and Benny's restaurant was the one in Newport with my mum in 2008 when she'd taked that day off at work. It was relatively quiet that day because it was a weekday lunchtime and not too many people. We both had the Mushroom Alfredo (Button mushrooms baked in a cheeese sauce) as a starter. I can't remember what my mum had for her main and dessert but I had the Barbecue Chicken Pizza as my main followed by Brownies and Ice Cream for dessert, both of which were absolutely delicious.

The third time I ate at Frankie and Benny's was the one in Cwmbran last year with a friend of mine called Lisa. I went for an early birthday meal there because I was going to Ibiza the next day and wanted to spend some time with Lisa. It was busier when we went because it was teatime but we really enjoyed ourselves anyway because I had a voucher that gave us £5 off the Special's menu. I had a Frankie's Delight Virgin Cocktail to drink. It had a lovely, refreshing flavour that tasted like a combination of pina colada and strawberry and banana smoothie. Lisa was impressed by the look of it so she took a photograph of it. For starters I had the Bruschetta and lisa had the baked Dough Sticks with Garlic Butter. We both enjoyed our starters. I had the Chicken Caesar Pizza as my main course and Lisa had the Chinese Chicken Pizza. I enjoyed my pizza but Lisa didn't like hers so she didn't finish it. For dessert I had the Cherry Crumble with a cute little jug of custard, which I thoroughly savoured while Lisa had some sort of pancake and chocolate dessert.

I returned to that same restaurant more recently but at lunch time. There weren't too many people but there were one or two groups with noisy young children so I listened to music on my iPhone to drown it out. I had my biggest meal at that time because I wanted to take advantage of my Vouchercloud offer that gave me £5 off the food bill if I spent £20 or more. My waiter was friendly and when I asked for the Baby Caesar Salad without the anchovies, he said he didn't like them and I agreed with him. I had the Frankie's delight to drink once again and although it tasted as good as it did last time, it looked white instead of pink/red for some reason but I liked the strawberry that came on the rim of the glass. I had the Mushroom Alfredo Crostini and it was delicious but a bit small for the amount I paid for it (£5.25). I had the Chicago Grinder Calzone with a side order of Baby Caesar Salad as my main course. The meatball slices were softer than I thought and the chicken was cooked to perfection but the vegetables inside it were somewhat undercooked. I liked the tomato sauce poured on top of the calzone. There were a lot of tomatoes in the baby Caesar Salad but I like tomatoes and I liked the salad as a whole. A waitress took my order for my dessert (Cookies and Cream Explosion) and when my waiter came, I told him I'd already ordered it. My dessert took quite a while but when I arrived, it was well worth the wait. The red berry sauce that was drizzled on it had strawberries and redcurrants. The cookie was gorgeous but it only had one scoop of ice cream and it also had chocolate and caramel sauces drizzled all over it, which tasted quite unusual when combined together. When I got my receipt, it seemd as there was no change, so I sat and waited for a little while until my waiter came to my table and asked if I was all right. I asked him for my change and it was hiding in the little leather bill wallet.

In conclusion, Frankie and Benny's is a good place to eat with a diverse variety of Italian and American-inspired dishes. 4/5.