Bank Of Ceylon Mawatha, Colombo 1
Open until 09:00 PM
It's always Friday in here.
Easy, quick, international dining.
It's always Friday at TGI Friday's. Or so they proclaim.
After the first miserable experience at TGI Friday’s, we decided to give the restaurant another go. Given some time to train up and settle down, it’s actually doing pretty well.
We were excited to hear about this restaurant opening, but we're sad to report that it simply doesn't live up to the hype and pricing, not yet. Can you go and have a good time with friends? Yes. It's a beautiful location and if you don't expect too much you won't be disappointed. If you're expecting an international quality franchise, however, this just isn't it.
සිංහල මෙතන හැමදාම සිකුරාදාලු. කෑමත් ඒ වගේද? පොඩ්ඩක් බලමු.
සිංහල TGI ෆ්රයිඩේ’ස් කියන්නේ කොළඹ 1ට අලුතින් ආව ෆ්රැන්චයිස් එකක්. ඒක පිහිටලා තියෙන්නේ කදිම ඉඩක වුණත් සාමාන්ය මට්ටමේ කෑමයි, අදක්ෂ සේවාවයි, ඉහළ මිල ගනනුයි නිසා එතන ආකර්ෂණය අඩු වෙලයි තියෙන්නේ.
Address
Bank Of Ceylon Mawatha, Colombo 1
Directions
It's next to Dutch Hospital and across from the World Trade Center. Continue on Galle Road till it basically ends and head towards the largest buildings. You can also access from York Street via Slave Island. There's a parking lot round back.
Contacts
Report InaccuracyOpen until 09:00 PM
Cuisine
Price Range
Dish Types
Ratings Breakdown
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1/5
Quality of food has bottomed out, rubbery burger, limp salads, and overall zero taste. With international chains you expect there to be at least some sort of standard to abide by but clearly that is not the case here. Don't bother.
2/5
Went for lunch at TGIF on April 7th. The service was ok and the food was fine, however the Calomeri salad looked like it was made up of last week's lettuce !! Had to use the handicapped washroom since upstairs was closed for some reason. These short comings might have all been excused as a bad day if not for the fact they point blank refused to serve me normal water !! They only serve bottle water. I'm sure the consumer authority will be interested to know this fact. Best of luck !!
5/5
I'm fed up with the negativity of some of these reviews. I'll tell you truthfully….we go regularly to TGIFriday's. We love going to the quiz on Tuesday nights, very clever people in the teams, professors, lecturers, barristers, Doctors of medicine as well as PhD etc., and it's nice that more teams are coming along and joining in. The prizes are generous with a voucher for 10,000/- as 1st prize and 5,000/- 2nd place with 2,500/- for 3rd; you can use it on your next visit.
The drinks are very good value, as nobody has previously mentioned that they have a Happy 'Hour' which runs from 5.00pm until 9.00pm - buy one, get one free, that's very generous! The staff are all very pleasant and helpful, even after they had a setback where most of their early trained staff left to newly opened hotels and bars in Colombo, but that's the nature of the beast in the hospitality trade, it's very hard to keep good staff as they like to 'jump'.
The food is of excellent quality, with the meats all brought in from abroad so naturally you expect to pay more. I particularly think the 'Bites' menu is very good value. The '3 for all' is great to share with mates over a few drinks as well as the sesame coated chicken strips with JD sauce.
The quiz master, Ashan, has some amazing plans up his sleeve for making TGIF The place to go to for fun in the forth-coming months. During the World Cup they had superb offers and it all helped to make it worth going there. The manager is very helpful and keen to see his guests enjoying themselves.
You must remember, the Old Dutch hospital area has really been created as a 'tourist feature' and you will always find the eateries and bars in these kind of places will always be a bit more expensive than your khotu stalls and arrack bars. You pay for the ambience and style. it will be the same with the new Arcade at Independence Square and the restaurants.
Have no doubt that I have frequented TGIF's in the UK, USA, Beijing, Cairo, S'pore & KL on a regular basis and will have no problem bringing visiting guests to enjoy what is on offer at TGIF's Colombo! My words are…'Keep going, you're doing fine'!
5/5
YAMU…i used to actually enjoy your reviews and look forward to hearing about new places…but you guys are quite the schizophrenics: Parttime HIPSTERS, Parttime GODAYAS!
lol…make up your mind boys.
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Having lived in California for over 8 year and gone to TGIF many times i can honestly say the local branch is good!!! Of course there is room for improvement, the wings were below average, but the steaks and the ribs were great!!! The service was better than most restaurants in lanka!!!
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i want to thank MICHELLE and another poster for attaching the AUS & UK menus with prices! Grow up YAMU……time to realize that not all things expensive and popular is overrated.
One problem with finding good restaurant staff in Sri Lanka, is that many potential applicants have never eaten at a restaurant with international standard service. So, they have no idea what is required, and who can blame them? What we want is attentive, but unobtrusive service. In Sri Lanka, most places will have service that is either too inattentive or too in-your-face. If you are thinking of opening up a restaurant, I think the easiest way to fix this, is to actually take your staff out for a meal at a restaurant with good service and say to them: this is what we want from you.
A friend of mine recently stayed at a place with exceptionally good service down South, and so they asked the owners how they managed to train their staff so well. The owners said, we took the manager to a favourite boutique hotel in Thailand for a weekend and told him, "This is the type of service we want." It worked.
that's really disappointing. i've had their steaks and burgers in Singapore and really liked 'em, and even there it didn't come that pricey. hope they get their act sorted out soon. Cargills maybe the problem -- my experience with their supermarkets is more or less the same, products and service sucks.
"We gave one to Janith the next day and he said 'it tastes so empty'. " LOL. Now I know how you treat Janith. A janitor.
Hi Yamu… I don't think you're very aware of TGIF prices internationally. Here's a link that shows you the prices in Australia. http://www.tgifridays.com.au/images/studiotas/pdf/tgifridays_menu_main_2013.pdf . As you will see a Jack Daniels burger which is Rs.1600 here is AUD $20.50 which is Rs. 2569 according to today's exchange rate.
Wow, When did you guys go there ?
and about the trays, Apparently it is a 'FRiDAYS' standard to not use trays !
As David Blacker said the problem is with Cargills, they just don't give a hoot about customer service as long as they get money from customers. Look at KFC, Cargills supermarkets, Majestic cinema, the one thing they have in common is terrible customer service.
Cargills is going to screw this up in style.
Given that they only just started I think it's rather too early to dismiss a new restaurant of such international repute. also the review in Yamu is a stark contrast to all the reviews I've heard from average people working around Fort. which begs the question whether this review was written with any objectivity at all. just sounds pretentious
I'm an Industry insider and I can possibly offer some perspective on some of your grouses.
1. "They don't seem trained to use trays to carry more than one drink" - If this was the case all around the restaurant, then its probably a standard of service, to do away with using trays or salvers for beverage service.
2. "They had at least 20 staff and 2 American supervisors running around everywhere, but they were not well trained at all. They mainly seemed to be getting in each others way, and they were obviously stressed. A bit strange cause there were only about 30 diners at any given time." - This can happen in an internationally owned/managed/franchise, especially if its within the 1st few weeks of opening. Its not for the lack of training or effort, because the Americans believe that once trained and tested, the staff are good to go, but down here in South Asia (India included)the staff members don't attach the kind of importance that should be given to tangibles such as standards, speed and time of delivery and intangibles like warmth, service spirit and such like.
Staff who haven't worked in quality restaurant chains or hotels aren't used to the kind of information dissemination that is practiced by international operators such as the one in question. That, coupled with truncated lead times from dry runs to actual 'Moment of Truth' leads to the situations faced by you and your colleagues/friends.
Having said that, there is no excuse for the low quality of food and from the pictures, I can see that the plating is hurried and not subject to quick quality checks at the 'pass'(food pick-up counter in the heart of the house).
I say, give them some more time, allow them to find their feet and the local boys to be trained and confident enough to take over from their American supervisors.
If they have at least 30% of their team to be committed to the brand and their values, you should probably be pleasantly suprised, if you visit them in a few months.
F&B
TGI Friday's is pretty good. Service was almost too attentive. The burgers were the best (most like America) that I have had in Sri Lanka. Big, filling, flavorful (though could have been more juicy). My wife and I couldn't even finish our meals because of the massive portions. Sorry for all those that don't like American food. Some things weren't up to american standards. The Ketchup was way too sweet. No yellow mustard. The philly cheese steak was too peppery and not very flavorful. But overall it is a pretty good version of standard American chain. Yes, it is a little expensive, about what you would pay in America.
Michelle, I couldn't help noticing your comment. Minimum wage in Australia is $16 an hour, whereas in Sri Lanka, the average worker wouldn't earn that in a day. Other costs of production are also much higher in Australia, so naturally TGI's would have much higher prices. So I really don't understand what your point is at all!
@DavidBlacker
David Blacker is a wise man. A very wise man. Can you see he just diagnosed the issue in just one line? Smart!
It's probably the language barrier between the American training staff that makes it a bigger challenge to train these guys. Give them a chance, restaurants, particularly in Sri Lanka always need three months at least to get things running smooth.
As always YAMU has no idea what they are writing - at least they didn't know what TGI Friday's stands for, btw its "Thank God It's Friday's" - isn't that something you must say in this post.
TGI Fridays is casual dining restaurant! Period. Check UK standard menu - http://www.tgifridays.co.uk/site/static/files/pdfs/October_2013/TGI7074_TestBurger_MainMenuA_LR.pdf
TGIF is a common phrase so I don't think explaining what TGI stands for is necessary.
I agree about Cargills and standards which is why we were hoping to try it out early before the service levels dropped just like all other Cargills establishments (e.g. KFC, Supermarkets are horrendous. A friend saw the cleaner spitting on the floor while mopping it recently!)
But having read this I guess we should wait.
I was looking forward to a god steak or ribs as in Singapore where I have eaten at this franchise! But the Cargills association is an absolute turn-off. They would not know good service if it bit them in the arse! (based on numerous encounters at Cargills supermarkets)
With a review like that and you still give 3 out 5…??? How come? After reading this I would give a 1 out of 5!
We had a great Friday night at TGIF. The service was good and fast, the portions were big enough, and the prices, maybe higher than other places in Sri Lanka, but nothing out of range. Having been in other TGIF off Sri Lanka, I think this one is according to their standards. We have to give the staff and public some time to adjust.
As a foreign family, we are really happy to see franchises like TGIF in Colombo. Even though we are not Americans, we love TGIF!
My American friends were so excited before TGIF opens. They were really disappointed after their recent visit. They said lack of quality and prices are high. That really discouraged me to make a visit.
Been there, was very mediocre and far too expensive, wont go again, wont recommend it at all.Tis a shame that Cargills got involved in this venture, for them, its more about making the big bucks than actually providing quality service. Hopefully they could learn something from the promoters of Manhattan Fish Market and get their act together.
Cargills does a great job for Sri Lanka, after all bring down such an international restaurant chain as TGIF to our country is much appreciated. We should give them time to improve their qualities and standards instead letting them down at the start it self. Me and my family also had a great experience at TGIF, and the service was good. They do server according to the TGIF standards (do not use trays to serve), i think Sri Lankan crowd need time to adjust for their standards. The Jack Daniel Steak n Shrimps dish was so delicious. For sure i will recommend Fridays to my friends and will visit soon again!
Dimitri I too have lived abroad and know for a fact that not everything that comes from the great white lands is worth spending an arm and a leg over.
Being "good" and charging prices for "great" is a mismatch. Also if "wings were below average" they should charge accordingly don't you think?
For the prices that TGIF is charging there are alternate restaurants in SL with better tasting food, better portions and much better service than what's currently being offered at TGIF SL.
Also Cargills is notorious for poor customer service, compare KFC here with KFC anywhere else in the world (I've stopped spending my money on them when they once tried to offer me spoiled food knowing it was spoiled). Compare Cargills supermarkets with Keells or Arpico.
Also for those people who attached menus from AUS and UK…yeah the that's great for people living in AUS and UK…different economy and standard of living here.
The problem is with Cargills, most of their work lack customer service for instance their supermarket… I generally expect anything offered under a Cargills or holding company to be below standards.
I agreed with Nikhil. You'll need to give little time for them to get trained. After all this is SL and not USA. I have had TGI's and Applebee's food many times they've got the best steak. So let's give them some time.
I fail to see why there is so much hype about TGI Friday, it is just another franchise that no self respecting foodie will visit…… For the prices quoted I can think of so many other places which serve much better food albeit the location is just fab
3 to 2 stars? Make up your mind yamu lol. Anyways…. do they serve pork? I'd love to try their potato skins with bacon bits!
Yamu… I seriously love what you guys do. We needed somebody to rate our restaurants because Sri Lanka has a long way to go before we reach global standards. The days of the war are over, and as the country moves forward to attract tourists, and offer them something to write home about, our food culture is far behind. We are not to par or even to mediocre standards when it comes to food, with service, quality, quantity of ingredients used and the variety presented to us.
As many franchises slowly start opening up in an around Colombo, as important as it is to be critical of them, destroying their business and reputation, is really not helping anybody. I am under the impression that you guys review food and are not the final authority on it.
Most all of all Sri Lankan restaurants serve the same basic choice. Pub food of burgers, and roasts, grills and pies, battered and devilled proteins, or light snacks of tuna, egg mayonnaise, chicken or prawn toasted sandwiches, fried rice and noodle dishes and the infamous Kottu. And yes there are the others that offers a little more variety than people here are used to.
Having said that, this means we really don’t have too much to learn about, and should by now, understand that basics of what goes into these types of food, what makes them traditional and what makes the varied.
I stopped reading your reviews on restaurants along time ago, because honestly speaking, they aren’t really reviews, but seem more like arrogant personal rants of an uninformed self proclaimed review board. Sorry for being blunt, but this is my personal opinion.
As food critics and restaurants reviewers, it is unwise to write biased blogs based on personal opinion, unless this personal opinion has risen from years of being first-class connoisseurs of cuisines after travelling the world savouring everything imaginable. This doesn’t happen overnight, it happens over a life time, knowing what goes into making a particular dish, what the benchmark flavours should be. You will learn of textures and seasonings, and you will understand produce like the back of your hands.
Being critical is important, but you have to understand that being critical doesn’t mean,” its bland” “Horrible don’t go there”, Way too expensive” are not impressive ways of expressing a fair and unbiased review of Sri Lankan restaurants.
There was one of your reviews that greatly put me off. One was where you had rated a burger as being absolutely amazing and worth the Rs. 1200, which made no sense to me at all. For one the burger lacked a signature sauce and was offered with table Ketchup instead. The meat patty was dry, and the ratios of meat to fat was not satisfying. It lacked seasoning and the meat was overcooked. I said I didn’t want tomatoes in my burger (because I just can’t stand tomatoes in my food) and what I ended up being served was a plate with a few fries, a dry patty, wilted lettuce leaves, and two dehydrated onion rings. The bun barely held together, and you can only imagine trying to gobble it down was more like trying to bite into 6” thick sandpaper pack with soya meat. Now for a proper burger to be palatable, it should have had, pickle, a signature sauce, cucumber, cheese maybe, possibly a fried egg; because in actual sense when it is marketed as traditional American burger. It had to resemble it in some way, shape or form. It has to be moist warm, and the mix of flavours should come together in your mouth quite well.
Now I understand that you can’t possibly be expected to travel the world eating and tasting food to become an expert on everything you eat, so that you have something to compare it with. Because that will certainly make your website all the more worthwhile reading. Having said that, since your team is missing the obvious skill and eye, why not write it as you taste it instead?
Write about what the food tasted like, what you think it had, do a little research about what the food you write about, so you have an idea at least. This whole review about how waiters used hands to serve drinks, and how they didn’t know what the menu was like, well when you take a different look to your review, you lot seemed to be unaware about the service of TGIF and industry standards, so if you were missing this very critical insight yourselves. Can you really blame the man (who lives below the minimum wage a day) to know what and how to work according to international standards?
A word of friendly advice, avoid saying things are too expensive, because apart from the actual costs of the food, people to visit these establishments are also paying for the brand. Try and not use generic words while writing reviews, instead of saying service was bad, say instead the service was too slow for our liking and might have been a little haphazard. You mentioned the deserts were OK. Why not write what it tasted like and let the people visiting the place decide for themselves? If I was describing cheese cake, this is how I would have written it: We ordered a chocolate cheese cake, it was sweet but I could still taste the bitterness of the chocolate powder. It was moist and creamy similar to custard. The base was a little too dry and fell apart at the touch of my fork.
You guys did something that this country needed, I think its time we took a look at your approach and try and be a little unbiased when writing, and make it more about the food than you personal opinion.
""they aren’t really reviews, but seem more like arrogant personal rants of an uninformed self proclaimed review board"" spot on mate…
As a page they shouldn't express JUST what's their personal experience as this is a website that people getting information from…
And Yamu team plz dont get us wrong we always appreciate what you doing. but if we see a something you should have to improve we always let you know…thx and peace
Guys we pay a lot for bad service and food/products in sri lankan on average - this is very common and no one complains and large corporates know they can get away with it - I am glad there is a forum for this at least now! At least there is documented feedback +/- which never happens! at least businesses might get the point that if they serve up crap then customers wont come again…just like anything in sri lanka it takes a while to find its legs! execution is not a strong point nor is attention to detail.
Since some of you were bagging KFC I want to say what I have seen at local KFC's is absolutely disgusting on their hygiene. I have seen garbage all over with flys and dogs under 10 ft wide open to their kitchen. If u doubt check out the rear of rawatawatta KFC in moratuwa.
tgi friday colombo is an utter rip off. The staff are totally inefficient. The food takes 1 hour to arrive from the time of placing the order. What is on the menu is not what you get. When ordered a medium rare steak, instead received a burnt non edible steak. Prices are way out. Atleast if the food was good we dont mind paying for it. The staff needs to understand how to be cordial & polite to customers. Pls dont visit tgi friday colombo. its a disaster.
Dayanthi Vidanage
If the restaurant opened recently… I think some time should probably be given for them to adjust. I agree with one of the comments made above ~ go back in like a month or two and try the food again. If they've made it to a western standard, the food might indeed be more bland for someone used to the more spiced up food served in Sri Lanka… but for someone who prefers that taste might actually enjoy the very same food you don't think taste good at Fridays.
Then again, it really is up to Fridays to decide whether they want to stick to their "western" food flavourings or change their flavours a little to appeal to the Sri Lankans who'll be dining there.
As for the cost, it definitely is similar to the pricing here in Tokyo and though not very appealing to the majority, if one can afford it and prefers the taste of the food provided- well, its their choice whether to dine there or not.
As for the franchise itself, I would definitely say the food and service offered here in Tokyo TGI Fridays is good - so maybe they just need more time to adjust after their opening for staff to be more trained and ready. Also, about the waiters serving without using trays, that's actually the style of serving because its supposed to be a very casual restaurant. Here in Tokyo they even help groups of friends celebrate birthdays by bringing in dessert, getting everyone's attention in the restaurant and requesting everyone to sing "Happy Birthday". So yeah, don't judge them negatively on that.
This is the pricing in the Tokyo branches… incase anyone wants to compare and see whether the Sri Lankan branch is overpriced compared with the internationally existing restaurants of TGI Fridays. http://www.tgifridays.co.jp/menu/food5.html
I also agree with someone else who posted here saying the reviews seem to be too subjective for a food review… because the preference for taste differs according to the person and the kind of food they're used to eating. So hope future reviews would be more mindful of that fact before disregarding food that someone else might actually enjoy eating as food for dogs.
Anything funded by Cargills will always be useless… like KFC for instance… worst service and standards ever! This is no exception I guess.
This is our second visit to Fridays and I'm really glad to see the improvements of it. This time we had Buffalo Bites and JD Chicken and Shrimps, Unbelievable Bread Pudding. All of them was excellent and the taste of Buffalo Bites was just awesome. Special THANKS to the Sri Lankan chef who is really concern on his food and valuable guests. I thinks Yamu guys got to visit Fridays again to learn their new status.
I agree on Mr. Anthony's comment. I also visited Fridays several times and felt that they have improved a lot. Chef visited our table personally and checked on our food satisfaction, where we all were happy with it. We had Cajun Chicken Pasta and Sea food Platter and JD ribs. I highly recommend to visit TGI Fridays Sri Lanka.
I haven't visited yet, but i've visited in Coventry Uk which was excellent. the waiters are super chirpy and very casual with the customers. From the comments it would be difficult not to believe in what is being said when you look at the service @ KFC. Last evening (Tuesday) I took my son over. There was huge crowd and the staff were so slow and lethargic which was not their fault. it showed that there were no protocol in place to tackle rush situations. If you compare with Mc Donalds it is complete disaster during a rush situation. Thought that using the drive thru was a better option and did so. However even on the drive thru it took over 10mins to get out. I think cargills needs to invest a lot into people training. Still for all the caliber of people skills need to be analysed based on the type of business they are getting into obviously. you cannot have staff o Cargills super markets being used for TGI Fridays unless they have proven such skills.
A Wonderful Evening meeting overran and before we knew it, it was 10:30pm and the restaurant we planned on visiting said it was too late. So we walked round the corner and found TGIF- what a difference a very warm welcome by management and a very delightful and cheerful staff. We had a super evening and the food was amazing- beats the UK's TGIF hands down. Well Done!
A perfect ending to a great evening and our last night in Colombo.
Rene
Can you please go and get an update on the restaurant, apparently it has improved greatly but people still see this review and get thrown off.
I have not tried TGI Fridays yet, but I do concur with other comments having to do with KFC and Food City supermarkets.
An update since the first yamu review is long overdue but Yamu - dont hurry - not much has changed!!!
Having been to TGI in several countries where I have lived and having had a great time every time I had some high expectations walking in.
The place looked great and the welcome is great. However, it was empty on a Thursday night and generally that’s not a good thing…
The drinks – good deal night to begin with so that was a score! The margarita had syrup not real strawberries…bit of a let down there. The waiter said its ‘real’ strawberry syrup.
They didnt have the buffalo wings, one of my favs at Fridays since ive gone mostly for drinks and bites – So wings are not on the menu but can be ordered the waiter said. When I quizzed him on it more he was saying everything is good - a sure warning sign you’re about to be very disappointed. We got the buffalo bites instead which were a disappointment since they didnt have that great spicy bite to them. We asked for some hot sauce and then came that special hot sauce I knew they coat the buffalo wings in…so why didn’t they use that in the first place for the buffalo bites?
Some cheeses were missing acd to the waiter so some menu items were not available – Cargills, a major supermarket chain, not having some types of cheeses…this was a new one. I thought the whole idea was that procuring ingredients would be the least of their worries. Maybe why they failed the Nando’s franchise as well? Another great concept that may never return to our shores…
All throughout our time there was a trivia / bingo night of some sort going on and that just didn’t work in a fairly empty restaurant.
The other thing was the food came nearly as soon as we ordered it. So half way thru our appetizer came the mains. They were not plated well. The place was fairly empty, but I think timing food is important and not hard to do when the place isn’t crowded. Also when food comes out so quickly you tend to wonder – was this like ready made or something??? So we left the bites halfway and dug into the mains…
The food was extremely rich in oil sauces etc – but didn’t feel quality. Even the ribs tasted good but fell short on quality. You feel ill after eating this stuff to be honest and that’s how I felt the next day as well. We left Fridays in under 40 mins after having desert as well – that’s how too fast the service was…we knew bec the same cab came to pick us up and the driver asked if we didn’t like the place or something…
Fridays ideally should be packed with beer drinkers having some great bites and is also it’s a great birthday bar and the staff make it a lot of fun. Here that is not the case so the concept’s culture is completely absent.
In short, as far as a TGI Fridays goes, it falls well short of what the concept is in other countries in Asia. I think the level of staff skills and execution required are just not here in SL and wont be for a while until a new breed of worker comes into being. If you analyse the workers available for this type of work where you are not just serving but entertaining and engaging the customer you will note there is nothing in the middle to support this type of franchise until many years to come. You have saivarrs and 5 stars and everything in the middle is a service nightmare. This is a major problem faced by the service industry as it struggles to get out of a 30yr rut.
I am quite confident that this concept will not make money for Cargills and they will shut it down within the year as TGI the international franchise would not want to damage their brand equity.
An update since the yamu review is long overdue but Yamu - dont hurry - not much has changed from the looks!!!
Having been to TGI in several countries where I have lived and having had a great time every time I had some high expectations walking in.
The place looked great and the welcome is great. However, it was empty on a Thursday night and generally that’s not a good thing…
The drinks – good deal night to begin with so that was a score! The margarita had syrup not real strawberries…bit of a let down there. The waiter said its ‘real’ strawberry syrup.
They didnt have the buffalo wings, one of my favs at Fridays since ive gone mostly for drinks and bites – So wings are not on the menu but can be ordered the waiter said. When I quizzed him on it more he was saying everything is good - a sure warning sign you’re about to be very disappointed. We got the buffalo bites instead which were a disappointment since they didnt have that great spicy bite to them. We asked for some hot sauce and then came that special hot sauce I knew they coat the buffalo wings in…so why didn’t they use that in the first place for the buffalo bites?
Some cheeses were missing acd to the waiter so some menu items were not available – Cargills, a major supermarket chain, not having some types of cheeses…this was a new one. I thought the whole idea was that procuring ingredients would be the least of their worries. Maybe why they failed the Nando’s franchise as well? Another great concept that may never return to our shores…
All throughout our time there was a trivia / bingo night of some sort going on and that just didn’t work in a fairly empty restaurant.
The other thing was the food came nearly as soon as we ordered it. So half way thru our appetizer came the mains. They were not plated well. The place was fairly empty, but I think timing food is important and not hard to do when the place isn’t crowded. Also when food comes out so quickly you tend to wonder – was this like ready made or something??? So we left the bites halfway and dug into the mains…
The food was extremely rich in oil sauces etc – but didn’t feel quality. Even the ribs tasted good but fell short on quality. You feel ill after eating this stuff to be honest and that’s how I felt the next day as well. We left Fridays in under 40 mins after having desert as well – that’s how too fast the service was…we knew bec the same cab came to pick us up and the driver asked if we didn’t like the place or something…
Fridays ideally should be packed with beer drinkers having some great bites and is also it’s a great birthday bar and the staff make it a lot of fun. Here that is not the case so the concept’s culture is completely absent.
In short, as far as a TGI Fridays goes, it falls well short of what the concept is in other countries in Asia. I think the level of staff skills and execution required are just not here in SL and wont be for a while until a new breed of worker comes into being. If you analyse the workers available for this type of work where you are not just serving but entertaining and engaging the customer you will note there is nothing in the middle to support this type of franchise until many years to come. You have saivarrs and 5 stars and everything in the middle is a service nightmare. This is a major problem faced by the service industry as it struggles to get out of a 30yr rut.
I am quite confident that this concept will not make money for Cargills and they will shut it down within the year as TGI the international franchise would not want to damage their brand equity.
Enjoyed our visit to TGI Fridays. The Chicken Quesdilla was a blast. One of the best I have had. The service was good and we enjoyed the Quiz.
I have to agree with what David Blacker said about the service. The overall service of Cargills outlets, be it supermarkets, KFC etc… is a load of crap! I have personally experienced it in one of their supermarkets. Its pretty obvious that the 'management' don't give a toss about customer complaints. They only want our money. No matter how good the service is of TGIF outlets in other countries, the one over here will be a failure on the long run due to the fact that Cargills don't give a damn about a proper and acceptable customer service. I hope this goes well with the dudes/dudettes @ Cargills/TGIF!!!
Why are all the Sri Lankan's here going on about "Sri Lankan's have a long way to go" Sri Lankan's this Sri Lankan's that. So the Sri Lankan's are saying that Sri Lankan's are cavemen? Who are these Other Sri Lanka's here who are so are better than the rest?
Yamu go Have a drink at Vespa, eat at the petti kade down the road and go home, Thats the best review you can do.
Really appalling service! Ordered their lunch set menu and got only half our drinks. When the other half came several people from our group had left already. Completely missed dessert since we were waiting over one and a half hours. They still billed us for full and only reduced the cost of one meal (Rs. 500) very reluctantly after much persuasion from our side. Very disappointing experience. Their excuse was that they were low on staff, which is not the customers fault. But still… TGIF they claim!
Horrible service. Went there today (Friday) They took so much time to serve the food, we went without having desert
I think their FB page was taken down after the numerous negative comments posted about their Quiz Nights, on Tuesdays! It is a fun night with an entertaining host and good prizes of generous food vouchers.However, having been there on several nights,it seems suspicious that every single day for the past 2 months or so, the same group of people wins!! As one team was heard to remark :"Can ANYONE be THAT smart??" And in really tough rounds such as world history and geography, this team hands in their paper almost immediately the round is over, scoring a perfect 10, 99% of the time !! RE the food…we have found it to be average, portions reasonably sized, but as one reviewer above said, the food arrives at your table too fast ---even before you have taken one sip of your cocktails! Is it because they want you to eat and leave fast??? Not a place to go to if you want to have a leisurely evening and a chat. Slap bang the menus arrive and within minutes your food is on your table, even before you have had time to begin a conversation. We stopped going there after a few visits.
The menu is nothing but a TOTAL Fake. I went there today and ordered a Fruits & Nuts Super Salad. I always doubted the recipie and as expected I got the Salad minus walnuts/ Cranberries and Blueberries… when questioned the waiter's and the Managers answer was "we don't have stocks currently" I returned the dish and ended up being a spectator whilst others had lunch merely due to the anger. BTW I am Vegetarian. Watch out guys… The Menu looks attractive but they are short of items and most of the dishes are not available as well. see picture /tmp/VMwareDnD/a16fe7f7/photo 1 (2).JPG
Took ages to get something done. Lot time consuming. waiters seem to be ok but the managers are not doing that good. No attention to the customers. Not a good choice for a lunch in a working day…
I must say, TGIF has the most unique interior and exterior and also a very unique sense of atmosphere that creates a superb hospitality towards the customers. I personally have had or tried almost all their dishes starting from the three selections of their best selling dish; The Jack Daniels selection to every other non vegan dishes available. As a food critic i would rate TGIF with a 7 out of 10. All the items available at TGIF are made using fresh and rich raw materials that can be tested with each bite you take off your plate. I would say my favorite dish would be the Jack Daniels Chicken and Shrimp and also as a dessert, the Oreo Madness. Moving onto the reason i took 3 off 10- the attitude of the staff is very poor. They would respect their customer based on their appearance i would say. If you're a person who was dressed in brands, they would respect you like you are god to them. If you're dressed in a simple manner, they wouldn't. Considering my last experience, one waiter came and informed me saying i'll have to order soon and have it and leave because they were closing at 9.30. I had to unfortunately stay till about 10.30 and noticed how the restaurant was still packed even by then and more were walking in at the time i left. I was disappointed. Besides that, their service is on time and quick. Second, their prices are comparatively high but i must say, once the food reaches the stomach, the cost doesn't really matter since it tastes absolutely delicious and the dish with the item ordered on it itself looks attractive and picture perfect. The oreo madness for an example; Rs. 600. It would 'atleast' be worth it for 450/= maybe?
Third, i began to get an unusual vibe from a few of their staff members the last time i visited their restaurant which i havent experienced anywhere else. This vibe would be a very flirtatious one. Strange looks and checking me out from head to toe and being extra kind. It was confirmed to me once i went back home and had 4 friend requests from four waiters there. Was absolutely disgusted.
The 7 points i offered TGIF would circulate around their very unique sense of serving, the unique atmosphere within the premises and outside and their friendly staff and managers.
good comment may be the bset comment about tgi fridays for this article. but that thing about they were looking at you and having fb request wan funny…actually that is not acceptable. but you must be pretty :P plz don' get me wrong . Just had to say after I saw your comment…
Happy Dinning
Date: 08/July/2016
1 x Jack Daniels 1/2 ribs 1375.00
1 x French fries 150.00
1 X Oreo Madness dessert 600.00
+
Couple of cocktails (I think 2 x long beach iced tea + 1 x long island iced tea).
GRAND TOTAL came to 5562.98.
PROS:
(1.) The pork ribs were good. Quite good.
(2.) French fries were too thin. Must make it thick like they give in Cheers Pub.
CONS:
(1.) This place does NOT have a cozy atmosphere. Ambiance is not that good.
(2.) Live band playing very LOUD music. Too LOUD. Can't hear what the other is saying.
(3.) Again, cocktails are watered down. They don't put enough alcohol. This seems to be a common problem with cocktails in Colombo.
3 out of 5 stars.
Not going again though.
The Vibration part is a bit of an issue, its usually at the table in the middle left of the entrance. When i asked them they said its due to the AC unit or something under the floor.
I'm always refer your site before I go to a restaurant. As I used to work as a 'Shift Leader' in TGI Fridays UK I'm kind of a Pro (boasting lol) about TGI FRIDAYS…
before start I would say TGI FRIDAYS foods/service/quality well different from KFC ,McD and other wel-known places in Sri Lanka. It is not a fast food restaurant
Reason I thought to post a comment for this article is there are some facts I cant agree with… Specially the price. cargills have nothing to do with the price. They are just the franchiser for Sri Lanka. I search about lots of menu 's in different countries. Sri Lanka's TGI FRIDAY's is one of cheapest… JD burger is around 2500 LKR and JD ribs full rack 3286 LKR mozzarella dippers(5 pieces) 1198 LKR with today's rate. in UK.
Also some thing dinners should know if you eating from TGI FRIDAY's you eating quality food… the steaks are 100% from Prague. no matter where u eat from as long as it is TGI FRIDAYS food is same… UK, USA, Sri Lanka ,Japan they all use same kind of meat, and other products comes in same quality. You cant get a same quality if you eat a stake for 650 LKR ( still it depend how the chef cook it :P ).
Also the time they took,,,,, taking 20 mins for making main meal is very very acceptable. Not only TGI Fridays but also most of the restaurants time between the order come to kitchen and deliver it to the guest is same. for Appetizers it is 7-8 mins. from the time that Appetizer deliver to guest within 15 mins the main meal have to send the guest. but It can vary from the main meal you order. eg: if you order 7oz mid-rare New york strip cut steak it take only 7-8 minutes. but if you order 12oz ribeye cut stake for wel-done atleast 20-23 minuts. Main thing is most of the the meat cooked in TGI fridays they cook from raw after you order it ( chicken for fajita cooked in same day morning and keep in proper temp. ribs are precooked and sealed and frozen). So 20 mins for meal is kind of win. If you come to non-fast food place you have to wait 20 mins for meal(most of the time, in my experience some times it went 35 mins in where I used to work. that is not acceptable though hahah)
So I would be thank full to kamu team if you bit more aware about the palaces that where you go. Please don't take me wrong . thousands of people getting knowledge from you guys. So please be bit aware about when it come to these kind of places. Specially internationally famous places , it can be different than we think.
P.S Sorry for long text
REALLY DISAPPOINTING !!!
went with one of our Swedish office colleague for lunch today, i don’t know how TGIF always manage to hire dick head manager who think we are there to eat for free. when we ask whether upstairs is available,simply because only available space was at bar and smoking area, bloody arrogant manager said NO,THAT’S CLOSED!. Is it being polite is a matter to be ashamed ? Even my colleague was asking is it how usually Sri Lankan restaurant managers act ?
People come there to receive the good friendly service as well as tasty food. But the manager who was on duty sucks !!!!
>be Sri Lankan fisherman
>catch fish
>sell to TGIF
>nah son, we like our customers to eat over farmed crap from the Vietcong
this is why we can't have nice things
5/5
Nirma1992
The food was awesome…The favorite meal of mine & my husband is Pork ribs with Jack Daniel Sauce…
1/5
NONYABIZ
I have eaten there ribs and steak and I was not impressed. It's like a hit or miss when it comes to taste. The first time was OK and the last two were terrible.
1/5
AnuJ
Worst customer service ever. Specially don’t go there on Friday. They will yell at you and ask u to sit where they want n they will cook the bill for half n hour and bring it with a 25% discount coupon 😂