There are certain restaurants which have their fixed clientele throughout the year. One such place is T.G.I. Friday’s, popularly known as TGIF. Recently they launched their new menu. Out of the four outlets, I went to the one located in Great India Place Mall, Noida. As usual being a Friday it was jam packed and people were waiting outside to get a seat but luckily I had a reservation.
The good part about the new menu is that it is priced reasonably, so now at least people can have a TGIF experience without emptying their pockets. I started with a mix of appetisers. Out of the latest ones, the nacho lamb chilli roll was awesome. Bite-sized flour tortilla rolls filled with queso cheese and spicy lamb topped with melted colby was a classic mix of flavours, though the chicken pot stickers were really bad. To be rated as a dumpling its batter needs loads of improvement. For all its fancy name, the plate of stacked lamb chilli cheese fries was disappointing. The fries were good but there was hardly any lamb in it. Loaded potato skins, one of their signature dishes, tasted nice but again the quantity of cheese did not justify the description of being ‘loaded’ with cheese. The only thing which was loaded with cheese was their spicy chicken pizza — crisp, crunchy topped with dollops of melting cheese. It was worth a bite.
The seafood platter had more or less a uniform taste. You try their fish, shrimps or calamari — all very crunchy, but they all have the same flavour. The dish I loved best out of the entire dinner was the Tex Mex sizzling chicken fajita. Sizzlers are always a delight to watch, but if it tastes good then nothing beats the smoky fajita in winters. Chimichurri sauce did it for me and gave the chicken strips a nice zing. Their pepper roasted chicken was a disappointment as it was served cold and was flavourless. Just too bland. Even the roasted onions with red and green peppers tasted better than the chicken. For dessert, I had a mocha mud pie and voted it the part of the menu for which I will visit TGIF again for sure.
Meal for two – Rs.1500