Frankie And Benny's - Newham

We spent one of the warmest and most pleasant Saturday afternoons in Greenwich and trying to find a decent ice cream parlour, but without avail. Finally, we figured out that the Italian American restaurant by the harbour might as well serve some cups with ice cream. Indeed, we were pleased that upstairs on the roof deck there was still plenty of space and the choices of ice cream looked appealing (in the menu). It took a while to attract the waitress who was very busy, but finally managed to place our order after 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes later, our ice cream (raspberry trifle and godfather) arrived. My ice cream cup should have been decorated with chocolate sauce and granulated nuts, but arrived very bland without a decoration. I sent it back to the kitchen and after this second attempt it still did not even vaguely resemble the cover photo of the menu, but at least all ingredients listed on the menu could be identified. Taste was okay but not overwhelming and my “godfather” cup was filled with soggy square brownie clumps and a great number of bullets (malt balls, also known as Maltesers). These really ruined the experience of the ice cream although the waitress assured me that these bullets are part of the original “godfather”. Technically, the Godfather movie indeed features hails of bullets, but I did not expect them to end up in my ice cream. We ordered the bill, which arrived after another 15 minutes, and as the waitress did not appear to come back with the credit card machine, went inside after further 10 minutes to pay. Inside I realised that these significant delays and poor service could be explained by the only two members of staff serving this whole floor (all the dirty dished were piling up on the bar inside). When we left the restaurant, we found however a number of staff idle on the ground floor. I think management has to improve the quality checks in the kitchen (just ensure that the appearances of their products has some likeness to the photographs on their menu) and they also need to give more support to their waiting staff. In any case, the quality of both ice creams was underwhelming and I don’t think we will come here again anytime soon.

Very well situated F&B, niceish view. Again very much a chain restaurant, but friendly service and kid-friendly menu. Not bad for adults in need of a quick bite of standard fare. No surprises, in good and bad. A bit too loud background muzak, but that obviously goes with the concept.

On a recent visit to London, my wife and I decided to try this restaurant as we were staying close by and had never experienced this particular chain. We were delighted to be given a table overlooking the river and the three-course midweek special meal with a drink was excellent value for money. Our two waitresses, Tasha and Tiphaine were absolutely lovely and could not have been more attentive and helpful. We were so impressed that since returning to the Midlands, we have already eaten at our local Frankie and Benny's.

We visited prior to a gig at O2. We arrived 5.30pm to find hat there would be a 50minute wait. As most restaurants had queues a mile long we opted to wait in their upstairs bar with a drink and a bleeper to ay that our table wa ready. True to time, we were seated and although the staff were very busy, they took our order which arrived very promptly and was great. Same with desert. Staff checked that we had everything and brought the bill quickly. We made a point of praising the staff because they were extremely busy but still cheerful and accurate with the order.

We visited this branch of Frankie and Benny's when we went to see Busted at the O2 Arena. We thought we arrived early for food, but there was already and 50-55 minute wait for a table. Since all the other restaurant's seemed to be in a similar situation, we opted to wait in the bar. 50 minutes later and we were at our table, so their timing was spot on. We ordered our food and it appeared less than ten minutes later and tasted brilliant. This was repeated with dessert. We want to commend the staff on their speedy service that didn't compromise the quality of the food. I will definitely come again when I'm next at the O2.