£25 burgers and £9 desserts - 'basic' TGI Fridays has priced itself out

My burger and fries came to £28.35
-Credit: (Image: Manchester Family / MEN)


It's been around for decades and, when the TGI Fridays chain first arrived in the UK, it's fair to say it caused quite a stir.

While McDonald's had already cemented its presence on the high streets, the late 1980s and early '90s saw a surge of interest in American fast food.

Established in New York in 1965 by Alan Stillman as a celebration of the weekend - the name itself an acronym for 'Thank God It's Friday' - the restaurant-bars had a vibe like nothing Americans had seen before, with bartenders performing impressive juggling stunts or 'flares', such as pouring drinks into shakers from great heights or tossing bottles between them.

Read more: We tried The Trafford Centre's luxury dessert café

By the time it came to the UK in 1986, it had already began to shift its focus from singles to family dining and it was in December 1990 when Greater Manchester welcomed its first TGI Fridays to Cross Street, Sale.

TGI Fridays at The Trafford Centre
TGI Fridays at The Trafford Centre -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN

The Trafford Centre branch arrived a few years later and I remember visiting to celebrate my birthday not long after the shopping mall first opened its doors in September 1998. It was new, fresh and exciting - a bit like my 20-year-old self.

Step forward a quarter of a century - and with a return visit with my daughter this week - it's clear I'm not the only one feeling a little tired and worn.

It's probably why this week's news that Hostmore, the UK operator of TGI Fridays, has collapsed into administration, came as little surprise.

It's not so much the trademark red leather couches and dark brown tables - the sides of which are looking a bit worse for wear - that's the problem here. The Trafford site in particular, with its iconic motorbike parked outside, looks fairly modern and it's certainly been updated over the years.

My daughter's chicken and chips cost £19.95, with a 50p upgrade for garlic fries
My daughter's chicken and chips cost £19.95, with a 50p upgrade for garlic fries -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN

And it's not the staff who are at fault, they were friendly, polite, professional and clearly keeping the place clean and running smoothly. They checked and double checked when it came to my daughter's peanut allergy, which is always a reassuring sign that they're on top of things.

But it's the fact that food wise, it doesn't really offer anything different to what you can get elsewhere. It just costs more.

A typical burger will set you back around £19, with house fries or salad. Intrigued to see whether its £25.45 Big Cheese Dipper Smashed Burger could possibly be worth the money, I went for that. An upgrade to sweet potato fries cost me an extra £2.90.

Don't get me wrong, it's a big burger - with mozzarella dippers and bacon on there too - but it was in no way worth that hefty price tag. And my stomach paid a price of its own with the amount of grease dripping from it.

Those upgraded fries were pretty much inedible. I ate a few but most were cremated.

The burger menu at TGI Fridays
The burger menu at TGI Fridays -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN

My daughter opted for the simple chicken fingers and chips, priced a rather staggering £19.95. Her upgrade to garlic fries was cheaper at 50p.

She got six tenders in all, alongside pots of bbq sauce and honey mustard mayo. She had no complaints over the chicken, but it was 'nothing special' and you'd typically expect to pay half what it costs here, perhaps less.

Desserts are almost £9 each, so went for the 'best shared between two' option of Brownie Obsession, costing £10.80.

Described as 'gooey, rich brownies with hot fudge, vanilla ice cream and chocolate and caramel sauces, what was served up matched the description - and it was tasty enough - but again, nothing special.

The 'best shared between two' Brownie Obsession dessert
The 'best shared between two' Brownie Obsession dessert -Credit:Manchester Family / MEN

Same with the milkshake, costing £7.50, and with the Coke I ordered, at £3.95, the bill for the two of us came to £71.

The problem seems to be that TGIs has priced itself out of a very crowded market. There are so many offerings these days for tasty chicken and burgers, especially inside The Trafford Centre, where you've got Archie's, Five Guys and Slim Chickens to name a few.

Even those wanting a proper sit down experience, for a family gathering perhaps, aren't going to shell out above the odds for something that's pretty basic.

It would be sad to see the place close and The Trafford Centre site is one of 87 restaurants being sold, alongside another six others in Greater Manchester. The others are Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Cheadle, Manchester Royal Exchange, Prestwich and Sale.

But it's a brutal industry to be in right now and you've got to offer something a little special to survive.