Could you conquer The Monster?

TGI Friday's, Covent Garden, soon filled up

Covent Garden, London is probably one of the busiest places to be in Autumn/Winter as the area gets ready to celebrate the festive season in its own, flamboyant style.

So a trip to review TGI Friday's left me feeling apprehensive, and the battle-plan was drawn on how to navigate through the tourist-majority crowds and then on how best to attract attention in what would blatantly be a full restaurant.

I was wrong on one count.

Yes, there were plenty of people milling about, making their way to see the Christmas carols being belted out by the market entrance, but once inside the American-themed eatery, there was the pleasant realisation that service should be decent judging by a fair amount of empty seats.

We had booked our table for 7pm on a Wednesday night, and after introducing ourselves to the front desk, we were shown to our seats, given a drinks and food menu with a cheerful smile.

One negative, which was fairly evident, was the size of the table and the close proximity not only to other diners, but also that it was right on the walkway. Also, there were a couple of sticky patches on the table, and a prawn on the floor underneath the table opposite caught my eye. But with the nature of the trade of TGI's it is near-impossible to keep on top of everything all the time, so an issue wasn't made of this.

Obviously the idea of the business is to get as many people in as possible, keeping the service prompt so as to keep a revolving door of custom. But this led to there already appearing to be an atmosphere of rush and bustle - waiters and waitresses were near-jogging around. But we will call this the American-themed enthusiastic atmosphere!


Paradise Punch

Strawberry Surprise

We ordered a cocktail each after being introduced to our friendly waitress for the evening, Bella. I plumped for the Paradise Punch, which was Southern Comfort, Luxardo Amaretto, BOLS Grenadine and SKYY vodka with pineapple, orange and lime juices. My partner was on the non-alcoholic cocktails for the evening, and went for the Strawberry Surprise, which was frozen strawberry, apple and pineapple juices topped with soda. (For cocktail menu, click here).

The only complaint I would say is that, the fruit juices perhaps overshadow some of the alcohol tones, but as some have told me recently, that's the trick of cocktails that keeps you ordering more. The Strawberry Surprise wasn't so much of a surprise as it went down well, although the strawberry flavour was a little too weak, which when the ice melts, tends to get lost completely.

All the while, the place was filling up, the noise-levels were rising, and the walkway next to our table was becoming more trafficy.

The Monster Burger - prior to being attacked

Finished - like a boss

We decided on mains only, and I knew even before getting there, what I was going to choose.

The Monster burger. A 12oz burger heaped with crispy bacon, sliced Colby cheese, Cajun-battered onion rings, and Friday's mayo on a toasted seeded bun with fresh cos lettuce, red onion and beef tomato. All served with crispy fries. (Click food menu, click here).

The menu asked the question 'can you handle it?' and the answer, proved by me, was yes (although it was a struggle)!

I felt like Adam Richman from the hit American TV programme Man v Food. I began to plan how to tackle the mound on my plate. The best idea would be to tackle the burger as priority, eating the chips sparingly even if it meant there would be quite a few left at the end. One plan went out the window immediately - there was no time for messing around with a knife and fork, this had to be done in real cave-man style.

The French Canadian Twisted Burger

So, despite not being able to get my mouth around the full height of the burger, I battled through, enjoying every minute of the succulent and gristle-free meat, perfectly complemented by a cool and refreshing sauce.

And in about 20 minutes, I had completed my task. Albeit some time after my partner, who went for the lighter French Canadian 'twisted burger'.

This was a grilled chicken breast basted with sweet Canadian maple syrup and topped with crispy bacon and creamy melted French brie, on a classic toasted bun with cos lettuce, beef tomato and red onion, served with a creamy garlic mayo.

Purple Rain, back, and Hawaiian Island
Surfer, front

The maple syrup was succinct and just-about sweet, however it was noted that the bun being sweet too, perhaps overloaded that particular taste. The chicken was well cooked and flavoursome on its own, without being overpowering.

During my intense war with The Monster, I ordered in another cocktail, Purple Rain.

This is Bacardi Superior rum, BOLS Blue Curacao, SKYY vodka and Chambord with a drizzle of BOLS Grenadine, it looked good, and tasted amazing - my same criticism that it was hard to distinguish the individual alcohols. However, the mix was refreshing and wickedly-coloured.

My partner went for the Hawaiian Island surfer, Peaches, pina colada, pineapple juice and orange sherbet, with vanilla flavor ice cream. This was a really flavoursome concoction, which maintained it's taste till the very end.

It was decided, after sweating my way through my mound of meat, that we would have hot drinks as our 'dessert,' I want for a cappuccino and my partner, as traditional as she is, went for a tea. They arrived well presented with enough sugar and milk.

The service throughout from Bella was excellent, she was always prepared to come over when I caught her eye, she also, and I think this is vital in the restaurant industry, gave her opinions and recommendations on the food and cocktail menu.

On summing up this restaurant, I would say it is somewhere you should go if you are really hungry. Although I can't make judgement on the salad and lighter options, it is a very main-meat orientated venue, and without trying a sizeable burger, steak or fajita you really would be missing out.

But don't rule out popping in for a cocktail - the variety is excellent, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. And perhaps during the week might be a good idea to beat the queues!

Scores on the doors (out of 10)

Setting - 7
Service - 8
Quality of food - 8
Cleanliness - 7

Total score  - 30/40

To make a booking for TGI Friday's, Covent Garden, click here

Enjoy some top-quality meat at TGI Friday's