TGI Friday’s is a popular American restaurant chain that has finally arrived in Australia and opened their first Sydney branch! It is located on the cinema level of Macquarie Centre (near the bus stops), featuring booths, tables and bar seating all embellished with their signature red and white branding, along with plasma screens playing American football.
A quick glance of their menu shows that it’s full of American classics – burgers, ribs, steaks, buffalo wings and some Tex-Mex items too. There’s an extensive bar menu as well featuring tap beers, cocktails, shots and happy hour specials.
French Canadian Burger – $21.95
It’s so hard to choose what to get, so a friend and I split two burgers. I get the French Canadian Burger, which is a chicken burger with sweet maple syrup, crispy bacon and French brie on a toasted brioche bun. The chicken is generously thick and lean, but is grilled just enough so that it hasn’t dried out. The bun is toasty and goes well with the rest of the fillings. To top it all off, there’s a side of fries which are well seasoned and accompanied with a ramekin filled with aioli, yum!
Ultimate Jack Daniel’s Burger – $23.95
My friend gets the Ultimate Jack Daniel’s Burger; double beef patties stacked with Monterey Jack cheese, cripsy bacon and onion rings on a toasted bun. The beef patties are soft, juicy and tender and just melt in your mouth! I find this burger similar to a super-sized version of a McDonald’s cheeseburger, but way more delicious and nowhere near as oily. The dish is also served with a side of Jack Daniel’s glaze, which tastes like a sweet barbeque sauce that goes amazingly when you pour some on the burger, or eat it with the chips. The only fault with this dish are the onion rings which aren’t as crispy as they look, but that is easily forgotten compared to the rest of the dish.
Vegetable Quesadillas – $18.95
My other friend decides to not go for meat tonight (I would say this is the wrong restaurant choice!) and orders the Vegetable Quesadillas. These contain cheddar cheese, spinach, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, chilli and coriander all pan-fried in a tortilla. However, all I can taste is cheese cheese and cheese! You can tell there are other ingredients inside the quesadilla, but the cheese easily overpowers it unfortunately.
I think I’ve found a new favourite restaurant when it comes to burgers! They are juicy and full of flavour and TGI Friday’s demonstrates that they’ve definitely perfected the American classic. Their only down fall is that food service is a bit slow (30 minutes) but the food thankfully makes up for it. The next time I come back, I’ll be sure to try out their other meat dishes including steaks and ribs. Just a quick note – as we were leaving, there was a queue outside so I would suggest booking when you visit.
TGI Friday’s
Macquarie Shopping Centre
Herring Road, North Ryde NSW 2113
Ph:Â (02) 9888 3440
I still remembering my TGIF in Melbourne years ago! The JD burger looks awesome! Can never resist an onion ring!
Can’t believe they took so long to expand here!
jack daniel’s burger sounds sooo bad yet sooo awesome!
May have to make trip out to North Ryde to try a TGIF JD burger, looks great.
Going to have to make my way to TGIF. Ultimate Jack Daniel’s Burger looks ULTIMATE 😛
It was amazing!!! 😀
Wow, the venue looks huge! But a bit pricey for a vego quesadilla, no?
It is, especially since it was much too cheesy. Go for a meat dish if you pay them a visit 🙂
the JD brer looks real good! keen to try out ribs and all too!
I had the ribs on a separate visit but didn’t review it here. They’re served plain with the Jack Daniels sauce on the side. Quite boring if you try it plain but when you pour the sauce on it tasted really good. It also comes with chips and coleslaw as well!
Now I know where to go for a good burger!
Those burgers look good! I’ve been wanting to visit TGI Fridays since I saw it had opened in Macquarie Centre but the lines scared me off a bit. Good to know they take bookings though!
Nooo way! I’ve never ever been and always wondered what the food was like. May give it a go after this.
AWESOME PLACE TO EAT 😀 really enjoyed the American style food =]
We think it’s pretty great too! 🙂