4. Restaurants

TGI Friday’s

3101 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA, 94403
  • (650) 570-4684
  • Store is closed

TGI Friday’s Menu

  • Appetizers
  • Burger and Sandwiches
  • Dinner
  • Drinks
  • Pasta
  • Smoothies
  • Soups & Salads
  • Starter

Diabetics at TGI Friday

If you're a diabetic, then you must be extra careful while dining at TGI Friday. Try the salad menu at TGI Friday to keep your sugar and sodium intake in check. Soups are great to keep you full and satisfied without munching on the unhealthy greased meat-based dishes on TGI Friday menu.

Foods to Avoid at TGI Friday for Diabetics:

Sugar and sodium intake are crucial if you have diabetes. While the salads are the best option for you at TGI Friday, it is recommended to avoid the Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad containing over 1000 calories and 1,650mg sodium. Also, skip Warm Pretzels with Craft Beer-Cheese dipping sauce as it contains more than 3000mg sodium. It is wise to skip the dessert for diabetics, especially the Brownie Obsession topped with Vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and pecans.

Food Suggestions for Diabetics at TGI Friday

Mozzarella Sticks with Marinara Sauce

Nutritional Facts: 560 calories, 33g (Tans. Fat 1g & Sat. Fat 16g), 790mg sodium, 37g carbs, 2g sugar, 6g fiber, 27g Protein

Chicken Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken (Lunch portion) with Caesar Dressing

Nutritional Facts: 310 calories, 28g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 6g), 800mg sodium, 38g carbs, 3g sugar, 2g fiber, 11g Protein

Kids Meal Chicken Sandwich

Nutritional Facts: 310 calories, 14g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 3.5g), 700mg sodium, 26g carbs, 3g sugar, 2g fiber, 22g Protein

Kid's Side - Seasoned Fries

Nutritional Facts: 320 calories, 16g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 3g), 810mg sodium, 40g carbs, 0g sugar, 5g fiber, 5g Protein

Kid's Side - Fresh Fruit

Nutritional Facts: 45 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 0mg sodium, 12g carbs, 10g sugar, 1g fiber, 1g Protein

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® - Tea - English Breakfast

Nutritional Facts: 0 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 10mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g Protein

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® - Tea - Mint Green

Nutritional Facts: 0 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 10mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g Protein

Healthy Meal suggestions for T G I

  • Appetizers
  • Burger and Sandwiches
  • Dinner
  • Pasta
  • Smoothies
  • Soups & Salads
  • Starter

High Blood Pressure at TGI Friday

Most foods served at TGI Friday are high in sodium and could be a health risk if you are concerned with your blood pressure levels. You can always opt for salads or soups. However, you must check the sodium levels in burgers, sandwiches, appetizers, and desserts before ordering.

Foods to Avoid at TGI Friday for High Blood Pressure

While the salads are healthy at TGI Friday, you must skip the Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad. You should also avoid Jack Daniel's Ribs and Shrimp at TGI Fridays for its high sodium content. Appetizers are the best to ensure that you don't eat too much while dining outside. However, you must skip Warm Pretzels with Craft Beer-Cheese Dipping sauce as one serving of this contains over 3000mg sodium.

Food Suggestions for High Blood Pressure at TGI Friday

Caesar Salad with Breadstick with Caesar Dressing

Nutritional Facts: 440 calories, 31g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 7g), 720mg sodium, 33g carbs, 4g sugar, 3g fiber, 9g Protein

House Salad with Breadstick

Nutritional Facts: 220 calories, 8g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 3.5g), 330mg sodium, 29g carbs, 5g sugar, 3g fiber, 8g Protein

Kid's Dessert - Vanilla Ice Cream

Nutritional Facts: 460 calories, 26g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 17g), 170mg sodium, 39g carbs, 5g sugar, 0g fiber, 6g Protein

Kids Meal Pasta & Marinara

Nutritional Facts: 240 calories, 2g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 150mg sodium, 46g carbs, 7g sugar, 4g fiber, 9g Protein

Kid's Side - Carrots w/ Ranch 150

Nutritional Facts: 150 calories, 14g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 2.5g), 340mg sodium, 7g carbs, 3g sugar, 1g fiber, 1g Protein

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® - Coffee - Black/Decaf

Nutritional Facts: 5 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 5mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g Protein

Espresso

Nutritional Facts: 5 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 5mg sodium, 1g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g Protein

Healthy Meal suggestions for T G I

  • Burger and Sandwiches
  • Dinner
  • Pasta
  • Smoothies
  • Soups & Salads
  • Starter

High Cholesterol at TGI Friday

Fat and calorie count are normally high at American diners and TGI Friday is no exception in that case. Too greasy and fried items will not only boost your calorie intake but also increase your bad cholesterol levels. You should make smart choices while dining at TGI Friday if you have cholesterol issues.

Foods to Avoid at TGI Friday for High Cholesterol

TGI Fridays are also famous for their ribs and steak. However, it is in the best interest of those concerned with high cholesterol to stay away from Jack Daniel's Ribs and Shrimp. Desserts are a big NO for you if you are worried about your high cholesterol levels. It is recommended to skip all kinds of desserts, especially the Brownie Obsession. You should also skip the meat burgers and sandwiches at TGI Fridays as these items are high in saturated fat which can elevate your LDL levels.

Food Suggestions to Maintain Cholesterol Level at TGI Friday

Traditional Wings BBQ

Nutritional Facts: 500 calories, 24g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 7g), 790mg sodium, 29g carbs, 24g sugar, 1g fiber, 44g Protein

Grilled Chicken Pecan & Blue Cheese Salad (Lunch portion)

Nutritional Facts: 480 calories, 21g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 5g), 870mg sodium, 30g carbs, 8g sugar, 10g fiber, 66g Protein

Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard ((Hand-Breaded)

Nutritional Facts: 440 calories, 33g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 6g), 700mg sodium, 26g carbs, 8g sugar, 1g fiber, 11g Protein

Kid's Side - Side Salad

Nutritional Facts: 45 calories, 2g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 1g), 90mg sodium, 5g carbs, 1g sugar, 1g fiber, 2g Protein

Kid's Side - Mandarin Oranges

Nutritional Facts: 60 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 10mg sodium, 14g carbs, 14g sugar, 1g fiber, 1g Protein

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® - Tea - Apricot

Nutritional Facts: 0 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 10mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g Protein

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®

Nutritional Facts: 0 calories, 0g (Tans. Fat 0g & Sat. Fat 0g), 10mg sodium, 0g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g Protein

Healthy Meal suggestions for T G I

  • Appetizers
  • Burger and Sandwiches
  • Dinner
  • Drinks
  • Pasta
  • Smoothies
  • Starter

  • mrhustler h.

    LOL this place reminds me of shenanigans from that movie waiting. I don't expect the best food here but I do expect some good customer service. The server here blows and there's nothing else I can say. If you ever eat here, I would just come for the drinks or watch some sports.

    (1)

  • Sherol L.

    Wow! This place just sucks! Horrible horrible service. Hopefully the food will be good.

    (1)

  • Lauren K.

    Maybe it's because it's Christmas Eve and everybody is out eating dinner with their family at home but it was not crowded at all when I got here. My family and I were greeted at the door and instantly seated. Our happy waitress took our drink order and then came back minutes later to take our order. She said I'd be less than 10 minutes, sweeeeet! I ordered the BBQ Chicken Wrap with Sweet Potato fries [extra 99 cents] (BBQ grilled chicken inside a wrap that includes Cajun onion straws, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ranch dressing and Jack Daniel's® mayo) and my sister ordered the Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta (Al dente fettuccine ribbons in our creamy Alfredo sauce under delicious chicken and shrimp sautéed with red bell peppers in a special Cajun butter. All topped with Parmesan shavings). We split our order so we could try both. The BBQ Chicken Wrap was good but a little too much BBQ sauce for my liking. The Pasta is supposed to be a little spicy since it is cajun but I felt like there was a bit too much pepper in it which kept me from enjoying the other flavors of the sauce. The Sweet Potato fries are definitely worth spending the extra 99 cents. They were fried perfectly and it wasn't overly oily. The outside of it was crispy while the inside was soft and warm. PERFECT! I'm not exactly sure if it's because there weren't that many people, but service was superb! My dad did find a coupon in the newspaper for $10 off $25 or more so look out for those! There's also a promotion going on for the holidays: Buy $25 worth of giftcard and get an extra $5 giftcard. The manager was really nice and let us use the extra giftcard toward today's dinner. What a deal!

    (4)

  • Lene N.

    Whats nice about this location is that they took us even though they were 30 minutes to closing. Most places would turn you away..so that was nice. I came with a party of 4, for dinner & drinks. My new favorite drink would have to be the Acai Berry Mojito! It's refreshing and not too sweet. Our service was A-OK. He rarely came to check on us and we constantly need to remind him to refill our drinks. Other than the service everything else was fine. In the end, the food & drinks are all that matters! I will be back, for my acai mojito !

    (3)

  • Victoria Y.

    This places' only saving grace is their Jack Daniels sauce. Came here with 3 girls and got our drinks pretty quickly. Ordered appetizers and our entrees which came about 45 minutes later. Food was cold, oily and messy. We asked for the bill which took another 10 minutes and then 20 minutes for them to charge our credit cards (no joke). I had to flag the "manager" down because I was late for work. When he finally brought our credit cards back to us there was no pen to sign it. It took another 5 to get a pen. The manager was great but our server was SLOW. This is by far the slowest chain I've been to. There shouldn't have been a reason to be slow since the restaurant was 1/5 filled. ARGH!

    (1)

  • Serena C.

    OH EM GEE! My friends and I had thee worst experience here!! - Our server greeted us after 20mins of us sitting there wondering where the hell she was - We searched for her for 25mins trying to get our check so we can get the hell out - After getting our check by the MANAGER, our check was calculated all wrong!! The manager himself said he took the liberty of applying the happy hour prices for us. - After receiving the corrected check, we get no apologies for the wait or the wrong amount!! ...thee worst! I have a headache just thinking about my experience here :(

    (1)

  • Glenn H.

    This location reopened fairly recently and based on the previous reviews I was not expecting much. But it was a really good experience. Friendly service, and more-than-decent food at a reasonable pice. I had their flat-iron steak and was not disappointed--the steak was not tough (not fork tender however either) but it was done just right for an 8 ounce and the fresh steamed veggies were also done perfectly (OK: with minor microwave marks). And my wife had a really tasty Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta dish. So this was a good restart and I look forward to returning to see how well they fare in other areas.

    (4)

  • Anne J.

    What a joke of a restaurant! Lack of motivated staff and kitchen serving food that you'd rather not eat makes me never wanting to go there again.For a restaurant chain that once used to be my favorite hangout spot, to go this downhill is really appalling and heartbreaking .

    (1)

  • Ekaterina B.

    Me and my friends, we were looking for a place to rest and have a dinner after a hard day, and decided to stop by Fridays. I'll be honest - we were not disappointed with our decision) When we just opened the door, the waiter welcomed us and with hoping that his tables are clean for the new guests, asked us to follow him. He was funny and pleasant, so we easily forgot about our problems and changed our mood to "party-time". He was checking on how are we doing and asking is everything fine, but in a way when you feel that person really cares and does his job perfectly. I was REALLY impressed by the service :) Speaking about food, it was delicious! And I think that price and quality match and make sense. I really felt in love with hamburgers and salads out there, it's incredible! When my friend was talking about to order or not to order some drinks - the waiter winked and told that he's gonna bring us lemonades and won't charge anything - it's on him. Oh my god, it was so nice to hear that! For sure, it's just couple of lemonades, but still, are waiters letting you have something for free? You see, not really. I was so glad that we went there and had a little party after a long, stressful day :)

    (5)

  • Ivy R.

    TGI Fridays was made for work day lunches. According to my husband they were made for youthful after work happy hours and debauchery but that was BI (Before Ivy). The menu is extensive but mostly wasn't that appealing to me. There was a photo of a pink Cosmo on the front of the menu that really made me drool. No, No especially on lunches with the boss. I kept it simple with an order of Chicken Fingers and Fries. My boss got Fish & Chips. Real tough orders. There was like 5 giant Chicken Fingers. I only ate 2 along with some of the fries. Honey mustard sauce is the only way to go as your dipping sauce by the way. Service was fast and everyone was nice from the moment we walked in. It was not busy or maybe it was because its giant and everyone was spread out so we didn't feel cramped. We finished up and I got the rest of my Chicken Fingers to go. My husband really enjoyed them while he regaled me with stories of his drunken youth at another Fridays in San Francisco. Aaaa, drunken youth, how memorable.

    (3)

  • Daniel F.

    Used to be an awesome hangout spot and place to get good appetizers and drinks. It must have some kind of cures. Since they reopened, this Friday's has plummeted. I went here roughly a week ago (Mar-2013): It was happy hour, but my wife and I wanted a table, the 16 year old hostess said it would be around 15 min before we get seated, "but you can hang out at the bar until then." (actual quote). I stood at the very packed bar and waited for the bartender to come by. She walked up and asked me what I'd like. I asked for a Blue Moon, then she hesitated and told me she couldn't serve me because I had a table. I told her I didn't have a table yet, "I'm waiting on one." She said it didn't matter, "you need to order from your server." At this point I reiterated everything that was happening right then. I said, "I'm a customer, standing here, at the bar, ordering a beer... Your really not going to take my order?" The stupidity kicked in, and she finally got me my beer which wasn't happy hour priced. We were sat at at our table shortly after that. Our server was polite, that was the only thing he had going for him. Didn't ask how I wanted my burger cooked, took 20 minutes to bring us our bill. There's more to the story, but I think my point is across. This place totally sucks now. The people the owner hired to run this joint are not rounded enough to work at a restaurant. High school kids and rehab program enthusiasts it seems. Eat somewhere else!

    (1)

  • Kim N.

    Sometimes you get stuck with very little time for food and are at the mercy of public transit. So when at Hillsadle, TGIF is literally right next to the train. I used to go to these when I was in high school and I dont think I've been since right out of college. Decided I wanted a burger and so I came in and sat at the bar. Got the NY Cheddar Bacon burger that came with fries. Burger actually had decent flavor but they murdered the temperature. Why is it that it's so hard to get medium rare correctly out of so many restos? Fries were good and Paddric the bartender was actually pretty awesome. One thing I learned, the music piped into each branch comes from corporate and is the same everywhere. That's crazy. Doors, James Brown, Coldplay, John Mellencamp..it's all over the map. Pretty amusing. Who knows how many years it will be before I actually set foot back in one of these again. But weirder things have happened

    (3)

  • Leanne B.

    Went for lunch. Waited about 15 min for the bartender to ask what we wanted. There was none else at the bar. The tables had few people. But not what I would call super b. asked for menus. We both order burgers. Which ere vey good. Bartender get credit for bing smart when he served up our food asked is we wanted another beer. After eating we waited and waited for our check. Donor horrible but not good either. This places used to great food and busy. I sont think they have recovered from being closed

    (3)

  • Katrina J.

    Keeping it short. We shared the Jack Chicken Strips, I got the Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta and my boyfriend got the Mac N' Cheese that is served with bacon pieces and a chicken breast. The Jack Chicken Strips are usually my favorite but I was really surprised at how good his Mac N' Cheese was! Next time I'm definitely getting that. The pasta was just okay, I asked for it to be REALLY SPICY, like burning spicy and it wasn't spicy at all. It was a little hot but not what I was looking for.

    (3)

  • Laura S.

    I went here, for the first time, with a friend last weekend. And was surprised to see that they didn't a single decent option for vegetarians. Lots and lots of burgers, but not a single veggie burger. I asked the waiter (who was very nice) if there was a chance that maybe they might have veggie burgers in the back as an option (I know some restaurants do this - not many, but some do). Not TGI Friday's. They're about as bad as Marie Callender's was about half a year ago (before they added a veggie burger to their menu). No vegetarian options to speak of (unless you just want a salad). Seriously??? For anyone who doesn't know this, reducing the amount of meat you eat is just about the biggest thing you can do for the environment. I'm going to take this shameless opportunity to quote an article (one of many I've read on this topic) about why the production of beef is bad for the environment. Below are some notable parts of the article vegetariantimes.com/feat… (and for anyone who thinks its biased, please feel free to look up the facts for yourself... it's all over the internet): "The production of beef and other animal protein consumes huge amounts of natural resources such as water, fossil fuels and topsoil, while polluting our water and air. In fact, switching to a plant-based diet from a meat-eating diet is the single most important move I can make to help the environment, much more effective than turning off the water when I brush my teeth or recycling and reusing. Today, there are more than 17 billion livestock in the world; that's about triple the number of people. Raising these animals requires huge amounts of water, most of it used to irrigate the grains and hay fed to the animals. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. This is the same amount of water you would use if you took a seven-minute shower every day for six entire months." I'm not saying I never, ever eat meat. I am not 100 percent vegetarian, but I try to avoid meat when there are decent vegetarian options available. I'm not saying TGI Fridays should never serve meat. But to not offer a SINGLE decent non-meat-filled option on their whole menu is Bull****. Before I get off my soap box i'm going to leave a couple of quotes worth remembering: "In their behavior toward creatures, all men are Nazis. Human beings see oppression vividly when they're the victims. Otherwise they victimize blindly and without a thought." -Isaac Bashevis Singer, author, Nobel Prize 1978 "Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." - Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel Prize 1921 ... and one more I'd like to add to commemorate this President's day holiday: "I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being." - Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President Please, TGI Friday's. Would you please consider at least adding a veggie burger or at least ONE decent vegetarian option to your menu? Einstein and Lincoln would be proud.

    (2)

  • Rachel B.

    I find you get better service when you sit at the bar. If you sit at a table you can wait ages for someone to come and take your order and then get your food but staff at the bar are a lot better. The drinks are better than the food and there is TV around the bar you can watch while waiting for your food.

    (3)

  • Dru M.

    So you know those TGI Fridays "$12.99 three course" TV/radio commercials that have been airing for what seems like forever? Well...I do and you would believe they stopped the special this month? I know...talk about bad timing especially since this was the reason we decided to stop by this TGI Fridays recently. But I digress... :) Regarding our experience...they had a pretty good variety for food (larger menu than I remembered then having) and drinks (full bar, nice beer/wine selection and cocktail list - I suggest you try the blackberry mojito). Great service...server came by every 5 minutes or so to make sure everything was perfect. I appreciated the extra attention. Few highlights - *I loved the Blackberry Mojito and my bf enjoyed their Long Island Ice Tea. *Pot stickers for appetizer. Lightly pan fried with a lot of flavor. Pretty large portion too...6 total. *I went with the Japanese hibachi with grilled chicken. Seasoned well and large portion. Overall...good food, service and close to Hillsdale Shoppping Center, Caltrain and 101. I recommend them if you're looking for a good meal in the area.

    (3)

  • Paul G.

    The happy hour is good. But usually the shift change is at five, and the night time bartenders prefer to chat to other co- workers rather than take care of customers. It becomes frustrating to order another drink or food, because you feel like you are bothering them

    (2)

  • Harry J.

    This place has good deals good food and good drinks. Although there is one bartender named nick that is the absolute worse. He is rude and unprofessional, hes takin money befor from my friend thinking it was an automatic tip. Refused me and my friends at the bar everytime we go there now. Other than him every other employee is great and respectful. Nick the bartender needs to be fired he does no good there. I spend about $50 everytime i go and i go a lot. There about to loose this customer if things dont change with him.

    (4)

  • Muresan R.

    We wanted to come and have a nice dinner here tonight, but we waited for 20 min at the table and nobody came to us or gave us the menus. So we left...again bad customer service....what is happening? Yelp should help improve this, right?

    (1)

  • Vans C.

    Wanted a casual dinner with friends so decided to try this place out. the warriors game was on so it seemed busy for a Tuesday night. I ordered the spicy beef white queso nacho appetizer and the cajun shrimp alfredeo pasta. It took about 40 minutes for the food to get here, but we were informed that half of their cooks called in sick today, so I let that go. The food came out mouth-burning HOT -- just the way i like it. Everything tasted great and the server was attentive. Saw a decadent-looking oreo dessert, but I was extremely full and couldn't eat another bite. Note to self: save room to order that next time.

    (4)

  • Christine L.

    Honestly I am a little surprised at some of the reviews I've be seeing on the re-opened TGIF in San Mateo. Everytime I have been there I have had outstanding customer service, and the food is way better than last time. Its great they have an all new wait and bar staff. These people are fresh and not yet jaded by their restaurant jobs, and seem to actually want to serve you a good meal. I've eater here a few times now since they re-opened and everything I have tasted is fresh and yummy. Last night my boyfriend and I went there after the Yelp event in P.A., looking for a little something to munch on the way home. We shared the Jack Daniels Sampler Platter,which came with fried shrimp, ribs, and crispy chicken. OMG! Those ribs were delicious! Fell apart in your hands, super yummy, I hogged them all to myself. The crispy chicken was covered in a sweet J.D. sauce that sent shivers down your spine. The new decor is also great. It has a more adult atmosphere now. They got rid of all that ugly Chili's style junk on the walls, and have a gone for a more clean look. they also opned up the area in the bar and removed that ugly wooden structure from the middle. Now its not so dark and gloomy. Plus nice big flat screen tv's over head help people watch the games without having to move seats. All in all I gotta say 'way to go Fridays'. Much improved!

    (4)

  • Eric C.

    Good service. service 4 stars for food and drinks get to

    (3)

  • Julian Y.

    So I came here after shopping at Hillsdale mall. I have never tried TGI Friday's but I wanted to. I ordered the sizzling chicken &shrimp which comes with some chicken, shrimp, and mashed potato with bell pepper/ cooked onion. The food is alright, there's nothing special about it. The food here is overpriced. As for customer service, it was good. My server (a young lady) was very polite and made sure we had a good dinner.

    (2)

  • M S.

    I have been a customer of this restaurant since they opened in '76 or '77. I've had everything from birthday parties to the 1st date with my wife to my Bachelor Party dinner here. For many years it was my go to place for great cocktails and food delivered with excellent service. But now? These days Friday's is a shadow of it's former glory. Here's why: 1) A manager was murdered there (yes, someone was killed where your are enjoying your Buffalo Wings and Jack Daniels steak..they never found out who did it) 2) Since they re-opened (under New Ownership? New Management?the prices have gone way up while the menu and food got MUCH WORSE. 3) The customer service SUCKS! The last time I was there we asked for menu's at the bar to order some food. Even though it wasn't busy at all we sat there for over 30 minutes while we watched the bartenders (one with a shaved head and another a short brunette with a ponytail) chat with people, walk around and do nothing that should have prevented them from checking on us. We decided to leave. When I spoke to the obviously inexperienced and overwhelmed manager (Ryan) his explanation was that they had inexperienced people at the bar and he was sorry. That was the best he could do. This isn't the first time their service has been terrible. In almost every instance I've been there since they re-opened it's been varying degrees of shitty. So after many years it's sayonara TGI Fridays...we will never go back. I'm looking forward to the day the Cheesesteak Factory opens at Hillsdale Mall so they can crush your lame ass and put what was a meaningful and special place out of it's misery. Wish I could say I'm going to miss you.

    (1)

  • Sean H.

    Chain, so the food is pretty alright. They have cool drink specials, but seriously, they need to stop hiring high school kids to be wait staff. The last couple of times I've been in it was a bunch of wait/greeters hanging out with their friends in the front entrance. Its great to attract the younger crowd, but dont block the door for other customers and get off your phones! My drink is empty, but I can see you texting on your phone? and you really want a good tip? C'mon.

    (3)

  • C. I.

    The people watching is always pretty good especially around happy hour. The food is the worst but when your tipsy is doesn't matter. Good light, plenty of seating and lots of TV's make this my go to spot. Beware the lurkers though.

    (4)

  • Jill G.

    The food is fine (what you'd expect from a place like this), the drink menu is great, but I gave 5 stars solely because the staff is just so great! My husband graduated from his MBA program on Friday, and he was SO pleased and proud and relieved to be done with school. The ceremony had run from before dinner time till after 10pm, so my husband was STARVING and also really wanted to go somewhere to celebrate. We went to Friday's, as it was the only place we could think of that was still open, and my husband was quite enthused about the drink menu (he said he'd be happy to celebrate every big occasion at Friday's). We got there, food was fine (the sweet potato fries were AWESOME), but while we were eating there were two bouts of staff-singing-the-Friday's-happy-birthday-song to people at tables near us. The hostess, this super-cheerful small girl, was the leader of all the bands of singing staff, and she was just so sweetly excited for the birthdays. She and a few other staff members had also very genuinely congratulated my husband when he walked in wearing his cap and gown. So, I snuck off from the table and found her and asked if they would consider singing a "Happy Happy Master's" version of Fridays' "Happy Happy Birthday" song to my husband. She immediately agreed, was SO nice about it, came up with a new line (so the rest of the song still made sense), taught it to a bunch of the waitstaff (including our very nice waiter), and they all trooped out with a sundae for my husband and sang to him. He was quite surprised and SO entertained and pleased. He was even laughing to himself about it on the way home. The staff, particularly that hostess and our waiter (William?), totally made our night! P.S. I hope somebody in charge sees this review and gives those two raises; they are a valuable asset to the reputation of your restaurant and are also making you money. I am not really a fan of the Friday's-style food/ambiance, so in the past, I've usually convinced my husband that we should go somewhere else when he suggests Friday's. But now that we have such a happy memory there now, I am just as on board as he is about making it a tradition for us to go to Friday's after big events, which means extra business for Friday's. P.P.S. I just called in to get their names. Based on my description, the Friday's employee who answered the phone says the sweet hostess was "Natalie", and our waiter was "Walter".

    (5)

  • Moe A.

    DO NOT EAT HERE...- READ THIS The managers are inexperienced, the servers are kind, the hostess was pleasant. The cooks, well the cooks should be replaced. We ordered sliders as an appetizer and received them. The menu stating it had bacon, mentioned to the waiter to remove the bacon, and we enjoyed our drinks. 15 minutes later sliders arrive. I run to the bathroom, my brother eats a tomato off one, and we notice it had bacon. I come back, tell the waiter what happened, he apologizes and comes back with a new, he claims to be "FRESH", set of sliders. Here's the good part, We notice the tomato was still missing, and we lift up under one of the sliders, and find a piece of Bacon on the second order of sliders, after complaining about the same thing. Allergies are not pleasant, and a company of this nature should know that by now, especially after reopening. As far as I'm concerned, they lost my business and recommendations. We'll see where it goes from now.

    (1)

  • Michael L.

    Cafeteria food.

    (2)

  • Scott W.

    I happened to see the Yelp review for TGI Friday's San Mateo just by chance when I was looking up the phone number - to be honest, I was shocked to see that it had 2.5 Star review, and then I read someone state in their review something like "No wonder they have a 2.5 Star review". So I decided to share my experience - EVERY TIME we go to TGI Friday's San Mateo we have 5 Star service, food, drinks and overall experience for this type / class of restaurant. That's why I was so surprised. Then I thought, as the person said earlier. "No wonder they have a 2.5 Star review". It's because Yelpers like myself (bad Me) for not posting the 5 Star overall experience reviews like I should be. You can see I am not a frequent Yelper, but I sure do use your/our feedback for my SF Bay Area choices - and I thank you for that. So my 2 cents is that TGI Friday's San Mateo is a great place to go. We love the Food, staff, management and especially the Jack Daniel's entrees and also love the Cajun Shrimp Pasta. I guess I have said enough. Sorry for not Yelping sooner.

    (5)

  • Tiffany D.

    I came here not by choice but at the request of my grandmother for her birthday. What am I going to say? No? I would be a grinch if I did. First of all, called on a saturday to get a reservation for 7 and they told me they could not take reservations on the weekends, only on the weekdays. Now that sounded weird to me considering I would think the restaraunt would be busier on the weekends. They ended up telling me to call an hour before so they can hold a table. I called and asked them for the table, by the time I got there they walked us over to the wrong table with another family sitting there. They did get us another table somewhat quickly but it didn't matter too much considering my family was late. Thanks guys. All in all, the food was decent I guess. I had the sante fe salad and my bf had a burger and everyone else had a burger or something similar. Everything was fine no real complaints, but a suggestion if you want your burger cooked a certain way, you might wanna order it a little bit under done because it will probably come out the way you want it.

    (3)

  • Chris H.

    First time to this TFI Friday's and I must say that it was a pleasure. At first the guy behind the bar (where we sat down to eat lunch) got a little annoying, but when we realized it was just humor all turned out okay. I'm a fairly plain eater, had some chicken fingers, and I'll say, they were some of the best I've ever experienced. Thanks for the great service, we'll be back!

    (4)

  • Jose E.

    this place sucks if you want to sit down for a meal. for a couple of drinks at the bar it's ok. got my below average appy before my beer, no water, serice was slow, cheeseburger was not good and it got me sick.

    (2)

  • gordon w.

    This location closed and has recently re-opened. I had a bogo coupon for any of the Jack Daniel BBQ entree. So the 3 of us came here, got a nacho appetizer and 2 entrees of the JD rib and shrimp with sweet potato fries, loaded mash potato, and onion rings. Ribs were okay but the beer battered cajun shrimp was soggy (definitely re-heated) that was a big disappointment. Server was not on it today. Took about 10 minutes before he greeted us. Seemed to only refill one drink and disappear for a while before filling the next one, and so on. We asked for more sauce and he forgot about us, asked for a box to go, and forgot about us again. Perhaps the server was just one of those days that we all have once in a while

    (2)

  • David W.

    Please Yelp Please let me NO star this one? I tried, I really did. 5-6 times. Thought the buzztime trivia addition and good happy hour would make me overlook the other problems but nope. Today was just another average experience there. Have a beer, order some wings. Have another beer note there aren't any wings because they weren't rung in. Grr! Get check and notice that beers weren't on happy hour prices. Bartender says "that's only for the small beers". So much for $1 off every drink like the menu says, right? Oh, and the fact they've been on happy hour the past few Saturdays. On the way out spoke to Hieu the manager and he played it off as a combination of computer issues and new specials now that it's baseball season. Uh, what? Smoke and mirrors... Would you like me to bring over the happy hour menu that's sitting in front of everyone at the bar? Jerk. No offer to fix the price, nothing! This place is to be avoided. Just because its not in me to post nothing positive, they have one thing going for them. Tiffani is a great bartender and I hope she gets the f out soon because I'd like to order a drink from her again. Somewhere else....

    (1)

  • Nicholas B.

    I've always wanted to thrash a review, now that there closed I won't feel bad at all. This place was the decadence of San Mateo county where all the jock, pimps, and hoes could all congregate and talk about how much San Mateo sucks and how they want to get out. Oh wait that's before 3 drinks. 3 drinks later, wooowww San maaateeooo, no wait that's 7 or 8 drinks later. 3 drinks, this place is pretty chill can I get some fries oh my God I loved there fries with beers. Actually I'm sad and happy this place is gone. Sad because now I have to worry about seeing all the losers that went there at other places I go. Happy because now I'll never have to look at that dilapidated hut they call a restaurant. TGIG Thank God It's Gone, because if I had to hear the TGIF Friday birthday song screamed through the restaurant one more time I swear...ok i kind of miss that.

    (2)

  • Lois W.

    Food is not bad at this place, but nothing spectacular either... Wouldn't recommend any cocktails as the ones we ordered did not taste right, stick with what's on tap.

    (3)

  • Brown D.

    The current staff at the bar i feel has drastically dropped in quality of work. Not only did the person who helped me speak to me in a rude tone, there were two individuals at the bar at the bar, one had a pony tail and was very helpful but the other male bartender the way he approached serving us and addressing our concerns i felt was not what i assume fridays wanted to portray to its customers. I used to always look forward to fridays happy hour, which the normal lady was great but due to this experience i may reconsider. I felt as if hr half assed his job, was unprofessional and rushed you consistantly to help him gain more tips from others.

    (1)

  • Andrea B.

    I love the Jack Daniels food at TGIF. The atmosphere is very busy...great place to hang out if you want to catch the game. Customer service tends to be very slow. Parking is easy. Food is pretty reasonably priced...maybe a little on the high side. They do a pretty good job of making drinks.

    (3)

  • Elizabeth A.

    Omg....TG for TGI Fridays fried string bean appetizer! They are habit forming and so good. Always liked fridays...great atmospere. A little errie still stince the murder that occured there a couple years ago...

    (3)

  • stella b.

    Before Fridays closed and re opened, I would have given them 5 stars. I went there so much that the waiters knew my order. Dont know why, but now the food is terrible and I dont go there anymore. Really sad, because I was addicted to their chicken strips back then. BRING BACK THE OLD CHICKEN STRIPS!

    (2)

  • Jimmy S.

    I would say as a meal to avoid is certainly from one of the worst restaurants I ever went to: "T.G.I. Fridays". The three main points that I felt this way about this restaurant was: horrible food, extremely bad service, and a very dirty atmosphere feeling. This is certainly one of the worst places I ever went to and never plan on going back to just because of that one time. I heard many times before about how bad that place was, but I still wanted to try it. In the end, it just leads to being one of those things I should have listened to others about. To my extent, I felt that the food was horrible because it literally came up black and disgusting. I ordered the "Dragonfire Salmon", a Norwegian salmon topped with Kung Pao sauce. It consisted of pineapples, mandarin oranges, ginger lime-slaw and fresh steamed broccoli. When I was looking on the menu, this topped off my eye because I love salmon and I love Kung Pao sauce, so I decided to try it. When it arrived at my table, the top silky skin turned out black and burned. The inside of the fish which was suppose to be soft and easy for the throat, became tough and very chewy. It didn't even look like the food was cooked all the way on the inside, and the outside looked like it was cooked too far. The sides that came along with the food looked all soggy and old, like they just found it in the back of the storage and decided to dump it in without wasting it. I did not even eat one bite of this, afraid of the texture and appearance already, I didn't even want to know what I would expect from the inside. Then the service was the second worst part of my night. We walked into the restaurant, hoping to get a quick seat because there was no one waiting. We decided to sit down and chat for a second. We sat there for about fifteen to twenty minutes until we even got one staff to come up to service us. He was nice, but seemed like he didn't even want to do his job. We sat down and he said he will be back in a couple minutes. We looked on the menu and picked out what we wanted to order. He never came to ask us what we would like to start with or what drinks would we want. We eventually got tired of waiting and called him over. We ordered our food and drinks then waited. Apparently, they like to serve their food all at once so everyone can eat at the same time. So my fish took the longest to make, so everyone else had to wait until mine was done. It took about 45 minutes for it to come out and the food wasn't even worth waiting for as I written in the first paragraph. By the time all our food came out, my rest of the family's food already turned cold. This was by far the worst service I ever gotten in my life. Lastly, this place did not have a fun to be in atmosphere or even a restaurant atmosphere at that point. It had a very humid smell in there like if fifteen ovens were left open and none of the windows or doors was open. It had about ten smells from ten different meals going around the room, which did not real match up to each other. The tables were sticky and unclean, with food all over the floor. It looked like the staff and restaurant did not care at all about the sanitation of the restaurant. I would recommend for no one to come to this restaurant. This was my worst experience ever and I would hope for no one else to reach the same stage as me and waste all your money on a pointless meal.

    (1)

  • Serene S.

    So, I had dinner here with 4 other gals from work. This place was my suggestion when we discussed where we would go. This was quite the experience. We all enjoyed our meals, two of us had the cajun chicken and shrimp pasta. We were just finishing up when some woman from the bar who had drank a little too much was trying to make it to the bathroom and puked right in front of our table and all the way to the bathroom. It was very awkward. Here is why I gave this place a thumbs up! we notified the manager of the situation and within 5 minutes or so the mess was cleaned up, a woman employee was making sure the sick woman was ok in the bathroom, and he came to our table with gift cards for all of us to come back. Although I pray I never experience anything like this again, the way the situation was handled by management at friday's was more than admirable.

    (4)

  • Candice D.

    Maybe I just went at a decent time to go (lunch). From the previous reviews it's obvious to not go here at night, and I currently don't intend to. A Fridays is a Fridays is a Fridays, but the four stars here are for excellent service. Our waiter (although busy) was ON IT. like supremely on it. Fast, friendly, and didn't make one mistake. In fact I saw him cleaning up someone else's mistake but still made it back in time to refill our water. Nice. I loved the turkey burger, it's hard to make one of those without it completely drying. I will be back here for lunch sometime!

    (4)

  • Andrew T.

    like it or not, i'm actually a friday's fan. especially for their legendary potato skins and mozzarella sticks. i should have stuck to that, because the wings/boneless wings here aren't the best. the boneless wings are actually not that bad, except they are a bit too big. something freaked me out about biting into a boneless wing the size of a golf ball. the regular wings were not appealing to me. they were also a bit too big and the texture was a little strange. the spicy thai is supposed to be the 2nd hottest flavor they have, but there wasn't even a hint of hotness in it. when all is said and done, this is a pretty good spot. it's conveniently located near the hillsdale mall and caltrain station, and it was just recently renovated. the staff is friendly and the happy hour deals can't be matched. half-price apps and drinks here are a staple..

    (3)

  • Tony L.

    It's TGI Friday's. T.G.I.F. Whatever. Same stuff. We came here for a couple of work-related birthdays. I had a $6 pasta for lunch. That made me feel better than settling for a $10 burger. But by how much? Not much. The birthday coworkers got a two-scoop sundae each. And our server seemed like a genuinely nice person. Would I come back here again? Sure, if somebody else wants to throw a party here for lunch. Otherwise, I just might pass.

    (3)

  • Patrick O.

    Do not come here for the food or service. The main reason to come here (if you're 21) is for the happy hour which is from 10 pm until closing M-F I believe. Half off drinks, and if you get drunk enough to endure some atrocious appetizers, those are half off as well. The selection of tap beer is pretty decent and the bartenders are chill and most know how to make a good drink.

    (3)

  • Robert H.

    I wouldn't normally come to Fridays for food but if you're over 21, come to the happy hour. They have 20 ounce beers for around 4 bucks from 10 til closing. The bartenders are pretty social and usually it gets crackin when Dave dj's. Definitely a cool hangout spot.

    (3)

  • Angela B.

    TGI Friday's will defiantly be missed. But quite honestly after the murder and the drama that always started @ Friday's I am not surprised one bit. They will be missed for sure... after the train ride home from the Giants game we became regulars! sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic…

    (2)

  • Bain D.

    My friend and I went there 3 o clock saturday afternoon the place was almost empty we ve been seated right away and waited someone to come and take order 20 minutes again 20 minutes not even drink order,Waitress was talking to next table about her cars problem during this time and of course we left after 20 and the manager who sat us asked how was everything.

    (1)

  • Yvonne K.

    Average. Majorly average. Went here for my friends birthday, and the server was great with the adults, but didn't seem to know what to do with 2 kids at the table, especially when he plopped down super hot food right in front of a 3 year old. The food really didn't strike me as anything special. It was okay, and hot, and out in a reasonable amount of time, but not "Wow!" Nice to see they took the red and white striped tables out of the interior restaurant area. Not somewhere I will be hurrying back to for dinner, but will work for meeting up with friends and grabbing an appetizer or two.

    (3)

  • Maylene D.

    The appetizers and food were delicious, warm and of good quality. The service was excellent! I had the ribs and potato skins, too of my favorites. It's close to the train station and right across the street from the Mall.

    (4)

  • John B.

    I really like the food, but what is up with all the attention whore servers that wear all those stupid pins on their suspenders and wear those goofy looking hats? If I want to be entertained by some clowns, I'll go to the circus! I'm here to eat, so put that shit away!

    (3)

  • CAROL C.

    July and August and visited TGIF several times. Their decoration and chairs had changed, cleaner look, more TVs, very nice. Their waitresses are terrific and attentive and gets you out quickly when you have only an hour lunch time. The food is excellent - good tasting, good portions, refilled soda, etc. I know they had a bad rep prior to their closing and then re-opening, but that is the past. The Manager and staff are working hard to make it a great experience now. I highly recommend you trying it one more time!

    (4)

  • Jessie V.

    The service was great that's why I'm giving three star. The food was just OK. I got the honey mustard chicken sandwich and the piece of chicken was so small compared to the bread I had to cut almost all the bread away to even get to the chicken. My Bacardi and coke was watered down. My friends order was totally wrong. The manager was nice and comp. The meal and gave a gift card. I'd say this place is maybe only good for appetizers

    (3)

  • Em C.

    this place was quite entertaining only because there was a fat royal rumble that broke out during our dinner, which couldnt have been anymore entertaining...plus the guys getting tasered. but it only deserves 3 stars and not more because our waiter was jerk status. he seemed new..didnt have any social skills..never brought out all our drinks..and when we asked him for something, he'd throw it on the table and not even hand it to us..??..i never saw him after the fight broke out..i cant even remember if we paid...well i guess thats what good friends are for.. haha but the waiter service was douchebag status.. another star taken away for the bartending service..the tall guy was nicer..but if you get this short stalky guy..oh hes rude.. because the fight broke out he was tryna tell my group of friends that we couldnt be served any drinks because we were involved with the fight...-__-..if you consider watching the fight front row seats "part of the fight"..i guesss.. =\ so we had to talk to another bartender ..and he agreed and just served us..then half way through our night at the bar....the stupid short stalky bartender comes up to us to tell us he cant serve us anymore drinks via his boss tellin them to not serve us anymore drinks..what in the world?....so we talk to the nicer bartender to talk to his boss to tell him we're not going to fight..and then finally they serve us again.. but cmon...do we really needa argue with them to tell them we're not sloppy drunks?.i mean we're paying too....that was mos def the -___- of the night. 3 stars for a good time being drunk off 3 lemon drops. HAH

    (3)

  • Darius A.

    The food at this place still sucks. The old location had shitty food. Once again they are serving food that is overpriced, tastes like it is microwaved and lacks any flavor. The only thing that is good their is the Coke. They have that down to perfection. I ordered the Iron Steak or whatever is was called and no amount of A-1 could cover the dry boring taste. I liked our waitress but if I am in the area again, Outback across the street it is.

    (1)

  • Sharon H.

    This was our first visit after the manager was murdered few years ago. The visit was a lunch with the kiddo. The place has been freshened up. The old sticky to the touch tables and chairs are gone. The new furniture makes such a difference. The wait staff were pleasant and the food was nothing thrilling but decent staple chain fare. It was better than I remembered.

    (3)

  • three's company M.

    I haven't been to TGI Fridays since high school!!! And the main reason i never came back was due to the excessively greasy and fried dishes they serve here. ick!!! it makes you feel so gross afterwards...like grease is just shooting out of your pores. recently we came to this location, not by personal choice....were in a group and someone suggested it....so we just rolled with it. i was shocked at how pleased i was with the food. i started off with the cherry limeade slush - which is the BEST limeade slush ever!!!!! Red Robin's is not close (but good), and Fridays beats Sonic! wow!!! it was amazingly good...not too much grenadine cherry syrup, which can make you sick from all that high fructose corn syrup! had a burger and fries and it was actually very good!!! YAY for fridays. i would love to come back for that cherry limeade....i crave it almost daily. i would totally choose to come here over Ebar because the food is definitely tastier if you order the right thing. it's a fun atmosphere too.

    (3)

  • PrincessPeac H.

    I ordered two margaritas...one was mango blueberry and was quite good..the other was some mediocre cherry something. They were nice and strong though...for a Monday lunch. ...and the service was excellent. Now for the bad part. I ordered the Island Grilled Mahi Mahi because it was in the diet section. I know that ordering two margaritas and splitting a giant piece of oreo cake with your friends defeats the purpose of ordering from the diet section...but I digress. It tasted fine...but somebody needs to tell them that you don't reduce fat by giving somebody a piece of fish the size of an eraser. You're supposed to cut the butter. Trust me, I'd rather have the fish than the butter. I'd go here for drinks and/or desert, but I probably won't eat real food here again.

    (2)

  • Marjie T.

    i worked here while i was going to college back in its hay day and have had many memories here. but, i can honestly tell you that this review is based solely from an outside perspective. sometimes a good chain restaurant is all i crave and friday's does not let down. they've definitely tried to change their look and capture the old friday's ways, but it will never be the same. i do think the food is just what you'd expect at a chain restaurant and the drinks have some sort of flair, but that's what i enjoy about it and why i choose tgif over other chain restaurants. i'm glad it got bought by a different company looking actually to make it the best it could be and not one just trying to dig it into the ground like the last! i'll continue to go here as long as its standing.

    (3)

  • Rashmi N.

    Occasionally I'll end up at a place like this only to be reminded of why I don't go to places like this. Of course, I could end my review here... but why? Late one night TGI Friday's was the only place open and close to the destination... so I said, "what the hee." My immediate question was something similar to what is it with restaurants like this and tacking old benches and street signs to the walls and ceilings. The bar area was pretty hopping but the tables were pretty empty (food quality or the late hour?). The drinks were fine but the food was quite simply "blah". Nothing special here. Even standards like burgers and salads were not done well so forget about the things with a bit of ethnic flair. Avoid at most costs unless it's late and you can settle for a mediocre-at-best bite to eat.

    (2)

  • Earl G.

    ummm, I know it's not their fault but would you really want to eat/drink here after this...... ?? sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic…

    (2)

  • Dong Q.

    Went here during a random weekday during very non-busy hours. Hardly anyone in the restaurant and they only had one waitress working the door and the tables. All I can say is their bbq ribs are yummehhhh. I was savoring every bite.

    (4)

  • Robert C.

    Service is consistently slow. Came on friday night for happy hour and the bar was full. Hostess told us we could sit at a table and still get happy hour. We waited a good twenty minutes for out server and when she finally came she told us she couldn't do happy hour unless it is at the bar. Poor service and poor communication.

    (2)

  • Danny D.

    you ate here? Sucker. Next time fill up at home.

    (1)

  • Tee L.

    went here for dinner and happy hours a few days later, I must say they did not improve on the food quality on the happy hour menu,, It sounds better than it tasted,the loaded potato skins were dry, the pot stickers were bland,unless you added a lot of sauce.. And boneless chicken was nuked,as I think it was frozen, my friend ordered them,rather go with the wings with bones,usually more flavor... The sauce on the chicken wings were just not tasty,as I prefer to add my sauce on the side and use as much or less to my wings,which they will serve sauce on the side at Applebee's,and I think they tasted better there too(them wings) they onlu good thing is the tropical breeze mojitos,tasty,when it is not made too sweet??????????,the prices are in fact better at Applebees,the TGIF happy hour,so therefore I would give a 2.5 star,since the bartender was pretty good..

    (2)

  • Ladi Da A.

    Contrary to many of the other reviews below, I'm lucky to have received good service and good food each visit. One step up from the run of the mill fast food joint, but I don't care...I'm all about it, baby! MMM, MMM! Good hamburgers/cheeseburgers/steaks/sandwiches...tasty appetizers...good mudslide and assortment of drinks.. Gosh, why all the bad reviews...this place is great! =0)

    (4)

  • Mina B.

    Let me start by saying I'm pretty easy to please. I don't mind eating at the dreaded "chain" restaurants, if it tastes good and fills me up I'm usually pretty satisfied. That being said I was really disappointed with my first trip to TGI Fridays. I was turned off by the menu the minute I got there, because while I'm not trying to lose weight, it was immediately apparent that I'd gain some by the end of the meal. I went with their 3 course meal, figured "little bit of everything, even a little sweet". The only reason they didn't get one star is because the crispy green beans were really tasty, however it doesn't take a genius to batter something and dip it into a fryer. I got Ceder Plank Grilled Salmon as my main dish. It was awful, dry, tasteless and didn't even have a hint of ceder or smoke to it. To make things worse my dessert ranked a 10 on the tasteless scale as well. Forgettable fattening food. I'd rather go out for chinese.

    (2)

  • Amy D.

    The food used to be good here. When I was a kid, I always used to get the chicken fingers, fries and strawberry applesauce. My last meal here (circa 2003) was terrible- oily, soggy, and memorable in a bad way. I was here last Friday to celebrate my cousin's 21st birthday over drinks with cousins and friends. While I was wondering, "WHY FRIDAY'S?" it turned out to be okay. My cousin had 17+ shots/drinks, and left after puking many, many times. The drinks were reasonably priced- a (double?) shot of Grey Goose for $6. While the Filipina bartender was quick with the drinks, the other was very SLOW. I ordered a mojito and waited for more than 10 minutes before I just gave up. Bonus points for the outdoor eating area. My cousin and most of his friends are smokers. It was close enough that it wasn't a huge pain in the ass for them to leave to have a smoke.

    (3)

  • K F.

    Stopped for lunch yesterday with a party of four. No big meal stuff.....just some appetizers, soup, salads etc.... and a special order. The food was fine.....the place was absolutely empty......hmmm.....but then the bill came... DAMN. Yea, the prices were on the menu...but damn. And the special order was insane....... There are much better places to stop for lunch.

    (2)

  • Aylet T.

    My boyfriend and I normally go to the TGIF's in Union City, but since we were in the area decided that we might as well stop here since in Union City it is always happy hour on Sunday's and because we were extra hungry. One, we walked in and it was dark, empty and we had to seat ourselves ( the complete opposite of other TGIF's) weinally sat down and started to order, until I confirmed with the waitress that the appetizers were at happy hour prices. She told me they were, but we could only eat at the bar. Um.... ok, I guess we will move 3 tables overto get the happy hour prices? We finally do, with our soda's and breadsticks we had ordered. We sit down and try to start ordering our appetizers and we are getting asked for ID. Well one we are not ordering drinks and two we are sitting at the tables aside from the bar. We were told we could not eat there and I asked for a supervisor. The supervisor or whatever he was came out with an attitude and when we told him there were kids at the bar he said they had one table that was ok for kids to be at near the bar? Mind you my boyfriend and I are two grown adults, but there are some 7-8 year olds sitting there? He was not helpful at all, did not apologize for not having their waiters clarify this since no one sat us. I will not come here again and don't recommend anyone else does so either.

    (1)

  • K H.

    We took my father in law here for his birthdy dinner (in Dec. 09) since it newly re-opened... The meals were brought to our table incorrectly- 3 or 4 orders were wrong or missing something! When we brought it to their attention it took a long time for them to fix it and by then the rest of the meal was cold. Not impressed! Too bad sine we used to love this place!

    (1)

  • Holly M.

    5 starts because... 1. they're basically the only place open past 10 2. theyre happy hour is AMAZING. where can you get amazing/filling apps for $4? 3. you can pick your own music on their juke box thing

    (5)

  • Todd C.

    Don't know what the food tastes like because I'm not a child exited by crappy theme restaurant garbage . Came & had drinks one night against my will , drinks are overpriced & I refuse to drink in any corporate establishment that has electronic pour spouts . I would write a more detailed review but I'm not a tool trying to re-live high school and hang out with the "cool" crowd at this scenester establishment . If you like ranch , crappy drinks , shop at the mall , care about Facebook , have no taste in food or in general & still act like your in high school this is the place for you .

    (1)

  • Cynthia B.

    Oh yeah, I remember this location. I used to have a Filipina sugar momma who worked at Macy's at Hillsdale Mall and I would often have her take me here around 1992. Fatty, salty, yummy foods. Unhealthy crap. Overpriced. Two day's worth of calories in one meal. You know what you're getting yourself into here...hopefully. I hope you don't think the food has nutritional value. Anyways, this is a part of the TGI Friday's chain. I had fun there. Drinks, good food as far as taste goes. Good parking. I prefer the TGI fridays in SF near the Embarcadero. If you want something that is sweet on the lips and goes straight to the hips and you don't mind paying a little too much for it, this is the place for you. Really this place should be illegal because the food is so fattening and high in sodium. Just like McDonalds should be illegal. TGI Fridays is like crack for obese people. Think I am being harsh? Sorry, that's how I really feel about it. Places like this help Americans get plump, myself included. Enjoy looking at all the flair the employees wear and you can sit there stuffing your face and quoting "Office Space." indulge indulge indulge.

    (3)

  • Alita M.

    So my boyfriend and I have been a few times because I hadn't been to one in over 6 years and I was craving the all American food selection. I think with this location, it all depends on if you order take out or actually dine in. The first time we went was on New Years Eve and got the Cheeseburger that has a fried provolone cheese patty on it. Yum. It was amazing. Oh, and the girl who raved about the fried mac 'n cheese is totally right about their awesomeness (no digestive problems on my side, sorry!) Our second trip was perfectly normal as well. The third one BLEW IT. And it was in thanks to the stupid manager! Our waiter was pretty cool...really bored since he was constantly checking on us, but it just so happened that when I order a Cadillac Hornitos marg he just plain fucked up! He said something about not having Hornitos and was I okay with Reposado. Totally fine with me and the bartender did a good job on it too. Our bill just happened to have over SIX DOLLARS in miscellaneous liquor fees IN ADDITION to the more expensive listed price for margaritas. Turns out that running out of Hornitos doesn't result in a an apologetic fee waiver. And the dumbass waiter didn't know how to properly order this particular marg and charged me $3 for a shot of Grand Marnier!!! HELLO! WE ALL KNOW THAT CADILLAC MARGS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HEAVY FLOATER THAT IS INTRINSIC TO THE ACTUAL COST OF THE UPGRADED MARGARITA. YOU PAY A LITTLE MORE FOR THE DRINK, NOT A WHOLE DAMN SHOT THAT YOU CHARGE AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT FOR! The manager explained that it was shot....funny how he's telling this to my boyfriend who used to be a bartender at Bacara in Santa Barbara! I had to pay not only for the more pricey version of the marg, but two shots. He agreed to waive one for us, but he took the deduction out of the final tab including tax, not before tax. So I ended up paying 80 cents on a shot that I wasn't even supposed to be charged for. We aren't going back again. It gets two stars only because of the other two visits that went so well.

    (2)

  • Susan K.

    What do you do when you're near the mall, it's just past 11 in the morning, you can't stand fast food or the mall food court, but you have somewhere to be at noon? You stop at a chain restaurant and take your chances on a salad. TGIF's had been advertising smaller portions, not promising healthy food but sort of implying that there is something healthier on the menu than fried mac & cheese. We walked in at 11:03, the first customers of the day, so it's no surprise that we were seated right away. The server was friendly, brought my daughter a chocolate milk in two shakes of lamb's tail and answered questions about the menu. But despite the service, to me what trumps everything is the food, and it just wasn't good. I ordered mahi mahi over brown rice from the "low fat" menu. I really wasn't expecting much, but I can't remember ever having to use a steak knife to cut fish before. I'm not joking. How could the first meal of the day be overcooked so horribly? I suspect they had it leftover from the night before and nuked it beyond recognition. My daughter, 7, is not picky and eagerly ate up her plate of spaghetti that came with mandarin oranges that had clearly been born in a can. I gave it 2 stars because the service was quick and friendly, but I can't get past how horribly mangled that poor fish was.

    (2)

  • karen c.

    this place sux for all the reason a resturant can suck... bad service bartenders that dnt noe wat they're doin waiters all are just as bad food come out cold and u noe it was once a frozen peice of crap that all the cooks have to do is heat up and serve ...so how do i get it cold??? prices arent good for wat they're worth (more like 5 dollar dinner plates)

    (1)

  • J.Maurice C.

    Had my heart set on a goodnight an good food wait was a breeze sat in a drafty cold area.. Great servie great waitor birthday goin on next to mr .. But the restuant can't handle a party of thirty , plus one an only one party or five my waitor was awesome an funny ,but a draw backwas waitng for my food fo 30mins kid you not big melt down in kitchen serves a bigger party than my self an others around awaiting there food too 30 long mins ??? So I guess if going here u must bring a party on thirty an not be alone or u get screwed

    (1)

  • Zoe E.

    Come on! Its got new management, food is really good, its not a freaking 5 star restaurant, I've been there a few times and it's always been packed, of course it is going to be a bit slow with getting your food, but I had an excellent service, if you're looking for an upscale restaurant, don't leave bad reviews for restaurants like these. Go to somewhere more expensive. This is a fun hang out place, it is loud, it is slow at times with getting your stuff, but the food is really good.

    (4)

  • P H.

    I have to admit that I haven't been back since "The Incident", the vibe changed and it's a real shame, they have some really nice bar staff. It's general run of the mill TGI so the quality of food can vary but they have a nice atmosphere, especially with the outdoor seating in the summer.

    (3)

  • Amanda T.

    I came in with a friend, another server in uniform. Which makes you think that the server would be more attentive assuming he would get a much better tip from us, no chance. We were seated in the empty bar, against a post and a wall. It took about 8 minutes to even get noticed and another 8 or so to get our sodas. I know your job is not that hard buddy... Sometimes you get busy but come on. We ordered soup and apps. French onion soup was good, I didn't like the nachos. He the bartender/ server did not bring us plates/ silver/ or refills. Terrible service, why would I come back? It's open late....

    (1)

  • Mattee M.

    No offense,but I had the chicken parmesan...well it wasn't enticing at all. The pasta was ok and to think about it the only thing I finished was my beer(BURP).It was cold and felt good going down. After this experience I have started to make a Tomato Chicken Parmesan and it is yummy.

    (2)

  • Michele H.

    Glad I wasn't starving cause the service was so slow. Oh Wait, I was starving and the service was slow. I thought I was going to waste away and that's no easy feat. We went for lunch around 1PM and the place was pretty empty maybe 5 tables full. Great! it's not busy and we're hungry so we should get food quick. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. The waitress took our drink orders pretty quick but then she didn't come back to our table for a full 15 minutes. We even gave all the signs that we were ready to order..closed our menus, piled them on top of each other, gave that blank I'm hungry please take my order stare, nothing helped. Once she took our order it took another 20 minutes for our club sandwiches to arrive. Quite a long time for a sandwich that consists of sliced cold cuts and cheese. The sandwich was pretty dry it could have used a lot more sauce and the fries were good but I wish they had given me a bit more. I think for the 4 of us the bill came to around $45 which included two glasses of tea. Not too bad price-wise. With so many other options for lunch in San Mateo I think I'll skip this place next time. Maybe for drinks and appetizers.

    (2)

  • Anthony M.

    Fridays = It is what it is. Moderate food for cheap that derserves a 3 star and a cool happy hour deserving a 4 star. Bartenders are my dawgs ...so that makes for the extra star.

    (4)

  • Bryce K.

    food taste = 3.5 price / value = 3.5 service = 2.5 environment = 3 had not had a chance to come here since they re-opened and i was looking forward to doing so. a bit on the disappointing side. i had a coupon that could be used for BOGO, but unlike previous years, you had to buy drinks. service was nice when they were around, but painfully slow. about 5-10 mins before being approached with a menu. another 5-10 ordering drinks. another 5-10 getting the drink. another 10 taking our order (silly us for asking for more time). another 10-15 to bring our food. overall, i think we spent almost 2.5 hrs to get two entrees with two sodas. no appetizers or desert. food was ok, but i remember it being better.

    (3)

  • Kenn E.

    Just okay. Nothing is wrong, but just okay.

    (3)

  • Michelle N.

    ITS LOUD HERE!!!! The food good at first but gross when you eat it TOO much... The waitress messed our tab up- she had a large party for a boy who just turned 18. She charged us for the shots of patron and other drinks they had, let them off with $50 less than they really had, and a bigger bill than what we imagined. Wait wait wait... Someone turned EIGHTEEN, sat with a large party of boys that same age... and alcohol? Anyways, BOO for the manager, he was too NOOB to figure out how to comp the credit card bill.

    (1)

  • Trina L.

    Was hoping this place would be better, upon re-opening under new management. It's cleaner and upgraded inside, but the service is still quirky. My mom didn't ask for cream for her coffee, but the waitress brought an odd presentation of milk in a ramekin, with a spoon on a saucer. My husband asked for a different salad dressing on the side, which he got, but they dressed the salad with the original dressing, too. It took a long time to receive our food on a quiet Friday after Thanksgiving, around 3pm. Get it together! The food was decent. Not in a hurry to go back, tho.

    (3)

  • Nooshy Z.

    Wow, what a disappointment. We went there today at 4pm, so late lunch hoping for great food and quick service, the grand opening was a reason to give them a try. We usually go to Bj's...... We ordered 3 burgers, and a salad for an appetizer. The salad never came and then 2 burgers came after a good half hour with floppy bacon on top. We waited another 10mn. before finally asking for the manager, saying one burger and our salad never came. He tells us what a wonderful waiter we had and that he was sorry! OK! My mediterranean chicken salad was a fiasco. The romaine lettuce was soggy and old beyond words, sitting in a pool of a jarred italian vinaigrette, inedible. The manager comped 2 burgers and brought us a little order of fries on the house. I would have rather had a crispy salad and 3 decent burgers arrive instead of the mess we had infront of us, and still having to pay 26 dollars. For what I say; terribly slow service and truely crappy food. Boy for the same price we really should have gone to Bj's, got our money's worth both in food and service and come out with a smile on our faces. What a diappointment. There is a reason they are in banktrupcy, just let it go. Will never go back for sure.

    (1)

  • Alden C.

    Is it just me or has TGI Friday's been cutting back on the portions? I swear my plate used to have more food on it a couple years ago and now it just looks... bare. The Jack Daniels food is tasty if you like the sweetness of it. Meals are prepared from bags (as a friend of mine had part of one in her pasta) so don't ask for a dish without something! I did love the philly cheesesteak wrap though.

    (2)

  • Caltrain D.

    Clearly visible from the Hillsdale Caltrain station, this TGI Fridays beckons to the weary, thirsty, and budget-minded commuter. BUT....is it worth (along with the added bonus of catching a baby bullet) a bike ride from Belmont? I did the pedaling so you can find out! First off: you want to take Pacific Blvd. all the way up there on your bike, because El Camino Real is a terrible bike ride, for real. On my way, I saw Steamies Bar and almost stopped in, but I had my mission in mind and wanted to stick to it. After all, we are using Caltrain here people, and they have a strict timetable. If I miss one train, it leads to one more beer, and before I know it I am stumbling in at about 9:30 smelling like a brewery and Mrs. Caltrain C. doesn't much stand for that kind of behavior. Anyway, I am going to Steamies tonight! Very excited. Notice how I haven't yet talked much about TGI Fridays in this review OF TGI Fridays? There's a reason: because it's BORING. I could go the easy way and make some flair jokes, or talk about grease excesses that would make a motorcycle mechanic squeamish, but that's not even worth it. This place pretty much sucks. The biggest thing they got going is their proximity to the station--you can sneak in one last overpriced shot of Dewars as the train approaches. The bartender was nice, but I had to wait FOREVER to get a drink. She was the only one working on the Thursday before a holiday Friday and the corresponding long weekend. This type of staffing signals one thing: PISS POOR MANAGEMENT. I also had some buffalo tenders and there were quite good. Happy hour pricing on these fine pieces of processed chicken is a steal.

    (3)

  • sandra h.

    Ok... the bartenders are slow and unexperienced young kids... but to make up for the less than stellar service, my groups drinks were mostly free. Usually I prefer better service and paying for what I got... but sometimes a free drink or several works out great for me and my friends.

    (5)

  • Alex F.

    I was well met upon arrival, and seated at the bar (Where i wanted to be) quickly. I was again, well met upon arrival at the bar and received good service. HOWEVER, the glasses smelled funky, and left a ... odd taste to my Coors beer. : | This is the spot i go to when i'm at Hillsdale train-station and have a long (hour +) wait for the next train. It's very convenient and the staff seemed to recognize that i was 'just visiting' and were prompt with my tab.

    (3)

  • Thuy N.

    our server...ugh....yep, that's enough said. been mad crazy for wings and had it here...the wings we had was half cold and half hot...wth? jack daniels burger..huge...sauce wasn't the same, was like eating liquid sugar.... of course, right when we were about to leave, a young guy came in to make balloons for his college fund....fiance had to ask, does he know how to make a bicycle....(wedding crashers)...and indeed he did. TGIF's....the kind of place where you don't really expect much but okay everything....

    (3)

  • Jacquelyn H.

    TGI Friday's.... you gotta feel bad for them after this past week's loss... I went there last night, actually, and got a "ARE YOU CRAZY!!!???" from one of my friends... thing is, "IT" probably won't happen again... they had security personnel, and police patrolling the lots... it kind of broke my heart to see how sad the bartenders were... but they still gave great service and were really nice.

    (3)

  • Christy H.

    So We went on a Wednesday for lunch. Lunch specials looked good and since I was craving a cheeseburger I ordered it. Too bad the bun came out burnt and the Cheeseburger was completely pink. So they offered to me make a new one. OK I am on my lunch break and really do not have time for this. They made it to go for me. Nice right ? Wrong. Got back to work and go to grab a bite and it is SO over cooked I laughed. So much for going back to TGI Friday's. To top it off it was my Birthday and when my man told them that they asked him if it was really my Birthday. Come on now, we did not look like young ones trying to get a free dessert. Thank you for the free lunch that went to waste because it was CRAP

    (1)

  • Mr. T.

    I always thought TGI fridays as expensive place, but never been there. This time we thought to check it out, the food price was very decent. Though we ordered the portion listed in the menu, the server gave us large portion, we didn't know until we got the bill. The server apologized but didn't give any discount or anything. Thats fine with us, as we had a decent dinner at TGI fridays. Later I took a survey after reaching home and I will be eligible for free appetizer worth of $8.

    (4)

  • Mike S.

    Don't expect any gourmet food from here, because it's on par with Denny's. I gave this Fridays 5 stars because of the bar. Happy hour is past 10:00 and it is a good deal (appetizers 1/2 off, drinks are discounted). I come here every other day to meet up with friends and have a few beers. The waiters, waitresses, and bartenders are super friendly.

    (5)

  • Heather H.

    worst service ever!!! we for lunch today and it wasn't even busy. was also very disappointed in the menu because they had no veggie burger option.

    (1)

  • Matt D.

    Well as said previously in one of the reviews for T.G.I. Friday's... it used to be good times/good food! But something's happened over the years. The service sucks, they're hiring what appears to be kids just out of high school who really don't wanna work there, and the food sucks royally. I can't justify paying $10 for a 50/50 chance of getting rubberish food on my plate. As for this location in particular, it's often busy, and really noisy. But I suppose that's the usual for all T.G.I. Friday's. I'd advise staying away from this chain.

    (2)

  • Lauren V.

    a place where the drinks are better than the food hands down.But really what are you expecting by consuming food here?

    (2)

  • Susie W.

    food was ok - but service was poor - a bunch of fouled mouth kids outside smoking up a storm and playing profain music that they had brought and were allowed to play - really - and this was at 2 pm during the day!! Never again!

    (1)

  • Jessica C.

    Good food. The staff needs to be a little more hospitable.

    (4)

  • Kevin S.

    Eating in here is like eating under a truck--dark, and kinda oily. So here's a reality show concept: A team of marketing, interior design, cooking, and restaurant management students from different regions and universities compete to completely remake TGI Friday's. The company lays its embarassingly dated looks, flavors, themes, supply chain, and attitude open for surgical and psychological examination and re-conceptualization. Otherwise, I can't think of any reason to keep this tired nag out on the track. Its greatest gift to our culture has been the hilarious Molly Shannon and Will Ferrel sketch where the nightly special is something like "salmon rolled in Lucky Charms and lightly sauteed." Just about accurate.

    (1)

  • Barn M.

    Service was not great. The food was unsatisfactory either. I guess this would be an okay place if there are no other places close by or open, but I wouldn't go there if I had other choices.

    (2)

  • Oksana T.

    This is like a Denny's with a bar, except here cooks tend to burn your order.

    (2)

  • A. J.

    can i give this place ZERO stars? now, i really like the TGI Friday's in union city (food and service), but this one? food was NASTY. drinks were NASTY. and our server was some dumb kid who acted like he didn't wanna serve us. we asked if they could take the chicken out of their quesadilla (which i know for a fact they can because the one in union city did it for us before) and the kid automatically says "no. everything is pre-made." pre-made huh? good thing to tell your customers, DUMBASS. he gave us NO SERVICE, so i left him a 13 cent tip, which in my opinion is a bigger slap in the face than leaving him nothing.

    (1)

  • Lyn N.

    This place is the perfect place to take a bunch of kids - it has a sports bar and flat screen tv's overhead. It's a loud place, perfect place to drown a kid who is fussy or crying. The food never seems to disappoint us but I've noticed that the menu/food selection has narrowed down through the years. I recall they had more pasta selection but not as much in recent times. Portions are generous and price is average. Their appetizers are crowd pleasers! Parking is ample. And they have these muscle cars nights where local come out and park their parks like it's a car show. It's pretty cool.

    (3)

  • Pam S.

    Where do you go for a late night tryst with a some-time hookup who also, you find out, is getting married in a month? If you want to keep things relatively platonic, why not Friday's? They have a plethora of alcohol to dull the awkwardness of the situation, and munchies...although after seeing WALL-E, I don't know if I really want to eat here again. I can't believe how many sneaky ways they slide in the fat. The bartender was nice, and frankly, the company wasn't that bad after all. I managed to make it home, alone, in one piece.

    (3)

  • Jade B.

    If you want quick bar food before you head to the club, look no further the TGI Friday's. I haven't been to one in like forever (when it was in Jack London Square in Oakland). I was there with one of my favorite people on Saturday night and when we got there, we were seated pretty fast. The waiter was very kind and friendly and I ordered a Berry Shaker Mojito and it was pretty good but I have had better and I ordered this appetizer called the Ale House Shrimp & Chips which sounded great when saw it on the menu. When it was sat down on the table, I was like, look at all this fried food, I'm seriously going to have a heat attack! Everything was fried. It came with, fried shrimp, fried bell peppers (red & green), fried potatoes (chips as they call it), and the ultimate fried broccoli...who fries broccoli? Needless to say, it tasted okay just a little greasy. Over all, we spent about $28 dollars for two drinks and the appetizer which wasn't to bad. I personally would come back here but it's a place that you will not find me often.

    (3)

  • Christine H.

    Service was terrible. It took an hour for our food to arrive, and there were barely any customers at that time of day (approximately 3 in the afternoon). Plus, the wait wasn't even worth it because whatever I had, it was terrible. Our waitress didn't even bother to offer us refills or check in on us, and she wasn't anywhere in-sight for the duration of our stay, so we had to eat without anything to drink except our ice cubes to chew on. Never going back to T.G.I Fridays again, at least the the one in San Mateo, for that matter.

    (1)

  • Leslie C.

    I like TGI Friday's restaurants, so I was excited to try out this location. While the food was good as usual, a complete restaurant experience takes into account the service received as well. Unfortunately for this location, the service was rude and lacking. Upon entering the restaurant, my mom, brother, and I were not greeted by the waiters/waitresses bustling about and passing us by, nor was there a host/hostess to greet us - in fact, there wasn't even a host/hostess station to wait at. Prior to making our meal selections, we were offered drinks, however, only 2 waters were brought out and I had to ask the waiter to bring out a third for our party of 3. When the waiter (Enrico) came back to take our order, he noticed that my mom's menu was outdated and that the specials she was looking at were no longer offered. He panicked and rudely yanked the menu out of my mom's hands and told her he'd get her another one. My mom was shocked and when the waiter came back to apologize, my mom did not look at him and muttered that she wouldn't be talking to him. The waiter most likely heard my mom's statement because another waiter was then assigned to our table to take our orders and we never heard from Enrico again. The next waiter was alright, except for the fact that he was not aware of the current promotion. I was going through the drinks menu and found an offer where for every Jack Daniel's entree ordered, a free appetizer could be chosen. I brought this to the waiter's attention while we were waiting for our entrees, as we had ordered 2 of the qualifying entrees, and he said that what I had read must have been a typo because the offer was "for every 2 Jack Daniel's entrees ordered, 1 free appetizer could be chosen". I specifically pointed out that the offer stated a 1:1 ratio, he talked to someone to clarify, and then came back to tell me that I was right. We got our free appetizers, but what another negative experience to add to the prior waiter's rude service. The rest of the meal went well, with the new waiter checking up on us once. The only other complaint I had was that it took the new waiter 15 minutes to pick up our credit card for payment after dropping off the check. The restaurant was not busy, and after all of that, we just wanted to get out of there. Disappointed. No wonder this location only has 2.5 stars.

    (2)

  • Grace L.

    I came here on a Friday (har har), waiting for Lovie to get off work. I sat at the bar and ordered a tall Blue Moon. I thoroughly entertained myself with 4 flat TV screens surrounding the bar -- one for every side. It made for the perfect square of NCAA March Madness. I intently watched the Washington vs. Georgia game. I sat next to a nice older man and we talked basketball for the whole time. We cheered on Washington and thankfully they dominated for the most part. Let's go Pac-10!

    (3)

  • Anna K.

    I love this place's happy hour! They have Shocktops for like $6 in the bigger glasses ( I can't remember the exact oz.). And they have happy hour appetizers. Good place to just come chill with friends after work.

    (4)

  • Jizza Pe I.

    So this is the closest TGIF to my house! Came here with my friends one day for HH & I everything went well. That's why it deserves 2 stars ... This review is for my 2nd visit! I'm in the restaurant as I'm writing this review ... after a couples massage, my BF & I decided to come here because we haven't had TGIF since the one in SSF closed down (we miss it!) So as we followd the host, he came upon the 1st table & joked 'would you like a dirty table?' laff .. 2nd table, 'O wait, this is dirty to!! WOW this is not a good look!!' So we finally found a table that wasnt dirty .. our waiter took our drink orders, coke & beer! i received my coke (flat) but he said that he would be back for the beer. 15min. later, he came with the beer. keep in mind, they were not busy AT ALL!!! he manage to take 2 tables drink order and gave it to them. wipe down tables and count his money. he finally gave BF his beer after i spoke out loud stating we should leave! not sure if driving all the way from SF to eat @ this TGIF is worth it .. maybe another place! not recommend!

    (2)

  • Richard N.

    Went to TGI Friday for lunch at 3pm, place was empty. You would think that you could get in and out quickly.... but no!!. There was only one server on the floor, and even though it was empty she seemed over whelmed. We ordered lunch and it took over 35 mins for it to come out. Asked for the MGR. and tried to tell me that he is under staffed etc. Did not take any responsibility for the mess up at all. I have been back to TGI Friday a few times and it seems that they either just don't care or they hired the wrong people all the time. The MGR should be busing tables and NOT trying to run a business!! I will not be going back for a while.

    (1)

  • Emily R.

    I wanted to take my friend out to a celebratory Birthday Dinner. Since we had four adults, and a fourteen year-old I wanted to find a place that could be accommodating for everyone. I called earlier in the day since I had a coupon that said it required a reservation. When I called they wouldn't take our reservation because we only have five, and not eight people. When we arrived we had to wait in line while a kid stressfully sat people. Even though there were open tables we were told we had to wait. We were sat at a table without any cutlery, and our waitress arrived and exclaimed "today's my first day". We put in our order for three cocktails, and two sodas, and showed our waitress a coupon for appetizers. It took three trips back and forth to get it straight. Then, three moist towelettes arrived for five people (still no cutlery). I had mentioned to the Manager that it was a birthday celebration, but I didn't want them to make a fool of the birthday boy, instead I wanted to have a festive fun meal. Less than five minutes after the apps were placed on the table an Ice Cream Sunday arrived, and a song was sung. The waitress realized her mistake (generally dessert comes after dinner) and quickly shuffled the Sunday off. Bill came, OMG $50 for three cocktails, two sodas and poor service?

    (1)

  • Analyst C.

    I don't think i will come back to this place again; food is not good

    (2)

  • Tim T.

    I had thought this TGi Friday's had closed down, so I was kinda pleased when on an infrequent visit to Hillsdale Mall I saw it was re-opened. After a bombing-run on Borders next door before they finally go kaput, and an afternoon in the mall, my girlfriend and I went over there with a friend - J. - for dinner around 6PM. It's typical chain fare. No better or worse than Applebees, Chilis, etc. so you know what to expect food-wise - cheese, bacon and other fatty products piled on top of everything on the menu. Like bacon? You can get bacon on top of just about anything probably including more bacon. Need cheese? Add some fried cheese on top of your bacon cheesinator. You get the idea. On this day, the service was abysmal. To start with: J. lacked a fork in his cutlery roll and had to grab another from a nearby wait-stand. Then, they bussed away our knives and forks with the plates from our appetizers, leaving us to have to pilfer more cutlery-rolls from the wait-stand after our food arrived and the food-busser bolted back to the kitchen. Our waiter couldn't get away from tables fast enough, so we were left open-mouthed before we could point out any issues with our table. Including, the salad I had ordered not turning up - and didn't arrive until we eventually cornered our waiter and complained - after I had completed the rest of my meal. So - little or no service, sloppy table service from the bus-staff and a lot of the waiters around seemed angry, rushed and definitely sloppy. We contemplated calling for a manager at one point, but reasoned that if the staff were this unhappy, the management must be colossal dicks.

    (2)

  • Justin E.

    Utter Shite. If I wanted to eat microwave cuisine I would've stayed on my couch. The staff today were useless. The snotty little bitch with the metal in her face couldn't have cared less about her job and deliberately gave us the worst service in recent memory. How did she do this? -Zero drink refills, for me or my ladyfriend. -Letting our appetizer sit in the window for more than ten minutes. -Acting shocked that I would not eat the mound of shit placed before me. -Abandoning our table entirely. The food itself was memorably bad. Our mozzarella sticks arrived cold, and were served with ranch (I fucking hate ranch) instead of marinara. My Cajun Chicken and Shrimp entree tasted as if it were heated in a microwave several times over, and consequently the pasta was cooked to mush and the cajun sauce was little more than condensation from the top of the lid. We "dined" here at 1PM on a Tuesday. God only knows what happens when the place gets busy. Grand re-opening? Just let this place die a natural death and take your date and your business elsewhere.

    (1)

  • adrianna h.

    Portions are small. Douche bag central. The steak is pretty good. While I was eating, seated near a window, I got to watch rats running around the establishment...classy, no? BJs is better.

    (2)

  • Brian S.

    Dined here last night and mind you had not done so in a while. It was busy as always and we decided to have a drink at the bar. Sure enough, the Shock top was wonderful with all the games on and even though they were understaffed, they did there best to keep things flowing even though things were a bit slow. As for when our name was called, they said they came up to the bar and called us which we did not hear, but being as busy as they were, I thought they would have walked around the bar until finding us; they should give customers beepers that go off when their table is ready. As for when we were seated, service was prompt and food came in a timely manner; not quick but not slow as one would expect in a busy place. Our waitress was nice and not forgetting about us but not excessively attentive either. So, another round of Shock top and I had to try the Jack Daniels burger after hearing so many commercials for their Jack Daniels entrees; wonderful with a fresh bun, fresh lettuce, tomato, pickle, onions, tender perfectly marinaded patty, and a nice sweet smokey sauce. The fries were crispy and not greasless with just the right amount of salt. For dessert, we shared the Tenser whiskey cake which was a moist coffee flavored cake with chocolate chips, butter scotch, and a wonderful sweet smokey sauce; mmmmmm. I would definitely come back. It is an especially good deal when you have a buy one get one free coupon like we did. So, for some excellent service with excellent food in a friendly lively atmosphere, Friday's cannot be beat. Keep up the good work guys.

    (4)

  • Wendy L.

    Great hangout for a group of friends. Alcohol and fatty foods! The Bruschetta pasta I ordered wasn't that great... but being the fatty that I am I tried a bunch of orders from my friends and it was good! My berry mojoti came in a rock glass and a beer glass. It was like 4 servings! YUM!

    (4)

  • Matthew L.

    The 1 star is for the service. They're lucky to get that. I would award 3 stars for their chicken wings, but unfortunately this is about their awful to go service, which I have complained about for years now. I keep ordering to go from them because of their great chicken wings, potato skins, etc. Never again. Friday's seems to hire some employees that don't care about their jobs. I've dealt with their manager more than once. Tonight, I paid for my meal without receiving it, & the employee not even noticing I didn't have my food. Also, order was wrong, no big deal, but employee giggled when I told her. Fridays is done for me. I have never gone there without an issue!

    (1)

  • Marty L.

    You know, this place ain't that bad. The food isn't stellar, but it's pretty good. Try their jack daniels boneless strips (I think) and you'll thank me. The strips were crispy, with a nice balance of sweetness and tanginess. Believe it or not, the ribs were actually pretty good too for a chain restaurant. Pricing is also reasonable. Service was good, even on a Sunday mid-afternoon. Don't knock this place, it can get you out of a jam when nothing else sounds good.

    (3)

  • Jeff W.

    Quick Notes: "Food is pretty bad, felt sick leaving" "Tool capital of San Mateo!" "Service was laughable" Read the full story: So i guess i should start by saying, you shouldn't expect much from a chain restaurant of this caliber as far as service and quality of food goes, and when TGI fridays was the chosen place to eat dinner, i should've spoken up. This was the punishment.... Upon arriving around 9:15pm on a Thursday night (with maybe 25 patrons total), we were sat in the corner near the entrance. The waitress (who was obviously new, and meant well) came over and took drink orders. So far, so good. After we sat and waited for nearly 10 minutes for any form of drink to come, she left without offering to take our order, and we waited another 15 minutes for her to return. As we wanted to order, we began to look around for her to see if she was busy or went on break without telling us...... Nope, she was socializing with customers at a table directly down from us. She did have a waiter to shadow, who was trying to help get her up to speed but obviously not doing a very good job at that. After we asked to see our waitress, we finally get to order. Now it's about 9:55-10:00pm and still no food. The first dish that comes out is for my mother with a 2-3 minute wait for my food to come out. Mom's fork had crusty stuff caked on to it, and my sister didnt even have a place setting still. My sister's food came with mine, but the bun was knocked off the plate as the waitress was shuffling the dishes before serving the food. Honest mistake, that's okay. After the bun was fixed a few minutes later yet again, the burger arrived. Yet my dad's salmon still was no where to be seen. At this point the first dish is nearing 10 minutes on the table, and due to the late nature of the meal, almost halfway finished. As the training waiter brings the Salmon out, he says "Sorry, but the salmon takes a little longer"....(x2) Now, let's digress a second.... if you are a restaurant/waiter and you know you have a dish that takes longer, a simple solution is to start that one first right? Beyond that, FISH COOKS FAST GENIUS! Lying to try and save face is even worse that saying, "sorry, there was a miscommunication" or "i messed up"......... My dad was less than pleased to say the least, and to be honest i was pretty bothered as well. We asked to see a manager to inform her of the unsatisfactory service we'd been offered so she can do with it as she pleases, and she did try and compensate us by taking 25% off the bill. To me at this point, i could care less.... Service was awful, and i wont be returning so you mine as well charge me the full price, but thank you for trying to make it better. That i cannot fault at all. To let our impression of the meal hit home with the wait staff, a $1 tip was left. The waiter then had the lack of class or judgement to come out the back door while we are walking to the car and say in a extremely sarcastic tone "Thanks guys, i REALLY appreciate it..." to which we responded, "you're welcome" in a equally snark remark. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but i doubt this guy is going to see the light if he hasn't already. ARE you reading this management? That's pretty bold of your employee..... Time for a reality check my man, you're not all roses. In any case, i write all this and i haven't said anything about the food. It's ok at best, i actually felt sick when i was leaving and my stomach isn't sitting well as i type this. Will i return, NOT A CHANCE. I can think of plenty of options to spend an equal amount of money and get better food, and way better service, while not being surrounded by douchbaggery....

    (1)

  • Stacy S.

    I can't really say too much about the food, because I never really eat here for dinner. The appetizers are appetizers. Bar food. Thats it. Nothing special, nothing note worthy. They feed you, and they are cheap especially during happy hour. The drinks are why people my age come here. The drinks and the televisions during sports games. They just started having a DJ on thursday nights. Its starting to get pretty cracking on Thursdays. Give it a shot!

    (4)

  • Kathleen W.

    Back in the 80's ... when my dad was working 80 hour weeks because he had to and my mom was waitressing, we once had a family dinner at Friday's as a big dinner out. It was a big deal, it was a splurge. I remember us ordering appetizers (which we rarely do) and my parents were so sad at the $6.00 they spend on potato skins. They didn't understand why you'd scoop out all the innards and just eat the skin with some bacon. A lot has changed since then and whenever I go to Friday's now, it's a reminder of just how far we've come. Had dinner here cause it was the only place within walking distance from the bar. We were seated promptly, but only given 2 menus for the 3 of us. Then later, when we asked for 1 more place setting, we were brought 3 instead of 1. The beers here are HUGE and the menu is a clusterfuck. Staring at it made me want to go to House of Prime Rib ... so we'll be doing that next week. I had BBQ shrimp wrapped in bacon which is actually as tasty as it sounds. The women's bathroom was unkempt. 1 stall was out of TP, 1 stall had a door that wouldn't close. The 3rd one was just right, but I generally don't like having to visit multiple stalls in order to relieve myself. Minus another star for the lack of flare. I want flare god damn it.

    (3)

  • Jen K.

    Waitress took a long time, not crowded at all. Some random person came to our table to ask how we were doing have no idea who she was. Salad sucked, changed up menu again, took almost 1.5 hours from start to finish. We sat for 15 mins done eating and watched 2 hostess flirt with each other while we waited for our waitress

    (2)

  • Nicole P.

    If this location was the casualty of the mass closing described here: articles.sfgate.com/2008… They should have stayed that way. Had the most disinterested absent waiter ever. He goofed on BF's order (and yes we did mention that he left it off), we had to dip into the place setting basked next to our table to even get silverware and waited a good 20 minutes before the check even got back to us. For the first time ever, my friends and I left a poor tip.... To the waiter, "We're not cheap, just not happy with you."

    (2)

  • Irene S.

    This TGI Fridays has pretty good food but still there is a lack of healthier options on the menu. This is especially the case with the happy hour appetizers that appear to be high calorie types with most of the food prepared fried. The atmosphere of this place is fun as there are lots of antique items on the wall including a wooden racing row boat! The waitstaff are very nice and accommodating. This is one of the few TGI Fridays in Northern California that still accepts coupons. They also have a stars and stripes card that allows you to get points each time you eat at a TGI Fridays. After a while, the points can add up and you can get things like free meals.

    (4)

  • Thuyvi M.

    We had a wonderful experience here. Atmosphere was great, food was good, drinks were strong, and service was fast and our server was very nice and friendly. He checked up on us numerous times but not numerous time where it was annoying. The manager even came by and asked if we were good. I would defin come here again.

    (5)

  • rachelle t.

    We came here again and the service was much better, maybe they were having an off day the last time I went. The place is what it is, it's TGI Friday's so you can expect fine dining service. It's fast paced, friendly, and the food is good. It still isn't as good as before they closed. But they still make a killer brownie! It's a great place to go with a group and hang out at the bar. The chicken wings are really dry and tough. They just need to fix that and I will be happy since that and sweet potato fries is what I like to order.

    (4)

  • Jenny L.

    love TGI Fridays went a few times for date night didnt even have to wait for a seat waitress was really nice got an appetizer the Spinach Florentine Flatbread really yummy very good!!! and the Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta for dinner really good love that its not too spicy over all had a really good experience

    (5)

  • Eric S.

    This review is a little biased because I was such a HUGE FAN of the SAN BRUNO location. However, TGI Fridays in San Mateo is decent. I'm a fridays fan overall and for being in SM its not that bad. I think they do a little too much having Karaoke there on certain days but finally glad they put in a juke box. Of course I go for the amazing appetizers and drinks. The ribs and steaks are also no a bad choice. Going with friends is the best since the people do kinda suck there most of the time. All in all, not a bad place to visit especially during happy hr. If you were a San Bruno Fridays fan then this is not a bad place

    (4)

  • Steph G.

    I came here after a softball game with a bunch of team members a few weeks ago and was happy to see that they had re-opened because I have always enjoyed TGI Friday's. We were seated right away and a friendly waitress (who was in training) immediately took our drink/appetizer orders. It kinda took awhile for us to get our drinks, but we weren't in any rush so it wasn't a big deal, besides, the waitress was new. When it came time to take our food orders I decided to get the chicken strips with mashed potatoes instead of fries. HORRIBLE choice! The mashed potatoes were fine but the chicken strips were bland and tasted like hot water. yuck! O and they weren't crispy at all. I didn't think it was possible to mess up chicken strips, but Friday's proved me wrong. I had a bad taste in my mouth the entire night. I am scared to go back and try something else on the menu. Back in the day I loved Friday's so I'm not really sure what happened. I'm willing to go back because the service was good and they had a bunch of flat screens playing the giants game. but I will just order their appetizers or something.

    (2)

  • Steven V.

    Service was very very good, but the food was awful and the wine was nasty!

    (2)

  • Andrew Z.

    Bartender didn't know what a "Washington Apple" was so they waited 30 minutes till friend asked where his drink was and they asked him what the ingredients were (Crown Royal whiskey, Apple Pucker and a dash of Cranberry juice) The waiters were everywhere, but ours were freeekin slow. Well maybe the people in the kitchen were just having a too good of a time gossiping. The turkey burger was GREAT. I will come by again and try and come on a random tuesday and a little earlier to avoid the crowds.

    (2)

  • Nicole F.

    Walked in and noticed plenty of open seating and several people waiting - the host gave us a 20 min wait time so we TOLD them we would be waiting at the bar. The guy we sat next to at the bar started to blow his nose outward without covering his mouth and coughing the entire time we waited. Two drinks later and a $20 bill we asked the hostess how much longer and she said they already called our name aargh we asked about moving the bar tab to the table tab and she had no idea what we were asking. My bf tried to pay the bar tab but after waiting there almost 10 mins and being ignored by 3 bar tenders he ended up walking to the table annoyed - Thanks to the poorly organized bar staff we got 2 free drinks! Would have gotten more food but with the terrible service and the itsy bitsy spider crawling down on me from the overhead light we had appetizers drinks and left! P.S. When I asked for another cosmo - I got some pomegranate thing in a martini glass with a think black curled up hair at the bottom of the stem...dam! Bottom line even with another coupon we probably won't return ANY time soon.

    (1)

  • Trevor H.

    Wow, I have never experienced such a lingering taste of salt in my mouth following a meal. That's going a bit far forward into the story, so let me take you back to where it started. After my party of four was promptly seated and given menus, one my friends said that she was a vegetarian and wanted to know if any non-meat patties were available (e.g. black bean, etc.) to which our server replied "we have turkey :D". Wow, please tell me that you didn't confuse vegetarianism with a simple avoidance of red meat. I'm an omnivore myself but our entire table did our best not to bust out laughing. We didn't mean to be rude, but we honestly thought that she was just silly and loved sharing a sense of humor with us. Unfortunately however, this was not the case, and when our food came out we were in for several surprises. Have ever seen the hills in the grapevine during the winter time when they're covered in snow? This is what my friend's french fries looked like! My vegetarian friend's sweet potato fries were equally salty, and the only reason that I mention it is because the two of them generally love salty foods but this was beyond the pale. My appetizer combo of potato skins, fried green beans, and inferno chicken wings were just as disappointing, although the excessive salt was at-least hidden under the breading. When our server came back she asked "how is everything?" and we told her how salty everything was and that we would like for her to keep bringing us more water. Instead of offering us refunds or alternative dishes, we were basically forced to keep what we had. In the end, each of us had four glasses of water and my mouth tastes like a combination of Morton's salt and sea water. Please do not visit this establishment, for they were so much more fun and tasty before closing down in 2009 for several months of renovations.

    (1)

  • Fancypants X.

    Once upon a time, a million years ago, it was really enjoyable & really fun to meet up with co-workers, old high school friends & cousins at Friday's for a hurricane (or three) & to share a few appetizers/gossip. Fast forward to the future when dining at chain restaurants is no longer considered cool (ok, I'm not sure if it was ever cool, but admit it, you did it too!); hole in the wall joints are now the "in" thing & people turn their noses up at places like Fridays. Those fond, distant memories from my very early 20's will keep Friday's a sweetheart in my book, so I was devastated when I heard their San Bruno & San Mateo locations closed earlier last year. In the past few years, I dined there very infrequently, opting instead for that burrito joint on Mission Street or that tapas bar on Valencia, but I still liked having Friday's as an option. A few weeks ago, the bf & I were reintroduced to the newly reopened San Mateo restaurant. The walls looked a lot less cluttered than I remembered, but the set up was the same. We were seated immediately (it was about an hour before closing) & our waiter was quick to take our order. He checked on us throughout our meal & did not rush us out. I had the Jack Daniels sampler (shrimp, chicken & ribs) & the bf had a flat iron steak with sweet potato fries & onion rings. Now i remember why we came here less & less as we got older & older...everything is fried to death & there really is so much better out there. (That Jack Daniels sauce *was* familiar & tasty, tho.) Total: $29 (not including tip.) I'm sure it'll be another year before I drag the bf back to Friday's--that'll give me enough time to miss it & to forget why we only go once a year (if that.)

    (3)

  • Parth P.

    Heard a lot about this place from few people and what a disappointment it turned out to be. Liked the menu but not the food. I felt like I have got something from Safeway from a frozen food section and microwaved it. It was all ordinary and mediocre. Quantity to price ratio was not good for my plate. It was a disappointment. Service was ok. Don't feel like I would go back to this place. Ehhh... I have had far better.

    (2)

  • Scott S.

    Would never come back here after what happened. On Christmas Eve, we wanted to go out and get a bite and drink at 5 at night. Being the holidays, we called first to see if they were open and what time they are closing. They said 7:30. We arrived to locked doors at 5:25! They had decided to close earlier. They were very unapologetic. If you are planning on closing early, don't tell me you are open. The posted sign said they were open until 8, the person on the phone said 7:30 and they actually closed 5:25. I think they just need to close the doors permanently. Thankfully, we got a good meal across the street at Cheesecake Factory, which was jammed packed.

    (1)

  • Clarence A.

    um I know I know it is a chain, I know bartenders, waiteresses and even bar maids need to use flair on their shirts but alas this is a spot meant for teenys and newly found parents with their wobbly children asking every second what this is and why, and why and why. hahaha during the nite you will notice the crowd does change to lil of the younger crowd and more of the college crowd as well as some of the blue collar businessmen if not contractors that are getting off a long day of work, they got several flat screens playing several local games of every sport and even 2 playing cartoons food is blah they got new editions but, all taste the same, regular for me is jack daniel ny steak with shrimp for the wifey she has no regular she likes to try everything tonite she ordered the steak fajitas, both plates we ok not great just ok only reason I keep coming back is there sauce that comes with the steak 5 stars just for the sauce if they bottled the sauce I would purchase it but unfortunately they do not so I have to keep on coming back just for the sauce food ** blah 5 stars for sauce that comes with steak only 5 stars for this condiment, lots and lots of beer on tap service **** quick, helpful price $$ dependin on what you get they do have a 3 item for $30 that they advertise includes appitizer entree and dessert ambiance *** several tvs, wide open space, able to see everyone in the whole restaurant no matter what level your sitting at. as of now everything is super clean.

    (2)

  • Ray N.

    YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING...! This dump shut it's door sometime ago and is now attempting a "re-opening" scam. The reason I say "scam" is because all they did was shut down for sometime and re-open their doors. - Same crappy dump. - Same nasty menu. - Worst service staff (dumber than a bucket of hair with ZERO personality). - Same building - absolutely NOT remodeled as they advertise. - NO ambience, you feel like you're in a high school cafeteria. -- DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME NOR MONEY HERE -- What an absolute joke. * Hey Friday's, if you failed the first time, what makes you think you'll succeed this time. It's all the same crap with a "grand opening" banner out front. *

    (1)

  • Laszlo M.

    This TGIF is good but I wish they would have a better happy hour beer specials. They make you sit at the bar and only some beers are on special forTGIF. This is bad for families. Come on there should be more beers on special in all the restaurant at happy hour !

    (2)

  • Chris B.

    They are back in business at this location with a revamped staff and new menu items! Thursday nights are great for people watching!!! The waitress was extremely tentative and checked on us every few minutes. The food was out in a jiff! I could not believe it! I had the mex burger which was a cheesburger with salsa and a roasted poblano pepper on it. It was delicious!

    (4)

  • Leslie M.

    Server forgot about us. We had to ask who our server was in order to even be noticed. Water cups and silverware were dirty. My salad had cold chicken. I know chicken on salads are sometimes cold, but this chicken tasted like it had been in a fridge for at least a dsy prior so i ate my boyfriends food instead. This place use to be cool to go to with friends, but. Now they just suck. Who ever is managing isn't training staff well.

    (1)

  • Jenny L.

    I don't understand why they take reservations when they seat people who walk in earlier than us. I also don't understand how incompetent some of the staff members were. How many times do I have to ask for hot water before I actually get it? I can't believe I agreed to go to begin with. Granted, their 3 course meal was a good deal. And their crispy green beans weren't half bad, nor were the fish tacos. Apparently I made a horrible choice for the mini dessert, but it did look good. Go into it with very low expectations, and it may just be met.

    (1)

  • Anon A.

    Service was hellish. 20 minutes to get some chips and dip. Management is clearly confused.

    (2)

  • Ed C.

    sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic… Sad face... =*( Me and the honey had our first date here... Sad to see them shut down. Damn economy!!!

    (5)

  • Christina D.

    Ok I have been here twice since this location reopened and the first time was ok, it was happy hour and there wasn't that many people there yet so service was quicker to get your drinks and food. The 2nd time it was on a Friday night around 7-ish (so of course it's super packed) and I swear the service was soooooo....s...lll...oo...wwwww...I thought I would die of dehydration (ok not really, but it felt that way) before I would get served by one of the bartenders scurrying behind the bar. The food was ok, nothing to rave about so it will probably be quite a while before I get dragged back here.

    (3)

  • Katharine T.

    Fridays. What the hell. I was beyond excited when I heard you were re-opening. I did a little dance and sent an international text to my childhood bff saying that we needed to hit the place up the second I got home. I couldn't wait to come home and stuff my self silly with wings and potato skins. Now, I wouldn't say the meal we enjoyed was a bad experience, because it wasn't. It just wasn't the same as old times. The decor is different inside, there's none of that fake kitschy memorabilia on the walls, and everything is more bright and open. I miss the dark wooden interior! Plus, even more TV screens, which just makes it seem like a more usual sports bar. Our waiter was new (obviously, I guess) but super friendly. We ordered a three-for-all without consulting the menu and he goes, "The what?" Because, apparently, that's not a set menu item anymore. There's some threesome appetizer plate that is customizable, so you can still get your combination of buffalo wings, potato skins, and mozzarella sticks with accompanying dips, but it takes a hell of a lot more ordering. They also have like six or seven different wing sauces to choose from now... uhm hello hooters / wingstop? The wings weren't quite as good as old times, but they did just reopen so I'll give them a break on that. Also, there were plenty of available tables but we were seated literally right on top of these two guys. In the little corner behind the bar on that second level is a tiny two person table, where two guys were already eating and watching the game. We were seated on the next level right next to their table. Which meant that we were like a foot or two above them, right in on their conversation. If the place had been busy and louder, this wouldn't have been too weird but it just got a bit awkward. I'll definitely be back because it's one of the only places open late in San Mateo and I'll always have love for Fridays. I'm just hoping for a slightly better experience next time around.

    (3)

  • Andrew Y.

    Enrico! Where have you been all my life? Dropped in here on St. Patrick's day to keep the party going. Our waiter Enrico was a pro. He gave us the lowdown on what was available and also suggested some strong drinks. If he wasn't working, we'd have had him sit down and drink a couple. We had a bunch of potato skins, and other appetizers. Hit the spot.

    (4)

  • Rick G.

    Aside from our meal it was a very bad experience. We were returning from a trip and had our car broken into in their parking lot. All our luggage was stolen. The management of tgif Fridays showed zero concern and did not even check if we were all right. The parking lot has no surveillance cameras and according to the police this is not the first time. I will not go back to TGIF Fridays unless I want to get robbed.

    (1)

  • Daphne A.

    I haven't had TGI's in a long time since the San Bruno location closed. I ordered a 10 oz Jack Daniel's and I was so happy. I finished my steak and wasn't disappointed. I like the selection in sides. I guess since I had a good meal there I can't say anything else. Service was good as well.

    (3)

  • Russell b.

    I often go there while they are empty in-between lunch and dinner. About 7pm it very suddenly gets noisy and busy. Occasionally I bring a group with small children that play board games during an early dinner. The kids meals work well and the staff is very, very accommodating. Since they have re-opened, I have found the service to be wonderful. The Steaks are often (but not always) exceptional. More than half the time I would rate the steak above most real steak houses. Many things are a little but spicier than one would expect. Their WIFI is not at all reliable. I get a usable connection about one time in four. I'm happy with it. If they fixed the WIFI, I'd be very happy with it.

    (4)

  • Jessica M.

    love the food here especially the sandwiches....... If your looking for a good place to buy sandwiches come here!!!

    (5)

  • Janice V.

    I remember seeing TGI Friday commercial's all the time and ever since then I've been wanting to go to one. Since my boyfriend and I were at the Hillsdale mall, we saw that there was a TGI Fridays on the mall map so we ate here for lunch. Our waitress was very nice and she even gave us a free appetizer cause she told us if we signed up for a Stripes card today we get a free appetizer or dessert for that day and on our next visit. We ended up getting pot stickers for our appetizer which was pretty good. There was a lot of chicken on the menu but unfortunately I'm allergic to it so I got the Dragonfly Salmon. It looked good but It wasn't. It tasted fruity cause of the tangerine slices and mango but hot. I don't know what I didn't like about it probably cause of the rice. I give it an extra star for our waitress for being so nice and always refilling our drinks plus the free appetizer. I wanted my TGI Friday's experience to be great but that wasn't the case. Oh and they have Karaoke night now haha

    (2)

  • Athina L.

    The two stars is for the food and one for our second waiter. This review is mainly for our first waitress. She was rude. When my mom asked if she could use a coupon, the girl automatically said "YOU CAN ONLY USE ONE" in a very know it all manner. Which my mom understood, she was just making sure that we could use them. When my mom ordered, the girl didn't say "excuse me" or "pardon me" or even "say that again" - she just said "WHAT?" very rudely. After ordering, our second waiter came by and told us that our first waitress was going on break. Which was actually a lie. The woman just didn't want to be our waitress. A few minutes after our second waiter left, I saw her getting orders from two other tables that were behind us. I've gone to this Friday's a lot, but this was the first time I've ever been treated so rudely. Definitely questioning whether I'll be back here again. If I do, I'll probably just go to the happy hour.

    (3)

  • Michelle N.

    Food not very good. Buffalo wings very saturated.. Not much taste in the burgers...very plastic. And frozen pink lemonade taste like the floor of chuck e cheese.

    (2)

  • Karen C.

    Please note - my review is based on two experiences in the past month - one the day after they opened and the second today. In the past, I have not been a huge fan of Friday's (I didn't LOATHE it, it just never came to mind as far as going out to eat was concerned) and did not miss it when they closed a year or so ago following the TGIF bankruptcy. I was surprised to find out they were re-opening! On the opening weekend (I think it was the day after the actual re-opening) we met a friend there for a dinner. Service was hella slow that night and they brought our order to the wrong table, but I've seen enough eps of "Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" to realize that this is par for the course when first opening - in addition the place was packed with people and I'm sure the new staff was a bit overwhelmed to say the least! That night I ordered one of the chicken-breast sandwiches - it was pretty good once it arrived. Today we were just driving around and decided to stop in for a late lunch. Not too many cars in the parking lot so figured we'd be in and out pretty quick (we weren't looking for a fast-food experience but did want to get our food fairly quickly). I ordered the chicken breast and shrimp, hubby ordered the NY strip steak and shrimp. Hubby's steak was a nice big cut - wish I could say the same for my chicken breast. It was itty bitty - maybe the size of 1/2 a regular boneless cutlet that could have fit into the palm of my hand - about the same size that I would find in a Jenny Craig entree (ick! bad analogy!) The menu does feature a page of smaller portion options but I had ordered this from the regular menu and was charged accordingly ($15.99). The shrimp were more like popcorn shrimp, we each got five of them. One of my sides was baked beans - the cup they came in was about 1/4 full. VERY small portions...and a bit sweet. They need to lay off that Jack Daniels' sugar sauce IMO! I would have been better off ordering the same chicken-breast sandwich or a burger. Service today - not nearly as slow but could have been a bit faster... The management has veered away from the "crazy crap on the walls" decor (guess they're leaving that to Red Robin now!) and replaced it with a LOT of big flat-screen TVs all set to different sports channels. Bottom line - I would go to Friday's for drinks and appetizers (which is what they are famous for in the first place) and hanging out with friends but for a meal (other than a burger or sandwich) - I'd say go elsewhere.

    (2)

  • Rebecca S.

    Came here to meet up with friends i hadn't seen in 5(?) or so years. I was coming from SF, they were coming from San Jose, so figured this would be a good midpoint. Hadn't been to a TGI Fridays in a few years. Our server was one of the best servers i've ever had, but the food was just mediocre. Got the angel hair bruchetta pasta. Whole cloves of garlic dominated the dish. Had to run errands afterward and was hoping the paint inside the stores wouldn't peel off from the gilroy garlic festival happening inside my mouth. Needed a few sticks of gum after that dish.

    (3)

  • Tera C.

    We ate here the other day on a Sunday. We actually ate the bar. The food and drinks were good. The place is a little noisy though we could still hear each other talk. We watched the game at the bar so it actually worked out well.

    (4)

  • Annie c.

    Apparently this location closed after the incident and now has reopened. kcbs.com/pages/1514474.p… ? Yes, it is your typical chain but one new dish they do pretty well is the sizzling parmesan crusted chicken with a side angel hair and tomatoes. The stone plate it comes on (think fajitas plate) keeps everything hot and the cheese sizzling. It's a tad too salty but overall tasty and the chicken is tender. The garlic in the pasta is great (beware if you don't like garlic). Hubbie got the ribs and shrimp dish. The ribs were not fresh - tasted like they had been reheated. The shrimp was fried in thick breading and tasty heavy. Staff was friendly and prompt with me so no complaints there.

    (3)

  • Roxanna A.

    Dude, people, it's TGIF's it's target audience is teen groups and old people on first dates doing shots at the bar. At least that's what I saw yesterday. Ha. I used to LOVE TGIFs when in hs and celebrated 3 birthdays there. So I am not a hater. This place is not bad, it's ok. We had attentive servers and bartender. The food was OK.The appie was yum, the tostada nachos. I got the mac and cheese, more like fetuccini with burnt parm on top. Bestie got the chicken fingers and fries YUM. Bestie's mister got steak because he's a steak person. Prices: they raised them since 1996.

    (3)

  • Mike R.

    TGIF's is a strange place. The food is pretty good, a little pricey for what it is. The patrons are usually boring. The staff is pretty lame, too. I only really go here when I run out of other places to go. It's not a favorite place. Just another place to be.... It gets crowed for sporting events. Still, no hot girls =(

    (3)

  • Michelle F.

    I used to love going to Fridays when it was in San Bruno, but now I'd rather not go. The food is okay - nothing too special. Service sucks! I was there with my friend at 1pm on a Monday & it took forever to get our drinks, to order our food & to get our food to the table. I would be more understanding if it was a Friday night & it was busy, but it wasn't so I don't know what' the excuse. To top it off, my check was thrown on the table. Sorry Fridays, but I won't be back at the this location. If I'm really craving Fridays, I'll probably hit up the one in Union City - I've had great service there.

    (1)

  • Foshow O.

    The food was ok, nothing special. I had better burgers from In & Out.

    (2)

  • Stanley C.

    TGI FRIDAY'S A staple of the American dining franchises, it's been around for awhile, with their famous pinstripes known throughout America. A decent American dining experience, TGIF is a pretty chill place to have a meal, watch sports, and enjoy a drink or two. SERVICE: friendly staff FOOD: decent pecan-crusted chicken salad but the fries were way too salty ENVIRONMENT: cozy yet chill PRICE: typical pricing for American dining establishments CHILL FACTOR: come in late at night, and enjoy a meal with friends...not too bad ^)^ Great place to come with coworkers or for Happy Hour, although the weird thing is that all food for Happy Hour must be eaten at the bar; otherwise, no Happy Hour specials for those sitting at the tables. TGIF: Thank God It's Friday, indeed!

    (3)

  • Jay M.

    I used to love this place before it closed and then re-opened. I've been to this place a handful of times since then and when this bartender Jesus is there we have the best service ever since we always sit at the bar. Today it all changed. We had the worst bartender I've ever had in my life. I would know, I've been a full-time bartender for six years. I don't even wanna identify him. He's gonna know who he is. But today was different. I come sit at the bar with my buddy and order a drink. The dude serving us seemed so labored and irritated with everything we requested. Now being in the industry myself I recognize that it might just be his style. I can't hate on that. But when his buddies come in and all of a sudden he livens up, then I feel a little dogged. I'm extremely easy going. I truly never care about the service I receive at an establishment. All I care about is getting what I order and not being treated like a piece of crap. But today that was too much to ask. Not once in my $90 visit did this dude come to ask if we needed anything or if we were okay. There's tons of other stuff about dealing with this bartender today that I can describe in detail but since this place seems that it will tank fine on it's own, I don't wanna add any fuel to the fire. But the point is that the bartender sucked raw ass and we"ll never come back there again. The only good thing I have to take from here is that the manager or whoever was in charge brought us out our food and asked us if we were doing well. You can't put a price on that kind of consideration.

    (1)

  • Monica Y.

    Awesome Happy Hour. A-OK grizzy food. As you may notice, I TOTALLY dig affordable Happy Hours! It is a pretty good damn reason to be happy when you don't have to spend $$$ on drinks and apps. I'd rather some my $$$ on an amazing 4 - 5 star restaurant... right?! I hold this T.G.I.F. in San Mateo dear to my heart. This is where I spent many of my teenage years (wearing Cathy Jean shoes and wearing dark MAC lipstick) stuffing my face with mozzerrella sticks and LE-GEND wait for it- DARY (HIMYM reference, just had to) potato skins! I came here on Wednesday night and had a $5 Long Island Iced Tea. My friends got 2 beers, Iced Tea, Spinach & Chips, Boneless Chicken Wings... total? A whoppin' $35. LOVE IT. I wouldn't be surprised if you saw me here on a weekly.

    (3)

  • Conchita B.

    I keep forgetting that TGIF is not that good at all, I always feel tad bit yucky there.

    (2)

  • b r.

    Terrible experience at TGIF'S !! -MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS FOR ANY EXTRA CHARGES -AND I HOPE YOU DON'T NEED THE MANAGER AT LEAST NOT THE GENERAL MANAGER BECAUSE HE WILL MOST LIKELY NOT HELP YOU. MY EXPERINCE AT TGIF'S: 1st) it was freezing in there waited a long time for our food only got one refill on my coffee canceled an ordered but it was still brought out. people who came after us were served before us when the orders came out the server kept mixing up the orders between our table and their table (too Much confusion!!) 2) there was a service charge of $24 because the waitress thought our table was a party of eight! ??? (How convenient for her!!!) ANYWAYS....most places charge this fee for a party of 10 or more..... 3) I asked for the manager to make him aware of what was going on ... I got the GENERAL MANAGER Eric J. He was a total JERK and was not helpful in anyway. he excused the waitres's bad service and overcharge??? I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO TGIF'S AT LEAST NOT THE ONE'S MANAGED BY THIS MANAGER!!!!! (food was ok)

    (1)

  • Melissa S.

    Went here because I like their frozen foods and decided to try the real deal. I think it's fairly priced. For an appetizer I ordered the nachos, which were really just large chips with stuff on them. Thought it was ok. Ordered the salmon with lobster for entree which was actually pretty good. I do not recommend their crispy shrimp though. It tasted like chicken from kfc. I didn't like it all at. I thought it was going to be breaded shrimp and got really excited.. Only to be let down. The only thing I didn't like was the extremely annoying drunk ladies sitting next to me talking about how they didn't want to get married because the divorce rate is going up......... I would recommend this place as a hang out to snack spot, nothing too fancy or anything so don't get your hopes up for a 5 star steak house.

    (3)

  • Jasmine M.

    My second time eating here! Our first waiter was okay, but Carolyn was so sweet and perky! She made the time being enjoyable! She always checked up on us and brought our food out quickly! The food is soooo good! I will definitely be coming back!

    (4)

  • Derwin V.

    Been coming here once a month every Friday for the last year and the service is not too bad. Some days better than others but generally pretty good. Steaks and ribs better than Outback. Drinks pretty good. Happy hour menu and prices are pretty good also along with the regular menu. I guess I'm a regular?

    (4)

  • Christine V.

    WTF?? Closed?? I've been going here for YEARS! :(:(

    (4)

  • Forest S.

    Kind of a disappointment this time around. Certain ingredients on the plate I always order here are now missing. Trying to cut back cost?

    (2)

  • Jeff H.

    Thanks to crappy food and/or crappy service during 3 consecutive visits, I put this place on my blacklist about 10 months ago. The family convinced me to come back and they have redeemed themselves. Great, friendly service from Carolyn, and all the food was not only well-prepared but well-presented, also. Attentive staff all around, it appears, and I haven't seen any plates go back to the kitchen. Great turn-around!

    (4)

  • Albert T.

    Great restaurant great prices food was very good will come again we had the steak and the salmon

    (5)

  • Joraine C.

    Isn't this the location where someone was robbed and murdered a few years ago, which is the reason why they were closed down for awhile? Google it. I'm not quite sure of the story since it's been a few years but I'm pretty sure this was the location that was mentioned in the articles. I thought I wrote a review for this place already.... All homicides aside, this place is ok. It doesn't feel creepy or haunted. I'm surprised they reopened. Food is average. Prices a bit high for the amount and the quality of food that is served. The only thing that is almost "to die for" (no pun intended) is the Jack Daniels appetizer trio but even that has gone downhill. If you don't know what to order, order something with the Jack Daniels sauce. That sauce is so good you could toss it on a piece of coal and it would taste delicious. Service is a bit weak and needs improvement as we had to keep flagging down servers and reminding them of items we asked for. I know I'm not expecting gourmet food or excellent service. It's Fridays, not House of Prime Rib. 3 stars because food is going downhill and service sucks but the Jack Daniels sauce... oh hellooooo.

    (3)

  • Stephanie B.

    Food was a good price and very good service. I recommend the Jack Daniels chicken it's very tasty a little spicy. They have a great selection of drinks too. All very high quality for a reasonable price. everybody in there was very nice. I recommend going during happy hour. I will definitely be back.

    (4)

  • Emily C.

    2 stars equals : "Meh. I've experienced better." Exactly my thoughts. From service to food..everything was just...meh. Came here on a Friday (TGIF!) for happy hour, and was pretty disappointed. Before my meal I ordered a berry sangria, that was overpriced and under satisfying. Their happy hour menu is basically half off appetizers so we ordered the mozzarella sticks and potato skins. If I wasn't such a huge potato fan this experience would have sucked. I was actually really pleased with the potato skins because it was hot and obviously just made when brought to our table. On the other hand, the mozzarella sticks came really fast and we felt like it was pre-made and not very good. I shared the jack daniel's chicken sandwich which also wasn't bad, but not spectacular. Nothing about this visit stuck out to me. The service was slow, we weren't given menus and had to go to the bar to ask. Ordering took long and so did the time to get the check. Most of the time was spent waiting around.... MEH, I've experienced better.

    (2)

  • Toni S.

    Ordered the Parmesan with Mac&cheese that comes with a salad. The chicken was dry and over cooked, the macaroni was a tiny portion with an even smaller bowl of salad that had no dressing on it. The portions all together was way too small and not a good value for the price of about $13.00. Also had the the Brownie Obsession for dessert, taste and consistency was awful. Not the place to go if your hungry or want dessert. Service was slow even though the place was basically empty. Very disappointing.

    (1)

  • Rodney H.

    Reviewing TGI Friday's brings back memories to my days in college. If you ever watched Saved By The Bell, the old location in San Bruno was my version of The Max because my friends and I would always go there for dinner and drinks after midterms or simply just to hang out for a bite. Well, that location closed down many years ago, but one day I decided to turn back the clock and visit the San Mateo location for old times sake. To me, TGI Friday's was the original gastropub with interesting bar food and huge drinks. Well of course that was way before my time on yelp and my outlook on food has changed since. But I always thought their food was pretty good, especially from their Jack Daniels Menu. So when I visited TGI Friday's for the first time in forever, I started with their Deep Fried Green Beans and my old favorite from college, a full order of Jack Daniels Ribs. Crispy Green Bean Fries -- bit.ly/1ciUamw The Crispy Green Bean Fries were actually new to me since they weren't on the menu back in San Bruno. I already had a feeling they were gonna be good though. They had an nice solid crispiness to them and the Cucumber-Wasabi Ranch Dip was a perfect pairing for it, a real addicting appetizer. Jack Daniels Ribs -- bit.ly/1cJq5rm These ribs definitely take me back! Personally, I'm still in love with these ribs after all this time. They still cook them very well that the meat just falls off the bones and I'm still a fan of the Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce they glaze it with. Yeah, call me a weirdo, but I even think that their JD Ribs are just as good, if not better, than some other BBQ joints I've been to. Either that, or I'm just getting too nostalgic. Regardless, it's still a very solid rack of ribs. Because it's not as close to my house at the San Bruno location, it's not really in the cards for me to come to the San Mateo location that often. And because there are so many food options on downtown San Mateo, it's not going to be my first place of choice when finding a place for lunch or dinner. But still, you can't go wrong with coming here for some decent bar food. Thanks San Mateo TGI Friday's for bringing me back to my college days.

    (3)

  • Lauren H.

    Always disappointing. There are so many better restaurants in the mall. I'd only come back for potato skins and maybe a drink. Dishes were dirty, coffee was bad, food was cold, and service was poor.

    (1)

  • Jill M.

    I love tgi Fridays but tonight was horrible. The waiter repeated the order back to us twice and still got it weong. We waited FOREVER for our soup and checks. Also the food was not good. The sofa didn't taste right and they didn't do anything about it. Then the waiter said a rude remark about how fast we ate and blamed his bad service on his eyes. Then we went to the bathroom and it was beyond nasty we didn't even use it...just walked out.

    (1)

  • Kath R.

    I wouldn't even give them one star if up to me!! Customer service sucks! ! Huge wait when servers has tons of open tables. Wanted to seat here or there but most of areas are closed. Why? So waiters dont bother to go that far and serve??? That's sad. I used to be here always. After someone got killed here everything changed! Including the HORRIBLE customer service I get every time I come. I tend to forget cause I really like the restaurant. But no more! Closed areas everywhere.... must as well close the whole restaurant! That's how restaurant owners loose everything! Bad employees who don't care at all!!!!

    (1)

  • Christine S.

    This location gets 2 stars because the food was pretty good. Now... The service. Yikes! I swear our waitress, Brenda, had no clue as to what she was doing. Every time we asked for something she would repeat it as a question. "Can we have some napkins, please?" "You want napkins?" Duh. "Can I have another Shirley Temple, please?" "Oh, you want another one?" Now, my sister and I decided to get potato skins and neither of us likes onions so I asked for no onions. She said, "Oh, but it comes on the side?" "Yes, I know but we don't want..." *Stares at me like I have 3 heads* "Never mind. An order of potato skins, please." We placed the rest of our order and waited. She brings out the potato skins and what I thought was the side of sour cream that usually comes with it. It was covered in chives (onions to me lol). I look down and she goes, "Oh, do you want me to remove those?" *I Stare at her like she has 3 heads* "No, it's fine thank you." "I can remove them for you?" "No, really, it's okay." Aannnddd she walks away.. Lol wtf? I removed the onions and tasted the "sour cream" only to find out that it was oniony ranch! Omg... Lol too much. My sister calls her over and says "Can we get a side of sour cream? This is ranch and the potatoes usually come with sour cream." *Stares, then blinks* "Oh, yeah, I know." Aanndd walks away. I ordered the tostado nachos and if you've had them, you know they're pretty big. I had about half of my plate left over and some potato skins too. I decided to take them home (five minutes in the oven and boom, Yumminess all over again) so I asked her for a box. "Oh, okay?" She comes back with the smallest box EVER!! I tried so hard not to laugh, because really, what else could I do? I asked for a bigger one and again she stared at me like I was nuts. "Sure?" Is the response I got. This was on Sunday, at around 2 ish. The place was practically empty... And I see why. If you're not picky about good service, come to this spot. If you are, go somewhere else.

    (2)

  • Mark S.

    The big complaint is there is smoking allowed outside the door of the restaurant. So every time the door opens the smoke comes into the restaurant. It smelled terrible when eating. There should be no smoking near the door. We had to move away from the door. Then the food came, cold steak, cold fries, cold chicken. Out of 3 orders of fries, all were cold. They first brought 1 order for replace. Had to ask for more. The waitress was not attentive either. What a mess.

    (1)

  • Annamarie T.

    came to celebrate a friends Birthday 14 of us The server was confused from the beginning got all our orders wrong and her husband didn't even receive his dinner at all LONG STORY SHORT TERRIBLE SERVICE ALL AROUND ! I had a Turkey burger was ok

    (1)

  • Dominguez J.

    Went there plenty of times before and always had quick service. But went there yesterday with a black friend of mine and we had to ask if someone is going to take our order after waiting 20minutes with no one coming up and asking us.waiter never checked on us consistently and gave our check to us half way thru the meal! Never had this experience prior too! How rude!! Fuck you Friday's you racist fucks!

    (1)

  • Ron B.

    Today while performing errands I decided to have a meal at TGIF, San Mateo. I have to say that each time I visit this location, which is approx 1 a month the service has always been good or above average. Today my very easy expectations were totally crushed. After ordering my selection of a chicken dish and a couple of sides I ordered a wedge salad as well. While enjoying my beer and the dog show on TV I noticed that several epatrons that had come in ordered several items and all arrived until I asked if they were growing the lettuce for my salad. Jacob, the young man that waz assisting me today turned away and went to check. Lo and behold my meal and salad arrived. Not sure where the breakdown happened but something needs to be done. I'll probably give this location another chance but I advise your to stay on top of your server. Ron

    (1)

  • Jeff W.

    Friday's.... I'll miss you :(

    (3)

  • Lalo S.

    2 stars for the food quality and location. 0 stars for the managerial staff or whomever trains the wait staff. Wait staff last ime and most times is not very welcoming to the restaurant nor seem to have a clue of what good customer service is. (Except for one Af Am lady who is the best waitress ever!!!, but she wasn't there last time I visited)

    (2)

  • Johnny B.

    Horrible service place was empty we were told there would be a 20 minute wait. The manager came out only when I started taking pictures. Their special was seriously restrictive. The waiter smiled at you while sarcastically stabbing you in the back(figuratively) 20 minute wait between courses. We will never go back.

    (1)

  • Lisa S.

    Can't believe this restaurant is still open. Service is horrible. Even when it's empty except for us and the waitress, it still took 15 min for her to see if we wanted something to drink. The owners of this location do not participate in the advertised specials. The only location that does is the union city spot. Avoid this location fellow yelpers!!!

    (1)

  • Evan D.

    Read the reviews and thought all these yelpers were crazy. I gave it a shot. Sat at the bar for 15 minutes with my coworker and not one time is an employee make contact with us. This was on a Friday night at 7 PM. Plenty of open tables but there was a 25 minute wait. I agree with the other negative reviews on here, poorly managed and not worth your time.

    (1)

  • Lilia O.

    Food is always good. The check was confusing but Tim the manager for it all fix for us. He is amazing. The handicap bathroom needs toilet protectors. But if you go visit you must see time.

    (5)

  • David C.

    Not a bad place to have a traditional dinner and drinks. Depending on the day of the week and the cook, dinner can be quick and good. However I have been there where it has taken 2.5 hours to complete my dinner and out the door with a party of 6.the food was somewhat stale from sitting under the heat lamp waiting to be severed. This incident was over several months ago so I don't count that unless it happens again which it has not. All and all its equal to a Applebee's which it's OK if your in a hurry.

    (4)

  • Danny F.

    AVOID! I have only given one star to a restuerant before. This place is the FN worst!! There $10 bottomless appetizers is total bullshit! They dont even let you switch appetizers you have to keep getting the same one. Then when they come out they give you so damn little. It takes AT LEAST 20 mins to get a effn refil on appetizers. Worst of all the portions are small as heck. Thats not all! Ordering drinks is a effin B I T C H. It took 10 mins plus for each drink to come out. They made a crappy margarita for my friend & I. Apparently you cant even order drinks from the fucking bar & take it to your table. When in my life has that happned before???? NEVER! Waitress never checked in on us. Place wasn't even packed so there was no excuse for the worst customer service of all time I will NEVER retern here.

    (1)

  • Matt W.

    If you're looking to get jerked around like you're at a condescending fancy french restaurant, but still want microwaved fast food at "real restaurant" prices, this is the place for you. They even have a large waiting area so you can get pizza delivered and enjoy it while waiting for them to seat you at one of thier 20+ empty tables. Perfect if you want a nosh before elective dental surgery. Masochists welcome! If you're into being ignored like a spouse in a dead marriage, ask for thier manager Emily.

    (1)

  • Kevin V.

    I don't like this place. I only tried it because of the commercial ads. I like the food. They're good. I ordered the sizzling chicken and shrimp. However, this restaurant suck balls. Its loud, its expensive for for the atmosphere. Told my girlfriend that cheesecake factory is better which is just a minute away. They're about the same price but i feel better there. Haha

    (3)

  • Jay S.

    NOT KID FRIENDLY AT ALL!!!!!!! They would not allow my 1 year old to seat in a high chair at the end of the table. Although we were not in the way of anyone or blocking any door or fire exit of any sort. The "manager" Emily caught an attitude with us and said its their policy to not allow this. Well every other restaurant we have been to, even small ones, let children sit on high chairs at the end of the table. Then this manager Emily tries to lecture us on their policies, GIVE ME A BREAK!!! Then after she told us this we noticed two other tables with kids seated at the end!!!! Why not accommodate us!??? If you have kids DO NOT GO HERE! I see why they have such low reviews....

    (1)

  • April B.

    Dirty inside and the food at this location is horrible! All around bad example of a tgi Fridays!

    (1)

  • Vanessa L.

    First time coming to this place, I noticed how the hostess stand in an awkward place waiting for their guest to arrive. After ordering drinks they took a while to get just 2 ice teas one lemonade and 1smoothie. Servers should at least use a Platter or plate when bringing drinks to the guest because our server brought one drink first and after 15 minutes he was holding our 3 thinks on his hands. Our food took longer and the only thing that was good was their fries, their burger could of been better if they had put more than one lettuce and one small tomato slide in the burger. Our service could of been better if our server could of been more attentive. Overall experience I would probably think twice in coming back again.

    (2)

  • Paul D.

    Nobody working here wants to be here. These type of heat and serve restaurants are generally a solid three stars. It's rare that anything is great but, stuff usually isn't that bad. OTOH, this location obviously has some serious management problems. From the hostess to the server to whoever was working the kitchen it's pretty clear they'd all rather be somewhere else. The tortilla strips (just sliced corn tortillas) for the Tuscan Spinach Dip were under-cooked and soggy. Half of them weren't even separated before frying so I was stuck trying to peel them apart. The dip was rather bland, as if it'd been sitting around un-refrigerated before microwaving. The Philly Stacked Burger was pointless. Heck, the equivalent at Carl's jr is better (that should tell you something). I couldn't even improve my mood with a second drink because the server went MIA after taking my order. The restaurant was mostly empty when I arrived, I can understand why.

    (1)

  • A F.

    So busy for the nba finals. Waiters and waitresses were not tending to our table in the bar area so I stopped the first person I could find. His name was Pedro I think he was the bus boy. Nonetheless the took my order/brought the food out/bussed the table/got my drinks. Hey management, this guy deserves a raise! I left a nice tip and told Pedro this was ONLY for him! The other employees of Friday's should take some pointers from Pedro!

    (5)

  • Felix C.

    This location is the WORST! They don't do any of TGI Fridays promotions because they're independently owned or something like that. Just change the restaurant name to TGI Mondays damn

    (1)

  • Paolo I.

    After two years, this has become our favorite place. Three words: Jack Daniels' Sauce. Everywhere. We love it. Give it try either as hamburger or chicken entree. You won't regret it.

    (5)

  • T S.

    8 pm. More than 8 open tables. 30 minute wait? T.g.i.FAIL. You can't sit two people, really? I saw your wait list. Parties of 2 & 3. Horrible. Save your time.

    (1)

  • VB L.

    Happy Hour on Sundays from opening to close! Cheap booze, cheap drinks and really great service. Life doesn't get much better...except that they also have so many TVs with all kinds of great sports! Go USA!! Shout out to Christy, Eddie and Michael. We love you!!

    (4)

  • Alex M.

    Been a fair few times here and honestly I'm disappointed everytime ! ( why come here then right ?? )I know maybe just because it's pretty local and normally seems like a good idea when I get off the Caltrain . Today I was sitting at the bar for 7 minutes without any sign of a bartender . Terrible service and then when the host did get her from the back she wobbled up to me and put a coaster down and said something on the lines what can I get you ( I was expecting an apology ) so I walked down and got a table ! Thanks tgi !

    (1)

  • Dima Y.

    Terrible food, all drenched in sugary syrops, overfried. Service is extremely slow, takes 15-20 mins to get a drink. They greet you like you are supposed to serve them and not the other way around. I got extremely sleepy after (insulin spike) and remained very hungry after spending $80 for 2. Had to stop by my favorite sushi place Hitary to get some nutrition. Got more nutrients and pleasure there for $20 than at TGI for $80. The place should be illegal

    (1)

  • Anastasia B.

    I'm from San Mateo and I Fridays but I'd rather go to Fremont for that . The service is so bad had to wait 10min to be seated (the place was empty!) Staff are rude & unprofessional. Don't come here

    (2)

  • Isaac H.

    This location rocks. It is too back that the San Bruno location shut down. I can here for dinner. Had a great dinner. I had the classic cheese burger. That was awesome. I also go to see the San Francisco Giants with game 2 of the 2014 NL Division Series. I hope this location does not shut down.

    (5)

  • Jovan H.

    Probably by far the worst experience I have ever had at TGIF. A couple of buddies and I came to watch the Niner game and grab some appetizers with possibly a few drinks. Our waitress (tall 6'1) was by far one of the worst waitresses I have ever encountered. She took our order and we asked for 1 more additional water because one of the waters had all these black things floating around in it. She came back with 3 how awkward like what do we need 3 for? Anyways after we ordered we all got the 3 for $15, which literally took 20 mins and finally most of us got our food except for my buddy next to me who ordered the exact same as our other buddy who got his food. Now typically when everyone gets their food your server would let you know yours is coming or it'll be out soon type of deal. But man! another 20 mins passed by so a total of 40 mins went by that we didn't get his food and our waitress was no where to be found. She was literally hiding in the back the entire time because when she came out we were looking for her and she literally walked back in. Possibly the worst thing you could have done especially since your working for tips not a great way to earn it. Finally he got his food.----To be continued... On to the food. Oh man what happened to your guys mozzarella sticks? I usually love their mozzarella sticks they are gooey long and flat with a nice crispy outside. Looks like you went and got the cheap private label brand at safeway and served it to everyone which might I add tasted like it was microwaved on low heat. TERRIBLE! The chicken wings were alright but on to the string bean fries. Dam couldn't think you could mess that up but shoot every bite was like sucking on a rubber band because they over fried them so bad. Unreal. I tried telling our waitress but she was obviously no where to be found. Continued--- So although the waitress was not to be found. Honestly what is the point in having a manager or supervisor or whatever he is stand around to do nothing? This older guy in a white shirt different from everyone else presents himself to be a manager or something did absolutely nothing but stand in the back where everyone could see him hold his hands together and just look out. Shouldn't you be coaching your servers or helping them if they made a mistake or even check on your customers when your server obviously isn't. Blah worst display of service I have ever experienced. On the ending which is glorious, we couldn't find our waitress again so finally we were able flag the guy in the white shirt and he said oh Ill get that for you. Our waitress finally shows up and goes "So did you guys want your check?" after waiting another 20 mins to get it. This was classic. If you guys want to survive as a restaurant or to be even successful which you aren't judging by the rest of your yelp reviews. Close down and revamp your staff because they honestly need to go through some kind of training because its being served by a bunch of toddlers that have no clue what they are doing with their life. -I will never go back again

    (1)

  • Craig L.

    I enjoyed it. Can't stand mall food. Service was great and Jack Daniels steak off the hook ribs were way better than chills.

    (4)

  • Am T.

    Their happy hour at the bar is incredible! Their drinks are nice and strong.. Pretty standard chain restaurant food. Staff is usually really nice and accommodating! Great place to watch some sports while having some cheap drinks and appetizers.

    (4)

  • Jackie M.

    Service is slow most of the time. Don't have many servers scheduled for a place that can get pretty busy. Management should get on that because lack of service makes people not want to go back. Food is always great. Today we had a very enthusiastic server, nice black lady which was kind of hard to get her attention because she was running around everywhere but her attitude was so energetic and sweet. Still one of my favorite places to eat.

    (3)

  • Marcel R.

    Let's see where do I start.... First I get there and there is seating all over the restaurant with many servers working. The lady at the door tells me it's a 10-15 minute wait to be seated....seriously??? Didn't offer me the bar or nothing. I end up just going to the bar and ordering some appetizers that took 20 minutes to come. My main meal came out 5 minutes after so I had hella food there. By the time I was done with the appetizers my main meal was cold. The guy that was working the bar was too busy cleaning which is cool and all but when I left my card in the glass for him to close me out it took another 15-20 minutes for him to even come and do that. Not going back to this place ever again...no matter how decent their happy hour menu is.

    (1)

  • Wayne W.

    I have not been to a TGI Fridays in years since the San Bruno place shut down. I was not surprised with lack of customers. As I sat down, this reminds me of an episode of Bar Rescue. Lack of energy, lack of motivated employees, slow service, and a lack of people. Fridays use to be buzzing with people. The waiter took a while to get our drinks and order. The food tasted good and the price is not bad. Hope the place does well.

    (3)

  • Robert W.

    I saw the ads on TV about its Rib Flight Trio. I decided to drive 30 minutes from San Francisco to give it a try. I was not disappointed. My wife and I drove through the South and tried various rib restaurants. We enjoyed most of them, and surprisingly found the chain Sonny's to be consistently excellent. Too bad it has restaurants in Southern states only. We have been living in SF for four years and have not found any rib restaurant that comes close to the ribs we had in the South. At TGI Fridays, I ordered my three choices as Jack Daniels, applewood bacon and chipotle ribs. I found the chipotle to be bland, 3*; applewood slightly better but too much bacon bits, 3.5*; and the Jack Daniels just right with sweet and smoky flavor, 5*. I went back with my wife and we ordered JD, Memphis dry rub, and Tennessee. We agreed Tennessee was slightly tangy, 3.5*, Memphis dry rub just right and sweet, 4.5*. We ordered fried sweet potatoes instead of french fries. We had a good meal. We plan to drive the 30 minutes to TGI Fridays again for our ribs. Too bad Fridays does not have a restaurant in the city. We will have JD and Memphis dry rub ribs. It will be a treat.

    (5)

  • Christina P.

    I used to love TGI Friday's. I actually like the frozen TGI Friday's appetizers sold at grocery's stores. This is why I gave them 3 visits to redeem themselves, yet it ended up in bitter feelings and wasted money First, be aware of your many options around the area that are similar to TGI Friday's - Macaroni Grill, Cheesecake Factory, Counter Burgers, Paul Martin's American Grill, Outback Steakhouse and Boudin to name only the ones within 1~2 block radius. Now, why did I go to TGI Friday's despite all the options listed above? Because I wanted to like them, as well as the various 'promotions' they advertise in front of the store as well as via email. (Will get into rant about this later) First visit - went for a drink only (this was a while ago). Bartender/waiter clearly was disinterested. I was barely greeted, had to flag down to order my drink. He then returned only to give me my bill. I thought maybe, it will be better with food. Second visit - I'd forgotten about them until they sent me a coupon for their appetizer (they send these out periodically if you are signed up for their loyalty program). I went in with a friend and I mentioned the coupon before ordering in case there were anything the server had to do on her part to put in the order. We had a good time, enjoyed our meal and when the bill came - guess what? They charged full price for it. Server wasn't even busy. We were the only table she was taking care of because we happened to be there at an odd hour (and there were as many occupied tables as servers). I asked her to correct it - she had to go back and forth between manager and me few times. It took 30 minutes to correct it. A great end to a meal. We tipped the standard 15+% despite our pissed off mood at having wasted 30 minutes just sitting there twiddling our thumbs. Third visit - they have daily promotions that they advertise. I know that there are pitfalls and loopholes with those sorts of promotions so I am naturally careful about reading the fineprint. The sign they have in front of the store says 'apps'. Their website says apps - does not mention ANY exclusions. And because of the promotion, I decided to forgo getting an entree menu and stick with appetizer. The appetizer by the way tasted like it was drenched in grease - they really don't know how to fry crap. Can't they even get the oil temperature right for proper frying? A nasty surprise when the bill came. Guess what? full price. I flag down the waiter/bartender - and he says yeah... it's full price. By the way, this is after the servers neglected to give me utensils, had to wave my arms to grab their attention to order, etc. I tipped 15% of what I SHOULD have paid. I could've fought with their false, misleading advertisement but I was just so disgusted and now making public service announcement here for all to see. So in the end, I paid 2x the amount I thought I was paying for food that was absolutely disgusting. It is strange, that no matter what time I visit TGI Friday's - whether it is weekend afternoon, lunchtime or in the evening - the place is almost empty. Cheesecake factory across the street? Always has lines. And there is a good reason for it. I am pretty sure most people had fond memories of TGI Friday's from their earlier years - and like myself, decided to give it a try never to return again. Please do yourself a favor and stay away from this place. I've mentioned many suitable options that actually do it right (will review some of those later). For those who are lazy, tl;dr 1. Gross food 2. Place is always empty (and there is a good reason for it) 3. False advertising 4. Brainless/soulless servers Not a single redeeming quality about this place. Oh right. It's quiet - because there is no one there.

    (1)

  • Joe M.

    Whether it's a long day at work, school, or nothing at all, happy hour is always welcome to the weary. My buddy wanted to meet up for a late snack and drink a=despite having to be at work early the next day so we decided to stay local and relive our student days with some TGI Fridays shenanigans. Since it was happy hour we were forced to sit side-by-side at the bar instead of at a table where we could enjoy a chat. When we got there, we didn't even want a trink anymore, and instead opted for some appetizers instead. We tried to the JD chicken strips and artichoke dip. They were just ok, and left much to be craved considering how small the portions were. I swear they cut portion sizes in half for the appetizers for happy hour, preventing any real savings to the customer. All in all, a ho-hum experience. They've got a big patio outside that welcomes your dog and is great on a pretty day. The noise from the passing train every few minutes can interrupt the experience however, making it better to just hang out inside. Service was acceptable though not mind-blowing, and prices were reasonable. The happy hour bar rule is kinda whack if you ask me and limits the opportunities of servers in my opinion. When there's nobody in the joint, they should be doing a better job of promoting happy hour instead of discouraging larger groups from enjoying it. Food: 6/10 Service: 6/10 Price: $$ Atmosphere: 6/10

    (3)

  • Chris P.

    The thing you want to get is the Jack Daniels flavored steak you can get either the ribeye or the sirloin both are awesome

    (5)

  • Jaxs L.

    Update. They charge $1.99 for Au Jus juice to take home with your French Dip. Times have changed. The manager did credit my bill after I spoke to him. Food is still good.

    (2)

  • Christine L.

    If you've been to TGI Friday's before you know to get the ribs. If you're not too hungry, share half a rack with your meal buddy. I'm always confused by this particular location. There is plenty of seating but there's always a 20-30 minute wait for tables. Are they understaffed? When we were finally serviced we got our waitress' full attention. Sadly, my Korean tacos were bland. Maybe years of eating out of nice food trucks raised my expectations too high.

    (2)

  • Anthony L.

    Thirty minute plus wait time for a table for two? Yes, I understand today is Father's Day but the place was not full at all. The hostess didn't even try to offer seating at the bar, which is customary to try and offer up any seats available. Horrible hostess. Remember you're trying to make money for the restaurant, not lose it.

    (1)

  • Lydia M.

    This place does not deserve one star! First we asked to be moved away from the window because the sun. They said no. Then there was a hair in a pot sticker. We had to ask for refills. The Manager never came by to apologize for the hair in our food but she went around to every other table to check on. The Hostess brings our check and just says "heres your check" not looking at us and just walks away. My husband orders soup. Waiter comes and says they have to wash some bowls for his soup....WTH! This place is just a joke. Employees just walk around with the look "i hate my life!" Never will we go back! Oh and the soup was luke warm.

    (1)

  • A L.

    We stopped at the Friday's by the Hillsdale Shopping Center around 5:00 p.m. on a Sunday, October 19th and were immediately seated. After about five minutes of sitting there with no sign of a server, I started the timer on my phone. Here's how it went down: 10 minutes 41 minutes: (plus the five minutes we originally waited) Server shows up. She smiled and apologized for the wait. Our plan was to order the unlimited appetizer and each of us get a small salad. The server explained the promotion ended two months ago (we checked Friday's website before we came and they still advertised the special). I ended up ordering the chicken strips and a house salad and my friend ordered a turkey burger and a cup of soup. 15 minutes 14 seconds later: Server brings out the house salad and cup of soup. 11 minutes 24 seconds later: Server brings out the chicken strips and turkey burger. My friend said the turkey burger was not as good as it was the last time. My chicken strips (the first time ordering them here), were burned and dry. 13 minutes 35 seconds later: Server checks to see if we need anything. We had already gathered the plates and stacked them so it was clear we were ready to leave. We asked for the check. When she left, we both put our payment cards on the edge of the table so when she brought the check, she could immediately cash us out. 6 minutes 33 seconds later: Server arrives with check and walks away without pickup up the payment cards. 3 minutes 31 seconds later: Server comes to take check and payment. 5 minutes 40 seconds later: Server brings back sales draft/payment cards but doesn't bring the check back. I had noticed there was a survey on the check and I wanted to fill it out so I had to wait for her to come back and then go get the check again. The section in which we were seated did not look busy; there were only two other tables. We also saw someone, who looked like the manager, occasionally standing at the door looking around. He looked completely apathetic and did not appear to engage anyone. I had hoped he would have come to our table and asked how the meal was. Alas, no. I rarely visit this restaurant and it will be a long time before I ever go back.

    (1)

  • Devyn S.

    I've been coming here for 9 months at least 4 times a week ( I'm a server in the area), and the service at the bar is always fantastic. Nicole, Andrea, hue, and Evette are always so welcoming and literally already know my order when I sit down. Great service and awesome pours!!!! Thank you for being my night cap!

    (5)

  • Jose R.

    Service was prompt. Bar server (Andrea) was friendly and attentive. The food (pecan crusted chicken salad) arrived in a timely manner and tasted good. I'd return. It's a shame the bad reviews. I wonder how many have any idea of how a restaurant operates.

    (4)

  • Isabel D.

    Food was awful! We ordered potato skins and they were so fried they looked like bacon. Service was not the best either. I wont be going back at all!

    (1)

  • Emmalouise B.

    Service: 1/5. So slow. Almost 20 minutes for a simple Diet Coke, Half of our order missing. Food: 3/5 Typical chain restaurant food. Ok. My first ever visit to a TGI's and not a very good one. Being a chain I don't go expecting amazing food or service but still *thumbs down*. Got there pretty early on Saturday (around 6:30pm) and was seated in the upper bar area which was so cold. Asked our server if there was anywhere else to sit but came back informing us they had tuned the air con down. A hour and a half we were there and it got no warmer, if anything it got colder and I sat the entire time in my jacket. We (hubby and I) ordered the Mediterranean Skewers Starter ( yelp.com/biz_photos/sR7J… ) to share which took half an hour to arrive. It was ok, nothing amazing. Looks ok in the picture but upon picking up a piece of pitta the bottom of the plate was filled with water, presumably from the Slaw. Mmm (not so) appetizing. We both ordered the Dragonfire Chicken ( yelp.com/biz_photos/sR7J… ) as an entree but only one turned up to the table. Although our waitress apologized it was half hearted and she then went on to make out that actually we ordered just one. Why? Why would 2 people order one meal?? Seriously?? But she goes and gets a ''rush'' on it anyway and I sit and wait while I let hubby tuck in. When I did get the meal, admittedly it was pretty good even with the cold Madarin's (weird) but but then I was really hungry and been there over an hour waiting. Bill finally arrives and the meal that was 'forgotten' had been added. Now, I don't expect to get free food but after working in many Restaurants in the past it just common courtesy that if a f**k up is made something will get comped, even if it's only a drink. (I was only drinking Diet Coke so it's no huge loss to them) It's just a nice gesture for the inconvenience but seems here at TGI's it's ok for someone to sit waiting 20 minutes for their meal when the rest of their party eats. Maybe we just got a sh!tty waitress because our neighboring table also had one of their meals missing and 2 other tables had other issues too. Still, I hope she felt appreciated with her 10% tip, she certainly earnt it. ** Birthday Tip ** Go on your Birthday and get a free dessert with purchase on an Entree.

    (2)

  • Ralph O.

    Came here since my mom has never been here before. Even though I told her it wasn't a good choice we came anyways. The service was terrible. I went to the bar to order a margarita since I was told it was happy hour but bar tender told me it wasn't. No biggie I watched him make it and basically it was a very small amount of tequila that he mixed in with margarita mix. Blah and I also ordered a Long Island which was only 4 bucks but I think they did the same thing. Not gonna be coming back here anytime soon.

    (2)

  • Luke S.

    I've had soo many great memories here. I love this place and Its still so great. I think the jack daniels items have maybe even gotten better. Damn these people that work here definitely have that great Fridays customer service that I'd keep coming back here for.

    (5)

  • Mapu S.

    Horrible food! Service is fine it's the food quality that really really sucks.

    (1)

  • Ben D.

    This was a disappointing experience. I know people probably won't read a review on a national chain, as they already have an idea in the kind of experience offered here, but this was a significantly lower experience than other TGI Friday restaurants I have been to. My French fries were soggy and undercooked, and my reuben had clearly been sitting around all night making it soggy and bland. Same goes for my nachos. Anybody who has had nachos before should know that lose quality after soaking in beans and cheese for more than thirty minutes. I was disappointed.

    (1)

  • Kelly F.

    I am so impressed! We decided to try again and wow what a difference! The staff were so much quicker, more staff to assist people, seated right away...it was like they listened to everyone's comments and fixed what was wrong. And not a surprise at all...the restaurant was a LOT more crowded. Yay!

    (4)

  • mindy d.

    can't believe this place still open. The food isn't great or drinks and the services sucks. The person that worked at the bar hates his job. You can tell he didn't want to be at the job. Kinda explained why it was not busy at all.

    (1)

  • Yari P.

    If I could give zero stars I would. Friday night at 10 pm and it's empty. Couple people at the bar and a few couples at some tables. We walked in requesting a table for 7 so after at least 10 mins of back and forth they begin to assemble a table as we stand idly by. The "manager" of this establishment then rudely says "can y'all wait in the lobby" in the most condescending voice like we are children. Even though the table was together and all that was missing was the menus. I understand you might not wanna be at work on a Friday night but as a result your customer service skills suck! So find yourself another job! My group of 7 walked out, we did not sit down we did not try the food. Really disappointed and NOT coming back!

    (1)

  • Kelly G.

    WORST SERVICE EVER! My friend and I came here for happy hour (as recommended by a friend) . We walk in the front entrance and were not greeted by anyone. We stand there for 5 mins waiting to be seated , since there was no sign stating to seat ourselves. We made eye contact with a waiter and bus boy. They acknowledge us and continue walking away. We continue to stand there waiting and finally decide to sit down. We pick a table near the entrance in perfect view. Waiting on a drink menu or any welcome from a staff member for over 10 minutes. We decided to take our business elsewhere to red robins which had much better service from the minute we walked in until the minute we left. Tgif has gone DOWNHILL to say the least. I will not be back.

    (1)

  • Dana F.

    The food here should have an "artery clogging" warning sticker. There is almost nothing for vegetarians to eat. And it's really loud. The staff is good, however, but can't make up for the other issues. I went to TGI Fridays as a kid and loved it. I even liked this particular location prior to its closing some years back. We've gone twice since its reopening per the requests of the kids. I now beg them to choose Outback Cafe across the street because the food at Outback is so much better.

    (1)

  • Angelica Q.

    We always come here, usually even if it is packed I at least get a hello and a water. Tonight we sat at the bar for 25 minutes without anyone even speaking to us. We decided maybe because they were busy to get a table. Well that was even worse. The waiter was nice, totally not his fault. My drink from the bar was 99% ice. Then our potato skins looked like someone slammed them onto a dish and crushed them after frying them 5times. Gross. When I looked around everyone seemed upset with their food. People were sending everything back. Top it off the 13 year old hosts couldn't decide where to seat anyone on the empty ass dining room floor and are rude and unproffessional. Only because I love the pasta and booze I'll be back someday. Just not soon.

    (1)

  • Daniel A.

    We popped in on our way back up to the city. We were craving the sesame jack strips. Our server was very friendly and on point. Food came out hot and quick. Was a good experience.

    (4)

  • Jennifer T.

    This is one of those places were I'm like "It's not that great but why do I keep coming back?" I think it's for the following reasons: 1) It's right by Caltrain, which means it's the perfect spot for a drink after work and for predrinking before a Giant's game when you miss the train. 2) They have late night happy hour (10pm to closing I believe). 3) Their burger with Jack Daniel's sauce - yum!

    (3)

  • Pauly M.

    The food here is great, the drinks have a variety so I always try something new. For a guys night this is the place to go. The service is a little slow most of the time but the food and drinks make up for it. Only thing they need to improve is the waitstaff

    (4)

  • Rachel R.

    I have a real love/hate relationship with this place. The good: bartenders have always been friendly, excellent drink makers and make it worth the stay. Thats why I am a regular :) The bad: Man most of their employees need to take a customer service class, cause they are soooo bad. I use to be a server... I'm pretty flexible and always make excuses, but these people really bum me out when they mess up and don't put a smile on their face to right the wrong. They annoyed me this week when I called about my stripe account (again, regular... maybe not if they keep this **** up) Anyways, I called to speak to someone who could adjust my points, because they forgot to add them. Again, they screwed up and I had to spend time to personally fix it. We'll I spoke to the employee Jackie, she told me they we're too busy to fix my problem. *I worked in customer service for many years, you are never too busy to fix a customer issue!!!!!!! Even if you are busy, customers come first. She told me I could call back later when they weren't busy. :( so.... 1) they screwed up 2) had to call them 3) couldn't get help over the phone and told I should call back when they can .... why are they so rude? So happy the bartenders are nice otherwise I wouldn't step foot in that joint again. Too bad too cause I like the food and really wanted them to come back strong after they closed for awhile. Fun fact: my mom worked there back in the 70's :) Was her first job... crazy TGIF runs deep lol!

    (2)

  • Norman S.

    Wanted a quick lunch so we decided to stop by Friday's. Oddly, it was quite dark inside. Saving on electricity perhaps? It wasn't crowded so we had lots of tables to choose from. Menus and water came quickly and service was acceptably friendly although there's always the cheesy attempts at making jokes around "Friday's on a Monday"...yawn. The Friday's menu is massive and probably too confusing. Pictures everywhere, burgers, appetizers, pasta. Despite the confusion, the half California Club and Soup caught my eye. Soup of the day was Chicken Tortilla. Soon enough, I was chomping down the sandwich which consisted of a half roll, slices of ham, few strips of bacon, avocados, lettuce and tomatoes Avocados made the difference from boring ham/bacon sandwich to something to keep the taste buds happy. Tortilla soup was also serviceable. Bits of tortilla adds some crunch to a soup that's nicely salted and mildly spicy. I'm sure I can find a better sandwich/soup for the price elsewhere but this was fast and convenient. Still, there's no other reason to go there beyond convenience, food is nothing special so "TGI Friday's" might as well be called "I Friday's".

    (3)

  • Wesley N.

    The Coors Light draft still tastes like sewage. Clean your tap lines or don't carry light beers. By far the worst taste I have ever experienced!!!

    (1)

  • Amy I.

    I used to like to go to this place because it was casual dining with "flare", decent food, and we could bring our kids without worrying about them making too much noise. They closed at one point a couple years ago and reopened, and it's gone downhill since. We went for lunch, during lunch hours, one Saturday. Three moms and six kids. The place was dead. But that wasn't the issue I had. The place was dead with plenty, i mean PLENTY, of open seats and the waitress tells us there is a 15 minute wait. Um...what? The three of us mom's look at each other very confused as we look back out at the empty dining room. We had to press and ask, why would it take 15 minutes when there clearly was more than enough room. She told us they were not properly staffed. To come during peak hours to an empty restaurant and STILL not be staffed? We contemplated going to Cheesecake Factory or The Counter across the street just out of irritation, but were more concerned that when we got there, we'd have to wait for a table (really wait because their tables were probably full). Especially with six young boys running around, we just wanted to sit down. We convinced her it would be fine if we just got our seat, and waited a little to get our service. Anyways, the food was meh. Most of us got burgers and fries which were not terrible. But the service.... I agree with other reviews that it doesn't seem like anyone wants to be there. It took convincing to let us sit down - made me wonder how much they really wanted to have any business. You were about to lose a party of 8! The ambiance was very drab - a bit of a downer. I can't imagine it staying open much longer based on how empty it was, but I wish them luck.

    (2)

  • Roxanne M.

    Too bad I can't post negstive stars! Worst service ever. The server tried to tell my husband that he had ordered one thing when he had in fact ordered something else. The manager offered me a free dessert to comp the poor sevice.

    (1)

  • Yesi P.

    I love that cajun shrimp pasta here, it has a nice kick. Service is a bit slow but I like their food. 2nd time I went there I had the club and I must admit that the bread they use makes the club. very good.

    (3)

  • Rosquete B.

    Burlingame Across from the Hillsdale Shopping Mall Hamburger type fair Sports bar Crazy paraphernalia on walls Super friendly hostess, Good food Good food service Good for groups

    (3)

  • Vlad F.

    Dropped by with the wife last night. Two stars for a nice mojito. Everything else should be one star or less. The place was very noisy as one of the TVs near the bar had its volume on loud for a stupid football game. I find that unacceptable. The food was bland. I felt heaviness in my stomach half hour after eating here and the heaviness persisted through the night. Not going back here again. I have added it to my black list of places I no longer go to.

    (2)

  • Jacqueline M.

    Even when people tell you not to do something or everybody tells you their bad experiences you still want to try it yourself and then u have a bad experience yourself and regret not listening to other people.. Well this was one of those things I truly advise u not to even enter this establishment I was told there was a wait when there was a lot of tables available I asked why and I was told there wasn't servers on that section but in the section that had servers there was tables available as well and when family's of 4 we're getting seated before me I again asked why that was and so i was told since I was 5 (4adults & my 7month old baby in a car seat) there was no tables for me but when I looked over and seen a clean table of six available I've had enough I thought seeing the fact that my husband was just carrying our baby in her car seat we would be seated promptly but when that obviously wasn't the case we got up and just went to the Cheesecake Factory where our business is appreciated and the staff is more than 10x nicer I will never again enter tgi Fridays

    (1)

  • Will S.

    Will not make a grilled cheese for my kid. What is wrong with you people!? It is a cheeseburger sans burger. Really long wait even though there were only 2 other tables.

    (1)

  • Sandra N.

    The service here is sometimes good sometime bad. The food is good but you have to know the menu. Any of their ribs are delicious just make sure you order fries or mash potatoes as the side (their cole slaw sucks). You can't go wrong with any of the appetizers but what I LOVE them for are their cocktails !!! The Pink Punk Cosmo and the Jackberry Smash are my favorite after a long stressful day at work! Even though their drinks are awesome, they get three stars because they lack in the food and service department and being that they are a food establishment I feel they need to step up a bit. If your hoping for a great meal you're not gonna get it! But if you're in the mood for drinks and appetizers, you'll do well ;) P.S. Their Sangria is awesome too! As a matter of fact, can't wait to have my next one....

    (3)

  • Quick S.

    Mostly different ways to make chicken and burgers. I thought they used to give veggies with their meals but no longer. Not very healthy food. Kids were bored with their choices and their dessert was bigger than their meal. Disappointing.

    (2)

  • Ted R.

    I've been to this TGI Friday's near Hillsdale twice so far, and each time left satisfied, but not amazed. Both times we sat at the bar and got full dinner service. Both times the food came out pretty quick (Jack Daniel's ribs both times) and was overall pretty decent for a chain restaurant rib platter. They're not overdone, but the quality of meat is 3/5; last time the under side of the ribs weren't cleaned thoroughly which is a bit gross. Fries were always hot & crispy, and the coleslaw is more vinegar than mayonnaise (which I prefer). Drinks were pretty easy to get, but on the second visit it seemed to take a bit longer yet there were more workers. Weird. I mainly went since I had a coupon from a local paper, and I'd likely only go again under similar circumstances. Decent, but not great.

    (3)

  • Matthew D.

    Fairly crappy. This is NOT a vegetarian-friendly place AT ALL. I read elsewhere on the internet that they stopped serving a garden burger here in 2006--are you f*cking kidding me? Seriously, though, there is almost nothing on the menu that doesn't contain at least a little meat. Even Armadillo Willy's and Jack's Prime offer more meatless options than this place. Bright spots: The salad was good (I got a chicken cobb salad with no chicken and double egg) and the fried green beans were incredible (this is my one recommendation on the menu--you MUST try these if you go here). Beyond that, eh. Not terrible overall. Service was friendly and patient, and everything would probably have been a lot better if I wasn't such a pain in the ass and ate meat, but I don't. Jeers to TGI Friday's for not even offering me one stinking entree option that I didn't have to jimmy around and customize before I could actually eat it. Sorry guys, your restaurant may be "fun" but I won't be coming back at all at this rate unless you decide to make at least a few entrees appeal to V folks like me and my family.

    (2)

  • alicia m.

    Omg seriously this has to be one of the worst restaurants. However, watching the giants game was fun! So basically I went here for my friends bday dinner. I mean when a friend ordered an appetizer it looked like it had been frozen then heated by microwave. I should have figured that in the beginning. But yeah it was unfortunate to see that. The food was blahhhh. I gave it one star for the yummy drinks we ordered! Yum! I wouldn't come back here though. Ever.

    (1)

  • Marie O.

    Have not had a great experience there. Service is always slow even when we let them know we are on our lunch. Have some good lunch specials but the food is not that great. Much better options close by.

    (2)

  • Craig D.

    Been going to this place off & on for the last 20 years or so. Really not liking the direction the food/restaurant has gone. Really nice people working there, but thats about all I can say thats positive about this place. Good luck...I hope it turns around.

    (2)

  • Steph U.

    I hadn't been here since someone died here..(I think it was one of the night managers a few years ago). It's just a mediocre place, but their happy hour isn't bad. The servers were a little on the creepy side, but I mean, I guess you get what you pay for. I really didn't like that their everyday happy hour menu wasn't an actual hand out menu, but instead it was this small sign above one side of the bar. I was sitting at a table in the bar area (to get the happy hour deals) and was barely able to read what it said on that sign. I've been to other TGI Friday's where they had better happy hour deals and gave out actual happy hour menus and you didn't have to sit at the bar, so it was kind of disappointing that this one was different. All in all, it wasn't a horrible experience, but it wasn't the greatest experience either. I read a sign on their wall about some beer deal during Giants games on Fridays, so I might come back to check that out.

    (3)

Q & A on TGI Friday

Can Vegans eat on TGI Friday?

TGI Friday has launched Vegan food options The Beyond Meat Cheeseburger, fries and salads which can be enjoyed by vegan lovers. Though we would advise you to get confirmation from the server at the TGI Friday outlet before ordering the food item.

Does TGI Fridays have vegetarian food?

TGI Friday have options of burgers made from plant-based ingredients which are grilled and seasoned with cheddar cheese, red onions, tomatoes, pickles and lettuce. One can also go for fries, salads or juices.

Does TGI Friday have happy hours?

The happy hour on TGI Friday happens every Friday. Chief marketing officer of TGI Friday says that “people now don't operate on a 9 to 5 schedule”. Thus the company is giving out one whole day when customers can enjoy their favourite meal at pocket-friendly rates.

Is TGI Friday closed on holidays?

TGI Friday is opened on most of the holidays except Easter Sunday and Christmas Day.

What are TGI Friday Opening and Closing Time?

The American restaurant chain is established on some of the largest cities like Miami, Las Vegas, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston etc. TGI Friday regular restaurant hours from Monday to Sunday is 11:00 AM – 01:00 AM.

How do I find the nearest TGI Friday Restaurant?

There are over 800 TGI Friday restaurants in the United States. The best way to search the nearest TGI Friday location is by using our Restaurant Listings Directory.

Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.

About TGI Friday

TGI Friday is a casual dining American restaurant chain founded in 1965. The term “TGI” is an acronym for Thank God It's and together the name of the restaurant is often announced as Thank God It's Friday. Over the years of its existence, the TV commercials and other advertisement streams have also twisted the phrase a bit and used it as Thank Goodness It's Friday. The restaurant serves alcoholic beverages primarily. However, they are also known for their low-carbohydrate and low-fat menu items to promote a healthy lifestyle. TGI Friday also offers gluten-free items on its menu for those with gluten intolerance.

Besides the cool name, TGI Friday also has an interesting background story of its origin. The founder of the restaurant Alan Stillman lived in a New York-based neighbourhood full of a young crowd, especially girls from the airline and fashion industry. He started the first TGI Friday restaurant in New York in the hope of meeting single women as there weren't any such public place for young men and women to meet. He invested $5000 on his own and borrowed another $5000 from his mother to buy a bar named The Good Tavern and renamed the premise to Thank God It's Friday, inspired from an expression during his time at Bucknell University.

Healthy Food Options at TGI Friday

TGI Friday is a casual dining American restaurant chain serving burgers, sandwiches, steaks & ribs, salads, soups, and desserts. You got to be somewhat cautious while dining at TGI Friday if you are health conscious. You can always opt for light items such as salads or soups to start with. You can also prefer seafood over chicken or other meat to ensure a healthy meal at TGI Friday.

Map

Opening Hours

    Sorry, Store hours have not been updated. If you are the owner of this restaurants. Please update the store hours.

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch, Dinner
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Outdoor Seating : Yes
    Wi-Fi : Free
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : No

Categories

Italian Cuisine

The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.

Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.

If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.

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