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Restaurants - Frankie & Bennys

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Frankie & Bennys (New York Italian Rest.& Bar),
Unit Ib, Clements Rd, Ilford, IG1 1BP. (Tel: 020 8553 3030)
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[ So far: 65 votes, average is 5.22]
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17/02/2008 Review from visitor Charmaine Overall rating 6/10
  Frankie & Bennys (New York Italian Rest.& Bar) - Do not enter this restaurant unless you have at least 2 hours to spare, 3 if you want desert and coffee. The layout is great and really takes you back in time. Staff are friendly but not very helpful. Food is slightly over priced and is not that great. Though they do offer great pizza. I have eaten there around5-6 times. The do make excellent cocktails. Services is super slow even when the places is quiet (I would hate to eat there at lunch time. The service was extra fast once we had asked for the bill. They offer a great children's menu, with generous portions and ice cream and free drink re-fills for under £4. I am not in a hurry to return though.  
26/03/2005 Review from visitor Marilyn Overall rating 8/10
  Excellent Italo-American restaurant, with 50''s music and superb Italian Dishes. You feel like you''re at the heart of Little Italy.  
21/08/2003 Review from visitor Bob No rating available
  The decor is lovely, and there is a really nice atmosphere. The tables are also spaced well enough apart so that you get background noise, but you are not so close that you can overhear conversations. The food is also of a very good quality and is well prepared and presented. So far so good. But there is a downside.

The speed of service is appalling. Having eaten there five or so times now, I find that each time you are spotted and shown to a table quickly. But that is where the speed and efficiency ends. You will either be asked what you want before you have had time to look at the menu, or you will be ignored completely for ages. Your drinks order will turn up about a minute before your food, by which time you are gasping. If the drinks arrived quickly, then you''d settle in, have them and probably want something else by the time the food arrives. But no, this simple concept seems to pass them by. If they were busy, I''d understand a few delays. But every time I have eaten there, it has been half-empty at least. But the drinks and food still take an eternity to arrive and service is hit and miss.

For a restaurant that is deliberately placed near to the Cineworld, a lot of their trade has to come from people dropping in for a meal before going to see a film, so time is of the essence. Again, they do not seem to appreciate this concept. One other complaint - it had to be three months between visits, but the Ladies Toilet was still out of order!

Summary: nice layout, lovely food, but the service needs to get better and faster - all the good points are ruined by the general levels of apathy.

Rating

As for points out of 10 - food: 8, decor: 7, service: 2 (only score 2 as the chap who brought the food to our table was friendly and helpful - unlike the waitress who went to take my plate away while I was still eating!)