TGIF Santiago.. Very Impressed!!

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Don PISTOLAS

Guest
So I decided to Give TGIFridays a try tonight. Took my wife and 3 yr old daughter. I was very impressed!!

I cant recall ever eating at one before. Because of my daughter, and proximity to our house we would eat at applebees alot. I hated thier food. But they had good draft beer and bar food. Plus very child friendly. So that is what I will use as a comparison.

First the service was excellent! Met at the door by a host, who brought up promptly to our table. Daughter got crayons and paper to color. We got menus minus the 2 for 995 menu. We had to ask for those. The special is available until 6.

The waitress was attentive the whole time. This was very impressive bc it was slow. I find when it is slow, staff actully slacks off more. Or finds side work to do. The waitress was very knowledgeable of the menu and great at helping us pick what we should eat!

Who ever is running this place is running a very tight ship!

There happy hour deals are awesome. From 5~9. Basically mixed drinks on the rocks and frozen between 100 and 150 pesos. Draft beer 75 pesos (presidente). I had 3 different types of margaritas. Frozen lime, frozen chinola, and on the rocks strawberry. All very good. Chinola was a little sweet. So I opted for 2 more lime margarittas. Lol

We had sliders, that were ok. Only two served with the special. Then we had Jalepeno stuffed chicken and cheesy chicken. Both plates were huge, and much to our surprise very good! Way better than anything I ever had at applebees! The portions were huge. We had enough left over for a full meal to take home! The sides were good as well. Mashed potatoes and brocolli with cheese on top.

Desert is still in the fridge. So I cant comment on that. But the oreo ice cream sandwich loos good. I wanted the ice cream brownie but my daughter won that arguement.

All in ... 5 margaritas, a frozen straw berry drink, sliders, 2 entrees and 1 dessert. 2050 + 580 = 2630. Added 500 for a tip.

Last week I spent almost the same amount in Mr. GRILLED on 27th de febrero with only 2 drinks. The service was aweful and the food not as good.

One more thing to note. They use paper straws. This was the second place this week were I recieved paper straws. The other being Bon/Frozen yogurt store.
 
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Don PISTOLAS

Guest
If anybody is interested in a Santiago meet and great in late May early June. I think this would be a great place. AC was very nice, the place was immaculate, staff very attentive, And there is plenty of room at the bar!
 
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Don PISTOLAS

Guest
Forget to mention. For those with kids. They had a very small area where maybe 2-3 kids could play. Downside is its right at the door
 
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Garyexpat

Guest
If anybody is interested in a Santiago meet and great in late May early June. I think this would be a great place. AC was very nice, the place was immaculate, staff very attentive, And there is plenty of room at the bar!

I'd be glad to meet up with you Don. Let's see what other DR1ers come out. I can hit up Cristorey and Hillbilly. Let me know and I'll be there.
 
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cobraboy

Guest
I agree: TGIF Friday's is one of Santiago's top restaurants. Spendy but very nice, with excellent food.
 
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yacht chef

Guest
Have not tried Friday's but my favorite is just behind it BBQ Express... 3000 for dinner for 2 is high for me but glad you enjoyed it.
 
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cobraboy

Guest
TGIF Friday lemonade is the best I've had anywhere...ever.
 
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Don PISTOLAS

Guest
Have not tried Friday's but my favorite is just behind it BBQ Express... 3000 for dinner for 2 is high for me but glad you enjoyed it.

I could have easy stuck to the 2 for 995 special. 1 appetizer, 2 entrees and 2 sodas. But 5 margaritas kinda ran up the bill. Also frozen starwberry drink (non alcoholic) was 200. Which was 60 pesos more than my margarita. And 200 peso dessert.
 
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Don PISTOLAS

Guest
I'd be glad to meet up with you Don. Let's see what other DR1ers come out. I can hit up Cristorey and Hillbilly. Let me know and I'll be there.

That sounds great. May 24th or June 7th works for me. Let me know how those dates work for everyone else.
 
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AlterEgo

Guest
That sounds great. May 24th or June 7th works for me. Let me know how those dates work for everyone else.

You might want to start a new thread “Get together/meet in Santiago”, or something similar, so more people are aware
 
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dv8

Guest
not fond of murican chains but for some reason i was itching to try TGIF for a while now. i think i'm gonna insist on taking lunch there next time we go to santiago. i know they run specials throughout the week so we should get a good deal.
 
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Garyexpat

Guest
I agree: TGIF Friday's is one of Santiago's top restaurants. Spendy but very nice, with excellent food.

One of Santiago's top restaurants???? NO WAY!! This city has some really great restaurants like Noah, KGB, La Locanda, Tablon, Saga, etc, etc, etc,
To me TGIF is glorified fast food. I ate there recently on one of the holidays because so many places were closed and the chicken breast was this thinish wafer of overcooked poor quality chicken.
Service was very good.
 
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Garyexpat

Guest
not fond of murican chains but for some reason i was itching to try TGIF for a while now. i think i'm gonna insist on taking lunch there next time we go to santiago. i know they run specials throughout the week so we should get a good deal.

I agree with you and think you will be disappointed. Many better options. (I will admit if you have small kids (mine are grown) it is kid friendly).
 
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Garyexpat

Guest
That sounds great. May 24th or June 7th works for me. Let me know how those dates work for everyone else.

I usually don't plan more than a few minutes in advance but I "think" I'll be in country on the 24th, probably not the 7th. I'll hit up the other guys and see if we can set it up.
 
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william webster

Guest
If the franchise program is anything like the US counterpart- you bet they run a tight ship !

I first encountered TGIF in FLA - late 70's - my then girlfriend was a star waitress in FLL.

TGIF waitresses need to study the menu - ingredients , etc and take a test before being hired.
Only those w/ the highest marks get the job.

I inquired about a franchise....
they were sold in bundles of 5..... $5M.... in the late 70's
Pricey !!!??? You bet !

But extremely well run
 
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playacaribe2

Guest
TGIFriday's has become a sort of must stop after a Pricesmart run.

That stop used to be Chef Pepper, but the quality of food and in particular the service faltered badly about two years ago....and thus the switch to TGIF's. Interesting to note, our server who we recognized was formerly at Chef Pepper and indicated Chef Pepper changed hands.

Ditto Noah. Last two stops, service was not just bad.........but atrocious.

Lots of other good choices in Santiago, but they all tend to be hit or miss.

TGIF's has great service and decent food choices and is reasonably priced.......it is not fine dining.........but it is more than adequate.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 
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jd426

Guest
One of Santiago's top restaurants???? NO WAY!! This city has some really great restaurants like Noah, KGB, La Locanda, Tablon, Saga, etc, etc, etc,
To me TGIF is glorified fast food. I ate there recently on one of the holidays because so many places were closed and the chicken breast was this thinish wafer of overcooked poor quality chicken.
Service was very good.

La Locanda has possibly the best FILET I have ever tasted .. Awesome Pasta as well... glad to hear it is still doing well.. that place impressed me a lot .
 
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Seegee24

Guest
I am still trying to get the "hang" on everything...but will definitely enjoy a "Meet & Greet"