Frankie & Benny's, Telford

Star rating: **** James Shaw discovers that things are bright and breezy at a Telford restaurant.

The phrase 'family friendly' is often enough to strike fear into even the most hardy diner. Indeed, it conjures up images of screaming children, miserable children and even . . . crying children.

The point I'm trying to make is that family dining isn't always the best option for a quiet night out.

But there is another side.

It can also mean a really good, fun night out – and that's what Claire and I discovered when we took our son Louis to Frankie & Benny's in Telford.

Having a child has forced us to realise that quiet nights out are pretty much a thing of the past.

Not that we noticed as the superb background music gave the whole evening a light-hearted rhythm.

Even Louis – who at 12 months old can already dance better than his dad – joined in as he lapped up the attention.

The aim of Frankie & Benny's is to replicate the atmosphere of American-Italian diners.

And it achieves this with a certain charm.

The black-and-white photos on the wall may simply be copies from some bulk supplier, but you can't help smiling.

Get taken in by the theme – as we both did – and you'll be expecting to see rollerskates and drive-thrus on the way home.

Of course, the menus would give us an indicator of just how much effort goes into the food.

Bearing in mind I had barely eaten all day, the best way to my heart on this occasion was through my stomach. And I wasn't to be disappointed – in fact, I soon had my head in my hands.

While Claire made a beeline for her choices, I simply could not decide what to have from the menu. It was huge – so many options and only three courses to select.

There was no easy choice, but I eventually went for the chicken strips, while Claire decided to have loaded potato skins.

What a great way to start our meal.

My chicken strips were really chunky and arrived with a delicious dipping sauce.

They were crispy without being too dry and there wasn't the slightest trace of grease.

The same could be said for Claire's potato skins – inevitably, she opted for the cheese and bacon choice.

The smoky flavour was just wonderful, without being too strong or overbearing.

Young Louis, of course, was joining in the fun and took regular handfuls from both our plates.

As we waited for our main courses to arrive, Claire and I decided to take stock of our surroundings.

Perhaps the first note we took was how hard the staff appeared to be working.

Busy family restaurants usually feature surly staff as they struggle to cope with the workrate.

The staff here, however, joined in the fun and contributed to an overall jolly atmosphere.

Admittedly, the restaurant became much busier as the evening wore on, but the attitude remained exactly the same.

We visited just before tea time, so it was a happy mayhem by the time our main courses arrived.

I decided to have the New York Deli pizza, while Claire's choice was the bacon steaks.

Louis, meanwhile, decided that chewing the children's menu was much more interesting that choosing from it.

Eventually, however, he was handed fish fingers and mash.

My pizza was a delicious combination of ham, mushroom, bacon and pepperoni.

Thin crust is always my favourite and I certainly wasn't let down on this occasion.

Claire's choice of sweet-cured bacon steaks also went down well. Her plate was weighed down with three chunky-looking slabs of bacon, along with the usual accompaniments of chips, tomato and corn on the cob.

The flavour of the bacon was much milder than Claire's starter, but that is not a criticism.

The steaks were tender and melted in her mouth, but they remained a hefty main course.

Next on the list, of course was dessert. After such unhealthy main courses, most people would avoid the worry of stodgy puddings.

Not us.

In the interests of research, I went for 'Mamma's Chocolate Marble', while Claire had the banana cheesecake.

Both were fantastic ways to end our evening.

My dessert had a thick, crumbly base that sat underneath a gorgeous chocolate topping.

Claire, meanwhile, loves both banana and cheesecake, so the combination of the two got a resounding thumbs-up.

In fact, the whole evening deserved a round of applause.

Although the atmosphere was a little noisy, we simply could not find any other faults.

Perhaps the desserts were a tiny bit over-priced at £4.45 for banana cheesecake, but that really is it.

No more, nothing else.

Just a great evening out – and not a screaming child in sight.

Except for Louis, of course.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Chicken wings (£4.25)

Frankie's fried calamari (£4.95)

Main courses

American hot pizza (£8.35)

Oven baked pesto salmon (£10.45)

Desserts

Vanilla cheesecake (£3.95)

Cinnamon waffle crunch (£3.75)

ATMOSPHERE

Fun and friendly with a great rhythm that had us tapping our toes we were eating.

SERVICE

Cannot be faulted – although the restaurant became very busy, staff were attentive.

DISABLED FACILITIES

The entire restaurant is on one level and there are toilets for the disabled.

Contact

Frankie & Benny's, Telford Forge Retail Park, Colliers Way, Old Park, Telford TF3 4AG. Tel: 01952 293902