With the news that TGI Fridays is closing restaurants across the UK amid the threat of the whole business going under, I visited the venue in Reading for a review and to answer the question: can the brand recapture that Friday feeling - or has TGIs had its day?

On Monday, the chain announced the immediate closure of 35 restaurants across the UK - including its Bracknell branch - with 1,000 jobs made redundant after collapsing into administration.

But a deal secured with Breal Capital and Calveton UK means that 51 restaurants will remain open for the foreseeable future. 

Among those thrown a lifeline is the restaurant in Reading Station Shopping Park - and on arrival, you wouldn't instantly think this was a businesses in need of rescuing. 

When my partner and I arrived on Friday night, the restaurant was already relatively busy - there were about 20 families or couples enjoying their meals. 

Our first waitress was lovely - but was she worried about the unsettling news surrounding the brand?

"We're trying not to think about it, and just do a good job," she said. 

Mission accomplished for all the staff we met, but the same can't be said for the food, which aims to be - to quote the menu - "bangin'."

White we waited for our food, we had two-for-one mocktails - the "Strawberry Fields" - and a large glass of house white wine, considered lovely and terrible respectively. 

The Ultimate American Grill at TGI Fridays in Reading. The Ultimate American Grill at TGI Fridays in Reading. (Image: NQ)

We ordered the Ultimate American Grill to share. This was a meal made up of a "flame grilled 4oz sirloin steak, chicken breast, BBQ galzed beef short rib, BBQ wings, half rack of Fridays pork ribs coated in Fridays Legendary Glaze, house fries, blue cheese lettuce wedges, cherry tomatoes, Cajun spice onion rings, corn ribs, and house slaw."

You could build an appetite just saying this. 

Sadly, our appetites faded whilst eating what arrived.

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The food was just above lukewarm, the portions were just about enough for two people, and everything was simply just okay.

There wasn't a lot of meat on the ribs. The steak was about as thin as a smart phone, and seemed a little too grey to be medium-raw as requested. My partner thought the glaze lived up to its "Legendary" brag, but I thought "Forgettable" was a more appropriate title. 

The "Legendary" hyperbole used to be part of TGI Friday's charm. The restaurants - with their staff in multi-coloured trouser braces, singing happy birthday to celebrating guests - seemed brash, over-the-top, maybe even rowdy, but rarely dull. A bit like America itself.

Now, the braces are gone, the renditions of happy birthday seemed like a tick-box exercise, and the Americana props across the walls - peeling stickers and vinyl covers and hockey sticks - seemed tacked-on in every sense. 

Which is a shame, because this is a "second home" for some staff - like our second waitress Mya, who has worked at the Reading branch for more than 20 years. 

"It's actually a lot of fun," she said, describing the good days on the job. "You get people banging the cutlery off the table when we sing happy birthday.

With real enthusiasm, Mya told us her favourite aspect of the job was seeing regulars, including families with children who celebrate birthday after birthday at the restaurant, with staff watching the kids grow up. 

So news that the whole brand was at risk of closing had been a " big shock," according to the Reading resident. 

She said: "I don't think it really hit home. I think I was in denial."

For staff elsewhere in the business, instead of denial there has been apparent anger, with a post on social media criticising CEO Julie McEwan and calling for a boycott of the brand.

Reflecting on how staff have been kept informed about the crisis across the chain, Mya said: "It could have been handled better."

But she is reserving her energy for a job well done.

In a message to all Reading residents, she said: "We will fight to stay open and we're waiting for you to come in."

Leaving the venue, two things stayed with my partner and I. First was the hole left in our bank balance. We had ordered one mixed grill, two-for-one mocktails, a glass of wine, and a plate of nachos so forgettable I only remembered we had them after checking our receipt.

This came to £76.55. 

No, that's not a typo. 

The Ultimate American Grill alone cost £39.95. 

In the middle of a cost of living crisis, with a town centre full of choice when it comes to eating out, the prices felt uncompetitive. 

It's worth pointing out that by signing up to the TGI Fridays Stripes Rewards scheme on the the TGI app, you can get a free kids meal for a child under 12 with a full-price adult meal - all day, every day, including school holidays. 

The other thing that stuck with us was the staff's up-beat attitude in the face of uncertainty.

This attitude was the most memorable aspect of our Friday night out at a business that seems to have a bad case of the Sunday-night-blues.