22/30 Frankie & Bennys - Kingston, Milton Keynes, MK10 0BA

Overall Score 22/30

Food               8/10
Venue             4/5
Service           3.5/5
Value               3.5/5
Cleanliness     3.5/5

www.frankieandbennys.com

A little while ago we took the Triumph Herald out for it's MOT at Gardner & White and having successfully passed we decided to celebrate with breakfast out.  So on the way home we stopped at Frankie & Benny's in Kingston, Milton Keynes.

This was much as you would expect of Frankie & Benny's with a clean, well decorated venue.  Being a Saturday morning it was rather surprising that the service was so slow with tables waiting to be cleared and several times we had trouble getting the attention of any of the waiting staff.

We ordered Eggs Benedict and The Works Breakfast and both were delicious.  On the full breakfast though the potatoes were slightly oily and the lovely presentation of the beans in a small dish did make them rather difficult to get at.

This is a great venue for all, especially families.  With great music and a clear image you know exactly what to expect when you walk in the door.  We love the range of seating options available.  There really is something for everyone.

Remember when ordering that you can have unlimited tea and coffee with your breakfast for an extra £1.95.

19/30 AJ's Diner - Wellingborough, MK3 7RB

Overall Score 19/30

Food               6/10
Venue             4/5
Service           3/5
Value               2/5
Cleanliness     4/5

www.ajsdiner.co.uk/

We decided to revisit AJ's Diner which we had been to with TSSC Northants about a year ago.  We'd enjoyed our visit but didn't remember it well enough to do our scoring.

As with most cooked breakfasts it was the sausages that let the meal down.  The bread that came with our meals was disappointing as well.  You tend to expect plain white bread but his was spread with margarine.  Further disappointment came with the bill.  The unlimited coffee turned out to be conditional.  We'd wondered why we were asked which coffee we wanted.  Turned out the filter we asked for wasn't the unlimited (which was instant) and we had to pay a premium.

The diner itself is a great venue which has been very well themed and the waitresses dress in period style as well.  There were great 50's and 60's tunes playing when we arrived with the volume being turned up before the radio was suddenly switched off for a while only to go back on again before we left.  All very odd and not very thoughtful.

The coffee rather strangely came with two Amaretti biscuits for each cup we ordered.  This would be lovely if just having coffee but seemed rather odd with a full cooked breakfast.

The toilets were also disappointing. Very basic and not particularly clean.

That reads as a poor review but the work on the theme really makes it a fun place to visit and they run all sorts of events and welcome club/group visits.  Our return certainly didn't live up to our memories so we hope they were having an off day.