Friendly’s

Only one star because I got out, food WAS horrible and tasted like propane, wives scrambled eggs weren’t even real eggs I should have known not to stay when they use a spackle blade to flip eggs and pancakes

I waited to be seated for more than 5min. And then I just left… Nobody said anything. I guess they’re not so «friendly» after all.

We have been to several Friendly’s in the past, and typically know what to expect. Basic burger, diner food, ice cream, etc. It was a Sunday before the dinner hour so we figured we could get in and out pretty quickly.
Had to wait to be seated in a place that was about ½ full tops because there was no host at the front. Once we were seated, our marginally pleasant server dropped off menus and asked for our drink order. My husband asked for tea, and the server replied «sweet or unsweet.» When my husband said, «sweet» the server said, «we don’t have sweet tea.» [facepalm] Why offer it as an option if you don’t have it? The correct reply, for you servers at home, is «we only have unsweetened tea, is that OK?»
We got the basic meal — fish and chips (which hubby said were good) and All-​American cheeseburger and fries (portion was a bit skimpy) $ 9.99 meal with sundae. Burger was lukewarm, but well seasoned. Ordered the Nuts over Caramel sundae (Nuts Over Caramel ice cream with caramel topping) and was asked what topping I wanted [double facepalm].
Got the bill with the sundae (OK, but not preferable), then server came back in about 5 mins and asked if the bill was ready (which it wasn’t). Waited 10 minutes while she served table directly across from us, engaging them in active conversation. Five more minutes passed and we gave up, using the on-​table kiosk to pay our bill and leave an appropriately less than stellar review of our server.
Being Southern and in customer service ourselves, we typically litter our conversations with a lot of «please» and «thank you» to wait staff, no matter their age, so we were polite customers, despite her really irritating tone and even more irritating questions.
Bottom line? Fish and chips were good, burger was meh, kitchen staff need to realize their chatter can be overheard by patrons, and the server needed some basic customer service skills refresher. There wasn’t much service — she just brought the food. If you wanted a justification on why those kiosks come in handy, we found it.

I usually try to avoid chains, but I didn’t really know the area and was super hungry, so I stopped in for a late lunch.
I was immediately seated, and the waitress was very nice. She went through a kind of lengthy spiel about menu items, and later about ice cream, but I’m sure she was required to do so by management.
Menu options must change now and then, as the last time I was at a Friendly’s, there was a sort of «pick your fixin’s» burger… I didn’t see that, but found a veggie burger that looked good. It took a really long time to come out, especially considering there weren’t many people in the restaurant, but was very good. It almost had the taste of a homemade veggie burger, actually. (As an aside, I’m not a vegetarian, but I enjoy a good veggie burger now and then).
Nice experience, generally. The long wait time, and lack of refill on the drink drops it down a bit, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Friendly’s is one of the few restaurants located on the west side of Oswego. It is a 5 minute drive, if that, from the SUNY Oswego campus and a great pit stop if you’re visiting the town of Oswego.
There’s a $ 9.99 special where you can purchase one of nine meal options that include unlimited beverage refill and an ice cream sundae.
I ordered the Buffalo Blue Cheese Burger I believe. I don’t remember the exact name, but just picture buffalo chicken pieces in between two buns topped with lettuce, tomato, and a bit of ranch sauce. I received regular fries with my order. If you don’t like fries then there are a ton of options that you can order from as a side.
The order came right away. I would say within 10 to 15 minutes of being there we all received our food. I was with a group of 10 people so I would say that was an accomplishment to get the food out that fast.
After chatting for a bit and enjoying my meal it was finally time for dessert. With the special you can choose 2 ice cream flavors and 1 topping for your sundae. If you want anything else then it’s a bit extra. I ordered 2 scoops of cookies and cream (Yum!) topped off by caramel, whipped cream, and the ever so necessary cherry on top. It was a pretty amazing meal for only $ 10. This definitely makes me miss upstate NY prices in comparison to New York City prices.
Why didn’t I give them 5 stars? Well it turns out I received my bill before receiving my sundae, as well as everyone else in my group. However, one of the girls in my group never received her card and receipt back after handing it to the waitress. It turns out she had clocked out for the night and left. My friend had to flag someone down to find out what happened with the bill after a 10 minute waiting period. Not good.
Other than that I would definitely go back to Friendly’s and enjoy another one of the items on their menu.