I walked out of this same place 25 yrs ago as it took an hour to not even get our food! I returned about 10 yrs ago and walked out again! That's it! Go there again and can't even get served drinks! What a joke! Do the friendly's chain a great service and close this place! It's awful! Been awful for years. How can you hire incompetent servers and terrible cooks! I hate writing scathing reviews and have only ever had a couple with this being the second. Norwich Friendly's is disgusting and should have a 110% revamping of its management and staff! read more

I come here for the honey BBQ chicken melt and post dinner sundae. I loved the sandwich but the Friendly's ice cream was not as good as I remembered it. I also knocked off a star because when I checked in on Yelp, the app said I'd get a free appetizer with my meal. I showed the waitress and she said that because there was no barcode, she couldn't honor it. read more

Twice I've ordered online at this location, and twice I've had a bad experience! First time my order was missing stuff and I called and they said come back it'll be ready and guess what, it wasnt.. I waited 10 min and went home to all my food, and my kids food, cold!! This time I order online again in hopes it was a fluke the first time, NOPE! Online said my food would be ready at 435, got there at 440 for the young lady to pull the tickets off the probter, ask which order is mine and start making it. I went and waited in my car because illicit and shouldn't be in public, hence why I ordered online for pick up??!?!!! Get it together friendlys! read more

So this was my first ever experience at Friendly's, and I was sorely disappointed. My boyfriend and I just moved to the area and figured we would give this place a shot. We were quick to be seated, where the waitress just simply wiped our table off with a paper towel, didn't even bother to sanitize where we were about to eat -- and this isn't even the icing on the cake. We patiently sat and waited for 15 minutes for someone to simply acknowledge us, to say hello and take our drinks: nothing. Waitresses passed us, helped all the other guests around us, including a table that sat and hadn't even waited two minutes before getting their drink orders taken. Went to the manager, no apology -- just straight attitude and told us if we waited a few more minutes that he'd be right with us. Needless to say that we just left and went to Philly's, where the service is fast, quick and FRIENDLY (not to mention the delicious food)! Good luck in losing potential customers with your shoddy service. read more

Honestly I have nothing good to say. To start, there was a 20 minute wait and half the restaurant was empty. None of the workers wore gloves or hair nets and they all had greasy-nasty hair. I ordered a lemonade and it was bitter as hell. I had to use 10 sugar packets and even after that it was just "ok". I overheard the kitchen talking about someone who was being wasteful and used all their sugar packets (sorry not sorry). At first they brought us a random order that consisted of cold-hard mac&cheese and some off looking chicken. Our waiter Stephanie repeatedly talked bad about other customers there to my table. My food was pretty soggy had some green crawly thing on it. When I went to the bathroom, I almost instantly had to cover my nose at it smelt like a sewer. There was tiles missing and mold on the floors. Our waiter basically knocked over my drink as she reached over all my food and bumped it with her armpit. (That ruined the rest of my meal). Our utensils had dried ketchup on them and were definitely put out at someone's table before us. If I could give 0 stars I would. The prices were basically doubled from what they used to be and I am starting to see why they are all closing. Yikes! If you are reading this trust me and go home. It is a shit show. If I had to say one good thing about this experience, it would be leaving. read more

Just left there. 9:00 pm we came in, we were seated quickly. Our orders were taken as soon as we put down the menus. Our sundaes were delivered in minutes. Just as we ordered. Our favorite ice cream place. read more

We stopped for breakfast on a weekday, which worked well for the wallet! They have special pricing for some regular menu entrees on weekdays. I had the lumberjack with side of homefries...scrambled eggs were fine, and bacon cooked as I requested. The french toast was very good. The homefries came plain (I didn't specify to have peppers and onions) and were literally nothing but plain, no flavor. Coffee came with the breakfast and was fine. Service was pleasant and attentive. Total bill was less than $14! We'll go back again sometime... read more

My girlfriend, best friend, his wife, and I went to Friendly's ice cream to have a quick breakfast after a long night at the Casino. Upon our arrival, we were ignored by the hostess as they were attending to leaving customers that were paying. We waited for about 10 minutes until we were asked if we needed help and seated, even though the restaurant was not busy. When we were seated, it seemed as if not a soul had bothered to clean the walls....ever! There was crayon written on the walls from brats before us. The sugar caddie was about a quarter filled and also looked as if it had never been touched with at least a wet rag. We all ordered coffee and my girlfriend ordered orange juice. After a bit of a wait, a different waitress came back and informed us that the orange juice was frozen. My girlfriend then ordered apple juice. When the waiter came back with the apple juice, he handed my girlfriend the dirtiest glass I have ever seen with the apple juice in it. The waiter also forgot my drink order. The coffee was brought in a pitcher that was also filthy. It had dried food on the side such as jelly or ketchup, along with other disgusting food splatters. After we placed our order we waited about 40 minutes. 3 out of 4 of us received our meals. The last member of our party received his meal about 10 minutes later. And of course, his cheeseburger was ordered without mayo, but yet it was swimming in it. At that point the waiter took the order back and requested the cooks make a new burger. We were so disgusted by this place, we canceled the order and left nauseated. A manager was notified and refunded us our money. While complaining about our "lovely" stay at the restaurant to the manager, we noticed that under the cooler, there was at least 8 months worth of grease and grime that nobody could be bothered to bend over and sweep or mop under. The Board Of Health and Friendly's Corporate were contacted and made aware of this Disgusting, filthy, and neglected establishment. read more

I went there for breakfast this morning and I had a meat lovers omelet. It was horrible, it was small and it didn't have a good flavor. And as for meat, I was expecting sausage but they put ham, it was gross and watery. I was very disappointed! I count be returning. read more

Terrible service. Dirty tables everywhere with crusty food. Waitress sitting down eating. Another sitting with customers talking while I need a refill on my soda. While the chefs aren't even cooking our food yet and we ordered 40 minutes ago and no one else is here. The staff is yelling at eacch other. Forks and spoons dirty. Food not good read more

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Growing up, I loved Friendly's, and, because I spent part of that childhood time in Norwich, I loved this Friendly's in particular. Although a lot of aspects have changed--the decor is the most immediately apparent, having shifted from a divey-diner to homey--it makes me happy that many things have stayed the same. Although Friendly's is known largely for its ice cream, its hot dogs have always been outstanding, representing the New England way of buttering the bun prior to toasting. Of course, the hot dogs are a lot smaller than I remember them. And, of course, the ice cream itself is always appealing. Although it seems like the iconic clown-head sundae (whatever it was officially called), with its cone hat and M&M eyes, seems to be gone, the more modern, recently introduced "nut caramel waffle sundae" was super tasty and also super cute due to the waffles shaped like hearts. Perhaps the hearts represent my long-lasting love of this particular location, and I am honored to write its first Yelp review. Summary: Friendly's will never be the best food in town, but it's comforting to know it's in town nonetheless. read more

Haven't been to a Friendly's in ions and I remember the few things were super happy people serving.. Great Ice cream & Burgers and it was always Clean. Since we only ate breakfast here I can only comment on the food and it's state of decay from a sanitary position. Found a table in the back and seated that had all the setups like it was ready to be seated but it was filthy. We selected another table then watched the server spray a minimal amount of cleaner on the dirty table give it an abbreviated wipe and move on. Two breakfasts with coffee were OK coffee very strong like tar is fine but when it tastes burnt out its not.. Platters were oily from the grease in the bacon. Water ordered and came with no ice. Servers were friendly enough but after making a walk to the mens room I noticed the complete and utter mess the kitchen was. I mean make your legs go weak. Almost sorry I ate here. Food was Ok - coffee awful - service friendly but this was not the place I remember growing up. Cleanliness wise... START OVER no help here without ripping everything out and beginning a new. I doubt Norwich CT will see me any time soon if ever but Pass on this place if you are in the area. read more

Having a wonderful time for lunch: The Crowd Pleaser- 6 ice cream flavors, 6 topping, 6 cherries 1320 calories. read more

This was one of the worst experiences I've had at a restaurant in a very long time. My friends and I came in and ordered our meals. The food was okay, but the service was horrible. We asked our server, Hilda, if she could split the check between the three of us and her demeanor immediately changed. She repeatedly complained about having to split the check. We patiently waited over 30 minutes to receive the check after she messed up the bills multiple times. Finally, another employee came over and straightened things out for us. We paid, and then Hilda came back over and insisted that we owed more money. I informed her that we already paid and she started cussing at us and caused a scene in the restaurant with many children around. Families around us started commenting her behavior and were also confused as to why she was so hysterical. I'm still unsure why she was so angry with us for simply asking her to do her job. Overall, it was a very bad experience and I have never been treated so rudely by a server. read more

I can honestly say we have not been to a Friendly's in decades. Once out if the car, we were greeted by loud music from a speaker attached to the side of the restaurant. They do not have outdoor seating so what is the point other than to create noise where none is required. Dumb! On to the food: Our server was very pleasant and answered our menu questions easily. Obviously well trained. My wife had the tuna melt on rye with fries ($8.49) which she said was good. I had the fish sandwich ($7.49) which also came with fries. It was disappointing. The sandwich came on toasted white bread. The fish (assume cod) was deep fried, cheese was added on one side and tartar on the other. The result is the bread on the cheese side is soggy. Not good folks. You need to switch to using a roll. While waiting for our food I read the triangle ad that is placed on each table. One of the three sides talks about the "New" Friendly's being improved and cleaner than ever, etc. What I found funny was of the three sides, this side looked like it had not been cleaned in weeks. Overall - the "New" Friendly's is pretty much the same as the old version. I guess it will be a few more decades before we try again, if ever. We are starting to run out of decades. Magoo read more

well this place has gone downhill ordered their new grilled chicken, bacon, avocado sandwich today and couldn't even eat it. gross, disgusting, dry, overcooked, and not prepared as i requested for $10.99 read more

Poor organization. Ordered two ice creams at 8:20 and the pick time was for 8:42. We did not get our ice creams until 9:30. Others were waiting for an hour+. Staff did not seem to know what was going on, and could not get the order straight. read more

They don't honor the free appetizer. Yelp needs to contact these people, it's not cool.

Every time I order take out my order is messed up. They ALWAYS short my order and I don't get everything I ordered. They give me a second flavored ice cream on a double scoop when I only ordered one flavor!!! And their customer service is awful read more

This particular Friendly's should not exist. We waited over 10 minutes to be seated upon arrival. No one even came over for about 7-8 minutes. That person told us that she was not our server so she couldn't seat us. About 5 minutes later someone finally seated us. Another 10 minute wait & we were finally able to order. We were smart enough to order food & beverages at the same time- the waters and milks for our grandchildren arrived in a timely fashion with the milkshakes arriving after a delay. It took over 40 minutes for our food to arrive and the food was, quite frankly, not worth any of the wait for it. My grandson ordered the mac & cheese burger with sliced apples for a side. The Mac & cheese topping was burnt with a black, hard bottom. A few of his apple slices had brown spots in them. My granddaughter's cheese quesadilla had very little cheese in it. My husband's citrus chicken dinner was okay except for his lemon slices being cremated. My lemon pepper fish dinner was so salty that neither the lemon or pepper flavors were apparent. The fish was also over cooked & dry. Service was lacking so at least we were spared leaving a tip. Since we usually leave 20% that at least saved us some money on a hideous experience. read more

Got an online order to go, picked up my food and got half way down the road before I realized they forgot 2 entrees. My fault for not checking first but when I returned to get my food they would not give it to me without a receipt which they also did not provide me in the first place. Showed them the order on my phone showing it was paid for and they still wouldn't give me my food or my money back for the food they did not give me. Absolute rip off read more

I read some of the other reviews and have to disagree, as this Friendly's service rocks!!!! XD Everyone has their bad days & maybe people had an issue with newer workers who were trying to get used to the place?! IDK, but i have been here many times & the only problem i ever had was sometimes it seems like they didn't clean that well. Other than that, they were great and so was the food, JFS!!! :) The place doesn't have to be perfect every time you go and this is the only Friendly's Restaurant left in Norwich CT. I am happy with them and happy that we still at least have one. I really hope they are here to stay & that they just improve on the cleaning a little. The bathrooms usually are clean though. My husband and i are always going back and not so0 picky with them as they have great service, attitudes and the food is to die for!!!! :) read more

The crispy chicken salad was very disgusting. The chicken was cold and there was too much grease on top of it all. When I ate it, and I had grease on my lips. My families food was good, except my salad. I think friendly should check their food before they give it to their customers. read more

Where do i even start. Got there at 5:15 and wasn't seated until 6:00. The workers walked past at least 7 people including myself who were waiting to be seated without even acknowledging us. When we were finally seated the waiter was very rude. Waited another 20 minutes to even order a drink. The chocolate milkshake we ordered was warm and melted. Waited at least 20 minutes for our food to come out. Waiter seated another table of 6 and didn't even distribute their menu's he just placed them on the table and walked away. People were waving their hands trying to get his attention and he continued to walk right by them. This would be different if the restaurant was packed but it wasn't. The worst customer service i have ever experienced. So bad i had to download this app to write a review. read more

i would give it no stars if that was an option. There was a horrible smell upon entering, like an old sour mop was used or chemicals were improperly mixed. The table, booth seats and high chair were dirty, I had to clean them before using them (no one offered to clean). I ordered an appetizer that I never got and my main entree was incorrect. If I didn't have a party of 5 people with me and was familiar with the area, I would've left right away. read more

Since when did Friendly's forget how to make a chocolate milkshake?? I didn't ask for a vanilla fribble with chocolate syrup. Second time in two weeks I had to ask for chocolate ice cream. Seriously...4-5 scoops of chocolate ice cream, a shot or two of syrup and some cream to make it not too thick!! Service is awful and the attitude is horrible. read more

I highly recommend nobody eat at this establishment! It is absolutely filthy and the service was not any better. If I could give 0 stars I would. Disgusted! read more

A new decor at Friendly's but some of the wait staff....suck. We used to go there at least 2-3 times a week but our last visit has pretty much killed that. We order beverages then dinner, my clam chowder comes out in a newly designed tiny bowl with mostly potatoes and very little clams, definitely not worth $5.00. Next my wifes dinner arrives, mine doesn't when I asked when my dinner would be coming out the waitress tells me I didn't order anything but yet when I DID order she asked me if I wanted the fries.... So we will not be going back to Friendly's anytime soon, just left us disgusted. ... read more

My husband grew up in Springfield MA and has a fondness for Friendly's. We have tried on a couple of occasions to eat in this restaurant and both times have had to leave without service. The first time we were seated but no one acknowledged that we were sitting there and the place was dirty. The 2nd time was this past Friday night and after waiting in front of the dirty kitchen for at least 5 min a young lady looked at us and said I will be with you then started to take an order from a table :(. The place had a foul smell so we left again. We will not be trying to go there again. The next time he has memories of this place we will drive to Mass! read more

Wish there was a no star option! Went here today for lunch- what a mistake! I found a blender part in my milkshake, no apology from our waittress, poor attitude. We left no tip. I was walking out behind her when she has the nerve to say " wow these people suck". Her name was Nikki or Nicole or something like that. We won't ever be back and I'll be calling the board of health tomorrow! read more

Had a great experience except that they gave us grief about their check-in offer of a free appetizer with entree purchase. Our server, stephani was friendly and helpful. We tried the munchie mania appetiZer. The portions were generous and the sliders were some of the best we've tried. The loaded waffle fries were Delish. The onion rings were large, crispy and also very tasty. The drink glasses were large which I love so I don't have to wait forever for a refill! We also tried the chicken wrap, it was average but no complaints. The side green salad was fresh and the vinaigrette dressing was to my liking. For dessert we tried a Reese's friend z. Excellent way to top off the meal. I would most likely try this restaurant again. read more

I fell in love with Post-Modern decore. Some may find the Abstract minimalism to be overly subdued, but I for one found it quite drole! The upholstery of the booths, for example, so lush and and comforting. I began to feel beyond myself, as though i had transcended beyond my feeble place in our minuet corner of complexity within the cismos. The food was okay too. read more

So my daughter just came home from Friendly's with her grandparents. Like always I asked her how thing went. She told me it was the worst experience she ever had now his is coming from 12 year old. She said that waitress was rude and could tell she didn't like them much because of her attitude. So at the end of their meal they decided I didn't really want to tip but they left her five dollars for the poor attitude. The waitress follow them to the parking lot to see if The tip was correct. She said was there anything wrong with my service read more

The staff here is always pleasant. And tonight was no exception! Norwich had their annual fireworks show and after the they finished there was an influx of customers coming in minutes before closing. The staff working tonight was kind, friendly and served each customer even after hours. read more

Didn't come here by choice. Inlaws are in town. Waiting an hour for breakfast is unacceptable. Zero stars.

Friendly's is one of those places that is good but not great. We go there all the time but some days are better then others. Most of the time they will get you seated right away but every so often they have there off days. I mean who doesn't. Friendly's is definitely a place advertised for family's but in honesty I think it is better for smaller groups. read more

I normally love friendlys, ever since I was little. The service was perfect , the food was delicious, and the icecream. Oh man, the icecream was my favorite part. Now the service in Norwich has down graded. I had a man deliver my food in the rudest way possible, he put the food Infront of me, said "is this fine?" And walked away. Not only to mention he had put his arm on top of my food, which he did have hair all over. The food selection has down graded too. I miss the old "make your owns" or the "stackers." And I miss the football icecream! Please step up your game friendlys, your an amazing place to eat, but not when your like this :( read more

Every time we stop in we have a great server, everyone is very friendly. Restaurant is kept clean. They make the best Jim Dandy's!!!

Highly dissatisfied. 45 minute wait for breakfast, employees were very rude to us and gave us dirty looks. My order was all messed up as well, not to mention the hair in my friend's pancakes. What i couldn't get over was the mess all over all the tables and the amount of free tables they had , but refused to seat us. 0/10 recommend read more

Went with my father for a quick lunch, upon entering I could not believe how filthy and the stink!! turned around and walked out, the health dpt needs to shut this place down. read more