T.G.I Friday’s, a very successful nationwide chain with special appeal for twenty- and thirtysomething’s, has opened just off Times Square on 46th Street. On a recent Sunday evening, the place was packed by 7:30pm. The frenetic, upbeat premises were alive with happy chatter, upbeat music, prominent televisions, a bustling open kitchen, scurrying red-and-white-clad servers toting fancy drinks and gargantuan portions, and patrons perusing multi-page, bed-sheet-size menus.

Obviously, T.G.I Friday’s is doing something right. In fact, it’s doing many things right. Simply put, the wide-ranging menu—with its Mexican, Asian, Italian, and all-American selections—delivers the dishes most people want to eat: wings, dips, steaks, shrimp, ribs, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, and over-the-top desserts like whisky cakes and brownie obsessions. The comments on the attractive menu, with its striking food photographs, capture the TGIF spirit well. Next to the Ribs section it reads, “Napkins mandatory, forks not so much;” next to the Sizzling section it says, “Bring the heat.” Salads are heralded with an “all dressed and ready to go” quip and beer is introduced with an “ice-cold and ready to heat things up” observation.

You get the message. TGIF is an everyman restaurant. It’s not fine dining, nor does it pretend to be; it’s a leap beyond fast food that serves entrée-size appetizers for $13.49 (and a few cents more) that many diners order as their main course, and drinks with catchy names like Bee Sting, Platinum Mojito, Tiki Torch Margaritas. When civilized conversation becomes difficult, no one cares because everybody at the table is too busy having fun.

At times, four diners can easily share one of those king-sized starters; that certainly was true for the plate circled by a plethora of crisp tostados nachos alive with refried beans, vibrant ground beef, and melted cheese and accompanied by guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and zingy jalapeños. The long-sized barbecued flatbread served on a wood plank also delivered far more than most individual diners could consume. Cut into numerous pieces, it was covered with moist pulled chicken pieces under a chipotle barbecue sauce. It’s baked with Monterey Jack cheese, cheddar, cilantro, and sliced red peppers and onions. Nor was there anything wrong with the more average-sized warm Tuscan spinach dip with a cone full of tostada chips and the wedge salad enhanced by its abundant Applewood smoked bacon.

Both a first-class sirloin and a juicy rib eye steak (each with two side dishes) came medium rare as ordered.  A pulled pork sandwich was the equal of those at many southern barbecue joints, as was the half rack of slow-cooked baby back pork ribs that accompanied the sirloin steak. The humongous sizzling chicken and shrimp combination defeated the diner who ordered it.

For dessert, the tall vanilla bean cheesecake, warm brownie with vanilla ice cream, and especially the whisky cake—actually a warm toffee cake with Jack Daniels sauce—were impressive

147 W. 46th St., 212-944-7352; www.tgifridays.com