Frankie, Johnnie, & Luigi, Too!

Closed. Sad.
Glad I had a recent opportunity to have dinner here a month ago.

We tried this place after a long time and it seems to have gotten much better.
We went for a weekend lunch/​linner and the service was very good and friendly. The food was delicious as well. I tried their lasagne which had a good mix of meat/​pasta/​cheese ratio. I’d definitely order it again. Their pasta dishes are good and everything was nice and flavorful. Just the decorative areas behind our seats and few places could use a little more dusting it seemed :(
For desert we tried their Cannoli and ummm let’s just say we ordered a couple more to go for later that night :)

Not much has changed (or improved) since my last visit several years ago. Saturday dinner here tonight did not go well. In summary, very poor service, not so exciting food, and that old trick of «let’s buy you dessert» now that you’ve complained to the manger simply didn’t cut it. We won’t be back!
But wait! If you’re reading this you’re probably not the right «demo» (demographic) anyway! This place was at one time very popular and well regarded, and I suspect those are the same people coming here as regulars, much older regulars. The ones that don’t go online or Unilocal!
More to the point the hostess and other management are probably not reading this either, otherwise surely they would have noticed how many one stars they earned on Unilocal.
Waitress H (redacted) was so bad my GF left the table to notify the manager. The food arrived at that point and then H (redacted) asked if we’d like a salad or some soup. Really? Strangely we then met the manager and got a new server, and the offer of «free dessert». Really?
Did I mention that after sitting for fifteen minutes we got our first basket of rolls, but the second basket took four (that’s right four) reminders to H (redacted) who was seen passing our table multiple times. Really?
If you venture here for the food and can reclassify the service as ‘entertainment’ (and you hope to get free dessert…) be aware that the meatballs are loaded with green bell peppers and spinach. The Baked Cannoli has minced chicken, not the delicious chucks I was expecting, and it’s the flavorless kind that probably wouldn’t be acceptable for McNuggets. Really?
Far from a fast food price; I spent forty-​one dollars on two dinners and two drinks, plus a ten percent tip inspired by the second server A (redacted) doing damage control.
On the bright side the free dessert looks fantastic now that we are home. And… its free! There won’t be a follow up review here, as we won’t be returning to this establishment.

I’ve been coming to Frankie, Jonnie, and Luigi now 2 (for 20 years since my days at Apple when this is a regular haunt.
Its good American Italian Food (yes I’ve been to Italy all over 5+ times).
Great portions, loyal patrons, friendly service, and good prices.
That dough is what makes the pizza good. While not the best Italian ever, I do enjoy the price for its value, and the portion size is great for real eaters.
They are so successful over the decades, the owner has several loyal patron visited restaurants (incl Giorgio, and the original FKL). Success speaks for itself, not the harsh reviews I see others posted here due to nits.

My family keeps coming back here because it’s close and convenient and the food is decent. My dad loves the pizza here, and I do agree it’s good. Most other dishes I’ve tried are all right but not as good as the pizza. Portions are huge. Service is usually all right, though sometimes they can be slow. When we had a problem with our bill, our waiter disappeared and was nowhere to be found for at least 10 minutes. As for the problem with our bill, my dad had ordered the roast chicken which included a salad. But after he ate the sald, the waiter came by to tell us they had just run out of chicken. Which was fine, my dad just ordered his good old pizza instead, but when we got the bill, they had charged $ 6 for his caesar salad… what?! Anyway, they fixed it but I feel like they should’ve known better than to put that on the bill to begin with :\

I’ve been coming here for years (ever since my high-​school days), and this is the first time I’m writing a review. While the food is tasty and the portions are as large as ever, it seems like the service has really deteriorated.
Upon arrival, our group of 6 were greeted by a rather unenthusiastic hostess, who proceeded to lead us to the table and just throw the menus on the table without handing them to each of us.
The server was very nice, but seemed a bit air-​headed. It took him 20 minutes to even come by and take our orders, and on top of that, only refilled drinks once during the 2 hour meal.
Overall, the food has always been above average and the price has always been fair, but the service has really slipped over the years. Everyone who works there just seems to be spaced out and have a «meh» attitude.

One of my favorite places to go to when I’m in this area my favorite is always the capellini

Yummy bread and mimosas!
For $ 9 you can get a personal champagne bottle and a glass of orange juice — super cute
I got the lasagna, which was delicious — and the complimentary bread with oil and vinegar was scrumptious.
the only downfall is this place is a little expensive, which I wasn’t expecting. I would definitely go back, but unfortunately couldn’t go back on a regular basis!

I came here for a birthday dinner for a friend of my wife’s. I think for a dinner like this it’s good, not to expensive, and the décor is nice, and plenty of space in the restaurant, the staff is also very attentive.
The food is just so so though, I had a manicotti and my wife had a canole, both were ok but really not that great. The portions are kind of weird on the food too, my wife’s and my dishes were a good portion, some people had portions that were like two meals and some were a bit on the small size, so its a bit of a guessing game what you will get.
I really want to like this place because of the décor, the good prices, and the nice staff, but the food really is just average.

If youre here already ask for hot bread! the butter is delicious… keep reading
This review is mostly for the food
I wish I could give this 4 stars but I really cant. Despite being one of my favorite italian restaurants.
This place is 90% of the time hit and miss. The first time I ordered the lasagna it was magical (Im not a really big fan of lasagna). I came back the second time ordered the same thing and got the hungry man (microwaveable lasagna with trans fat) version of lasagna. I was like alright it sucks today, shit happens in life alright. Little did i know I came back again and ordered the same thing. Once again FJL disappointed me and gave me another microwaveable tasting lasagna.
Ive tried like 70% of everything on the menu!
Service is always average
=
Whats good here:
Appetizers:
Spinach salad + Honey Mustard dressing (its delicious here)
FREE bread + butter.
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
Pasta:
Penne Calabrese! This dish is always on point you cant eff this up…
Baked Salmon Rigatoni, Giant salmon nuff said.
Lasagna (may you be blessed by the Italian food god if you order this)
What sucks here: «Italian» flavored soda raspberry to be exact (taste like poverty)

If you like sitting in the lobby and waiting even though there are open tables because the hostess is not paying attention and gabbing with guests… go here.
If you enjoy the hostess talking back to you with an attitude when you question her about how much longer it will be… go here.
If you like waiting for your server for over 20 minutes… go here.
If you tell the server that you are starving and to please help get your salads as fast as possible but still wait 45 minutes even though people that came in after you got your food first… then go here.
If you don’t mind getting a salad with Ranch even though you ordered bleu cheese… go here.
If you enjoy watching the server strategically arrange all of the plates of food on a cart and then re-​arrange them again only to make 3 circles around the dining room delivering your food to you cold… go here.
If you don’t mind ordering the Special «Filet Mignon» for $ 23.95, ask for it well done, have it arrive raw, sending it back to be cooked so more and have it returned «butterflied» and as tough as a boot… oh and the side was 3 potato balls. go here.
If you don’t mind your salad coming back to you AFTER your meal is done… go here.
If you want a refill on your drink… forget it.
If you would like to speak to the manager and not have them show up… go here
I will NEVER step back into this place again. We were a party of 5 and every single one of us wanted to walk out.

I like coming here over Olive Garden. No long lines and the food is good! They have early dinner specials between 3−6pm.
Service is quick and the staff is super friendly. My favorite dishes here include: Linguini with Clams and Mussels, Spaghetti alla Putanesca, and Penne Calabrese. You can substitute the noodles with whatever sauce you want.
The prices are decent and drinks are ok too though I prefer to have wine when I’m dinning Italian.
Happy Eating!

I had put a shout out on Facebook today looking for a convenient Italian/​Pizza place to the Mountain Winery and several friends chimed in suggesting Frankie, Johnnie, & Luigi, too! My husband was instantly excited because he has eaten at a different location before and thought it was pretty good. We were going with another couple and they were fine with the plan.
We were seated right away and our drink orders taken. We were brought bread, butter, oil/​vinegar and then we ordered our meals. We ordered two pizzas to accommodate the varying tastes amongst us. It seemed to take a pretty long time for our order to come, but then again– maybe that was just us watching our watches being mindful of the concert we had to get to.
The pizza was very good and I would eat here again. The service did seem just a tad bit slow and although the pizza was good– it wasn’t «out of this world” — so therefore the 3 stars. Don’t have anything really bad to say, but don’t have anything super stellar to say either.

3.5 stars.
its a bit pricy for the restaurant itself. I went a couple years ago, and i had a sit down dinner with a couple friends. I remember the service was nice, and they came with water pretty fast, but lagged on other services.
recently, i went back to get an order to go. it was already 830pm and i got the penne calabrese and minestrone soup. the lady was nice enough to ask if i wanted to put the complimentary bread with my to go order and i said yes. she asked if i wanted garlic or plain and i said plain. she came back a few minutes later saying they ran out, but they could just give me the plain one. Since it was complimentary/​free, i couldnt really complain. She said i only had to wait 10 minutes or so, but i definately waited for a 45 minutes or more for my food. i was very hungry and i just kept seeing people pass by me and leave through the door.
after finally getting it, i ate at home. they give you a pretty big portion, even though i only got half. the pasta itself was very good, and the bread she gave me went good with the sauce. lots of flavor and teh mushrooms and pieces of beef give it a nice texture and taste. the minestrone soup was okay, i didnt really like it. The lady at the counter said she recommended it and she loved it. def not taking her advice again):

I’ve been here eons ago, and hated it. The chicken parmigana was so rubbery, the worst I’ve ever had in my life. And it’s not really a dish you can go wrong with!
On Father’s day yesterday, my dad wanted to come here. Since it was his choice, I couldn’t moan and groan about it. It was packed, even though we went early to avoid a mad rush. The table they sat us at was in the far back, very corner. Already, a bad feeling. We were given water after 10 minutes of waiting. We were starving, and their famous fresh cooked bread and garlic butter still hadn’t come out. By then, we had already decided on our drinks, appetizers, and entrees! After 25 minutes, I finally flagged down our waiter, who would go to one table, take an order, bring them back their order, and then apologize to each table. But really, can you not just take all 3 or 4 table orders rather than going back and forth, apologizing, etc? I told him, can we at least order our drinks and appetizers PLEASE? he apologized saying his busser had just arrived, and he would be right back. Took our drinks and appetizers, and when I said we were ready for our entrees, he said he would take that order when our appetizers arrived. Already, I didn’t like that idea, but whatever, at least we were finally getting somewhere.
After our drinks, the bread finally arrived. That is the only thing that I think this place has going on for them, as they’re hot and fresh, and the garlic butter is amazing.
We ordered caprese, which is super cheap here, $ 5.95 for 4 fat slices of mozzerlla cheese, tomatoes, basil, and a side of pesto and olives. Oddly, they bring the balsamic and olive oil separately.
Their calamari comes with 3 different sauces. A pesto cream sauce, tartar, and marinara. Their calamari is the absolute worst I have ever had. Don’t bother wasting the $ 10 for it. They were all soggy and if you didn’t put any sauce on it, it was so bland. Calamari should be crispy and fresh, these tasted like they were doused in water and sitting in the greasy bowl.
For dinner I was debating on the salmon risotto, manicotti, or baked rigatoni. I nixed the salmon risotto after seeing a picture on Unilocal.When I asked the waiter what he would recommend between the rigatoni or manicotti, he referred me to the rigatoni e spinaci. The only thing I remembered on the menu about that was that it was a «warm pasta salad». I went with it, since he said I would not regret it. He also took our orders down as we were trying to feast our way through the appetizers as we were hungry, so that’s why I didn’t want him to take our orders while we got our appetizers.
Our food came, and the portions were HUGE. I figure that’s why so many people dine here, it’s cheap and you get a lot for it. I was suprised when I saw my dish as it was a huge platter of spinach with some rigatoni, gorgonzola, walnuts and bacon inside. But surprinsingly, it was good, and I felt somewhat healthy as I was mainly chowing down on the spinach. I probably finished a third when I got too full, probably from all the bread I ate. My brother’s lamb, the osso busco was really gamey, and not as tender as I would have liked. The mashed potatoes were really good though. Oddly, they don’t give you a steak knife for the lamb, and he used his butter knife to cut off pieces of meat. My parents pasta dishes looked just okay, my mom’s caccuico was really lacking on sauce.
So normally we’re quick to dine and dash, but since the service here was horrid, we actually stayed quite awhile. It took us 15 minutes to get our bill. Then we noticed there was a soup and caeser salad charged that we didn’t order. Took another 10 – 15 minutes to get our waiter (I had to ask someone else for him) to get the charge off. At one point, we were willing to pay the extra $ 9 since we knew it would take another 15 minutes to get the revised bill.
We all agreed that we wouldn’t be back. Glad that I had a silent victory of why I didn’t want to come here in the first place.

I have been eating here for years, and even though some of my favorite dishes on their menu are no longer around, I still enjoy coming here every once in a while to get my garlic butter kick with fresh baked bread.
Their dishes are large portioned and full of flavor, they also have a full bar with a TV to enjoy the game.

Came here after a West Valley College graduation. The staff was attentive being there were 13 of us. We started out with: fried calamari, house bread, antipasto, bruschetta and the cesar salad. The calamari was good and well seasoned, although even though it was half-​way passed around the table before it got to me, it was still oozing with grease. The bread was hot out of the oven. The cheese on the antipasto plate was a bit hard, the mozzarella didn’t seem fresh either. The cesar salad was cold and crisp, but it was loaded with dressing but had no flavor (scratch head here). The bruschetta was the best thing we had, tho loaded with garlic so don’t try to talk to someone cute afterward ‘cuz your breathe will be HUMMIN’!
Our main dishes were pizza, but in my opinion, were waaay too soggy. TIna’s Too Too much was Too Too soggy. It was a disappointment. The best thing about it was the crust. We also had the Hawaiian Delight, which had bell peppers and I’m not sure why, but they were big honkin’ chunks and the people who had this slice, I looked over and everyone just picked them off. There was also a Johnnie’s Favorite, which had huge mounds of ricotta cheese, which I was told to spread over your pizza so it coats everything. It was like having a slab of cream cheese on the already-​soggy pizza. Not my style. Pizza = fail.
I’m surprised this joint is connected to the one in Mountain View. The one in MV has such a different ambience and I feel is much better for both ambience and food. Although the service was great, the food was just bleh. We coulda had better pizza elsewhere.
If you decide this is still your scene, save yourself some moolah and get $ 100 gift certificates (4 x $ 25) for $ 79.99 at Costco. I picked mine up from the Costco on Coleman Ave by the SJ Airport and they work at all the South Bay FJL locations.

We came here on a Saturday evening and it was jam packed! We had a group of 15 and the waiters were very flexible with ordering additional appetizers and constantly asking them for more plates and utensils. Very impressed!
However, on this occasion, I tried their Chicken Parmigiana and found it to be very disappointing — the chicken breast was awful and the spaghetti was really plain. Wish I had ordered something else. I spent the rest of the evening satisfying my hunger with the fried calamari appetizer.
They have a location in Mountain View and the feel and vibe of the two are very different. Personally, I like the Mountain View one better!

Walk into this place and you automatically see the typical red and white checkered table clothes with a single red rose and baby’s breath!
But then you are greeted with warm, sourdough bread and garlic butter!
How good does it get… but it does!
We ordered the following:
–cheese ravioli with marinara sauce: this was pretty good! the ravioli was very tender and the cheese was just right. the marinara sauce was also just right, not too sour.
–cheese tortellini with alfredo sauce: this was very goood! tortellini was cooked al dente, and the sauce was very tasty too! they didn’t bombard the pasta with hella sauce, but they did bombard the sauce with hella garlic! i had to take a break from eating it because i felt my breath becoming garlic-​y unbearable.
So i give this place a four because of attentive service, yummy freshly baked bread, good pasta even with hella garlic, and very warm/​inviting atmosphere. I will definitely be back!

This local chain is a favorite for fans of family style Italian food. Whether you get the pizzas or pastas, the hearty meal is sure to satisfy your craving. Start off with warm, soft bread to melt the whipped, season butter cream before enjoying entrees such as eggplant parmesan and pasta calabrese. The osso bucco may surprise you in terms of the size of the bone, but the beef could be braised a bit longer to be more tender.
Service is fast, friendly and helpful. The décor and ambiance isn’t as big and cozy as the original in Mountain view, but it’s a simple, clean place to dine at with family. Parking is ample in the lot of the strip mall.