Franchino

Go-​to spot for italian with that homemade feel. Family owned, Mom cooks all the food! Meatballs, Gnocchi’s, Pappardelle and house wine all A+++!

Burrata cheese is wonderful, and highly recommend it.
Valpolicella Classico 2012 to wash it down.
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
Capellini Mare e Monti
Chicken Saltimbocca
all three were ordered at our table and were very tastey, but I’m a sucker for prosciutto so everything with that on it is delicious to me. The Burrata cheese was honestly our favoriter part but everything was good.

Tiny place, family owned. The food I had was absolutely phenomenal. I had Fettuccine Al Salmone and it was absolutely awesome. It blew me away.
Very nice and super attentive staff. I definitely want to come back here. I only write reviews when a place leaves a real impression on me and this place absolutely did.

Linguine con le vongole… W the red sauce. Bombdiggitydiggles
Quaint, warm, family atmosphere … Loved te vibes here.
Finished w tiramisu and the owners daughter specifically explained the meaning of the carry me up cake being traditionally custard.
Wonderful!

Had dinner here Saturday night. A nice family owned sweet little place. Has a few tables and walk ins only. Call in a day earlier if you want to make reservations.
We started with the bruschetta, minestrone soup, prosciutto with melons, and a special that consisted of buratta cheese with eggplant. The best bruschetta ever. The minestrone was flavorful but light on heat. The eggplant didn’t look or taste like eggplant and I am not complaining.
The appetizers turned out to be pretty filling, so we got 3 entrees to share among 4 people. We got the risotto with salmon, the gnocchi with pesto, and penne primavera with veggies. All were awesome. My favorite was the risotto. I loved that the salmon wasn’t overpowering. Portion sizes are pretty good, and sharing worked for us.
We ended with an icecream dessert– a chocolate icecream with a filling of vanilla and hazelnut icecream. It was spectacular. Loved everything

The food is so good here that my nonna would probably slap me across the face for praising it more than her own. Every time I come to SF I have to plan to eat here at last once. The exterior is not flashy so it is incredibly easy to pass by this place without giving it a second thought. Don’t be one of those fools.
You really can’t go wrong here. The last time I was here for my birthday I got and my boyfriend got the chicken Alfredo. He said it was the best pasta he’d ever had. My mother, who lived in Italy for a few years, also boasts that this pasta is some of the best she’s ever had. Definitely the best in America. The only thing I thought was kinda meh was their caprese. Don’t get me wrong it was good, but I’ve had better at mediocre Italian joints.

This restaurant is so good! Me and 3 others went for dinner on a Sunday and I was so impressed. It’s a bit small and in the heart of little Italy. We were seated right away and given water (after requested of course). This restaurant is family run and the daughter of the owner was the one who took our order.
I ordered the pasta pescatore and it was so good! The seafood tasted fresh and the pasta was al dente. The servings were also huge so I was able to take some home.
I definitely recommend Franchino. I left feeling 110% satisfied. Word of advice to anyone planning going in a bigger group and need to split the bill, they only accept 2 cards so make sure to bring cash.

Great meal with friends visiting from out of town. Always cautious in this part of town to not totally fall into a tourist trap. I think this place avoids it. Family run, great food, great service.
To start we had the prosciutto and melon starter. Totally fresh and good.
Mains of a few different kinds of pasta. I think at least the gnocchi, if not all of it, is house made? It was excellent. Perfect blend of sauces and seasonings.
Cheesecake for dessert. Eep. Not a fan of this. Too fluffy and not enough taste.
Charming space, fun experience.

I like to think of myself as a food snob. But then again, I am one of those people who thinks Olive Garden is a great destination for «authentic» Italian food. After my experience at Franchino, Franchino has replaced Olive Garden as my measurement for delicious Italian food.
I have walked through Little Italy, SF many many times in my lifetime and I never knew Franchino existed until my 10,953^th time this past Sunday. The restaurant is a bit hidden and easy to miss. There’s no giant sign in front of their restaurant like Calzone’s and there’s no restaurant hosts gawking at pedestrians to come inside. Franchino is a little secret in Little Italy, like that there are no advertisements for it…
I don’t want to ruin anything for you Unilocalers but if you want a true Italian culinary experience, you have got to come inside Franchino and experience it yourself. This is the place to be if you want to be treated like family!

Really good family owned Italian restaurant. It looks like somewhere the locals go, and not as much catered to tourists or the younger crowd. Restaurant is small and quiet. Felt cozy with the dated décor.
Service was attentive with only one server running the floor. Food came out faster than expected. Capellini and lasagna were both amazing. One of the best lasagna I’ve ever had. Prosciutto appetizer is plain, and not worth the price. For $ 16 you get three thin slices of prosciutto over some cantaloupe and that’s it. I expected more than that.
Entrees were awesome but only four stars because the restaurant smelled bad and bread wasn’t good. It was like waking in a small apartment that had a big dog. There were no signs of pets, but it definitely smelled like it! For the bread, server brought out a basket of old pre-​sliced bread she pulled from a stack against the wall. Fix the odor problem and serve fresh bread please!

Cozy little place in North Beach. We loved everything we ordered. Service was good and the people were super nice.