Francescos

Used to be a favorite place of ours. Still agree the food is wonderful but the service was not. I ordered chicken Parmesan and my boyfriend ordered tortellini prosciutto. My order came out as shrimp Parmesan and his came out as spinach tortellini with mushrooms. As I understand humans make mistakes, I told our server. She said she put it in correctly and we were wrong. Well, since I ate part of a shrimp shell, I explained that I was not mistaken. The «manager» came out. We reordered and were served our «corrected“meal. My chicken parm came out without the side dish of pasta and the tortellini came out incorrect again, as spinach with mushrooms instead of peas and prosciutto. I requested the manager. Now, the server was very apologetic. The «manager» blasted her in front of customers and never came to our table. The «manager» was also serving tables so I’m not sure that was his true position. If he has time to yell at her he could have had time to apologize for the second set of mistakes and at least offer a correction of sorts without embarrassing her. I then felt bad for even saying anything at all. So, if you want decent Italian and don’t mind the possibility of receiving a different dish– give it a whirl. For us, we will not be returning to one of the places we used to enjoy most.

Great take out option, all pastas were tasty and reasonably priced, a good find in this area. Fed a family of 8 for less than $ 70.

Was there for dinner Wednesday, I had the lobster ravioli in a tomato cream sauce, it was awesome, very cozy atmosphere and friendly staff, it just smells good when you walk in.

I love Italian food and I really love Italian food done right and it is every time at Francesco’s ! The staff is always attentive and friendly. It’s my go to for Italian and I recommend it to everyone! I’m an Italian NYer so i have high standards and they exceed them. !

A small pizzeria type restaurant; not elegant, but great NY type Southern Italian food. Pizza was excellent; thin, crisp crust and very tasty. Other food we tried was like home made. I recommend this place when you are hungry and do not want to break the bank.
Service was good and servers were friendly. Plenty of parking in this small strip mall on the SE corner of Weber and Beneva.
Enjoy!

As soon as we walked in, we could smell tomatoes and garlic!
The bread basket had various breads. Their garlic bread tasted great in the dipping oil with herbs and balsamic vinegar.
I had the veal parmesean and penne pasta. The marinara sauce was sweet and had nice tomato chunks. My boyfriend had the veal Francaise, which had a nice lemon and garlic flavor.
Our waiter was attentive and very nice. We sat in the back, where its really cozy. The next time I will take pictures.

Never been more disgusted with a restaurant in my life. Me and fiancé have been going to this restaurant for over a year, and taking family in friends there MULTIPLE times. A couple months ago we ordered a carry out and they got my order wrong, no big deal. I called back and they told me they «wrote my name down» and next time I ordered they would replace it, perfect. That’s what I would expect. So today me and my fiancé called back to place a carry out and they told me they «couldn’t find my name anywhere.» Spoke with the manager and he told me there’s «nothing I can do.» I wasn’t expecting much, maybe a free appetizer or something. Something to say hey, «we messed up, we appreciate your business, we’ll try and make it right.» But NOPE. He didn’t care, he wanted me off the phone. I am disgusted, literally disgusted. Not only have they lost me as a customer for life, I will never bring another person to their restaurant EVER again. You made a mistake, no big deal we’re all humans, just fix your mistake.

Great local pizza restaurant. Pizza was great, Italian wine good and priced well. Service was huge.
Lots of local clients and many pizza takeouts. Will be back.

I’m one of those people that relies on Unilocal for making a good food selection but I have never written a review. I’ve lived in Sarasota for six years and I’ve tried probably every pizza place in my area. I started off going to Francesco’s for pasta but decided to get the pizza last night and it was phenomenal. Best pizza in the city. I’ve ate here probably six times now and am blown away every time. It’s hard to believe that this place has any negative reviews.

Well I don’t want to be too harsh but here goes. Our night there was not a good one.
Very small place had to wait for table and we understand that but to wait and get horrible service that was the last draw. Extremely
Noisy in there and the tables are cramped together very close not very relaxing .
As for the food it was just average at best
nothing to brag about. Now we can say we
have been there. Prob won’t go again!

Great service! Would recommend the Margherita pizza. Smaller and quaint, away from the bigger restaurants near the water.

Best pizza and eggplant parm hero ever!!! We came here last year on vaca too and had to make a return trip :) we may even go again before heading home! Yum!!!

I really don’t want to be harsh, but my standards for Italian food are pretty high. My mom and grandma are excellent Italian cooks and we have some solid restaurants in Boston. The food at this place was like when you were a kid, and you would go to a friends house and their non Italian parents attempted to make Italian food. I still ate it because I was hungry, but it wasn’t good.
That being said, the staff was super nice. He did recommended the baked ziti, but it wasn’t very baked and came in a soupy concoction of cream and melted cheese. Very strange…
Next time we visit I will try and steer us toward a different place…

This is my family’s go-​to! We either get pizza takeout or dine in at Francesco’s every week. The food truly never disappoints! The pizza is incredible, authentic Italian pizza. They have wonderful specials, too! Try the bruschetta… WOW. You can’t go wrong with any menu options, but my family’s go-​tos are the chicken Marsala, mussels, and special ziti! Small staff that remembers and appreciates your business. This place is 5 stars for sure!

Fabulous place. I wanted to return the next night, it was that good.
Amazing food, excellent service. You might not think it to see the place. Located in a small strip shopping center in a pretty distant quadrant of Sarasota. The place is pretty small, maybe 20 tables.
Small, unassuming local spot, worth seeking out.
Tuesday pasta specials are awesome. You get to choose a pasta type (most are made locally) such as fusilli/​linguini/​angel hair/​gnocchi, a sauce (marinara, pesto, alfredo, etc.), and up to 4 ingredients (e.g., roasted garlic, fresh garlic, peas, meats, portobellos, regular mushrooms, and on and on).
Fresh pasta, fresh ingredients make a huge difference.
Desserts: tiramisu and cannoli were fabulous. The cannolli was fresh-​piped so that the shell doesn’t get soaked. What amazing taste!
Owner behind the counter making pizza, we thanked him for his efforts, so pleased.
We shall return!

Tried pizza take out. Underwhelmed. Sauce ok but toppings skimpy and just ok.
Think we will skip pizza and stick to regular menu.

I first discovered «Francesco’s» late last year via a local direct mail flyer of their menu. Since that time i’ve eaten inside the restaurant like half a dozen times and ordered delivery another half a dozen times.
The specialty pizza’s are original variations mostly not offered anywhere else. (ie Chicken Parm Pizza & Pesto Capricciosa) Although at one point I looked over their website and found numerous bugs and design flaws. I mentioned it on their Facebook fan page which after a couple of weeks they responded thanking me.
The prices are good and the portion sizes are generous on a fair amount of the dishes. The acoustics are a bit loud for such an intimate setting but other than that the décor is classy. Kudos also for the Free delivery with their limited delivery area.

I tried this place last night with two other people. My wife and I agree that this could be the best pizza we’ve had so far in Sarasota. Low grease, great taste, and just the right amount of sauce. I’m even craving the pizza as I write this review so that is a great sign!
The dining area is a little cramped with tables and the Chianti tasted really bad but they serve great pizza. It’s worth a try… I know I will be back for sure!

Thin-​crusted but not crispy pizza. Personal speaking, a little salty for me.
Free garlic breads are delicious. Pizza Flavor – «Everything» size – med $ 17.25
Pizza price from US$ 9.25(small) to US$ 20.25(X-Large)

Tonight – a 5-​star dinner at Francesco’s [*see below]. I’ve eaten there before, but this was the best ever and the first visit since the place was completely redesigned. Nice room. Friendly service. She was a family member. The owners hail from Calabria at the ‘toe of the boot.’
Had the Martha’s Vineyard salad with gorgonzola, sliced pears, pecans and raspberry vinaigrette – very nice blend of flavors. Perfect fried calamari appetizer – a sure sign of a well-​run southern Italian kitchen. Delicious if a bit too salty bruschetta. And baked ziti that they sort of made into a confection – with a pink meat sauce and served with a dollop of ricotta that’s so tasty it could’ve been mascarpone.
*Visited a 2^nd time. The calzone was quite salty and bruschetta was again too salty. Also, the dining room was too warm for comfort. So, I’ve downgraded my rating to 4 stars. I’m still a fan and will return.