Francesco's

[RedChariot]

Has anyone tried this restaurant? This is the one that replaced Taverns Red. What are your thoughts?

[CFrance]

If you do a search on TOTV, you will come up with some answers. There was one thread on Francesco's here https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/restaurant-discussions-90/francescas-108722/. I haven't read it, so can't recommend it, but it might give you some idea of others' views on the resto.

[Shirleevee]

Has anyone tried this restaurant? This is the one that replaced Taverns Red. What are your thoughts?


We had dinner there three times and loved it! If the parking lot is any indication, lots of people feel the same. Just a note I never order anything with tomato sauce, made an exception for the Linguini with seafood and was not disappointed. Husband orders from the appy menu and loves the broccoli rabe (with sausage) and the salmon salad!

[Steve9930]

Has anyone tried this restaurant? This is the one that replaced Taverns Red. What are your thoughts?

Had diner there with 6 other friends last night. Everyone enjoyed their meal. The gentleman there I saw was the same person I used to see up at Pasta Fair in Belleview. I believe the restaurants are financially connected. Also I always had a good meal up at Pasta Fair. Meal was very good I had the Italian Trio, Lasagna, Chicken Parma, and Ravioli with a salad, $11.

PS: And very good garlic bread came with the meal. Don't tell your Cardiologist it was basted with butter.......But I did dip it in olive oil.

[RedChariot]

Thank you for the responses. Although the link gave a lot of negative, the 2 positives here have encouraged us enough to give it a try. Been here over 2 years and still looking for good Italian like Jersey.

[Bogie Shooter]

Thank you for the responses. Although the link gave a lot of negative, the 2 positives here have encouraged us enough to give it a try. Been here over 2 years and still looking for good Italian like Jersey.

The Villages Gourmet Club Restaurant Review Site (http://thevillagesgourmetclub.com/)

[Steve9930]

Thank you for the responses. Although the link gave a lot of negative, the 2 positives here have encouraged us enough to give it a try. Been here over 2 years and still looking for good Italian like Jersey.

I don't know what the negatives you read were but the way I always looked at it, its one meal and I can make my own judgments. Some people are really finicky about the food they are served. I have friends that nixed a restaurant and when I tried it I was very pleased. Its just one meal. They have a number of specialty pizzas that looked good. Is it a five star restaurant no, but its good food at a good price and the service was very good. If you don't like the food then you should tell the server and see if the restaurant corrects the problem. If it happens again then I take it off the list. This one is on the list for me with no marks against it. Count the cars in the parking lot. Always a good indication of the quality of the food. If I'm looking for a good lunch I look for maintenance trucks in the parking lot at lunch time. When your working hard you want a good lunch with lots of food. I also have had some of the best meals in restaurants that from the outside you would have never guessed the food was that good.

[marianne237]

Steve9930: We're with you. Look for the places that the locals and workers eat at...you usually will not be disappointed.

[OBXNana]

We like to check tripadvisor.com when we travel and eat out. Then we weigh what we read. Have not checked on this restaurant.

[WAC2371]

I stopped in on Sat. at 6:00 pm and managed to find a seat at the bar. Alice was behind the bar and seeing her there, I know the service and drinks will be great. The place was very busy but all I can say is the service at the bar was 1st rate. There was also a gentleman behind the bar so the 2 of them had things flowing smoothly.
I really wanted to try their meatballs but was unable to find them anywhere but on a pizza.
So I had Chicken parm ($13) and it came with a salad. The meal was very good and it looked like the pasta portion was going to be to small. In the end it was a fair serving size. Alice also brought a warm demi loaf of bread with garlic infused olive oil.
All in all ,the value was very good and there were other options available in that price range too. As I was leaving , a party of 26 had gathered in the parking lot and waiting to be seated. At that time it had slowed down inside but I always think going out with a group that large is going to be tough to enjoy. It's just to large of a group.

[TonyDi]

Went twice. Lunch was OK. Dinner left something to be desired. Wedding soup OK. Salad terrible. To each his own. It's not New York City, Long Island, or North NJ.

[Patty55]

Went twice. Lunch was OK. Dinner left something to be desired. Wedding soup OK. Salad terrible. To each his own. It's not New York City, Long Island, or North NJ.

Have you tried Mezza Luna?

[zcaveman]

Is there an online menu for Francesco's? I can't seem to find one.

Z

[CFrance]

Is there an online menu for Francesco's? I can't seem to find one.

Z
I couldn't find one either, but there is a pretty good description of the menu, with prices, here The Villages Gourmet Club Restaurant Reviews Page 2 (http://thevillagesgourmetclub.com/page2.html#F)

[zcaveman]

I couldn't find one either, but there is a pretty good description of the menu, with prices, here The Villages Gourmet Club Restaurant Reviews Page 2 (http://thevillagesgourmetclub.com/page2.html#F)

Sounds good. Worth a try.

Thanks,
Z

[Bonny]

They also have a FaceBook page for those of you on FaceBook.

[marianne237]

Hope they kept the creamy garlic dressing...a Midwest favorite and hard to find here.

[skyguy79]

Is there an online menu for Francesco's? I can't seem to find one.

ZFrancesco's expects to be launching a website in about a week and their menu will be available in PDF format for download.