Great Italian food. The dining is old school fine dining. The service was exceptional. Really love this place.

The shrimp alla casa wasn't the best. It fell flat on flavor. The chicken vesuvio was pretty good.

Stopped in for Valentine's Day with my wife. As it was also Ash Wednesday we were looking for some meatless option's. My wife had a homemade gnocchis which were delicious as always. I normally get the muscles which I would put up against any that I've had around the country. However, decided to go with manicotti al forno. Simple and very tasty. We sat upstairs in their renovated patio area, which was absolutely perfect I love the colorful decor, the vibe and the music. It was very busy but I never felt the service lagged. Everyone was hustling. Marcia the manager came up to check on us, first class move. We don't have a lot of high end restaurants on the south side so we really appreciate Franconellos. We will be back. Soon. read more

Stopped by here while I had some time to kick around. We had an awesome dinner with fantastic drinks. What else can I say about an old-school Italian restaurant with some of your favorites on the menu. I left full as a tick with a slight buzz which is pretty good in my opinion. The service was also decent which I definitely appreciate. The prices were also pretty much in line with what I would expect. read more

I went for a birthday celebration on Wednesday night not busy at all . The server was agitated for no apparent reason. Asking for fresh Parmesan is not hard at an Italian restaurant. The ambiance was classic Italian. The food was meh . Honestly nothing to write home about . Hopefully they have summer dishes I'll try the rooftop read more

Good days and bad days. Food good sometimes and sometimes not. Service good and sometimes not. Pricey! When food is great you don't mind however half the time it's not great. Ambiance is nice when service is good . read more

When your waiter (Anthony J) says "my bad" no less than three times, you pretty much know how the meal is going to progress (or not). Ordered drinks, which were fine (gin + 7Up had way too much ice and very little gin). Hubby ordered the beet salad, I ordered the house salad. As entrees, he ordered the grilled porkchop and I ordered the baked shrimp. FIRST out comes my shrimp. What??! Hubby's beet salad (with minimal beets, I might add) then arrives. Okay, so where's my salad and why did I get my entree before anything else? Waited and waited and then flagged AJ down. I tell him to cancel the salad but he checks and comes back and says "my bad - Chef is making it now"). Salad comes but shrimp is now cold. We waited a very long time for Hubby's pork chop - AJ had to check twice on it (both times "my bad"). It finally arrives, super dry and not tasting remotely like pork. We sent it back. Fortunately, because of Manager Marcia/Marsha, she took the pork chop off the bill and offered us a free tiramisu for Hubby's birthday lunch. She did her best to make it right, but the meal was a disaster. We're not sure if we will be back, as the prices are quite high for such bad service/bad quality. Really a shame. read more

I have tried many a meatball throughout the country. and I have to say after trying the meatballs here I was impressed. their meatballs are so tender which is my preference ,I would come back even if they only had meatballs on the menu. the stuffed peppers were really good also. I also liked the dimly lit ambiance. read more

I really wanted to love this place. Just moved to the Beverly area and someone I met at another Italian restaurant recommended this place. I dined on a Sunday. Was not crowded and got a seat easily. Senior crowd, one family with unruly children. No fault of the restaurant. My waitress, Jill, was great. Very attentive. I ordered steamed mussels in zesty red sauce, calamari and chicken Parmesan. I found 6 mussels in my bowl that didn't open. Let me tell you that a big bowl of mussels is my comfort food. If the mussel doesn't open, it is bad. Don't still serve it to me. Replace it with good ones. The calamari was too lightly fried for me and had no flavor. I should've asked for a lemon to try to liven it up. The marinara sauce was a little watery that they served with it. Because I wasn't feeling satisfied, I ordered the chicken Parmesan. Although it didn't look appealing (the cheese around the edges was overcooked leading to it being hard) it was actually good. The chicken was tender and spaghetti cooked good. The marinara sauce they used in the dish must've been different than what is served with the calamari. It was great. I could only take a couple of bites. Stomach said enough. read more

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Have driven by this place more times than I can remember but never had the opportunity to drop in - we did the other day and are glad. This is a little gem of a neighborhood Italian place on south Western Avenue. The location is near the Beverly and Mount Greenwood areas, so it is an anchor for the south side of Chicago. Our table of two had the Veal Piccata and the Chicken Picatta (both 4 star good but with just a bit too much lemon and capers). For dessert we shared the Tiramisu (5 star stuff and this is how it is supposed to be made). All-in-all we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Service was on point throughout, the bread/oil was plentiful, and the beer selection was excellent. They have a nice bar area for those so inclined, and a private room for other parties or meetings. Nice and roomy inside, the parking lot is a bit on the tight side but can work. Nice relaxing place - give it a try. read more

Perfect place to meet the food and service is great & friendly always a nice time to say hi to friends

Wanted to love it. Showed up for a 715 reservation and was told it would be a few minutes. At 750, I checked back in with the hostess and was finally seated. Bar was great, drinks great, great old school Italian music, old time feel to it. Service was bad! Had to flag down our waiter every step of the way, appetizers, drinks, bread, entrees. Food was just ok. Walking in we had high expectations, walking out, disappointed. read more

I ate here for my birthday. The food was delicious but not better than the drinks. I'm telling you idk if the bartender slipped me a roofie of what lol. Everything was so good it gave me a Euphoric experience. I could taste every bit of seasoning on my chickens. The servers were quick and the food didn't take long to get. Nice place to enjoy a roof top without going into the city. Awesome! read more

Franconello's - Special Birthday Martini maybe Jolly Rancher I think - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ate here for a second time...Hannah was our waitress. We ordered a Pinot Grigio and pinot noir and I saw our waitress put in our drinks immediately. I then proceeded to watch the bar tender do everything around the restaurant besides make our drinks. Hannah apologized profusely, as I watched her stand by an empty bar. You guys need to hire a bartender like her, fast, efficient, and simply the sweetest! read more

Always a great time at Franconello's! The service is amazing, the bartender makes a great cocktail and the food is delicious. I've been many times and have always been pleased with all the above. Can't wait for the newly decorated rooftop to open. read more

This is a nice, warm, long-established local place which appears to attract a nice mix of older and younger customers from the racially diverse surroundings. Based on just one visit, the food was good. Fried calamari appetizer was pretty standard-issue. More worth comment was the "Ziti with Nonna's Sunday Sauce," one of the evening's specials: ziti rigati pasta tubes in a homemade-style tomato sauce with some some visible pieces of carrot and celery and little bits of long-simmered meet (perhaps some sort of chuck roast, though the meat was pale, so perhaps pork ribs?) along with two meatballs, and a sprinkling of fresh basil chiffonade. I asked for it "baked," with melted mozzarella on top. A traditional Sunday sauce would have more meat, but still, It tasted like something someone would make in their home and was more interesting than the usual red-sauce fare you find in many places like this. Some reviews here have commented on slow, inattentive service. I had the opposite problem. The service was very brusque (I had to ask to see the list of specials), and everything came out too quickly. The calamari came out while I was still working on my complimentary cup of soup, and the entree came out before I has halfway through the calamari. There's apparently not a list of wines by the glass, so you can't know what brand you're getting unless you press for the information; you're just told the "house wines are $9 a glass," and what kind would you like? (The pinot grigio and Ruffino chianti were both decent.) Nor was the waiter apparently super knowledgeable. I asked what sort of meat was in the ziti, and he said "Italian sausage," which it clearly was not. Still, he was attentive. Something about the acoustics of the place make it very loud, even when the dining room was only half full and the patrons don't seem especially boisterous. So overall, not the most memorable or relaxed dining experience, but a satisfying meal. I'd come back to try other things. read more

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Great Italian food in my neighborhood. I've recommended this to friends and they love the place too

Great food great drinks and well portioned plus seasoned perfectly .. nice atmosphere too

Food was great! Service was even better. Our waiter Lupe was very attentive along with the rest of the staff. We never had to wait for anything. They were very welcoming and gave a small business hometown feel to the experience. read more

Had a disappointing dining experience at Franconello's. Ordered the Pork Chop Vesuvio. Was spiced perfectly, unfortunately the pork chop was overcooked, making a potentially good dinner into a below average dining experience. read more

I understand that this is a neighborhood favorite...I also understand being short staffed. However. We had 2 groups of 5 people. Coincidentally black. Not only did we wait FORTY-FIVE MINUTES to even get WATER in dirty glasses, but the server never came by to acknowledge us and let us know she was behind. I have no words. This should have been a great dinner for our friends birthday. But it wasn't and we had to go down the street to another restaurant that serves us immediately. read more

Solid authentic food, seasoning was to be desired. The ambience is good and so was the service.

This place is fantastic! We've eaten dinner here a couple times, and the food and the service is excellent. And most recently we rented out their banquet room which is beautiful and has just about everything you need for a small banquet, including a bar. Marcia is the restaurant manager and she is so pleasant and super helpful. Also, Efram was excellent. They both made us feel like everything was covered. Definitely going back! read more

The food was very good. The individual portions were enough for two people (especially the deserts). The reason for the very average review is the service (or lack there of). We were a table of three with reservations for a Sunday afternoon. The dinning room was less than half full. We were seated with hardly a "hello" and got bread and water almost immediately. However, that was the high point of our service. The waiter took our order and it was delivered by staff. That was the last time the server stopped at our table, unless we flagged him down. Our drinks went completely dry. The salad (for 2) was spit between myself and one of my guests and the staff (in order to clear the plate from the table) took it upon himself to dump the remaining salad on my plate. We ate our fill and sat with empty glasses waiting for someone to ask us if we wished desert. I could go on but at this point I'm sure you get the idea. read more

If you want poor service, wait 1 1/2 for overcooked food then come here. And rude managers who don't care about your complaints then come here. read more

One must be pretty hard up or just doesn't like food; to eat here. Ambience boarders on a rest room without the mints. So dark one can barely read the menu, a menu whose type face is so small you need a magnifying glass to read. Waitstaff that boarders on Zombie-like. Again, so dark you are not safe entering, leaving, or moving about the shamefully tight dining area. The food it self? Simply put, bland, dull, and un- inspired; similar to the watered down drinks. Italy should ban this restaurant, from using Italian to describe what it serves. read more

Shrimp a la casa app I believe? Delicious. Had the Manicotti--delicious. Wife had chicken breast meal with spinach and pasta. Very good. Kind of had that fried chicken taste . This place never disappoints. Especially the spunky redhead bartender/waitress Marsha. She's the best read more

Franconello's - Special for the night - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Gave us the wrong order on the appetizer instead of stuffed sausages we got sausage and peppers. The Grandma's meatball was $15.00 for one which was very bland. My wife ordered spaghetti Diablo and got regular flavored marinara. Not a great evening. read more

Took my mom here for Mothers Day, Victor, my server, was really great! He explained everything on the menu really well and was very attentive! He made this day with my mom really special! The food was also really Thanks Victor! read more

This place is amazing! Staff is friendly and super tentative. Their specials change weekly, but never disappoint. read more

Franconello's - Parmesan crusted filet with spinach - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I remember first hearing about this place as a kid and my parents would often eat here for their anniversary or special occasions as it's a little too expensive to frequent this restaurant more than a few times a year. Then when I grew up and my palette became a little more refined, or as mother puts it, I became obsessed with garlic, I learned how wonderful the food here is. While I can still only afford a few visits a year, I try to make em count. Don't have too many special occasions too celebrate, but my mom is always happy to accompany me to dinner here. We both love the bread here and how it's presented. We make sure to get extra to take home with our leftovers. While I can remember certain dishes, I've never had a bad visit or bad plate. Mother often gets the chicken piccata and if I don't order it, I'm usually jealous. Service is always solid, even during my last visit in the summer and the AC wasn't working. Still had a wonderful time. While they place was a little short staffed at the time, the waitress and host worked extra hard to to be attentive and give great service. I know it may seem a little odd that I such a high star rating without remembering too many dishes and talking about the bread, but the bread is that good, and so worth it. read more

This place has been around for a few decades and I cannot believe it took me so long to leave a review. Absolutely delicious pastas, fresh and full of flavor. Two of my favorite dishes are Sausage Franconello and Orecchiette! Never disappointed. My son loves their carbonara, and he makes a mean one himself! read more

Let me start off by saying that the service here was amazing. We had a young, good looking, Italian man serve us and he was wonderful, warm, polite, attentive and just a great people person. His service was so superb that my boyfriend and I stayed longer than we usually do just chatting and sipping our after dinner martinis. The food was very fairly priced with generous portions . Everything we ordered was delicious. The vesuvio potatoes were by my favorite thing of the night next to my martini. And the dessert was something to remember, chocolate lava cake with caramel gelato. Its a great place with intimate dinning. I'll be back this summer for sure. Hopefully they have the rooftop patio open for dining when the weather is better. read more

Franconello's - Chocolate lava cake with caramel gelato and cosmopolitan martini - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I should preface this post by saying the issues we experienced tonight were minor, in the grand scheme of things (1st world problems). However, as someone who has worked in the industry, and whose family members make a living in the industry, our experience tonight was completely unacceptable. Also, as I finish this post, I am infuriated at how long it took to describe the absolute nonsense that we experienced tonight. We have been coming to Franconellos for years. The food is good, if a bit overpriced. The service is usually good. We even had our second born daughter's Christening party at Francenello's, on the rooftop. Tonight, we experienced possibly the worst service I have experienced at a "fine dining" establishment in my life. My wife and I took our two girls and her parents out for our anniversary dinner. Our in-laws do a ton for us so we thought it would be appropriate to treat them, as well as the girls and ourselves. Our server (Roque) took our drink order about 10-15 minutes after we were seated (2 wines and 1 mixed drink). We asked for kids waters (in a closed container). He came back about 10 minutes later to ask if we wanted an appetizer. We asked for calamari and again asked for water in a closed container for our girls. We also asked for a pineapple juice for our youngest and a chocolate milk for our oldest, as well. Our adult beverages arrived shortly thereafter - about 20-25 minutes after we ordered them. We against asked for water for our girls and their respective drinks. We also placed our dinner order. Another 20 minutes passed and our youngest spilled a full adult glass of water. I will own a parenting fail, and I corrected my daughter. However, at this point I was furious. Our girls had not received their drinks and our youngest was thirsty and had tried to grab a full glass of water, spilling it all over the table. On top of this, we were seated in the first booth the second closest table to the hostess station. The hostess had watched as we tried to use towels to stop the spilled water from spilling off our table, and she DID NOT MOVE. The waiter came over and we asked for napkins, new place settings, and another glass of water. He brought place settings and napkins. Our drinks quickly became empty and we could NOT flag him down. Another 20 or so minutes passed and another staff worker brought us our food (he was very nice). We asked for drinks and he said he would get our waiter. As we started to eat I tried to flag down our waiter. I told my in-laws and wife I would give him 5 more minutes or I would go to the bar (our drinks had been empty for at least 15 minutes). Then I went to the bar (at this point furious about not only the service but the price of our terrible experience). My entree had not been touched and was getting cold as I went to the bar to get our drinks. There was no bartender! A man named Mariano asked me to wait a minute. :) A few minutes later he came and asked me our order then asked me to wait again so he could deliver a drink. He then came back, and called for the hostess and asked her her age (and then told her she wasn't old enough to deliver a drink because she is 18). He delivered that drink, then came back and asked me what my order was again :) I then made a complaint to him about our complete experience - our server Roque was just walking up and overheard. Mariano promised to "check on us", and charged me for our next round (2 wines, 1 mixed drink). I tipped 20%. Staff (not our server) cleared our plates,etc. Our server who had been too busy to check on us throughout the night now seemed to be avoiding us. I flagged him for the check (we would have ordered another round and desert for our girls). He brought our tab. I immediately put my card in the folder. 15 minutes passed and I passed my father in law the folder to place on his side because the girls were getting antsy and the check had not been picked up. All-in-all, this was the worst service we have ever experienced - EVER. From our server, to the "bartender", to the hostess. They didn't even comp our kids chocolate milk or pineapple juice that arrived an HOUR late, after reminding our server twice of our order, and then having major (preventable)spill. We tipped over 20% because it's the right thing to do, but this was literally the most aggravating restaurant experience our family has ever encountered. Our anniversary felt ruined and we didn't even get comped for a hour-late kids chocolate milk :) read more

One of the best Italian restaurants in the area! Our food was phenomenal, and I'm sad that my first and only experience was shortly before we moved away! Next time I am back visiting, I would definitely make a point to stop here for some delicious food. read more

Honestly, one of the best Italian food restaurants in the City of Chicago. The staff and service are always top notch whether you're dining in or taking out. We have literally never had a bad plate of food from this place in over 20 years of patronizing. One of our go to personal favorites is the baked penny with a side of their custom ground Italian sausage. Another treat is the chicken Vesuvio and the 10 oz filet. But honestly, anything you have here is going to be great. Be sure to finish it off with some of their Tiramisu. Bon Appetit read more

Franconello's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great neighborhood gem! The restaurant has a nice vibe and the service is excellent. The food is delicious and portions are quite large! The roof top terrace is also a very nice spot to dine. Furthermore, the restaurant is helping feed hungry first responders during this pandemic and is quite a class act! read more

Franconello's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My family and I are huge fans on Franconello's and have been supporting it for years. Its the only fine restaurant in the area (with a full bar). The food is always delicious with HUGE helpings (see morbid obesity in the area). But that is not a complaint, I always have leftovers for two more meals. My biggest complaint has nothing to do with the food. The volume on the ringer of the phone at the maitre d station IS ALARMING. Our last two dinners were violently interrupted each time the phone rang. And the dining room and bar were 10-20% occupied. There has to be a way to turn this down, or to add a flashing light at the station and/or at the bar area when the phone rings. It really is unpleasant. PS. Marcia at the bar is a rock star! read more

This is my second time eating at this resturant. This time the service was very poor. When making the reservation i made it know it was a birthday. I reminfed to hostess upon our arrival again an both times he said he would notify the wsit staff. I also notified the waiter. Our server was not at all observent: no water sliw taking our orders, no soda refill inless requested. We were the first people aeater, another large party received their food prior to us. gir $250 the service sucked!!!!!! read more

Great dining experience. Our waitress, Jill, was very efficient . Food was so good especially the ceasar salad and chicken vesuvio. Only complaint was the restaurant telephone ring was so loud, practically knock you off your feet. Great place with exceptional service and food. We will be back for sure. read more

Franconello's - Great Cabernet, Nero D'avola 2011 - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois