Friendly staff. Nice enough inside... I read the reviews and tried it... I got the lasagna. I did not care for it. The bread was ok. The pasta fagioli soup was not my favorite... It tasted like Latin style Italian. Not sure.... read more

I brought my husband here for the first time for a late lunch. The food was good, it had ALOT of garlic (way more than usual) but it was still edible. The service was great! Our waitress was super sweet. I really enjoy the ambiance. It's dimly lit and pretty quiet! read more

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Take out bogo pizza (tip - to get the bogo deal you have to call in your order, it's not available online) great deal & great pizza. The cannoli was filled upon order, so it wasn't soggy - nice crispy cannoli that was delicious. It's also great they kept the old Lorito's sign! read more

Excellent food! Had the caprese, garlic knots, Alfredo, eggplant parmigiana, stuffed shells and meatballs. Everything was so yummy!!! read more

Franco's Italian Restaurant - 2 Meatballs - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

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ABSOLUTELY THE BEST FOOD IN TOWN! Italian food here is the best. I love everything I have tried and we eat there a couple times a week. 5 stars!!1 read more

The best Italian food around.. From the bread, to the appetizers, entrees and deserts.. I have never had a bad experience here. Service is always good And the ambience is gorgeous and relaxing!! I cannot recommend them enough!! read more

Franco's Italian Restaurant - Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

We never go to a restaurant on opening day because we like to give them time to work out the kinks. We were feeling brave and took a chance at Franco's on opening day. Everything was running like a well-oiled machine! We were greeted at the door by a friendly hostess and taken to a table in the back room. It was a little tight with the pulled out chair from the table behind ours, but doable. Within moments, our sweet server came to get our drink orders and appetizer order. We got bruschetta and garlic knots, which were promptly served. The knots were a little dry, but the bruschetta was delicious. The actual plates and utensils are so pretty! Our dinners came with soup or salad. The pasta fagioli was delicious and served steaming hot. The salad was fresh and delicious with fabulous ranch dressing. Our entrees arrived and were delicious as well. The sausage was wonderful with not too much fennel. The chicken Parmesan was good, nicely cheesy, but I like my own Alfredo sauce better. When we placed our order, we also asked for a small pepperoni pizza to go. That was not on our bill, nor was it mentioned again, so we let it go. Service was attentive and dirty dishes are immediately removed; however, there are things I wish I hadn't seen: crumbs from a dirty table being wiped into a bare hand and that hand not being washed before serving entrees, an employee playing with their watch and then touching the clean silverware on a reserved table... Ignorance is bliss, but hopefully this will be a learning experience since it's only day one. Overall, it was a nice dinner. I think the previous occupant tarnished our opinion because they had an old-school pizza parlor feel before. The vibe from Franco's is more fine dining than comfortable pizza joint. read more

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We had dinner there last night. We have eaten here on several other occasions. My husband is diabetic and had to eat something rather quickly because he was getting shaky and we ordered some bruschetta as an appetizer. He was a bit shaky and dropped some on to the pleather menu. It was soggy or it would not have happened. We apologized and the waiter "Shaun" was very nice a quickly removed it to a side decorative table to lessen my hubbies embarrassment while he took our dinner order. The owner walks by, sees it and literally says, " That's disgusting throw it away". My poor husband was mortified! Several diners heard it. Normally if we received that kind of treatment I would have walked out but we were with another couple. They were equally as mortified! He took a small accident of dropping soggy brushetta and turned into a humiliating event. To be clear, I'm an Italian from Jersey City, if this happened there ..,,, well let's just say ... nope. Even tried to call the restaurant before I left review to give the owner a fair shake. Buddy, true classy Italians don't operate like they are trailer trash, best of luck. read more

My friend used Door Dash to deliver several dishes for our family at the hospital: Chicken Marsala, Stuffed Shells, Antipasto salad and bread knots. We searched to find out where the food came from because it was soooo good!!! Highly recommend Franco's Italian Restaurant. We will be back read more

Franco's Italian Restaurant - Stuffed Shells for 2 - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

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Had heard a lot of positive things about Franco's. I had been to this location when it was Lorito's... and I was pleasantly surprised to see a bright and clean dining room. More diner like than upscale ambiance. Jillian brought friendly and attentive service. The food was all piping hot, tasty and good portions. I would definitely return read more

We stopped in for some food only because of a gift card, we walked out in awe , the food was amazing, the aroma was Italy , the service spectacular and our only regret was we've lived here for 4 yrs n we never visited, that's changing immediately! Great place read more

Great pizza and fast friendly service! Easy ordering for to go and fantastic specials!

I have eaten here twice now and won't be going back. I ordered eggplant parmesan it was the worst I ever ate. I couldn't cut it. It was several thin layers of eggplant over cooked the only cheese and sauce was on top so it was very dry compressed and had 0 eggplant flavor. I honestly kept deconstructing it trying to figure out what I was eating. It was several layers of something co.pressed together with no cheese or sauce so it was dry and hard to cut. Very disappointing. read more

Two of us went here for the first time a few days ago, got there about 5PM. Plenty of tables but by 5:30 it was filling up! The owner I recognized, but had been unaware, is the gentleman that used to greet you and was a hands on owner at Francesco's in Summerfield. That peaked my expectations as that was a favorite when we lived in that area. Our waitress was knowledgeable, explained several favorites, was attentive throughout the evening and a pleasure to work with. The menu is extensive, all the Italian favorites and many other choices. Dinner include soup or salad, I had the red pepper and sausage bisque which was different and delicious. My friend has the pasta fagioli and enjoyed it, hot, crispy bread and garlic olive oil was served with the soup. Entree wise, she had chicken Alfredo,and I had linguine with clams. The clams were chopped and there were almost too many. Unfortunately, and this is a personal opinion, service was too quick. We were not close to being finished with the soups when the entrees were served. Nice place, good food. I hope they are successful. Trying pizza next!! read more

One of our go to's. Fresh food, great staff, clean, and yummy. The desserts are home made. We recommend Franco's for lunch or dinner.

The food is good if you get the right things. I had the chicken parm and it was a little under flavored but I asked the waiter for some seasonings and she was more than happy to bring some. We had an amazing waiter with a great personality and the place was filled with people who are joyful and willing to joke. Highly recommend for a good time with friends or families looking for Italian food. read more

First time ordering food from Franco's-Got BOGO cheese pizzas and Italian antipasto salad -It was the best pizza I've had in Ocala and the salad was not only pretty but was delicious! Would highly recommend and look forward to trying other menu items! read more

The food was good. Have eaten in & taken out. Consistently good. The one thing that upsets me is they charge a surcharge for credit cards. Hardly anyone carries cash. I use my debit card which is not supposed to be charged the surcharge. It probably won't make me stop eating there but it does make me pause. read more

Favorite places to enjoy meals with friends and family start with the first impression of walking through the door, the ambiance and the experience you have with your server. 5 Stars, I highly recommend! The moment you walk through the door, the owner, Franco greets you and seats you. You feel very welcomed. Every server we have had has been very attentive and friendly. Even when I pick up my to go pizza, David who makes our pizza is so kind and friendly, you just feel at home. Every entree we have had has been excellent! We have had almost everything on the menu. Franco is so kind and gracious. We drive past many restaurants to go to Franco's because the experience is the best! read more

The Ribeye! OMG! It's an absolutely amazing, full of flavor, melt in your mouth, dream Service is always the best, the atmosphere is perfect. read more

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This was an unexpected and pleasant stop while we were in Ocala looking for dinner. We had planned to get dinner at another restaurant, but the wait was too long so we came here and we were so glad that we did! The service was slow at first because they were busy, but the owner and his grandson were so nice! We got the spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti bolognese, and a plain spaghetti with marinara on the side for a picky eater. It was fabulous. They also delivered us bread and oil after we got our main dishes, but it was so good, we didn't mind it coming late. The drinks were well made and paired well with the meal. The ambiance was not bad. Very glad the other restaurant option didn't work out, as this was so good! read more

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Love Franco's pasta cooked like a Italian al' dente,the Veal is real and delicious the Eggplant Parm.is wonderful, the bread roll and salads too ,Franco is hands on in the kitchen cooking 1 min. Then walking round tables checking on his guest dinners and saying hello its Italian for me that's all I need read more

I love their pizza. For take out 2 for 1. What a deal! Their soups are great. It is a great meeting place in our neighborhood.

Ordered chicken scarpariello and was totally disappointed the chicken was small pieces I had more chicken in chicken soup and for what I got it was overpriced--also tired of the owner coming back at the end of the night asking s to do a good review read more

What a great find in a strip plaza. We were greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread, which was delicious! Two had hot sandwiches (chicken parm and meatball) which they both loved. The other two of us had some of the best eggplant parm I've ever had! Prices were so reasonable as well! read more

No pictures--so sorry. This was an excellent place for lunch. We ordered off the lunch menu and I was happy with the portions. My husband ordered the chicken piccata. It was so lemony and delicious. I had the eggplant Parmesan but traded my penne for spaghetti. Our server Sean was attentive and informed. We splurged and got the Lemoncello cake. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. We will be back to try the pizza. read more

Ocala needed a high quality Italian restaurant, and Franco's meets the requirements. We have had multiple meals and all were delicious. The pizza and calzone were some of the best this side of Brooklyn. read more

Franco's is the best authentic Italian restaurant we've had in a while. The food, service and ambiance are amazing. I especially love their every day BOGO deal on take out pizza's and calzones. I love calzones and my husband loves their pizza so we can mix & match. A must try for sure!!! Lisa F. read more

This place is Amazing! Old world Italian food. Staff is fabulous. Also great hand tossed pizza deals.

Excellent, excellent, excellent, service, food, wait staff, portions, and price. Start to finish. We will be back

Always great here!! Service is on 100.. Sean was a great waiter.. his attendance to the table and plated my too go box for me..

Service was friendly and fast. The food arrived in a reasonable time frame, even though the restaurant was busy. Everything was fresh and hot! Our party had chicken piccata, stuffed shells (added meatballs), and a meat lovers pizza. The dinners came with salad and bread, and the dipping oil was fabulous! The salad dressings were also delicious. The only reason I'm not giving five stars is that the marinara sauce was a little sharp for our taste. But the overall experience was very pleasant. Happy to have this as an option for great Italian food in Ocala! read more

Always a delicious meal with excellent service. We had Sean serve us the last couple times and he is the best. Good value also. We like the seafood dishes best. read more

Best Italian food I have found in 20 years in Ocala. The bread, ravioli, pizza and veal parmigiana are sensational. The service is also usually top notch. read more

Place is much bigger than it looks, service is top notch. Our server was great! Food is excellent great night out! read more

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Food was soggy, wet, so salty! I ordered the Bronzino for lunch. Not a good choice at all. I also ordered the cannoli. It was not like they use to make them. The side salad was good. Other items might be good but definitely not the Bronzino. And yes I did tell them. read more

I thought the food was good and service as well was very good. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that they didn't have a full liquor license. Otherwise all good. I've been there several times. read more

Visited this restaurant over the past weekend, arriving around 5pm Saturday evening. Had always loved the previous establishment, Loritos, which sold a year or two ago. First impression - the interior is warm, bright and clean. Thumbs up. They offer tables only seating, which is fine. Our party of two was seated at a six-top, which I thought was odd, but at the time, we didn't question it. The place was not super busy at the time. We ordered drinks and then our meals. Eggplant Parmesan and spaghetti bolognese were our mains. We had a salad and the roasted red pepper and sausage soup (sounded weird, but was pretty good) We were eating our starters and our main courses were brought out. I don't know about you, but this annoys me. This clearly shows that the server was not paying attention to the progression of our meal. So, the main course dishes left to the side, we finished our starters. Our mains were both tasty, although my eggplant parm became a bit soggy while I finished my starters. Their red sauce is very good. So, when finished, we decided to order a tiramisu, to share, and coffee. We finished up and were sitting talking when our server approached us, and very apologetically asked us to leave or we could move to another table because that had people waiting for a large table. I was quite shocked! We did not want to move, or to make a scene, so we left. Closing comments - food was good, but please set your parties accordingly, there were several two-top tables available when we arrived. It was quite rude to be asked to leave or move. You might ward off customers who usually don't appreciate that sort of treatment. Remember we are the folks coming into your establishments keeping your businesses running. read more

The restaurant just opened. There's going to be hiccups that need to be worked out, so I'm not going to review the front counter service for pick-up orders with the exception to 1 thing. On the order, we requested "extra bake". What we got on both pizzas was the toppings we requested + bacon on both; not well done pizzas. On to the food: We ordered the BOGO takeout 16" up to 4 toppings and a side of meatballs. With tax, this came out to ~$33. I figured my first visit should test the basics of pizza and the coveted meatball before I delve into the main courses. The meatballs were actually good. Firm, dense (but not so much that you needed a steak knife to cut through) and very flavorful throughout. The marinara sauce however lacked garlic and could have been a touch sweeter...I'll get back to that in a second. The pizza unfortunately was horrible. The dough was dry and bland. I felt like I was eating matzoh bread as the pizza crust! The sauce too lacked any flavor! No garlic, no basil, and it tasted like straight up NON-San Marzano tomatoes...just like the marinara for the meatballs. The toppings were OK. The pepperoni lacked depth of spices. The onions, bell pepper and olives for an extra bake (not bacon) were still a tad on the raw side and not cooked all the way through. I hope the restaurant owners and managers see this as constructive criticism and oversee the pizza operations a tad better. I also think that as the new vibes wear off and the staff gets more "seasoned" (sorry for the pun) that hopefully the pizzas will be of higher quality. I will give them a second chance and update this review. read more

Food is ok but check your takeout orders before you leave....haven't had one yet that was correct....