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  • Francesco's Ristorante & Pizzeria

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Reserve at Francesco's Ristorante & Pizzeria

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Francesco's Ristorante & Pizzeria
Francesco's Ristorante & Pizzeria

Francesco's Ristorante & Pizzeria Details

  • Dining Style: Casual Elegant
  • Website: http://www.francescos-rist.com/
  • Phone: (407) 960-5533
  • Hours of Operation: Daily: Monday - Thursday: 11:00am - 10:00pm, Friday - Saturday: 11:00pm - 11:00pm
  • Payment Options: AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: Italian, Sicilian
  • Executive Chef: Francesco Aiello
  • Dress Code: Casual Dress
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Banquet/Private Rooms, Beer, Counter Seating, Gluten-free Menu, Non-Smoking Area, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Personal wines welcome, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Private Room, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine, Wine Bar
  • Private Party Contact: Francesco Aiello (407) 960-5533

Getting there

  • Parking: Private Lot
  • Parking Details: Parking in the rear of Building, entrance to Francesco"s at Regions Bank.
A word from Francesco's Ristorante & Pizzeria
In the authentic Italian tradition, we select our simple, whole ingredients and combine them by hand with heart, using the time-honored method of open flame cooking. We utilize the intense heat of our wood burning ovens to lend unique flavor to our food.
From our hand-made mozzarella to our… artisanal pizzas, pastas and salads, we have a passion for quality and pride in our product that we know you'll appreciate. We only use sustainable, fresh, local ingredients. Continued
Foodspotting photos
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerNeighborhood Gem
Diner Reviews
  • "This is the best italian restaurant in all of Orlando. As a foodie, I look for simplicity yet that Aha moment. Francesco's gives you that."
    Dined on 7/30/2014
  • "What a lovely meal we enjoyed recently at Francesco's in Maitland. Knowing the restaurant had been open for several years, it was simply time to drop by and see what all the noise was about. What great service, Italian food, wine, and an overall great night out. It is clearly a NEIGHBORHOOD GEM that I already fear has a loyal and salivating following."
    Dined on 7/29/2014
  • "I invited few of my neighbors for a meal. One of them suggested Francesco's. It was the best place and we had a great time. The server Luis was outstanding! Friendly, eager to please. The food was delicious and did not have to wait long even when the Restaurant was full! Thank you for making our outing a great experience!"
    Dined on 7/21/2014
  • "My husband surprised me with a birthday dinner that included about 20 people. We had a private room that did not cost anything extra. The food, service and ambience, was absolutely wonderful!!"
    Dined on 7/19/2014
  • "Took us an hour to get our food. Very noisy. I've been there several times but probably won't go back for awhile unless it's to sit at god bar for pizza and a salad."
    Dined on 7/18/2014
  • "Sicilian chef/owner Francesco serves up a full array of Italian classics, nightly specials, and the best brick oven pizza you're ever going to taste. His parents make the deserts from scratch, the casada cake is must. The staff are friendly and perfectly attentive, and the atmosphere is lively. My Sicilian father eats here daily when he visits me from out of town. Enough said."
    Dined on 7/12/2014
  • "Francesco's is a very delicious restaurant. The food is pretty consistent and the atmosphere is lovely. The service is OK. It is nice for groups as well as couples. They have a nice little room that looks like it will hold 25 or so people. I would definitely use it for a special group function."
    Dined on 7/12/2014
  • "There were four in our party and we all ordered something different. Everyone said their food was delicious. We ordered a bottle of wine that was recommended and enjoyed that as well. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. We have been there at lunch as well. Food is always good. It was a bit noisy Friday night, but lately all restaurants seem noisy. Not sure what can be done about that. We did make reservations and our table was ready as soon as we walked in. Reservations were made online and I received reminders as well as a phone call from the restaurant."
    Dined on 7/11/2014
  • "We selected this restaurant because our daughter who has celiac disease and is a vegetarian, was visiting from out of town and we needed to find a place that will accommodate her with gluten free food. She requested a dish not on the menu and they willingly prepared gluten free pasta baked with mozzerella cheese, just the way she likes it. My wife and I found our meals delicious and more than ample-we all took home doggy bags. We're happy to know that we have a restaurant that we can visit when she is in town."
    Dined on 7/5/2014
  • "This restaurant might have good food but it is tough to taste through the incredibly bad service we received. Also, we were in a corner table that the restaurant is aware blows frigid air constantly down on the table. Beside the food turning cold immediately upon arrival from it, all of us were icebergs and had difficulty enjoying anything."
    Dined on 7/3/2014
  • "We can always count on a nice evening at Francesco's. This time we met out-of-town friends for dinner. My only complaint is the high noise level on the weekends when the place is crowded."
    Dined on 7/2/2014
  • "While the food is still quite good the last several times I have been there the service has been terrible: slow, inattentive, and disinterested. This last time we had to flag down a server and it was a slow Monday night with plenty of staff ignoring customers just chatting away. The chefs were just as bad. Our food took 45 minutes to arrive and then we had no utensils dispute having asked for them several times. I have given Francesco's enough chances. I won't be returning."
    Dined on 6/30/2014
  • "This was our first visit to this restaurant. A friend recommended that we try it. Both my husband and I were thrilled with the food quality and the excellent service. It is somewhat of a noisy place, but they gave us a quiet table in the back and it was perfect. I would suggest that you request this when you make your reservation if you like less. noise. The wine steward was experienced and selected a perfect wine for me."
    Dined on 6/28/2014
  • "We've been to this restaurant a couple of times for weekday lunch and decided to take some friends on Saturday for lunch. Much to our surprise, they only have the dinner menu for Saturday lunch. That was obviously why the restaurant was not busy at all. Too expensive for lunch using the dinner menu."
    Dined on 6/28/2014
  • "The food, atmosphere, and service were well beyond expectations. We had a wonderful experience."
    Dined on 6/27/2014
  • "Fabulous food and service. Recommended by a friend and we will be doing the same. This is the second time we have dined here and we have enjoyed everything we ordered each visit. Wine list is great, their homemade desserts are a "must have"! Very popular place, for good reason, so make a reservation for peak dining times."
    Dined on 6/27/2014
  • "Our favorite! We truly enjoy the food, wine, service & atmosphere. Servers are very knowledgable about the food dishes & wine list. You know you are going to have good food when the meatballs are perfect!"
    Dined on 6/25/2014
  • "The outside area was quiet and relaxing. Food was wonderful."
    Dined on 6/23/2014
  • "I've been here a few times with friends, the atmosphere and food are great and priced well."
    Dined on 6/13/2014
  • "The hostess set the wine menu down and as she pulled her hand away, she bumped it and it knocked over a glass of wine onto my daughter, who had to drive home - smelling like wine. She barely apologized and didn't bring us back any napkins or towels to wipe it up. The waiter finally came and changed one of the two table cloths and left the other one with wine on it on the table. The food was very salty and the pizza crust wasn't cooked enough. Everyone I spoke to said "try the dessert, try the gelato." Yeah, no thanks. The overall experience wasn't that great. For that kind of money - $70 for one appetizer, 2 entrees and two desserts - no alcohol, I wish I had gone somewhere else to eat."
    Dined on 6/12/2014
  • "I took my mother to dinner as it was my deceased father's b-da (VERY SAD day). The NOISE LEVEL was SO BAD that we could not speak to each other. The lady's in the booth behind us were SO RUDELY LOUD! We mentioned it to our server-He claimed he would ask the hostess to speak with them (obviously he didn't want it to effect his tip). No hostess ever spoke to them so I requested the manager. When I was attempting to explain the situation to the manager, he repeatedly asked me to repeat myself because he could not hear me-I was about 24 inches from him- HELLO-that was the problem. I took my mother/kids to dinner to attempt to honor/remember my fathers memory. Instead we got LOUD, DRUNK ladies ruining the evening cost me over a $100.00."
    Dined on 6/11/2014
  • "Planning my next trip - this time I'm going to try the pizza."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "Ambiance and decor gives the feel of dining in Tuscany Italy. Great selection on wines. Fresh ingredients and excellent service. Menu provides a wide range of dishes to choose from to accommodate tastes from pizza to steak. "
    Dined on 6/3/2014
  • "Reservation was fine. Seated promptly. Our waiter took our drink orders and delivered promptly. Inquired about fish and he said salmon was only fish offered. We ordered mussels for appertizers and the mussels were plump but prepared in a weak thin tomatoe broth with no taste. I had chicken cacciatore' that was served with same weak sauce as was the wheat pasta dish. While eating the table beside us was offered grouper and wine tasting. Our wine was only one choice by glass(Pinot Grigio). We saw our waiter only once after our initial order as food and follow up was delivered by someone else. This place is really busy and has potential if the wait staff improves and food served with some taste. Much better Italian around Orlando."
    Dined on 5/30/2014
  • "Aside from not having Caponata on the menu, food was reminiscent of our time in Sicily. "
    Dined on 5/22/2014
  • "I took my sister to lunch for her birthday, we had never been but had heard the food was excellent, which it was! We each had a glass of wine and ordered off the lunch menu. The only down side to our experience was the server was no where to be found. Someone else brought our food, no one checked back to see if we needed anything, or wanted another glass of wine. When we were finished, our table was cleared, I paid the check, and we sat and finished our waters and conversation. I thought it was rather rude that our server, who never introduced herself or asked if we had dined there before, took the ledger with the signed copy of my credit receipt and cash tip off the table when we were in the middle of our conversation. "
    Dined on 5/20/2014
  • "Would have loved to see a selection of California wines. "
    Dined on 5/17/2014
  • "Great neighborhood gem! I've gone here for lunch and dinner. Both meals were great, decent portions and at a great price! I'm glad a friend introduced me to this place! Try it, you won't be disappointed! "
    Dined on 5/16/2014
  • "Want a real treat? Call two days ahead and get the whole Branzino!!!!"
    Dined on 5/12/2014
  • "Service by Louis was just OK but service was exceptionally slow and food delivery was very slow. The restaurant was not busy at all. I ordered Chicken Siscliano and my mother-in-law ordered Veal Siscliano. Both dishes were very bland and food was not hot appetizers were good. I had on white pants and requested a white dinner napkin instead of black. After asking 3 times, I was given a stack of white cocktail napkins! Poor taste! "
    Dined on 5/10/2014
  • "We love Francesco's and often take out of town friends there. Everyone leaves well fed and we find our guests are more than impressed with how much fun everyone is having."
    Dined on 5/8/2014
  • "Our waitress was hardly around, never said thank you once, and forgot to bring several things."
    Dined on 5/7/2014
  • "This restaurant was recommended to us by 3 people. We tried it on a Tues. to celebrate a milestone birthday. We were very disappointed.Our table for 2 was ignored. The waiter finally found us and said he was never told he had this table.The table remained wet w/ water from our glasses and crumbs from the bread. I flagged the waiter down to please clean our table.I suggested leaving and heading to Antonio's. We decided to give this place a chance;so we stayed. We had the "special" veal 26$. His veal was tasty, but really no more than 4oz. My veal( not the special)was more like 5-6 oz; Bread: ordinary&served at room temp w/a forgettable sauce. There was nothing notable about the meal or the restaurant other than the complete disappointment. "
    Dined on 5/6/2014
  • "It was very hard to find an authentic Italian restaurant until Francesco was recommended to us by a friend. We are so pleasantly surprised and extremely excited. We will definitely go back again and again. We finally found a spot which reminds us of the good food we always have back in Italy."
    Dined on 5/6/2014
  • "Love this place..great pizza. Pasta dishes to choose from. Sometimes it's hard to hold a conversation with friends because of the noise level. Last experience wasn't as good because of our table placement. In the back of the restaurant right next to a server station made it less memorable."
    Dined on 5/3/2014
  • "Recommended by friends and glad they did. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Very good Italian with a diversified menu. The Veal Osso Buco was excellent. Two parties enjoyed the grouper special; the 4th really enjoyed the Veal Siciliano. All meals very tasty, salads were crisp. Shrimp appetizer very good -save some bread to dip into the sauce. We enjoyed 2 bottles of wine during the meal and topped the desserts off with cappuccino. Dessert selection very good, three of us ordered a cannoli - must have been good cause they disappeared within seconds! The wedding cake was extremely tasty and filling. Very casual atmosphere and pleasant staff. Service was very good. Overall a nice experience, will definitely return. Reservations a must."
    Dined on 5/3/2014
  • "my husband loves calamari steak and was told it was good there by the host and server. It was small, fishy and he did not enjoy his meal. Fortunately, we gave him some of our grouper which was excellent!"
    Dined on 5/2/2014
  • "Our prior visit to Francesco's was not good as our orders of spaghetti carbonara were prepared with copious amounts of cream. This dish is traditionally made with NO cream. On Saturday night, I very diplomatically spoke with our server about this before ordering. What arrived at our table were the two largest orders of pasta I have ever seen that were intended as individual servings. More importantly, the dish was expertly prepared, without cream and in fact pleasingly dry from the egg and cheese. The Calabrese Pizza was again delicious."
    Dined on 4/26/2014
  • "Italian food that is authentic and tastes amazing. About a dozen homemade gelato flavors including hazelnut, nougat and coconut"
    Dined on 4/26/2014
  • " Long time Antonio's fan across the street but this place will give them a run for the money. Excellent food and service in a pleasant environment. Maitland now has two great Italian restaurants."
    Dined on 4/25/2014
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