Franco's Ristorante, Devizes Review

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★★★★☆
4.2
From 9 reviews
89.0% of users recommend this
  • Quality of service

  • Quality of food

  • Value For Money

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EmmaElton's review of Franco's Ristorante, Devizes

“On first appearances, Franco's Italian restaurant in...”

★☆☆☆☆

written by EmmaElton on 03/05/2006

Good Points
The Decor and atmosphere was pleasant - small and cosy.

Bad Points
When we first got there, the staff were rude and unhelpful - they open at 7 and we wanted to check we could get a table (it was about 6.30). We were basically told to go away and come back later, although we just wanted to make sure we could book a table for half an hour later!

We had a garlic pizza as a starter, but this came out burnt.

The food was NOT to a good standard - they didn't use fresh ingredients!

General Comments
On first appearances, Franco's Italian restaurant in Devizes looks lovely. I've been here once before about a year ago, as a large group at lunch time. I would recommend having a pizza, not a pasta, though.



This time a friend and I went to celebrate her birthday. The garlic pizza we had to start came to us burnt - is this a sign of the stone-cooked pizza?!?!



We then ordered two pizzas, both with extra toppings, as the menu says you can request. We asked for mushrooms to be on the Ham and Pineapple style one, but when this came out, the mushrooms were, much to our disappointment, clearly tinned/canned mushrooms. We ended up leaving them, as they not only looked disgusting but tasted rubbery, as you can expect. We were rather annoyed at this, as the menu even says that all pizzas are made fresh then and there, and we really did expect more than rubbery plastic mushrooms. It was a reminder of the bad meals you get from a cheap canteen at a school, which I'm sure you can understand is NOT a good experience!



We got there early, and the door was closed. The opening hours are blocked when the door is closed. A minor detail which is hardly useful to any customer, as you cannot see when they are open/closed! When we returned later the door was open. We went down into the cellar (Girls: don't wear heels to get down the steps!!!) to make sure we could have a table for 7pm that night (when they start serving), which was about 20 minutes away. The woman we spoke to was smoking a cigarette in the restaurant when we got there, and we felt that we were basically got rid of, as it were. We returned just after 7 and asked for a table for 2, to the same woman and young man who were there before. They even asked us if we had reserved a table, something we had tried to do less than half an hour before! When we got our table, we ordered, although the same woman made this difficult again. When we asked for the extra toppings, she made it sound as if it was an extreme chore. As I'm sure anybody will agree, this isn't the kind of attitude you expect when you are sitting down to enjoy a meal!



The pizzas were ruined by the ingredients that weren't fresh, and the mushrooms were obviously straight out of a can, and even the pineapple looked that bit too fake! We were both disappointed, as what was meant to have been a pleasant night out turned into a "hook the plastic of the food" session!



We had a dessert, although for the money I wouldn't recommend it - it was nearly £4 for what was basically one scoop of ice cream with chocolate sauce on it, which was hardly value for money.



I would NOT go back to Franco's. If you fancy an Italian, I would recommend going to Tino's at the Bear Hotel, although it is only open on certain days. The service at Franco's was rude, and the food was not fresh or appetizing to say the least!

  • Under £5

    Average cost per head

  • Once or twice a year

    How often do you eat here?

  • Quiet/Refined

    Atmosphere

  • Quality of service

  • Quality of food

  • Value For Money

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Curiousbathonian's Response to EmmaElton's Review

Written on: 08/06/2009

I found this review helpful because it points to a number of potential problems. We're planning a group meal there and that helps me to decide. I must say, however, that it would have been better to ring the restaurant to check availability/book a table, rather than turn up half an hour earlier. Still, there's no excuse for rudeness on the part of the waiters, and even less for such poor quality ingredients.

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Nimmo85's Response to EmmaElton's Review

Written on: 02/01/2010

I have used Franco's on several different occasions and have had nothing but excellent service and excellent food.
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<br/>The review I have just read does not bear out my experience of this resturant.

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