Da Franco Trattoria — Restaurant in Sorrento

Things got off to a good start. Breadsticks and bread were decent quality and there was a complimentary amuse bouche that was a small parcel filled with ricotta.

Wine list is small with not many options and no pricing by the glass. No beers listed at all. Cocktail menu gets precedence.

So now to the bad news. Service is slow. I’ve previously used the term glacial to describe slow progress through dishes but this was possibly continental drift level. The moon is moving away from the earth’s gravity well at a comparable rate to the speed this restaurant moves at.

It took nearly an hour to get out our mains. Top tip - if the special is rigatoni don’t be tempted. It was described as simple and in fact it was. Chuck some pasta in boiling water. Dump it on a plate. Chuck some cherry tomatoes and oil on it. And you’re done. 18 euros please. How this took so long to prepare I will never work out. I could do it in 13 minutes assuming dried pasta (which it seems to be). Waiter apologised after about 50 minutes about the wait then asked if we’d like another drink - no I’m not about to reward your inefficiency with more profit.

After finishing the mains it was clear dessert was a no go unless we wanted to witness Sol’s transformation into a red dwarf although we might have got out of the bill due to the heat death of the universe.

It still took nearly 30 minutes between deciding to get the bill and it actually arriving. I’ve been to numerous cities and towns throughout Italy so I’m familiar with the leisurely approach to service but this was something else.

Food - average Service - avuncular with diminishing returns as they realise you’re not a credulous rube Go...

*Edit because of how rude the restaurant's response was. We FOR A FACT did not finish the food. THERE WAS A HAIR IN IT- WE DID NOT EAT THE REST OF IT ONCE WE SAW THE HAIR. Never were we asked how the food was. You PREY on American culture of tipping, as it's the first question asked when we go to pay & they asked our older father, who get's easily flustered with the technology payment. We arrived 15 minutes early to an empty restaurant, since when is that a problem? We would've happily waited until 9:30 for you to be ready. YOU decided to seat us. One of the most expensive meals in Sorrento and the quality of the food was LOW- When you pay that much money per dish, you expect good food & it was not. We would've been happy to pay that much if the food was good. IN FACT we did pay that much at several other establishments where the food was amazing and we left happy. We love good food, but the food here was disgusting. Horrible experience- the worst during our vacation. I highly suggest better restaurants in the area! I also did some research and noticed your "reviews" are fake & from when the restaurant was owned under different management. * I don’t know how this place has such a high rating, I feel like I got scammed. Worst food we’ve had in all of Italy. The food was mediocre & not worth the price. There was a dark curly hair in our veil (we are all blonde) & then at the end they asked us to tip. We spent €250 for family of 4 (no alcohol) and left disappointed and grossed out. Would not recommend. Not an authentic...

PRICING: Reasonable for being in a touristy area. This is a great place to eat at. We live in not so touristy area of Italy so the way we compare if a restaurant is a tourist trap(expensive for no good reason other than location) is by comparing the price of aperol spritz. Theirs cost 6€, where we live it's 2-3€ while the touristy spots normally run up to 10€. The servings are a bit small but again, not too bad.

FOOD: Non traditional but GOOD The first picture attached is a spin on mozzarella stick and marinara sauce. But let me tell you about that SAUCE. It was perfection! Creamy, balanced sweetness and sourness of the tomatoes and it was sooo good I had to clean the plate with some bread. I wasn't as crazy about my stuffed squid but I can tell it was fresh. My husband got the Wagyu which was covered in beschamel like sauce. It was interesting choice of sauce but it all tasted good. My friend got the eggplant parmesan and it had the same good sauce with the mozzarella. And she had the Spaghetti Alla Vongole and she loved it too

DRINKS: the cocktails were not expensive and good My friend is a G&T lover and the raspberry gin they had used smelt so gooood! She was very happy about it. We got Moscow mules and the Americano as well.

In the end, we were given a nice little treat of lemon granitas with pieces of the lemon peels in it. It was VERY lemony and can catch most people off guard. But personally I enjoyed it since I love citrus.

I definitely highly recommend...