Antica Focacceria S. Francesco - Torino — Restaurant in Turin

I’ve eaten here twice. The first time the food was 5 star. The second time the food was 3 star. I ordered the chicken with orange sauce. The first time the dish was fantastic. The chicken melted in my mouth. The orange sauce was flavorful, light, not too sweet, just right. It was so good I went back my second time in Torino - a week later. The sauce was still plate licking good, but I think the chicken was day old. I’m guessing it was a left over from the day before. It was tough. Some pieces were too tough to chew. For this reason I highly recommend this place and the orange chicken dish, BUT make sure the chicken is cooked fresh for you. The staff is warm and attentive enough (the right amount - available but not hovering). The location is perfect for a relaxing afternoon. Both times there were troubadours playing music in the square. The first time was an opera singer. The second time there was a violinist. Simply beautiful and enchanting. This is a great place to eat after a visit to the Egyptian museum (which I...

Unfortunately, we did not have a great experience. My girlfriend, sicilian herself, wanted to show me the food of her home island. We had Arancina Norma, Cazzilli, Sfincione palermitano and Pistacchiosa. None of which had convinced us. Arancina had a very hard skin, the Cazzilli were extremely oily and the sweet was not edible to our taste. Seems none of it was freshly made. A pity, as our neighbour's Rigatoni alla Norma looked ver nice. Service was very unmotivated, slow and inattentive. The door permanently open and hence it was cold inside. Even in the end we didn't have to pay for the tart, I would not return...

I am rarely motivated to write reviews unless outrageously positive or negative, but unfortunately it’s the latter for this restaurant. Service OK enough, and waiters/waitresses accepting of our rubbish italien but drinks were not great and really poor food…. Went for aperativo and we got served ‘focaccia’ which was dried roll and unappetizing filling with some cheesy fried finger food which was barely edible. And then on top, 2 euros per person ( including kids….) for a ‘cover charge’ ( ? The knife and napkin). A disservice to proper Italian food and ambience. Avoid at all costs, Turin has much much MUCH...