Franco's Osteria Deli — Restaurant in England

Word has got round about Franco's on Hove seafront near the old King Alfred's Leisure Centre, so it's essential to book of an evening or you'll be turned away - it doesn't take many to fill the place,.which has a buzzy, funky, down-home vibe without the need for the usual overbearing pop music to attempt "atmosphere". Franco himself is in the thick of things and is dead serious about what he does - and some have found his attitude arrogant and dictatorial. That's possibly because he's proud of his standards, and the format is what it is - and he has little patience with those who don't "get it". It's an Osteria, not a restaurant... The format, then, is quite rigid: you have antipasti, pasta and mains (with a specials board) More than two people have to take a sharing menu - two sizes, two prices. The bigger option at £28.50 brings you all the antipasti on the board, a couple of pasta dishes and a main of either fish or meat, a delicious array of dishes arriving one after the other, whatever it is they're preparing that night.. In a sense, you put yourself in their hands - you'll probably have to ask if you want to know what the meat or the fish are, but unless you eat like a horse you won't go hungry. And the flavours! The produce is clearly of the highest quality and everything has a depth of flavour that is quite stunning, on top of which lovely notes of lemon, mint and herbs dance across the palate. On this recent occasion, with four of us opting for the meat, an odd note was struck by a plate containing four pieces of steak, four pieces of sausage, yet three lamb chops - so someone went short. The steak was rump, which if you don't mind chewy meat, was flavoursome, but I find it too much like hard work. .Another criticism would be that a bottle of Puglian red wine (a Primitivo - also known as Zinfandel elsewhere) was of distinctly average quality, and at £33, overpriced, when for example, there is an excellent Primitivio di Manduria at Waitrose, with balance, structure, complexity and length for about £11.They could buy something like this in and sell it on at £33 a bottle, for a better food pairing.and a handsome mark-up. Having said this, it was great evening, in what felt like an authentic atmosphere, the busy kitchen in plain view producing a cornucopia of wonderfully vibrant dishes of an altogether different standard than the usual high street Italian...

The best and most authentic Italian restaurant in Brighton. In the area you cannot find a place as friendly, as good quality and as rustic as this one, even if you spend more.

Normal priced, but the quality is far superior than all the ones with the same prices (I can guarantee after trying all of them) and it is the only one with the nice "osteria" feeling.

It has a SIMPLE menu, which means good quality, fresh products!

It is very pleasant to stay in, despite it is small and not luxurious, because everything is made of real WOOD, with stone walls. This gives a very good energy, and a rustic and natural feeling. The music is very pleasant and quiet, which is a very good point for a restaurant, as most of them play annoying and quite loud music, it is very rare to find a quiet place where to sit and eat.

The kitchen is open so you can actually see how the food that you get is processed, which is another really good point, not common at all in restaurants. I can feel the people working in the kitchen are very dedicated to what they do, this enhances the good energy of the place.

They make EVERYTHING FROM SCRATCH, no readymade sauces, desserts or doughs, which is another thing I really appreciated, as I never found restaurants the area that make desserts from scratch, it was a big relief for me.

The tiramisù was very authentic (I can confirm, as Italian) and very light, I am really impressed that I didn't feel bad at all after eating it. Also loved the terracotta dishes.

With love and...

My mum and I went in for lunch as they had a Sunday 2 for 1 pizza deal going on. We ordered two pizzas under the impression of all the pizzas being under the 2 for 1 deal. When we went to get the bill my mum asked why she was being charged for two pizzas at full price. The owner Franco said that only three pizzas were included in the deal and the one my mum had ordered was not in the deal.

At no point on the menu or during ordering did Franco say that the deal only applied to some pizzas. My mum had said to Franco she didn't know whether to get a spicy salami, one pizza that was in the deal, or the the ham and burrata, which apparently was not in the deal. Franco did not mention that the one she got would not be in the deal. The "only three pizzas were included in the 2 for 1 deal" was not mentioned until we were paying, so we ended up paying double. My mum made a point of saying that she would have ordered a different pizza if she had been made aware of this and the response from Franco was a shrug, no apology for not clarifying this deal after being giving multiple opportunities to.

We can only conclude that Franco wanted the extra £12 more than he cared about being a decent and honest business owner. The pizzas were very good and we had been talking about coming back but after this we absolutely will not. If you do go in on a Sunday make sure that the same thing doesn't...