Franzina Trattoria — Restaurant in London

Yesterday night me and my partner decided to go to Franzina Trattoria, with very high expectations, as my partner is Sicilian.

When we came into the restaurant, our first impression was fantastic, the decoration, the open kitchen and the terrace were stunning. We needed to wait for a few mins until there was a table available, but the other clients queuing with us, gave us an amazing introduction about the restaurant and menu, as they were both regular clients. By this point, we were already feeling in Sicily… the smell of the seafood, the friendly vibes of everyone, the amazing selection of music…

After a 10min waiting (which went very fast as the other clients entertained us explaining us the menu and all the special plates we must try), we’ve got our table, and the fantastic waitress from Puglia took our order. She gave us an amazing service, taking care of our table from beginning to end.

We ordered Arancina al Pistachio, grilled King Prawns and two big plates of pasta: Nero di sepia and Frutti di Mare. What can I say? My partner almost cried when trying every bit. It was unbelievable, every single bite of every plate was PERFECTION. The arancina, perfectly smooth on the inside, and súper crocante on the outside! Perfectly cooked and full of pistachio cream. It felt like walking the streets of Palermo on a very sunny day! Just pleasure!!! The King Prawns were perfectly cooked, and the two plates of pasta left us with no words. We almost couldn’t finish it, but it was so good, we finished all!

We finished with a gorgeous Pistachio Tiramisu that really stole our hearts 🤤

The chef, Pietro, was not only one of the best Italians chefs we know, but he was also an amazing host, interacting with the clients while cooking the most amazing plates!

Everything was a 10, we were genuinely impressed by every single detail. No doubts, THE BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT IN LONDON, and we will come back for sure! Super recommended for any single occasion! From now on, every-time we want to eat Italian, we’ll come back to Franzina Trattoria!

Thank you so much to...

The moment you enter the place, just close your eyes, take a breath and instantly you are teleported straight to Sicily.

Just relax, your journey has just began.

The cosy and lively atmosphere at Franzina Trattoria is inspiration to get social, to get to talk with your friends, forget your phone and socials for a solid 2 hours while everything else is looked after and taken care of.

The stuff is polite, gentle, and yet shows that unseen wit that you can only experience in the southern of the Italian islands! Pietro, unreplaceable Host, is a knowledge, precise and passionate Chef, that carefully chose his menu to deliver nothing short but True Sicilian Food.

The food, is the true star here, every single bite is a roller-coaster of flavours, all perfectly balanced to deliver the wow factor. that wow factor you appreciate regardless where you come from, you just know that you will fall in love by the end of the dinner.

Quality and integrity is a core element of Pietro's cuisine, recipes are classic from Sicily's heritage, the perfect marriage of street food and grandma's food. that mind-blowing bite that makes you lose 30/40 years in a go and you find yourself surrounded by your family on a hot Sunday lunch. This goes all the way, from starters to desserts, nothing excluded.

The selection of home made pasta is of another level, indulge yourself with Black-quid sauce pasta or treat yourself to the finest with a special of the day with Wild boar ragu, the result is same! Spectacular!!!

The desserts selection is surely upholding every expectation too, the Cannolo, with traditional Sicilian ricotta cheese is supreme, and if you are brave, (i was, i will again in future) you can explore all the sweetest rooms of pleasure while having the special cono, Pietro's invention made with flaky cannolo dough, filled with ricotta cheese and pistachio Nutella cream.

The bill at the end was very reasonable too, which is a great added value, especially nowadays.

I will certainly visit again Franzina Trattoria in the near future!

Grazie ancora...

So the food itself can’t be faulted and the menu is great but the whole place was a shambles. We had tried to go once before but they were fully booked which of course is fine, but they were quite surly when they turned us away. Decided to give it another go and booked a table for 8pm. We arrived just before 8 and were left waiting outside until 20 past. No place to queue inside (small place & COVID). They saw us waiting there but ignored us, poor front of housing. They chose to call it a trattoria rather than a ristorante so you would expect a more welcoming, family feel but instead it felt more like just another busy Brixton eatery.

Once shown to our table it got no better, we were delivered mussels that we hadn’t ordered, ordered one glass of wine that didn’t arrive, reminded them about it and were brought a bottle instead, eventually the glass of wine came but we were initially charged for two when the bill came (they did amend it as soon as we pointed it out). Two of the three wait staff were very flustered (the ones that incorrectly brought mussels and the bottle of wine) which didn’t help to create a relaxed atmosphere. There were also a few things on the menu they didn’t have, not a huge issue but it was a bit disappointing. No swordfish, no octopus and no granita! I was looking forward to trying the granita in brioche which is famous in Sicily.

So overall disappointing, it’s not a big place so with three staff they should have been able to manage it better. Get the basics right - don’t leave people standing outside for 20 minutes and make sure to get them their glass of wine relatively quickly! Everything else can come more slowly, we’re not in a hurry. But, the food was good and the place is nice, especially the small outside section. The portions of pasta were a decent size as well which is rare for Italian food in the UK. Hopefully the service...