Anthony Francos Ristorante & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Butler

AND... still continuing our mission to find the ultimate margherita, grandpa/grandma pies in North Jersey! Recently, we gave Anthony Francos Ristorante and Pizzeria a shot in Butler, NJ. Note: there are several Anthony Francos Pizzerias throughout the area which (kind of) give this a chain-pizza status but we gave it a try anyway, because... they had a grandpa style Sicilian! Its like Christmas Day when we see this. What else did we try? The margherita and a pepperoni pie. Yes, we have been getting pepperoni pies in pretty much all of our visits. I don't know why we are doing this since the big three have been outr focus. I am hoping to have an answer to that at some point.

Up first, the Grandpa Sicilian. Again, we love this kind of Sicilian because of the thick crust, mozzarella baked on the crust, a fresh sauce on top of the cheese and usually parmesan and spices and garlic on top of the sauce aka an "upside down" pizza. There, you learned something from this! Let's finally focus on Anthony Francos' pie. Upon opening the box, its a thick Sicilian, mozzarella baked on the crust, and sauce on top with a hint of dried oregano/basil. First bite.... ugggh, its just okay. The crust is very, very, very, dry. Its the kind of crust that can hurt the corners of your mouth (and you know that's happened to you before). The cheese is fine, your basic mozz and the sauce which is really supposed to give you the "finish" since its on top... kind of bland. We were hoping for that robust taste with a fresh sauce but it just didn't have it. If we were only reveiwing this pie, it would be a 2 out of 5.

Next, yep, another pepperoni. Very good. The pepperoni had a nice spice to it, not too greasy. The mozz was melted just fine, not overcooked. The crust was interesting; it had a "pan like" taste; a little thicker than a usual pie. Overall, this pepperoni was up there with our favorites from Ferati's in Butler and Danny's in Bloomingdale.

Lastly, the whole reason we try a new place each week... the margherita pie. It looked very nice (and I know, that's not exactely what you want to hear when someone is trying to compliment you). The fresh mozz was melted all over just like a traditional pie vs. the usual mozz circles scattered. The sauce was drizzled on top with the basil baked on. No fresh tomatoes or garlic or at least we couldn't taste it. First bite: not bad at all. It did have a very fresh taste but like the grandpa sicilian it didn't have a robust taste from the sauce. The cheese was fine but we think because so much of it was used on this pie it may have taken the taste away... sort of like eating a "white pizza." The crust was very soft but was a think as a traditional pie. There was a hint of basil but not much. Plus, this was a very expensive pie ($23) and we have had much better margherita pies below $16.

We are seeing a major trend so far. Pizzerias that have mutiple locations (not necessarely chains) are not beating out the mom and pop pizzerias. Its not even close. So yes, stay with your local guys.

Note: They did have a grandma pie but because we bought the grandpa, there is only so much pizza we can eat in one night. We may try it next time but based on the margherita which is a close cousin of the grandma we don't think it will be much of a difference.

Any suggestions on places?...

My fiance and I have been ordering from here for 3 years when I first moved into the area and he would visit. The food was always delicious, the service quick and always really friendly. Even if they forgot something, or something came not to our liking, they would immediately fix it. But this almost never happened.

Now-a-days, we order from there 1-2 times a week. Especially during the pandemic, trying to help small businesses.

But within the last 2 months (September, October 2021) this place has gone SO downhill so fast. I kept seeing posts on Facebook about it and complaints in general but never paid any mind until now.

The pizza is constantly cold. We kept chalking it up to them being really busy but even when we could say something, it would never be fixed. Most often then not, the cheese comes halfway off the pizza. Garlic knots, old and cold and hardly able to be bitten through. Yesterday, we ordered garlic bread for us and some friends along with a pizza and fries. We ASKED for the marinara. Not only did it not come, but when my fiance called a young woman argued with him that "it doesn't come with it", he replied that's why he specifically asked (again, been ordering for 3 years from this pizzaria) she goes "well we didn't charge you for it?" annoyed that we even called. I was so beyond irritated. After years of being loyal even when they clearly were having trouble this is the way we've been treated. I'm a small business myself, and post-pandemic or not, I would never treat a loyal customer like this. A simple "oh, I'm sorry, we'll bring it now" or "I'm sorry, we were really busy tonight. Is it urgent?" even would have been better! We are totally understandable people. We're also not sticklers- hell if it's edible we're fine. But after last night's tone with the front counter girl. We're done.

There are so many local pizza shops in the area that are just as good. If you're looking for pizza without attitude, seriously-...

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! There is no pizza restaurant I have had a more negative experience with than Anthony Franco's. I've visited another branch and was not impressed by the pizza but thought I'd give this branch a shot. No difference. The pizza tastes more like a chain restaurant than a New York slice. It's thick and doughy, greasy, and the cheese is bland at best.

The worst part about Anthony Franco's, though, is the customer service. The staff is more than just unhelpful, they are rude! Getting delivery is a chore. It took almost 3 hours to get a pie delivered! I had to call 4 times! The first call the delivery boy was just running late. The second time he couldn't find the apartment, had the wrong address, and the wrong call back number. The call back number they wrote down and read back to me wasn't even close to mine! Then they begrudgingly agreed to send another pizza. No apologies, no freebies, not even a promise that they would have it here as soon as possible. They said it would be another 45 minutes!

So finally a little after an hour following that call the pizza finally arrives and, shocklingly, it's cold. No apologies from anyone. I will never eat there, or at any Anthony Franco's again, and I feel like a sucker for giving them my money. There is literally nothing nice I can say about this place. The food is sub par, the service is the worst I've ever experienced, and they do it all with a smug sense of "You should beg for us to sell you our food."...