Franco's Italian Bistro Catonsville — Restaurant in Catonsville

When Franco’s first opened many years ago, my family and I dined here 1-2x/week. We stopped going for several years after some unpleasant food/service encounters, but recently decided to try it again.

The other week, we ordered carry out and loved our food. Tonight, my youngest begged to order carry out again.

When I called to place an order (6:10p), a girl answered the phone and said they were not accepting carry out orders over the phone. I asked if they could be placed in person at the bar, and she said “there’s no room at the bar” and hung up.

Twenty minutes later, my husband tried just to see if maybe they opened it back up OR we got a different person on the phone who was a little more helpful/could elaborate more. No, he got through to the same girl.

We spoke and decided to try dining in. Maybe carry out was busy, but in-house dining was possible? We had already told our youngest that we’d get Franco’s that night, so we figured why not try - we live close by.

We showed up about 6:30-6:45p, and all of the tables were full; however, a large party of 10-12 were leaving.

The girl who had answered the phone (recognized the voice, and she was the only girl working other than a woman who appeared to be a manager) approached us. We asked if there was room for a party or 3, and she said “no” and stared at us blankly. Nothing more. My husband asked if there would be room once the tables were cleaned that they large party had departed from. She said no, but then said yes as she saw who we believe to be the manager approach.

The manager came over, asked how many, and said she could have us seated in a minute. While we waited, we noticed several carry out orders waiting being tended to by the girl who said they weren’t accepting the orders. They were all placed between 6:00-6:30, the timeframe in which we had called in.

When we finally sat down, our server was nice but failed to notice I got the wrong order when the food came out. I didn’t bring it up because it seemed useless at this point.

I left feeling frustrated to have spent money for such terrible service (sans our waiter who was doing his best despite being overwhelmed by tables), and the wrong meal. Maybe I’ll try it again in another several years, but I won’t be wasting my money here...

So this is my 3rd time giving Franco’s a try. And I have to say I am disappointed again. I don’t know how you mess up Italian food. This is three separate occasions and each time has gotten worse. The staff at least is friendly but once you get past that. It is down hill from there.

I phoned in my order and asked for Fettuccine Alfredo. I was told they didn’t have fettuccine but they had rigatoni that was most similar. 😮 I should have hung up right there but asked what other pastas they had. After hearing the list we got angel hair, also we ordered chicken parmigiana with rigatoni. Last we ordered Caesar salad.

The portions were extremely large which I was at first glad for. However I soon discovered that offering some large portion was trying to make up for badly made food. Chicken parm that was dry, barely any cheese and linguini not rigatoni. I wouldn’t have minded except the pasta was so gummy from being over cooked. My wife’s Alfredo was no better they didn’t even bother to toss it together it was a large clump of angel hair with Alfredo sauce poured over the top.

Now I do have a cooking background, but these are simple enough meals and staples of Italian cooking to be made this bad. I see a lot of 5 star reviews talking about the locals that go there. I also noticed the cheap beer and wine prices. I guess food will always taste better when you have cheap alcohol to supplement it with.

As for me I will not be returning. 3rd and definitely...

We’ve eaten here several times, and always enjoy it. I think it makes a great outing for a couple that wants to grab a drink and a slice of pizza or have some great local Italian food. Family dining is also possible. It’s in the heart of Catonsville, on the main street, so the nearby shops offer good continuity and ambience of an enjoyable small town experience.

Food: everything tastes fantastic, but often times I have to drink water for hours after eating here because of how salty everything is. It’s not a bad thing, but if you have a sensitivity to salt make sure to ask for low sodium options.

Service: the staff are attentive, and upbeat but usually very busy because of the volume of traffic at the bar. It can take several minutes at times to get refills of water, or to ask for items.

Atmosphere: Tables are somewhat cramped, but usable. There’s hardly anywhere to stand during inclement weather, while waiting for a table, except at the entrance (which is a small room that you have to share with incoming/outgoing patrons). Restroom access is at the rear of the restaurant, but you have to navigate around the corner which is right next to the kitchen and service carts at times or the flow from the kitchen into the dining room. Because parking is difficult in this location, you can’t wait in your car to then simply come inside unless you’re lucky enough to get one of the paid meter parking spots directly in front of...