Frankie's Italian Trattoria — Restaurant in Maggie Valley

Restaurant Review: Frankie's Italian Trattoria (Maggie Valley, NC)

​Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (Good food, but significant service and host stand issues) ​Date of Visit: Tonight (Saturday) Reservation Time: 7:15 PM Actual Seating Time: Approx. 8:15 PM Waitress: Karen D (assisted by Aaron)

​My family and I visited Frankie's Italian Trattoria tonight, and while the food was genuinely delicious and the atmosphere was nice, the issues with the service and the host stand significantly impacted our experience, especially for a special Saturday night dinner.

​The Wait and Seating Nightmare (1 Star) ​We had a reservation for 7:15 PM and were not seated until about an hour later. The host stand communication was poor, and the situation was made worse by the fact that there was nowhere to sit inside while we waited. We were forced to stand outside in the cold for an extended period. We had to keep checking in, as they initially did not offer to notify us. Only after we went back in about 20 minutes later were we told they would text us. A reservation should guarantee a table near the reserved time, not an hour delay with inadequate waiting accommodations and poor communication.

​Inattentive Dining Service (2 Stars) ​Once seated around 8:15 PM, it took another 15 minutes for our primary waitress, Karen D, and her assistant, Aaron, to arrive. We were ready to order immediately and requested our drinks and bread.

​Initial Drinks: Service was slow from the start. After waiting about ten minutes, Aaron noticed we still hadn't received our drinks, apologized, and went to get them himself. Karen D then brought them out.

​Refills: Service remained very slow and inattentive for refills. It took ten minutes to get a refill on tea, which was delivered as a carafe. Later, after my soft drink had been empty for a while, I requested a refill, which took another 10 minutes. I observed the waitress engaged in a lengthy conversation with another server during this time.

​Excellent Food and Nice Atmosphere (5 Stars for Food, 4 Stars for Atmosphere) ​This is where the restaurant truly shines. The atmosphere was pleasant once we were seated, and most importantly, the food was really good. My son was disappointed the lasagna was unavailable, but he quickly chose the Chicken Parmesan, which he loved. Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed their meals.

​The Final Blunder: The Bill (0 Stars) ​The end of the meal brought one final frustration. When Karen D brought the check, she briefly looked it over and confidently stated, "yeah, everything looks great and just fill it out and hand me your credit card. I'll take care of it." Upon reviewing the bill myself, I found an entirely different, very expensive meal ($27) had been added to our tab—the most expensive item on the menu. ​When we pointed this out, her reaction was surprisingly dismissive: "oh, I even looked at that but oh I'll go get it taken care of." She eventually fixed the mistake, mentioning something about her manager having to handle it, but we were unsure what she meant and simply paid and left.

​Conclusion ​The quality of the cooking at Frankie's Italian Trattoria is excellent, but the operational issues—the extreme reservation delay with no indoor waiting area, the slow and inattentive table service, and the mistake on the check—created a very frustrating experience. The lack of service and multiple errors meant I did not feel it was fair to leave a typical tip, which is a rare occurrence for me. While I understand Saturday nights are busy, some of these issues were simply excessive.

​I would cautiously recommend this restaurant for the food, but prospective diners should be prepared for a significant wait and...

We really were looking forward to having a nice dinner together here. It looked like such a busy place that must be enjoyed by many. However we were soon to be very disappointed. We had arrived at 8 pm and got signed in; had a wait time of 52 minutes which we expected we were going to have to wait but the only reason it wasn't longer was because I had to ask them how much longer were we going to have to wait and they didn't even know we were waiting for a table. They said they had text me but I didn't have my wi-fi on and there was no cell service in the lobby so I didn't get it till after they seated us. They had stood there and saw us waiting for a long time but never bothered to ask if we had been taken care of. Then we were taken to a table in a corner and practically forgotten. It was 17 minutes before anyone came to our table and that was only for bread. We finished all the bread and at least 10 more minutes went by before we were given silverware and a menu. Still no drink order or water brought to us yet. Finally our waitress appeared so we made sure to order drinks and food before she got away. Then someone came and sat a bowl of soup in front of me which belonged to the other table. Some time later we got water (city water with chlorine taste) served to us. Then my salad came but not my husband's, even though the tray the girl brought out had 3 other salads on it. Then our soda and ice tea came which my husband finished his tea, and we had to flag someone down to get a refill. When our dinner finally arrived, only mine came. We could hardly believe that they actually served not only my salad without serving his but now my entree without his entree too. I am a very slow eater but had eaten half of mine before my husband's came. I ordered the eggplant mariner which was so bad tasting I couldn't finish it. The sauce was very sour and the whole taste was terrible. My husband did not enjoy his fettuccine Alfredo with chicken either, it was very runny and for $25 was a very skimpy serving. Unfortunately our night out was ruined by the lack of concern to wait on us in a timely manner. I have to say this was the poorest run dining room I've ever seen. What was even worse we had to pay for the horrible service and bad food. We really tried to enjoy ourselves but ended up so totally disappointed and totally disgusted that we won't be back or able to recommend this...

Never Again. This used to be a place I was proud of as a local, but that has changed. A go to place from 2015 to about 2020 or so. Last night had a reservation for 7:45 and got seated at 8:15. No apologies or anything said to us for the delay...not sure if reservation means anything anymore, but telling us twice that our table would be ready after customers paid their bill. This is apparently what they tell people with reservations that have a wait after they can't seat you. After seated at 8::15 the waitress did not ask if we wanted a drink or anything and she was gone for another 10 minutes before coming back to the table. Again no apology for the delay. Looking around it seemed not many tables had food and when asked if it would take a while to get food, she said it depends on what we ordered. That was what got us to leave, as we were already delayed and did not trust they could get our meal ready before 9. Totally unacceptable and will not be going back. There are many better options for Italian food in the area. It is sad for me to see such a decline in service and poor management of what was once an excellent place to eat. Maybe someday in the future this will be realized. If the restaurant employees had simply said we are running behind tonight and there will be a wait, I would have at least understood and we could have left sooner for another option. No apologies or anything tell me they don't really care about your inconvenience and are untrustworthy.

Response from owner...You failed to mention that we repetitively apologize to you profusely,

This is a totally false statement from the owner. I decided to follow up since I was called a liar. There was no apology whatsoever. Not once. If you were told that by your employees, then you are being lied to. Time to find new managers as there are issues when you call your former...