Francesca's Vicinato — Restaurant in Palos Township

Given the pandemic, I wouldn't discount much on the scenario. However, the food is a different story.

I went here for father's day. We were seated at the very back, close to the dumpster. We were close enough that we could smell the trash from where we were sitting.

The tables and chairs were simple, as if they were backup in case there were an overflow of people, but there we're. This place did not even bother trying to make their customers feel comfortable in the environment. But it was covid season so I would understand that aspect.

The attendee: The person who attended us will come every 15-30 minutes to check up on us. The other employees who serve us water or actually brought our food, they did a much better job coming to assist us.

The food:

Initial break. It was good. The olive oil blend was a good addition to the bread as well.

Bruschetta was good. The bread was relatively thick enough to balance the ingredients on top. Mozzarella was relatively fresh, generous amount of tomato and basil.

My father got the Gamberi Franchesca, the dish with shrimp on it. He enjoyed it very much. I did not get to taste it but he claimed it was good.

Special Salad with the chicken. I did not try it but was told the taste and texture was good. They enjoyed it.

Pasta Butera-D. Did not eat it all but the pasta was relatively firm, a little too firm for my liking. I would have expect it to be less firm and more edible. Sausage was well seasoned.

Fileto. I ordered it as medium well just to see how they cook their meat here. The meat was WAY PAST MEDIUM WELL. It was basically full cooked, firm and dry all around. They tried to compensate the flavor by adding more sauce and throwing the ingredients on there. This seems as if the cook gave up on their dish and just sent it out. Of this place, I think the vegetables were the only good thing on here. Everything else I would not recommend to anyone. I would not recommend anyone to order any type of meat from here if they are not able to cook a simple dish. For this place, I recommend investing in a water cooker to have good quality meat in terms of cooking it. The sauce on this dish was extremely salty as well. I tried to use the sauce to try to juice to the actual dish. The main dish was still a bit hard to chew on regardless.

Risotto Funghi. I ordered this to try it as well. The mushrooms were the same as the one from the Filleto. This tells me that they only had one variety of mushrooms. The actual risotto was quite well cooked but the seasonings are what said a no to this. I am aware that I needs to have parmesan and I know what parmesan tastes like. How've, this dish actually had the taste of regular table salt instead of parmesan. Also, I was expecting the dish to be much brighter and vibrant with colors. If they did use table salt, that would explain the color / texture of the dish.

Gelatos. They have a lot of options to choose from. I got the Pistachio Gelato. They did see a lot of gelato for us. Although I was expecting actual pistachios on there, the flavor was still good as well. 3/4 way into the dish, I started feeling the sweetness of this desert. I began to taste the immense sugar that it had.

Overall, I think this place is okay. They could have done better to serve the customers. For the food I have tasted, they could have done a much better job in preparing it. For the aesthetics, I understand it was during covid phase 2 era I believe, but an investment on the chairs and tables will go a long way too. It is uncomfortable to sit down on a checker...

Francesca's has been my favorite restaurant for some time now. The food is ALWAYS very fresh and perfectly prepared, and the constantly changing menu makes for a different but wonderful experience every time. As much as I've always enjoyed Francesca's I've never been inspired to write a review until now.

I, my wife, and our two daughters (15 and 2) went to Francesca's to enjoy patio dining on June 6th, 2020, about a week after COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed by the state of IL. It was our first meal out together in around 3 months, and the staff at Francesca's made it such a positive and memorable experience.

A reservation was made over the phone on the drive over, and since it was a bit later in the day there was no wait. We were asked to wear masks until we were shown to our table and then were allowed to remove them after we were seated. Waitstaff quickly brought water and menus, drinks and appetizers were ordered (we had this amazing shrimp appetizer that had a fantastic brown mushroom sauce; this is the type of dish I love to try at Francesca's as it isn't something you see every day), and soon after our entree orders were taken our meals were at the table. My teenager had a 10 oz filet that was a special that night; the meat melted in your mouth and the spinach it came with tasted very buttery and well spiced. Mom and youngest daughter shared a very well executed spaghetti and meatballs, and Dad had a rigatoni dish with a kind of white sauce, fresh veggies, and some very tasty eggplant. If you can't tell we all greatly enjoyed our meals.

As good as the food was (and always is) we equally enjoyed the waitstaff. Judging by the geniality, efficiency, and attention to detail that was on display by everyone we interacted with, you would never had known these folks hadn't been able to wait a table for several months. A special shout out to Rich, the manager, whose elan and friendliness were obvious to us over the phone. We had a lovely chat with him and our waitress (I'm sorry, I don't remember her name but she was awesome too!) as we finished our tiramisu and coffee (do yourself a favor and get the tiramisu even if you don't think you have room for it because it was wonderful). Rich is the kind of guy who makes you feel as welcome as family and we really enjoyed our interactions with him.

On the way home we all couldn't stop talking about what a great experience we'd just had at Francesca's. Thanks to Rich and his entire staff for the delicious food and excellent service. We can't...

Real Authentic Italian Cuisine! This is the only place in the southern suburbs that I will order Pasta! Francesca’s pasta is cooked ‘Al dente’. All their food is delicious and made to order. The service and atmosphere are also exquisite! Let me explain: Italians eat pasta cooked al dante; when pasta is firm when bitten, without being hard or chalky. I can not eat the MUSHY pasta the other South Suburban ‘Italian’ restaurant serve Mushy pasta in my opinion. I know this because my husband prefers eating at Italian Restaurants and we’ve tried them all: Orland, Tinley, Mokena, Frankfort and New Lenox. I have even requested my pasta be cooked al dente when ordering. Obviously, they don’t comprehend. Al dente pasta keeps your blood sugar low - is easier to digest - tastes better - and makes you feel full longer! American Italian restaurants cook in large batches reboiling to heat when needed which makes the pasta mushy. Cooking the pasta Al’Dante only takes only 7-minutes. So why make so much it in advance? Overcooking pasta breaks down the sponge-like protein molecules, making it softer forming a sticky dough in the digestive tract which blocks digestion. Meaning softer pasta creates a massive spike in your blood sugar verses partially cooked pasta. Something to remember next time you eat Pasta.

Hopefully it will be at Francesca’s and you are enjoy their Rigatoni Vodka Sauce with crumbled Sausage, cooked perfectly al dente! Buon...