Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana — Restaurant in Plantation

Okay, 3rd time getting a pizza here. If there is a manager reading this, I did many restaurant reviews as a journalist in LA and Key West and I'm a pizza lover. You need to bump up the game to New Haven levels, seriously. It's Saturday night. I order a Special online, go to the restaurant, soon it's ready. That's nice. Fast. Nicer young women helped me. That's nice. I carry the pizza half a block to Carrot Express, get a fresh-squeezed OJ/Carrot juice and sit out at a sidewalk table and dig in to the pizza. It's hot and has that nice pizza smell -- melted cheese, tomato, onion, peppers, sausage, etc. Within a few bites I realize the crust has 4 problems - it's too thick... it's not thin and crispy.... it lacks much flavor, the bottom is semi-burned in various places but worse, there is thick coating of burned corn flour (I assume it's corn flour). I have no desire to eat a lot of burned corn flour -- some of which sticks to my fingers as I lift slices. Topping are abundant - that's nice. Veggies fresh. And the meats ok -- personally I like fresh-ground sausage, not those generic slices now so common, but lacking in any authenticity or good flavor. So mainly I ate the toppings. Cheese not hugely abundant. Tomato sauce rather neutral. (The tomato sauce at Anthony's has a wonderful flavor that yours lacks. I suspect they use imported Italian tomatoes.) So I'm thinking as I drive away after finishing the top of the pizza, "I won't go there again unless I'm in New Haven." I recall the problem you had with a horrible review by ONe-Bite Dave.... then he came back and said it was much better. Well, I've gone there over at least a year's time -- just a few times. I've never. had a thin crispy "new haven" crust.... Google AI says New Haven style is : "a thin, coal-fired crust, a sweet, herby sauce, and a light, crispy texture, often featuring a char from the high-heat baking..." Okay, light and crispy the crust was not. More like heavy, chewy, and covered with burned corn flour on the bottom... and some "char" too (burned areas). By the way, I have eaten in the restaurant too and it was not a problem due to being in the pizza box for half a block.... Anyway, I'm always so hopeful about having a great pizza when I indulge in one. Anthony's used to be amazing, still quite good with fresh-ground-style sausage, delicious tomato sauce, and a good crust. Magaddino's is true Neapolitan and quite good, in fact VERY good. Sadly when things like Frank Pepe becomes a sort of chain restaurant in a mall of sorts, it loses that magic so often. I encourage you to seek it and bump up your game. One can only...

BYOL! l eagerly awaited the opening of Frank Pepe, as the original restaurant based in Connecticut, is a staple on travel food shows. The restaurant is new and morden looking but has a warmth and charm about it , with a large coal-fired oven in the center of the restaurant and old photos of the original owner and restaurant on the walls. We went on an off time, so it wasn't busy. We were seated right away, but it took about 10 minutes or do for our server to come to our table. She was very nice and pleasant. The menu is very limited, pizza, 2 salads, and 2 desserts, and that's pretty much it. We ordered the famous clam pie and pepperoni pie. The pizzas came out very quickly. They were cooked well and full of toppings. The pizzas had the wonderfully charred crust much like Anthony's Coal-fired Pizza. Overall, the pizza was okay, but nothing too special. Perhaps it was me having too high expectations. The prices were on the higher side, but, as I said, the pizzas are full of toppings and well made. My one grip is with the clam pizza. They did not serve it with lemon slices, which this pizza is always served with and desperately needs. It sounds minor, but believe me, it is essential. When I asked the server for lemon, they don't have any in the restaurant, as in, they never do. The manager said they have nothing else that requires lemon, so they don't buy them for the restaurant. Without the lemon, the pizza lacks flavor and brightness. So, if you want to try the clam pie, BYOL: Bring...

Pizza is my favorite, so my reviews about Pizza and/or Italian food will be as honest as possible. While over on the east coast of Florida I finally got a chance to try the famous Frank Pepe. Although I'm born and raised in the northeast, I never made it to the original in CT. Friends of mine who love Pizza as much as I, swear New Haven Pizza competes or could be better than what I grew up on in NYC and NJ. But I did not expect one of Frank Pepe chain pizzerias to be AS good as what I'm told of the original.

First off, the restaurant is very nice. In a very nice area and squeaky clean. I came in a few minutes after they opened at 1115, so it was nice and empty. The lovely waitress explained to me $10 off for first time customers, so already I like this place. I ordered a coke and a water and a medium pie, half plain cheese and half pepperoni/hot peppers. The pie came out piping hot, nice coal oven burns, some caramelized cheese. It looked beautiful. Now the taste. Something was missing. I don't know if they went easy on the sauce because it was kind of bland. Don't get me wrong it was prepared perfectly, with quality ingredients. But it just wasn't doing it. The other thing I noticed was the crust. It was kind of tough. Chewy almost. The thing I notice about florida Pizza is when they try to replicate Pizza they made in the northeast, the crust becomes tougher, almost tight. I know the water quality has alot to do with it, even the humidity. Either way, I did enjoy it, and...