Francesco's — Restaurant in Taylorsville

Where to begin? Once our favorite Italian restaurant to our entire family, now is all lost in one visit! And they didn't seem concerned at all. I will break it down in bullet points. But first, I'd like to mention that we've been going to this Francesco's and the chef Tom Francesco's since the '80s. It was one of our family's favorite restaurant. This location is the last remaining one, and has served us well through the years. However, they have been changing, and this last visit really showed us how they really feel. We used to have parties there with up to 30 people several times a year. But, with several family deaths and some moving from the state, the get togethers are not as often. So when we had a chance to get together on September 11th, I jumped at the chance to go while I was in town. Never again!

1-Coming from out of town and arriving late after picking up my mother, they had already brought one plate of complementary garlic cheese sticks to the 4 people in my family already sitting down. When we arrived, I asked if we could get some for the 3 of us. We were informed that there was just one plate per table. I mentioned that if we had come in as 4 different tables, as we had 4 different checks, we would have each received a plate. But I wasn't looking for 4 plates, I was only looking for a plate for the 3 of us. We were denied, but we asked for one anyhow, which they happily charged us for. Our waitress seemed to enjoy telling us no. That feeling of power had gotten to her head. And by the way, these are not really complimentary, as the price is built in to all the meals. Nothing is ever free, and they made out on us that night!

2-Now let's talk about their beverages. We ordered our drinks when we sat down, but they were not brought to us until a couple of minutes before our meal came to the table. We received just 1 refill because of the timing. So even though we paid for a plate of garlic cheese sticks, we didn't have beverages to wash them down. Francesco's is officially the highest price fountain drink I have came across. At $3.95 each, they are making sure they make good profit! They use all the tricks in the book, from filling your small 10 oz cup all the way to the top with ice before they put your soda in it, to being slow to getting those refills.

3-Would You like another lemon slice to go with your drink? Get ready to pay extra! My brother's wife requested an extra lemon slice, and they were charged $1 for a couple of lemon slices. He wasn't informed ahead of time. Ridiculous if you ask me!

4-Now we will talk a little bit about the food quality. It has definitely gone downhill! The garlic cheese sticks have lost a little flavor, as did the garlic bread. I don't know why they've changed the recipe, but they have altered it a little. I ordered the chicken parmesan dinner with lasagna, and the chicken was dry and not much sauce. And the lasagna was terrible! Mostly sauce with cheese to cover it up. The noodles and meat took up about a third of the dish size, and I really couldn't find any meat. It didn't taste right and I did not finish it. I cannot speak about everybody's dish out of the 7 of us, but the consensus was about the same. The food didn't taste as good as it once had. It was greasy and it seemed some of it was microwaved. I'm not in the kitchen to verify that, but you can tell.

5-What happens if you get overcharged? The manager will inform you of a credit if you come in. Isn't that amazing? They screw up, and you have to come in and dine to get that value back after their error? My mother chose the fish and chips dinner and a soda and added a $3 tip on top of that. Her grand total came out to over $29. She called to let the manager know of the $6 error and he said, "yeah, that happens sometimes, so the next time you come in, we'll just give you a credit". How nice of them! Deliberate overcharge we believe!

We sat up front near the owner. She knew what was going on and didn't care! Say goodbye to our business! We're all spreading the word and...

Disappointing.... I've been going to this place for years, even through their remodel. I drove 30 mins today because it has been over a year since going in and was craving their cheese sticks. What I got for courtesy sticks was ancient bread that had been sitting in a warmer all morning. I told waitress that I was only going to be ordering these sticks so please don't bring me sticks from that same order. I get I was the only one in restaurant at the time, but I want what I pay for. But the cooks obviously didn't care or the waitress and within seconds she came out with my order. A salad that was so wet that I should have used a straw to eat it, not a fork, burnt garlic bread, and of course the stale, ancient bread. So I just asked her to remove it, and then NOW all of a sudden because she isn't going to make any money. They said they will make fresh ones. REALLY??? And the other things I noticed while sipping my salad, was how they are not keeping up on the remodel. I got placed right behind where the hostess station is, looking at a beat up wall, and a dirty station. And the best part is, they are playing oldies music loudly in their "ITALIAN" restaurant. What the HELL happened to this place? And the only reason I hadn't been there in a year, was the last time I went in, my chicken fettucine tasted really FIshy... as if there were pieces of fish in my noodles not chicken. Trust me, from someone who has gone there since high school 20+ years, its not the same, I paid 8.00 for a small watered salad, and a coke. When I could have gone right across the street and got a "fresh" huge salad from Cafe Rio for the same price. I spoke to manager and told her about my experiences, and she just didn't really seem to care. So Disappointing. I will now recommend to you , if you want a small "Italian Feel" restaurant where the food is amazing, and is very reasonably priced just go north of Francescos on redwood rd and try a small little place called Siragusa's 4115 S Redwood Rd. Thought a little shady from looking at outside, but found a little gem after...

First time there, the atmosphere was pleasant enough but had too much of a vibe like jims family restaurant or a dennys to compare with a slight hint of Italian. I feel if they got rid of the tables and chairs and upgraded to some different ones with a different feel it would help immensely as well as possibly a new floor and different lighting to reflect a more italian/ Tuscany feel instead. The boss lady on duty Saturday night when we were there kept being really loud throughout the restaurant talking to employees about what to clean next and schedules. Picked up a cuss word or two as well from her and i had my mid with me. The server was probably just having a bad day but her demeanor and over all service was severely lacking in good nature. One server walking by was texting and then talking on her cell phone as well. Just wasnt a too friendly experience when the prices were just as much as going up the street to the old spaghetti factory. Not near as long as a wait 10 mins vs an hour. They charged us too much on our bill as well once it went through to the bank, the seever wrote down more for a tip when it wasnt authorized. Alas they did correct their mistake today and hooked us up with a new meal and corrected the bill. We all got sick as dogs today from the food they gave us sooo idk. Wasnt good the first time around either. I gave it two chances on the meals and the service. The second tine around though we got it to go and the to go containers were nice and in a paper bag. I really wanted to give a better review but it is what it is. The things i liked best were that you can order noodles as a side with your main course for no extra money. For example i got chicken cordon bleu with fettuccine alfredo. Also their bread that comes out before the meal is great. If they lowered their prices to .atch their quality it would be a better deal but as it stands they need...