10/27/09

Right Out of a Larry David Episode!!

by brooklynpitbulls

Dinning at this disastrous "restaurant" felt like being seated in a boxing ring with a hostile staff. The entire meal was a battle from beginning to end and like a casino the odds were stacked against us from winning any round. Here's a quick synopsis:

Round 1: We tried to fix our wobbly table. We were scolded by the manager in a parental tone. (That hurt.)

Round 2: Asked for a vegetarian plate. Was told, "We don't do that" with a snarl although half the appetizers are vegetables. (Ouch!)

Round 3: When I asked for a second glass of wine the waitress topped off the not quite empty glass I had passed to my wife. When I pointed it out to the manager that perhaps at $12 a glass they should pour the full amount - she came back 5 minutes later and poured a few sips into an empty glass and said now we were even. (That was a blow.)

Round 4: The pasta arrived in what would be considered a children's portion by most adults. (Hunger pains!)

Round 5: Ordered two espressos which arrived ice cold. (Brain freeze hurts too.)

Round 6: The bill came and there was no offer of compensation or apology after we gently expressed our dissatisfaction. (Starting to feel numb.)

It was a knock out in the 6th round. We were down and out and never coming back!!!!

• Pros: Enjoyed reading the enthusiastic panning of the "restaurant"
• Cons: Unbearably Rude Service, Ridiculously Small Portions, Over $

12/04/08

Horrible Service

by maggie1980nyc

Great pasta but in these tough times I think that I'll take my money somewhere that cares about my business.

• Pros: Food-Pasta is great
• Cons: Prices and horrid service

11/09/08

Underwhelmed

by Lollia

I love pizza, and was excited to try Franny's. The service was excellent; our waitress was knowledgeable and made great wine recommendations, and she was attentive throughout our entire meal. The food, on the other hand, left me wanting more. Our appetizers (pumpkin/balsamic and octopus) were good, with very fresh ingredients. The pizza - the reason we were there - really didn't have much flavor. The crust was just the way I like it, but the sauce was poorly seasoned and the cheese... just wasn't good. It wasn't necessarily a bad experience overall, but I was definitely expecting more.

• Pros: service, wine selection
• Cons: pizza, cramped tables

08/11/08

Cute Decor, Horrible Pizza

by jpl23

Aside from the unsubstantiated prices and pretentious air, the pizza just isn't any good at Franny's. I LOVE thin crust pizza, but what I received at Franny's was a burnt piece of paper, topped with tasteless mozzarella and a ridiculous amount of overpowering parmesan cheese. Franny's represents what is wrong with the "new" Brooklyn, all hype but no substance. If you are actually in the mood for pizza you're better off at DiFara, Grimaldi's or just about any other pizzeria in Brooklyn. On a positive note, is a cute space.

• Pros: Relaxing decor
• Cons: The food is horrible, prices unjustified.

07/05/08

POMPOUS AND OVERRATED

by TheGringoGentile

Right off the bat, the air of pretentiousness left me gasping for breath. The menu read of "lettuces" and "cannolo" (the singular of cannoli) - not how people talk, just their way of showing self-importance. After being seated at one of the smallest tables-for-two in town, I pulled the empty table next to us closer for some elbow room. The hostess swooped in to pull it away from us about 3 inches. That was all the room left to us between the other "table-for-two." I wondered what people did when the place was packed and someone in the booth wanted to get out for a restroom visit. We ordered the anchovy pizza and SODA which she NEVER brought. The waitress explained to us that if the menu doesn't MENTION cheese, there's no chesse on the pizza. Lame. Not exactly what I call informative. The way this menu neglects to mention important things like CHEESE AT A PIZZA PLACE and overbears with its "lettuces," you'd think it was written by Frasier Crane with A.D.D. When we asked the waitress about ingredients, she replied with something like "Oh yes that would be a yellow ground leaf from the mountains of the Himylayas, imported exclusively to us on the backs of African geese at 14,000 feet above sea level" or some like verbose answer. Just tell me what the pizza is seasoned with!!!

The pizza was unsliced. Did they forget to slice everyone's pizza? Is this their kitschy gimmick? Slice your own pizza? Aren't we being put out enough with the cramped space, a table-obsessed hostess, menus with their noses in the air and waitresses too busy being self-congradulatory that they forget to bring your soda? CUT MY FREAKIN' PIZZA!!

The pizza was okay. Not going back there again. For a small, average pizza, $16.00 is pretty steep. If this is your favorite hangout and you love it so much that my review has you seething, feel free to flame me with a comment knowing that I won't be back to read it. Speaking of not coming back, that's the last time I waste an hour at Franny's.

• Pros: Walking distance is a plus.
• Cons: When you get there, the food and service are BAD.

06/10/08

Good, but not worth it.

by mattgreen

I mean, it's good, but it is basic thin crust pizza. Skimped on the garlic. Just so you know,Flor Di Capra translates as bland cheese on toast. The grain/asparagus salad was good but like everything else, including the 16$ pasta and the one wood roasted octopus leg, there wasn't enough of it. It's good, but certainly not great and at these prices there are restaurants that deliver much better.

• Pros: Decent food.
• Cons: Overpriced, small portions.

06/09/08

Pizza = Overpriced Nan...nice staff though.

by tgreco40

I came here in desperate need of good pie in brooklyn. The service was great..really friendly waitresses and hostess. The pizzas come in one size...personal pizzas (about 4 slices). I guess they are a decent price as they reflect the comfortable ambiance....around $12 or $13. Unfortunately, the quality or "style" isn't up to par with NYC. The minimalist approach doesn't work here. In a nutshell, if you order pizza here, you are getting glorified Nan from an Indian restaurant. Of course, the pizza is all I've sampled but i left hungry. I think i immediately filled the void at home with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Buuut, if someone I trusted recommended alternative menu items at Franny's as truly good, I would return.

• Pros: Good Ambiance and Staff
• Cons: Bad Pizza

01/22/08

3rd time is not a charm

by larrygiver

The first time my wife and I went to Franny's we had a great experience. The wine was great, appetizers devine, and the pizza was perfect and exactly what we were in the mood for. We had heard great things about the place and completely agreed with all of them when we left.

When we went back months later, something seemed off. The waitstaff was non-existent, hurried, and if you had questions about some items on the menu, seem put out that you actually dared waste their time. The pizza was more charred than in our prior meal and the entire night was a noted dissapointment.

Skip ahead a few more months and we decide to give Franny's another chance. This time, our conclusion is that it's just not worth it. The appetizers were bland. The wine now overpriced for what you're getting and the pizza has now gone from being the prize of the meal to a complete disappointment. Authentic Italian doesn't mean burnt to a crisp where charred crust is the flavor that dominates.

We appreciate Franny's for what it is, a unique brick oven pizza dining experience but it's not something worth going back for any more.

01/11/08

overrated pizza

by tyoung55

I was there with my husband this evening because of all the rave reviews we read and the recommendations by a couple of friends. We started with the octopus with olive and chick peas. The presentation was nice so it seemed promising - there were 6 2" pieces of octopus which were placed over a chickpea puree with black tapenade spread over each piece and bits of parsley for garnish. The taste was good but too much tapenade made it very salty. We ordered the brick oven pizza since that's what everyone recommended. I had the pizza with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella & basil while my husband had the pizza with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella and sausage. When the pizza arrived, I was a bit disappointed as the cheese did not look like fresh buffalo mozzarella as promised - it should have been white but was yellow (not unlike the cheese on a regular New York slice). The bread was thin & crispy but the sauce was a bit salty (mind you I am a salt lover). I ate my first slice and it was okay, nothing to be excited about but decent. My husband's pizza was nearly identical to mine. He thought it was good. However, by the time we were a third of the way done with our meal, the pizza had cooled down and was not so good anymore. This was the true test. Great pizza should be great hot or cold. The bread that was once crispy & light now had the consistency of wet cardboard and the cheese was congealed. Aesthetically it was a cute restaurant with a great vibe, a good neighborhood joint to meet up with friends, but if you love brick oven pizza with a thin crust, try L'Asso in Manhattan. The crust is thin but not cracker thin. It's not soggy and even though it's thin and light, it's still bready and satisfying. My favorite pizza there is the Pizza Bufalina: tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, uncooked buffalo mozzarella, oregano, basil & extra virgin olive oil. The sauce is light & fresh and extremely tasty. Most importantly, it tastes great whether it's hot or cold.

• Pros: friendly wait staff
• Cons: overrated pizza, disappointing food

11/24/07

that's some pizza

by honnestcomment

i had dinner at franny's a few days ago .. the food was nice not only well executed but the selection of dished on the menu was quite judiscious.and well tied toegether ......if you are serious about sopressatta ..do not do it yourself ..leave it to the artisan that has spent his life doing it ...he knows better.and you should know

the pizza crust is the nicest i've had in ny ....but the pizza wasn't properly seasonned and the topping including the buffalo mozzarella were tasteless. it is a shame to garnish so poorly a crust of that quality , the rock star that cooked my pizza was obviously not the one that developped the recipe .i have one word to the consultant that is behind franny's .congratulation !!