Frankies 457

11/07/09

RUDE SERVICE

by Buongustaio at Citysearch

Extremely rude service, a very confrontational waiter (maybe psychotic), OK food, certainlly not anything special. Brought friends visiting from France to dinner here, was most embarassed by the rude and downright nasty waiter. Sent a couple of emails to complain, never got an answer. These guys figure they have it made and don't even have to try

• Pros: DECENT FOOD
• Cons: DON'T GIVE A DAMN SERVICE

07/12/09

Great food but pretty bad waitstaff

by fromtheneighborhood at Citysearch

I've been going to Frankie's for around 2 years, and I'm getting pretty tired of the poor waitstaff.

We were there today, took awhile to get seated, the host was fine, friendly, but the waitress took a long time to get our drinks (esp. considering that we were there with our 2 children).

The best part, though, was that when we paid the bill, she proceeded to pocket all the change as her tip without asking if we wanted anything back. Isn't this against some basic rule or whatever of waiting on customers?

The BLT, though, was the best we've had in awhile. Go figure. We won't be back there on the weekend at least anytime soon.

• Pros: Great food
• Cons: Waitstaff

06/14/09

Grateful Dead and the Customers Don't Matter

by eatery12 at Citysearch

One should expect to hear the Grateful Dead when dining at the Burrito Bar, a college dorm, or any restaurant that has neon Jimmy Hendrix posters hanging on the walls, but at Frankies 457 and at that volume?

Who knew that this was the ambiance they were heading towards? And had we not already ordered our food and waited 45 minutes before it came on, we would have left because for some in our party listening to the grateful dead is unbearable. It was as if they wheeled a dumpster into the restaurant before they brought us our food. And when we asked the waitress, who neither wore patchuli nor smelled bad, if they could switch it to something less obtrusive, she politely said that she would ask (it was not her preference either).

She was told by the owner that he would not switch it.

It is his place and he can do what he wants. But others should know these details and should stay away if they matter. The food seems to be going downhill as well-- the cheese plate was tiny and the linguine ill-combined and the butter filled polenta was unimaginative (no, sprinkled pine nuts do not an imagination make).

Perhaps all this tastes better to some who come in stoned and that seems to be the clientele they are now catering to. Is that what all of those vans were up to that were parked outside? Is that why the wait-staff kept heading out back?

One wonders whether the unkempt bathroom (upside: there's only one) is also a reflection of the new culture of Frankies, why-should-the-customer-matter-those-are-your-values-not-mine-dude?-attitude. But one certainly sees a trend.

Apparently we needed a miracle, as the dead-fans say. Too bad we have lost this one....

• Pros: quiet street, decent wine
• Cons: Grateful dead music, food going downhill, wierdly expensive

05/30/09

Service is bad and never seems to improve

by urbanlegend at Citysearch

I stopped going to Frankies because the service was so bad. Unfortunately, my friends and I made the mistake of trying yet again. I have never written a bad review for Frankies, now I must. As a fair warning to others really. They are still as unorganized, frantic, and all over the place as ever. It's not worth the wait or drama (yes the servers can be as difficult as other reviewers have pointed out). The food is good, it's not the best ever and the good reviews seem to by employees or friends of the owner, it's painfully obvious.

There are plenty of options in the Carroll Gardens area with better food and far better service. It's a simple fact. Sorry to say it!

• Pros: interiors, food is consistant
• Cons: service

12/18/08

delicious brooklyn

by thomas11231 at Citysearch

If I only ate Frankie's for the rest of my life, I would be happy. Truffle crostinis for life? Not so shabby.

10/01/08

standard food good atmosphere.

by huqleberryDOTcom at Citysearch

Washingtonian. Atmosphere, Decor and lighting provided a good start to the overall. The food was classic standard. We ordered the avocado and pesto crostini to start with a half bottle of red. An entree of home made Cavatelli with Faiccos Hot Sausage & browned Sage Butter - 15 - is the best Italian dish I have had out in a year. Take the F or G to Caroll Street and one block over to Court. Make left and walk down 4 blocks.

09/06/08

best local restaurant!

by MrTtwo at Citysearch

I can't get enough of the cavetelli!!!! mmmm

love this place, great vibe....did I mention the cavatelli?

• Pros: cavatelli!!!
• Cons: no reservations, there's always a long wait...

08/21/08

How obnoxious is this restaurant?

by tankengine at Citysearch

Long gone are the 90s when it was cool to be snotty and ask patrons to dish out cash for horrible service and mediocre food. Get with the program. It's LOUD in that restaurant and the people who work there act like it's a privilege to eat with them. The waiter LEFT WHILE WE WERE ORDERING.... without saying a word. Just left the table. Came back and said.. "yea, and...?" WTF is that?

Also... where do they ship the people eating in there from?

I left work in midtown and met some friends there for a bite. I thought I would get a chance to relax. HA! Forget about relaxing at Frankies. I'm so over Frankies. I've been 10 times and I'm done. Each time it's consistently a nightmare and it's only gotten worse. Did you hear they are opening ANOTHER restaurant. Thanks to all the suckers that shelled out the CASH they are now opening a fourth restaurant.

And cash only? Get a credit card machine. It's 2008. I don't walk around with $300 cash in my pocket. It's suspect and speaks poorly of your restaurant.

My advice: Skip it. Go to Fragole instead. It's close to there and is consistently good. The service is amazing and the people who eat there are down to earth and don't think they rule the planet.

• Pros: good pasta
• Cons: small plates (spuntino = snack), horrible service, loud, snotty people, long wait for table

08/19/08

"the franks" have done a great job

by cgg4eva at Citysearch

This restaurant is a prime example of the manhattification/ snotification (do you like my terms) of this amazing neighborhood. You take this great restaurant with excellent food and pretty nice atmosphere and what happens is Kate Hudson, Leo Dicaprio shows up and whoever else and then the owners/ servers forget where they are and who they are there to serve. There is never an excuse for nasty servers or hosts no matter who is dining in your place. Old school Italians should know better. Overall I would tell people to come only for the food and if some snotty skinny little waitress catches an attitude you can politely remind her where she is and then go speak to the manager. Its worth trying though for sure.

• Pros: food
• Cons: service

07/08/08

Risky

by whitewine at Citysearch

If you get there before 5:30 (because after that the wait is like 2 hours), and the hostile host isn?t working (he?s really mean), and you like to sit and eat at the bar and the usual bartender isn?t in one of his depressed states... You might enjoy your meal. The menu is short and simple, hasn?t changed in 4 years, but has a few nice pasta dishes on it. The wine list is ok, more on the lame side if you like big reds. The only thing consistently good there is the music, that?s if you like outdated moody rock and roll. Which I do.

• Pros: some food
• Cons: service