Franco’s By the Bay

Located not too far from the hotel we were staying at. The food was really good and had large portions and our waitress was very nice. The food is made fresh and the kitchen is up front so you can hear the food sizzling and smell amazing while waiting for your order. Don’t let the fact that it’s in a strip mall fool you-​this was a great place to eat.

Ordered a large mushroom pizza… sauce, crust and cheese good but man. I literally counted 16 pieces if mushrooms. (when I want a topping, I want a lot) Hard finding a good pizza joint in OV but this is the best one in the area…

Got the lasagna which is delicious and the fresh bread. Have to save room for dessert.

Haven’t been to this place in years, as i always thought it was mediocre, but we wanted to stay close to the ‘hood tonight and based on recent reviews, we thought we’d give it another try. We probably should have headed downtown.
The evening started out well enough, we were greeted and seated fast and our server was very friendly. I asked what was in the mozzarella salad, and she had me at caprese. I’m a sucker for caprese, so we ordered that and stuffed shells for him, linguine with oil & garlic for me.
First, the bread they serve with your meal is fantastic. Crusty on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. Yum! The mozzarella salad was, well different. Not a true caprese, which is still ok by me — it had the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, but the onions! Oh my. The raw onions totally overpowered it. I had to ask for additional balsamic and had to add salt & pepper. Not a great start. The shells (3 small ones stuffed with a rather bland ricotta filling, covered with standard bland tomato sauce and cheese) was just ok. Nothing wrong with the linguine, though nothing to write home about either. One thing that really gets me about some of these small Italian restaurants, would it kill them to serve fresh grated Parmesan instead of the shaker of powder at the table? That in itself might serve to elevate things a tiny bit.
The thing that killed it for us tonight (and caused my review to be 2 stars instead of the 3 I was going to give) is that we had to ask for drink refills and we asked for more yummy bread. After a splash of water in our glasses, we never saw our server again. EVER. I don’t think she was even in the restaurant. No bread, not even our check. We had to flag down a passing server who was hurrying to a table that had been sitting in our server’s section for over 10 minutes without being greeted (no menus, drinks, nada). When we were finally able to pay, I asked if our server had left. I was told, «I think she went to the store.» Oh. That explains it. This area has a BIG need for some good restaurants. Sadly, we’ll just head downtown to spend our money next time.

Calamari is delicious, shrimp is awesome just expensive. Havint had a bad sub yet, cheese steak is my personal favorite. The eggplant and sausage sub are also amazing. You wouldn’t believe it if you’ve ever had them, but they taste just as good if not better the next day. Amy is the best waitress but none of the others are bad.

chris and i stopped by saturday night for dinner for two — our friday night gang wanted seafood so we did, but sat. we had a graving — back we go for meat balls and meat sauce — not our normal choices, but two very good ones and we happen to spy two of these cup cake looking things pass by our table — then we had one of those — omg — Spumoni Cup Cake

I’ve been to both locations — near airport (ORF) and in West Ocean View. We live near the WOV location and frequent it often.
Most recently I met some family there for a quiet dinner. We were able to secure the last table in the house. Fantastic! We had a lovely carafe of vino while we feasted on freshly baked bread and listened to live music of a gentleman playing the piano. The food has always been stellar — dessert is also yummy. The owners are very kind and the sauce rivals my Zia Anna’s sauce that I love and know so well.
The area is a bit dicey. So if you’re going to meet a date there — I would suggest you pick your lady friend up. Don’t let her linger out there waiting for you. It’s just not that kind of shopping center. You wouldn’t let your daughter stand out there alone, nor your mother. I arrived before my family did and I can tell you, it was a quick pace to the restaurant and I seated myself first. Park as far to the left side of the lot as you’re comfortable with as it’s a busy lot and also houses a Farm Fresh.
Enjoy.

Tried the Franco’s Special pizza. We took it to a pizza tasting party where each couple brought a pizza from a local pizzaria. Our pizza won hands down! It was the perfect pizza. Thin crust, subtle but complex sauce flavor, lotsa meat. Mmmmmmm! I almost afraid to get it again because once I start eating it, I’m not sure I will be able to stop!

Awesome. First night in town and first meal here. Food was excellent and out hostess, Samantha, was superb. If you are in town, this is a place to visit.

Right away I will say I would have given Franco’s five stars but it needs to be in a new location. My husband and I live in West Virginia, and we like to dine here when in the area. We are really having a difficult time getting our adult children, who live on the area, and know what happens all the time, to go there now. The neighborhood is getting more and more sketchy all the time. However, the restaurant remains wonderful! The food, service and sometime entertainment is all good. I believe they will eventually have to move-​if things do not improve in that area of the city.

Customer service is good, and the sandwiches are above average. Personally didn’t care for the pizza unfortunately though. This is what the place was known for according to other locals so it was disappointing from that standard, nonetheless I will be back for the chicken fillet sandwiches and other menu items that looked appetizing but not for their pizza… which is what I went in for in the first place.

Love the food here. Everything I’ve ordered has been excellent.
I get cheese steak hogies often. I also recommend the pizza.

I’ve been seeing this place on a daily basis and haven’t had the time to go in and have some food from there. One day, my husband and I decided to get a pizza from there, which was great — tasted fresh and awesome but you have to pick up, there’s no delivery available.
We finally took the initiative to go out for a nice dinner date to Franco’s and had a great time. We ordered the calamari, mozzarella salad, chicken francese and chicken parmigiana. While we waited, the waitress brought us some fresh bread and butter, which was warm and delicious. The calamari was great, lightly breaded and perfectly cooked. The salad had sliced onions and tomatoes in it, with some cilantro, oil, and seasoning added to it as well. The onion was way too strong and overpowering for the salad, but the mozzarella was fresh and on point.
My husband had ordered the chicken francese with angel hair pasta — for a place that’s a few blocks from where we live, the francese was pretty good. My husband really liked it and you could tell it was freshly made, always a plus. I had ordered the chicken parmigiana with linguini, which was alright. The main thing that put me off from my selected meal was the fact that the tomato sauce was funny and water on the bottom of my plate, you could tell it was from a can and not freshly made. The pasta for both our meals was cooked to perfection, as was the chicken. Just wish the sauce tasted better.
All in all, for your neighborhood Italian restaurant, the food was great. It’s not something you’d expect from the Ocean View Shopping Center. I’m sure with their menu, both my husband and I will find something we both love.

Tonight was my first time here, and it was an amazing experience! Our waitress was on point, very nice and attentive. The food was delicious! Bread came out piping hot, the sauce and meatballs were very flavorful, And the atmosphere was awesome (I really dig the piano man!) Definitely coming back!

Loved it came from lunch with my co– workers had blast staff was attentive, quick n sweet. Great food we will be back for more! Thank you!

i love the workers there, i worked in the plaza for almost two years and ordered from there more then a handful of times.
The food can be a little bland, but the pizza is YUMMY! and they always make it just the way I ask. i love the crust and the sauce.
The sandwiches are so good, subway who?
it’s small and hidden in a not so nice part of town, but the open kitchen and neighborhood feel draw you in.
Price is a little high, but with very little to choose from, you get what you pay for. better then any other place within 5 miles hands down.

Visiting the area overnight for a concert and there aren’t a lot of good food options. This place was nicely decorated, welcoming, good service, fresh ingredients, well-​prepared and varied dishes. Really a nice surprise worth trying.

Stopped in this place for the first time today for some takeout and the food was amazing. I had cheese baked ravioli and it was cooked to perfection. My wife had spaghetti and meatballs and that was amazing as well. Love the fact that they put a loaf of Italian bread in the bag with the meal. This place definitely impressed this italian. Will definitely go there to eat in the near future.

Thought we’d try a new place for Italian last week end. We arrived at around 5:30pm on Sunday. The place was packed. We walked in and waited by the door, not sure if we should wait for a hostess. After a few awkward minutes, a voice yelled at us from somewhere in the back of the restaurant to sit anywhere. Our waitress took our drink order and came back a few minutes later, after we’d had a chance to review the menu. We had no idea that there were any specials, until after we ordered and heard other servers tell their tables about them. That was disappointing.
The house salad was delicious. Very fresh, the garnish of provolone and salami hit the spot and the house dressing tasted home made. Too bad it drowned the lettuce, but overall, a good salad. Generous portion, too. As a side note: prices for entrees do not include sides. If you want a vegetable or a salad, you pay for that separately. House salad was $ 4.00.
I ordered the chicken Francese. I have to say that the thin pieces of chicken were cooked perfectly, but there was a severe lack of seasoning. Very bland — and the canned mushrooms were a disappointment. For $ 15, I know the profit margin was high enough for them to afford fresh veggies.
Husband ordered the chicken parm which he described as, «meh». We both noticed the strange amount of water on his dish. As if they don’t have a colander to drain the pasta before plating.
In the middle of our dinner, we heard an inordinate amount of banging, from the open kitchen. I figured somebody was tenderizing some meat, but the banging seemed to go on for a full 5 minutes. NOT enjoyable for patrons in an open dining room.
The waitress placed the check on the table and thanked us for coming. No mention of, «Ill be back to check you out in a few minutes» or «please pay at the register when you’re ready». Fortunately, husband had noticed others paying at the register while we were eating, so he got up, paid, and we left.
Overall, it was ok but for the prices there, I would expect better than ok. We will not be back.

Am a regular at this place and know the waitresses very well. Staff are excellent and very friendly. The food is EXCELLENT. I usually get a half hoagie as they are pretty large. Their Italian hoagies are AMAZING the bread is the best part — it’s warm and toasted and fresh. The steak/​cheese/​mushroom hoagies are excellent too. Their homemade Italian dressing is amazing! It probably could make anything taste better. Love their fries and their small side salads are very reasonable and covered in that dressing. The prices are very reasonable for such good, homemade food. Their lasagna and pasta is homemade and very good from what I hear, my co-​workers order it often though I’ve never gotten it myself. Overall — this is an excellent place and we look forward to eating here weekly for lunch. It sure beats fast food!