Franca's Italian Restaurant

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Mining Potato

via Google

5 stars all around. Visited on a Friday night. Owner greeted us with warmth and smiles. Not a large number of tables but that's part of the charm of this place. Had enough room for us 3 at 7:30pm. After some amazing food and great drinks, somehow it was 9:30. Never felt rushed at all. Maybe it was the candles, piano playing or good lighting. I will be visiting again next time I'm in town. My wife, a good friend and myself throughly enjoy our dining experience that evening. I don't often leave reviews but I felt it necessary for this place.

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Pei-chi Chang

via Google

My friend and I came for their gourmet dining experience during YYC expo. The restaurant is very cute and cozy and the staff are very nice and attentive. The menu started off great with their individual burrata, cherry tomato, arugula and prosciutto. Large portion, fantastic! Second was the calabrese style sausage, light spice tomato sauce with mixed peppers, very flavourful. The next dish is unfortunately where it went a little downhill. The rose gnocchi. When we had our first bite, my friend and I both looked at eachother and though hmm is it supposed to just fall apart and taste like mush? After a second bite, I thought I'd bring it up to our server as we've never had gnocchi with that texture. Our server was very nice, apologized and said it was probably overcooked and brought us a new dish. Unfortunately it was no better. The gnocchi didn't keep its shape and the texture was not pleasant. It was so soft and mushy you couldn't even pick a piece up with your fork as it would simply break apart and almost disintegrate. We ate 2-3 pieces and called it a day. Maybe it was an off day with the gnocchi? I hope so 😅 Next was the grilled lamb chops, lemon & garlic sauce. Very small portion compared to everything else. It was sadly a 1 bite lamb chop. My friend had one piece being undercooked and one piece being very well done. Flavour was simple, wouldn't say it came with a sauce but rather just grilled with lemon garlic seasoning. Lastly, the star of the show, the limoncello tiramisu. Generous portion and absolutely delightful! The perfect balance between sweet and citrus. Would come back just for the dessert ☺️

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Freedom 202x

via Google

My wife and I heard about Franco’s from a friend and heard that it changed hands so we ventured out to check out the new management and of course most important, the food. We were very happy with the food and extremely pleasant service that we got. I ordered my go to Italian dish, Chicken Parmigiana. Although I was a little surprised when the dish came because it didn’t look anything like what I used to. I.e. a fried piece of chicken with marinara sauce, it tasted really great and the presentation was refreshing. For desert, the lemon cello liqueur and the light lemon cake was fantastic. The only tricky thing was parking but it’s worth the effort. Definitely go again. Cheers

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Rich

via Google

We were excited to try this spot. When we walked in the ambiance was really cute and comfortable. But the service was an incredible F for Failure party. After we got sat down it seemed like they forgot about us, and no they weren't all that busy, I'd say 4 tables including one large group of 6. Finally got the menu and again they forgot about us, we weren't sure if we had to close the menu up and put it to the side for it to be visible which we did. My partner even asked for a second glass of wine but the server forgot about it but didn't forget to charge us, which we brought up of course. When you have a failed service it's not worth talking about the food. Could have been just an off day. Feb 22, 2026 I never responded to these reviews BUT your review response didn't sit well. Please, I encourage to check your cameras, your server may have poured the glass of wine but it was 100% NEVER given to us and don't say she poured it at the table, again check your cameras. Of you would without hesitation comp us the wine because it was never served to us. If the server forgot to even take our order what makes you think she'd serve us a second glass of wine. This is the reason I am writing an F for service. Most guest will be in conversation; deep, singing, reciting a poem or even silent, each to their own, doesn't mean you need to neglect the service. We even interacted with her when she finally decided to take our order with, " what's your favorite vs your most popular", get a clue. By the way, I think I will rate your food...blanching it water would have given it flavor, sad and pathetic hence we didn't finish our mains...ok, we did at least eat all the shrimp. Boston Pizza has got you covered and we don't even eat at BPs. I was being generous by not commenting on the food in my original review. Your friends Karen and Ned

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Bronwyn Johansen

via Google

Delicious gourmet menu! The first course gave you the opportunity to create your own diverse bites. Seasoned really well and great ingredients. The gnocchi was very soft, it had a really well balanced sauce. The lamb was perfectly rare. Just when you think you've peaked they bring out this amazing limoncello tiramisu. Sour and creamy while very light. Excellent balance between very full and totally satisfied but not too full. Lots of care went into every step of the process. The atmosphere was nice and the wait staff very attentive.