Frankie Johnnie & Luigi Too
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Details:
Carry Out, Cheap Eats, Date Spot, Family-Friendly Dining, Group Dining, Lunch Spot
Message from Frankie Johnnie & Luigi Too
Lively chatter and the aroma of garlic are the first things you notice when you walk into Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too. The interior is warm, friendly, and classically "Italian," (complete with red-checkered tablecloths). It is perfect for "date night," as well as the entire family. The restaurant has an open kitchen where patrons can watch the cooks "hand toss" the pizza dough and prepare entire meals. Frankie's is the pizza "mecca" of the South Bay. Don't look for yuppie pizza here. We feature authentic Italian pie that can be topped with your choice of items or one of the house combos.Our menu features time-honored Southern Italian cooking. Traditional dishes such as Veal Parmigiana, Osso Bucco, and Chicken Limone abound. Signature pasta dishes such as Fettuccine Prawns Portofino and Fettuccine Calabrese are sure to satisfy even the most discriminating palate.
Editorial by Citysearch
What You'll GetBig portions of classic Italian food that won't challenge the palate or break the bank. It's got a mom-and-pop vibe, but no one will confuse this place with the real thing.
The Food
Think pasta or pizza. Simple is best. Go with the spaghetti with meatballs, meat ravioli or chicken linguini. The New York-style lasagna is the restaurant's best dish--Italian sausage and ricotta layered with noodles, meat sauce and mozzarella. It's baked, of course. The cooks are very generous with their pizza toppings and often overload the pies (a nice change). But it's hard to not like the stromboli pizza which comes with sausage, pepperoni, salami and mushroom.
To Start
The sausage bread delivers exactly what it promises.
To End
Go with the cannoli, sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate chip filling in a crunchy pastry shell.
Key Points
- Fresh pizza
- Authentic Italian cuisine
- Trays to go
The Inside Scoop
- Dinner and a Movie - Catch a flick after dinner at AMC Saratoga 14.
- One of Silicon Valley's Best - Nominated for best pizza for loading the pies with plenty of toppings
- To Go - Order the Frankie's Family Dinner to take home. It serves 4 to 6 and features salad, bread, spaghetti or rigatoni, a medium cheese pizza and a whole barbecued chicken.
Insider Pages Reviews for Frankie Johnnie & Luigi Too
I'm a fan of FJ&L 2 because they do a really nice job of serving authentic style Italian food, at a pretty good price considering it is a nice restaurant with good service. We love the pizza crust, and at lunch I'm always satisfied with one of their entree salads and some bread. We like!
Posted 08/09/08 | Report Abuse
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Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi's has a really nice looking restaurant, good food and a friendly staff.... It's a good place for the whole family or a date night. Good prices and I recommend them for sure...
Posted 05/22/08 | Report Abuse
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Frankie Johnnie & Luigi Too offers good food for fair prices. I like the atmosphere, they have a bar with TV and full service at the booths and tables. My favorite dish is the eggplant parmesan, my kids love the pasta. Good desserts too......
Posted 10/14/07 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi's Too
by dyonenaga
My wife and I just returned from dinner at Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi's, and I am afraid to say that the place has really gone down hill over the past few years. It used to be that you would have to wait for about 30 minutes, even during the week, to get a table in this place.
We arrived just before 6pm, and the place was only about a quarter full. When we walked up to the front desk, the manager/hostess had her back to us, and she was having a discussion with one of the employees. Rather than turn around and acknowledge us immediately, she continued with her conversation, leaving us to just stand there waiting to be seated. It wasn't until another employee motioned to her that there were customers waiting that she finally turned around and said hello. Not a very inviting way to start a meal. She lead us to our table, plopped the menus down and was headed back to the front desk before we even sat down.
We ordered our drinks and the chicken pesto bread as an appetizer. My wife ordered the chicken lemon soup and a spinach salad, and I ordered the Lamb Osso Bucco as our entrees. While very tasty, the chicken pesto bread was cold. Our waiter, who was also the on-duty bartender, then brought out my wife's soup and salad--but he brought out minestone soup instead of the chicken lemon she had ordered.
After about 10 minutes, my lamb finally arrived. While it was hot, it had absolutely no flavor at all. I ate about a third of it and just gave up (our dog, however, thought it was very good). As our waiter/bartender was busy doing other things, the busboy came by to check to see if we wanted boxes. Our waiter finally brought our check by. He never once asked us how our meals were.
Unfortunately, FJL in San Jose has really declined over the last few years. The staff just seems to be very indifferent when it comes to their customers. Based on how empty the restaurant was this evening, I would not be surprised if it closes/changes hands in a year.
Pros: lots of potential
Cons: Poor service, indifferent service
Posted 12/04/07
Should clean up the place
by sc8229
The food was ok, but not worth of the money. They should improve the services. The place is over rated.
Posted 08/26/07
Expensive, OK food
by floydrowe
The food was OK, not worth the price. Service doesn't not make up for high prices. Will not go back.
Posted 01/28/06
Great Food, Great Staff!
by juliaoboo
We visit this place regularly! Although there may be better Italian out there and the alfredo sauce is a little runny as one of the commenters noted, the food really is very good and we especially love the staff. They have a core group of stafff at this location that has some tenure and are very pleasant and personable. They even remember I don't like the mushrooms when I forget to ask "no mushrooms please". The Wednesday Family night is a deal you CANNOT beat. For $40 our family of 6 is stuffed and we have plenty of left overs to take home too! They are really good about substituting items too. So if you want something on the menu but prefer different sides they are very accomodating! They also have a decent Kids Menu.
Pros: Great Service, Reasonable Prices, Nice Atmosphere
Cons: Busy on weekends
Posted 12/31/05
Red sauce
by standupdouble
If you want simple red sauce Italian, this is a good choice. Nothing fancy here, simple food in a pleasent setting.
Pros: good parking
Posted 11/23/02
please don't extend to 'three'
by monanina29
overpriced food not worth the value. although the service and ambience were good, i would not pay close to ten dollars for a plate again when the pasta is not al dente and the sauce is just too runny.
Posted 11/09/02
Try it, you'll like it.
by alberto3051
Very good food at reasonable prices. Great pizza.
Large portions, fast service, great Mexican chefs
cooking Italian food.
Posted 10/27/02
Industrial Italian
by Eshta
I really like their warm rigatoni spinach salad, with gorgonzola and bacon (probably because it's very simple and straightforward like Italian cooking should be) and their calzone is good except that the chicken is in little cubes and reminds me of the way that Taco Bell used to do their chicken. (Shudder) Prawns Portofino used to be my favorite dish as a kid so I still have fond memories of this place, but there are better out there. Frankly, even Florentines might be better for industrial Italian. For the Real Deal, go elsewhere.
Posted 08/23/02
Great cheesy pizza, good pastas.
by wmole
One of the best Italian restaurants in the bay area (it's a "micro-chain"). If you like cheese on your pizza, then this is the place for you. Very nice, doughy crust. Lots of topping choices.
The pasta is good, but not terrific, meatballs are a bit "tough."
Often crowded on weekends, but it's worth the visit.
Pros: great pizza, good pastas, fun
Cons: crowded
Posted 08/19/02