Message from Frankie Johnnie & Luigi Too
The aroma of garlic and the long line out the door are the first things you notice when you walk into Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too. The interior is warm, friendly, and funky "Italian," (complete with red-checkered tablecloths). It is perfect for romantic couples, 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.
Editorial by Citysearch
The SceneIt's got a mom-and-pop vibe, but no one will confuse this place with the real thing.
The Food
Big portions of classic Italian food that won't challenge the palate or break the bank. Think pasta or pizza. Simple is best. Go with the spaghetti and 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. The sausage bread delivers exactly what it promises. For dessert, go with the cannoli, sweetened ricotta cheese and chocolate chip filling in a crunchy pastry shell.
Key Points
- Authentic Italian cuisine
- Pastas, salads and pizza
- Made fresh daily
The Inside Scoop
- What to Order - 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
BY FAR the best italian food i have had in mountain view. This place is always packed so make sure you get there early or make a resorvation! I dont know how they make their bread but it is the best bread ive had at a restaurant too.
Posted 09/14/09 | Report Abuse
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I just moved to area in Oct-07 went and got a large cheese pizza there on Valentines day. the service was fast and efficient considering they were packed. I thought $17.00 was a little high for just a large cheese pizza. However I would rate the pizza being a expert on pizza coming from NY I would give it a 3.8 that's 5 being the best. I would try it again.
Posted 02/15/08 | Report Abuse
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It's one of those places where you've been to a few times but you can't really remember much about it. It's a pretty popular place (we've had to wait most of the times we've been there), but I just can't remember anything as being very special.
Posted 03/12/06 | Report Abuse
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I've gone here several times with groups (volleyball team, birthday party). It's a decent italian restaurant. I can't say that it was exquisite, but each time I was pretty satisfied. You can get either pizza or pasta here. The little parking lot right next to the place fills up pretty quickly, but there is a large lot just down the alley with plenty of parking. They claim that if you are pregnant and you eat hear near your delivery date, you'll deliver within 48 hours or something like that. I didn't test out that theory, but it's a cute legend.
Posted 03/11/06 | Report Abuse
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I think this is the best Italian restaurant around. The food is excellent, the pricing is affordable and service is good. While you wait in lines, which can be long, you can wander over to the kitchen area and watch them make the pizzas...always fun for kids, or the kid in all of us. Highly recommended.
Posted 06/16/05 | Report Abuse
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This is a fun family style restaurant with really good pizza. They have a larger variety of food than the average pizza place, which is great if you are with a group and not everyone wants pizza. It's easy to spend a lot of money without really realizing it.
Posted 06/03/05 | Report Abuse
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They serve you family-style here, too, and in huge portions, but they actually care about the quality of the food. It's a good place. We have a tradition in my family to come here once or twice a year.
Posted 05/26/05 | Report Abuse
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Good pizzas and salads. Numerous entree choices. Very filling. Good wine selection. Reasonable prices. They do takeout as well. Service is capable.
PROS: A great place to bring friends or family
CONS: Can get really crowded at peak hours
Posted 05/25/05 | Report Abuse
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Latest reviews from Citysearch.
great soups
by daaku6
Soup and bread.. yumm..
Posted 09/23/09
Excellent Italian too many choices!
by gretchm
My boss and I had an excellent lunch today and left very full and satisfied! Every entree we had was delicious , the service was excellent and the place was very clean and inviting! The mushroom appetizer, chopped salad and chicken parm - highly reccomended! I would suggest this restaurant anytime to anyone! I am sure their pizza is amazing as well. Great place to dine for large parties as well. They also have 4 other locations!!
Pros: Mushroom app - to die for! Excellent Chopped Salad
Posted 04/29/09
Decent
by TommyAnthony
This place is decent, not great. I really like the pizza but would not go out of my way for it. The pastas are pretty good but a little heavy on the garlic.
Pros: Pizzas
Cons: Pasta
Posted 12/10/08
LOUSY service, OVERPRICED - large serving size - go somewhere else
by rnadir
LOUSY service and a rude waiter ruined the good food and generous serving size. For the high prices charged, one should expect at least moderately good service. There are so many good restaurants in the area. Another waiter/worker cleaned the neighboring table brushing the crumbs aggressively as to allow some of the crumbs to fly on/over my table and startling my child. Could it have been intentional? Over half the tables were empty at that time. Waiter appeared to be encouraging turnover(more tip$ instead of bigger tip$), frequently asking, are you done? when plates obviously still have plenty of food on them. I suggest trying others such as Pasta Pomodoro which has better food, better service, warmer ambience and lower prices.
Pros: large serving size, lots of parking
Cons: poor service, overpriced
Posted 11/20/07
Good bet for the price
by sionnan
This is a good Italian restaurant. if you are looknig for well done pasta's and Italian-American staples, this is it for Mountain View. As far as middle of the road Italian goes, Mountain View is loaded with over-priced and unimpressive places to go. However, if you want good pasta, and you don't have too much cash, its worth venturing off Castro.(don't bother with Pasta?)
I went here for my cousin's 18th birthday and had a lovely time. They have a great room for large parties, and were excellently attentive. Its nothing fancy, but it leaves you feeling good. Get some appetizers, and maybe a pizza, and enjoy. It is a family atmosphere, very relaxed and welcoming.
Pros: great value, friendly atmosphere
Cons: Food is nothing fancy
Posted 07/30/07
If service and good pasta are important to you, then this isnt the place!
by agent210
Took my mom FJL on Saturday afternoon (14th) for her birthday. It was not that crowded nor busy. The back section of the restaurant had no people sitting in it. Had a waitress who seemed nice.,However, after she took our orders, we never saw her again; Never checked on us, filled our drinks etc. After about 20-25 minutes I got up to find someone then another person came over. We then had a male waiter who apparently was the only server in the front section of the restaurant. He was running in many directions without any help. THe pasta was bland and no flavor. MY mom liked her dish, which I am glad. In the past, I always ordered their pizza and was happy with it. I never ate in the restaurant before. A clue could have been that their take out employees have nasty attitudes but I didnt care because I wasnt eating there. Given all my experiences I wont go back. IF service is low on your priority list then you will not be disappointed. Tony and Albas along with Chicago Pizza have awesome pizza and NEVER HAD BAD SERVICE AT EITHER!
Pros: my mother liked her veal dish
Cons: service, bland pasta, did I mention the poor service
Posted 07/19/07
ok italain food but not my momma's pasta
by wmreyn
Good atmosphere. Service can be inconsistant. Sauces tend to be strong and over spiced, not my momma's pasta. Everyone was pleased but not excited about the food. Pizza was loaded with a lot of "stuff"on it but has no balance, no quality and looses the meaning of a true italian pizza. Wine list was clearly an after thought. I will be sending my friends to Palo Alto for great Italain food.
Pros: atmosphere, service with the right person
Cons: pizza, wine list, parking
Posted 05/16/07
Worth the wait
by mishdahlin
I have been coming here all my life and been getting the same dish since I was about 5 years old. Pollo a la cuore, a simple linguine dish with crisp, tasty vegetables and sauteed chicken, delicious with parmesan cheese. It is my absolute favorite. Anyone new whom I bring and wonders what to get loves this recommendation. The complimentary bread is delicious as well. Their spinach salad and caprese are very good too. So's the pizza but I just get pollo a la cuore every time! One time I overheard some New Yorkers saying that everytime they come to get the Stromboli pizza...must be pretty dang good.
Pros: Price, variety, quality
Cons: Parking, long wait
Posted 04/02/07
Very poor customer service
by eni1orac
My family often went here and has had good experiences. However, this early evening the four of us dined there with a coupon (buy one entree, get one entree free of up to $15 value). My father ordered a leg of lamb (approx. $15), my brother a pasta dish (approx. $14), my mother an appetizer of mussels ($9), and myself a house salad ($4.50), which was, unfortunately, wilted, bathed in dressing, and a sincere disappointment.
Upon receiving the check from our server (who was fine, albeit slow), we presented the coupon, expecting my brother's pasta dish to be deducted. When we received the adjusted tab, my mother's appetizer was deducted from the total instead. (The mussels were clearly listed under the "Antipasto" section of the menu.) We notified our server of what we felt was an incorrect deduction, she informed us the manager had adjusted the tab and offered to fix it. We agreed and waited.
The assistant manager finally sidles up to our table and asks what seems to be the matter. My mother tells him her mussels were listed as an appetizer, not an entree; he argues that she ate it as an entree, therefore it was now considered an entree. I piped up and said that I had eaten my salad as an entree, so was it therefore also an entree upon my consumption as such? He (challengingly) asked me if I'd like my salad to be deducted from the bill instead; I maintained a smile and said, "No, but I believe you should deduct the appropriate entree." After some hemming and hawing, he announced that he'd deduct the pasta "this time" so that we know "next time" to order "an entree for dinner." We waited another ten minutes before receiving our final bill.
The management clearly is not concerned with customer service. The assistant manager was rude, spoke too matter-of-factly, and sneered. A lot. Food? O-K. Service? Emphatic N-O.
Pros: Overall good food, nice porch dining area.
Cons: Very slow service (which may explain the "help wanted" sign), and awful customer service at the management level (which may help further explain the "help wanted" sign).
Posted 08/18/06
Food was ok, good service
by midelahaye
After hearing so many good reviews about this place, we had to check it out. A big disappointment. The food was just ok, I've had better italian food at Safeway than this restaurant. The service was very good but that definitely did not make up for the food. Pretty expensive for what it is. Don't think I'll go back
Pros: service
Cons: food, expensive
Posted 02/13/06
Very Disappointing
by cmadrid
I was looking forward to our first dining experience at Frankie's since I had heard good things. Unfortunately, we were tremendously disappointed. Once seated we had to wait 10 minutes for our drink order. Then, we had to wait for our appetizer in order to receive OUR FIRST DRINK. The food to F-O-R-E-V-E-R to arrive and when it finally did, the pizza my friend ordered was cold, as in congealed cheese. I ordered the linguine with clams and mussels, what I received was sea water with a side of pasta. I wanted to give the place the benefit of the doubt by asking if they were understaffed, but the answer was no. So, suffice it to say, we will not be returning to dine at this establishment.
Pros: Location, Parking, Ambience
Cons: Food, Service, Food
Posted 10/06/05
raldo
by ralsmed
great pizza, good regular food, best if you
go on an off day...
the wait is worth it
Pros: excellent food, limited parking, perfect ambiance
Cons: , limited parking, medium wait
Posted 04/30/04
First Pizzeria on the El Camino Real
by maf3550
This place has been around since 1957. They were the first pizza joint on the El Camino Real and they are still family owned and operated. The food is REAL Italian, made fresh to order.
Pros: Great Food, Good for kids, Great Price and value
Posted 08/28/03
The Stromboli is the best!
by Peter_Lawrence
Their Stromboli pizza is the pizza that all other traditional pizzas (non-New York, non-Chicago style) are judged by. It's the perfect pizza, with the very best quality meat toppings, the best cheese, and the perfect pizza crust (not too thick, not too thin.) The other Italian dishes range from good to very good, but their Stromboli pizza is their signature dish.
Pros: Reasonable Prices, Open Late, Great Pizza
Cons: Small Parking Lot, Crowded on weekends, Can be very noisy
Posted 03/06/03
eat there once, you'll eat there again
by hollyday7138
eat there once, you'll eat there again: great food, great service...great
Pros: great food, great service, great
Cons: not a lot of parking
Posted 02/09/03
Better Pasta
by Ally6574
I think my title sums it up pretty well in saying that the pastas are much more enjoyable.
Pros: , reservations, good parking
Cons: Dim lighting, Bad pizza, expensive
Posted 01/08/03
Service Sucks
by whitchens
Service is terrible. They act as though they are doing you a favor to serve you. Wine and drinks greatly overpriced. Ambience is mediocre fake italian rustic. Food used to be great but quality has slipped badly.
Cons: Poor service, long wait, overrated
Posted 12/04/02
cheesy, italian goodness!
by alwaysacritic
The food here is fantastic! They have the best lasagna I've ever had in a restaurant, their meatballs are incredible, the garlic bread and calamari are habit-forming and even the salad (though I've only had it with the blue cheese dressing) is delicious. Surprising enough, they also make great pizza. Everything I've tasted here has great flavor. And they give you plenty of food at reasonable prices.
Posted 09/03/02
friendly, family italian
by ksgm
you gotta try the sausage bread. it's just amazing! and the minestrone is great.
Posted 07/18/02
palate with passion
by kathil55
every dish and entree is a treat for the palate. My favorite salad is the rigitoni spinachi. the tiramisu is incredable and an excellent dish to top off a dinner
Posted 07/18/02
I have to agree..
by lv_eat
After thinking that this place would probably be as medicore as Carrows or Marie C's this place has very good pizza. The Stromboli is wonderful and so is the pasta! Great for groups because you can share pizzas & still feel like you are "eating out" rather than just eating plain ol' pizza.
Pros: Great Pizza
Cons: Small Parking Area
Posted 06/26/02