Al And Frank - Syosset

Twas the night before Thanksgiving....who wanted to go out...?Recently, I was asked what was my favorite italian restaurant on Long Island. Not wanting to be rude, I didn 't say home , I said I don 't have one. Well, I was wrong. Franina is MY FAVORITE italian restaurant on Long Island.We have been going to Franina for the past several years. Always a solid meal with expert service. Normally, the restaurant is full and you need a reservation, especially on weekend nights.This night it was very slow. Actually, I think only 20 or so people had dinner during our meal. Sometimes, this can work against you. Not this night, it 's part of what made the evening special. We felt that the entire staff was serving us exclusively. We felt special.We met the chef at the bar before our meal. We asked what fish was good, he responded with the usual suspects, bronzino, red snapper, swordfish...the usual. I know he personally made our meal. Perfection.We started with something that wasn 't on the menu. Fried shrimp. I had been craving it. Not sure they do it all the time, maybe they did because it was slow. Well, they knocked it out of the park. U10 's expertly battered in panko with a side of marinara sauce. Simple, right....not so easy to make extremely well. Hot, crunchy and not over cooked. Sublime.We followed by splitting the pappardelle with veal ragu. Also, surprisingly light. No butter or cream. That would be cheating. For our main, we split the branzino. Wow ! Sauteed and finished with a light dusting of breadcrumbs. Nicely garnished with vegetables and a few roasted potatoes. Again, simple, but hard to execute at this level. Perfection.Franina is the pinnacle of a professionally managed restaurant with seasoned and knowledgeable staff at all levels. It 's sort of a ballet where the maitre de greets you and the captain takes your order and waiters bring your food. It 's an experience that evokes earlier times times I am fortunate to remember as a child . I am sure they still do table service on some dishes. I haven 't seen it, but I 'm sure they do. The room is elegant with graciously spaced tables. They have three dining rooms. Private parties would be nice here.Franina is a cut above.Give it a try.

Wow ! Was invited to a party in the wine room at Franina. The food was exceptional. Service was top-notch. This is an old-school italian restaurant that definitely knows what they are doing. We started with a delcious plate of fresh Mozzarella and Melon and prosciutto, then we had rigatoni wirh sauce. The pasta dish was so simple but yet so delicious. The pasta was cooked Al dente, and the sauce was amazing. I went with the Veal Chop wirh Peppers. Wow, I'm glad I did! The veal was cooked perfectly , and I highly suggest this dish. I didn't see a menu since I was at a party, but if this dish is available on the menu, get it ! My girlfriend went with the filet mignon, which was also cooked perfectly and she loved it This restaurant was outstanding. I can not wait to return.

Fantastic meal and excellent service ! Grilled calamari was amazing ! Can't wait to visit again

It was a disgrace to Italian cuisine. Would not come here again. I felt nauseous after eating here. I ordered seafood special pasta (lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams) with white sauce for $46. Pasta is (usually) my favorite dish. It 's an Italian restaurant, so of course I assume pasta is a safe choice to make. The pasta was served in what looked like soup-like liquid which tasted like ....chicken broth? Ew. I needed a soup spoon to eat what was supposed to be a basic white wine sauce with my pasta. The shrimp was not seasoned at all. It looked like it was unfrozen and just placed on top of plain pasta, floating on top of.... a sauce that looked more like watery soup. I was served half a small baby lobster. Also, not seasoned. I 'm not sure what I was served, but it was definitely not what I would consider pasta. The only thing I DID enjoy was the cheesecake, coffee, and biscotti for dessert. We spent around $500 as one of the only customers in the place that evening, and the restaurant staff did not appreciate our business since they turned off most of the lights at 9pm as a very rude hint to hurry up and leave. The place closes at 9pm, but you can at least give customers a fair chance to finish up dessert instead of turning off the lights. Especially considering we were one of only two occupied tables supporting the empty restaurant that evening.

By far the best restaurant on Long Island. Great service and terrific food. You have to save room for dessert !! Terrific.