Pizzaria Francesca
Restaurant - Pizza in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
134-136 Manor House Road
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Tyne and Wear
NE2 2NA
Contact Numbers
Reviews
Good Italian grub
I've been to Francesca's a couple of times - once on a busy Saturday night and once earlyish on a Friday evening. Saturday nights are extremely busy - we had to queue for around 30 minutes - but as we decided to go back another time, it can't have been that bad! The menu is a bit odd, with you being expected to kind of just know what each item on the menu is without a lot of description, but if you just ask one of the waiters to explain a bit, then it turns out to be quite fun! They serve good, simple Italian food, with an option to have half pizza and half pasta if you find it hard to decide between them. Just a warning though, if you order the strawberry ice cream, expect it to arrive luminous pink! Don't worry though, it tastes ok!
A User - 11/09/2008 | report this review
Molto Bene!
have to agree with the other reviews francescas isnt about fine dining or exellent cuisine but about atmosphere and a lively night or day out with good friends or the family though id say can be a little raucous for the younger family members on a busy weekend evening. This place is always heaving, i cant remember a time ive visited and walked straight in, unless it is through the day when you can pretty much grab a table but it still gets popular. Staff are a friendly enough bunch and seem to enjoy their job as it tends to keep its staff for a long time. Great little place, def to be recommended.
A User - 10/09/2008 | report this review
Fast, fun and the foods ok too
Buried in the backstreets of Jesmond, on a corner near a hairdressers and a flat rental office, is a brilliant Italian restaurant. You can't book, and to be honest, you wouldn't want to, because queuing is half the fun. It gets busy from 6pm onwards, and I've never got there and not had to queue. The good thing is that you can get your drinks from the bar, and quite often you get chatting to other people waiting.Have you ever had the "Do I want pizza or pasta? Pasta or pizza? Hmm, pasta, or pizza" well, you can have both! Their innovative "Half Pasta, half pizza" deal is just what you need. Pesto spaghetti and a bluecheese and salami pizza, coming right up. The portions are generous, verging on too large, but with the prices being very reasonable, you'll not worry if you leave things. The salads are functional, a bit on the limp and chunky side, but ok. You'd never order one on it's own as a main course. The deepfried whitebait as a starter are brilliant however, I have them every time. The tiny fish, served piping hot and crunchy with a big wedge of lemon are just the ticket to get your stomach rumbling an ready for the main course. The desert look unappealing, but I've never had them mainly because I've never had room after the main course.It's not fine Italian dining by any means, with the food being a bit on the "served extremely quickly because we'd already cooked it" side to be honest. I've read several people complaining online about the food not being anything special, and I would probably agree, but that not really the reason you come here. There are Italian restaurants serving better food, but I come back here far more often.The wine list is a bit limited, but I nearly always opt for the house red, which comes in a healthy 1 litre bottle, and is just a bit too sweat to be considered a great glass, but by the time two people has queued and ordered, its tasting ok, and at a tenner a bottle, its will never break the bank.One of my favorite things about Francesca's is watching the dynamic of the staff. They are obviously a family, with a pecking order and internal frictions that sometime bubble to the top, but that said they are all friendly and run off their feet, periodically busting into song, frequently complementing female dinners, and generally exactly what you want from a busy restaurant.It's busy, the food is fine, the bill will never break the bank, and its always an entertaining visit. Defiantly worth a walk back from Osborn Road, and possibly worth spending more on the wine that I do if you do.
A User - 05/09/2007 | report this review
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