Italian

Frankie & Johnny’s Corner Ristorante (Fort Lauderdale)

Posted on June 18th, 2010 · Fort Lauderdale Italian

***** Frankie & Johnny’s Corner Ristorante, 2701 Oakland Park Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33306 (954) 561 0805.

Got an outrageously good–casual–moderately priced- Italian joint for you…Frankie & Johnny’s located in Fort Lauderdale. The joint has something like 6 inside tables—bar seating (when I was there, loads of people were eating at the bar)—outside patio seating. Just a suggestion, have a reservation, as this is a real-tight-small restaurant and apparently has a huge following.

Just so you know, Frankie & Johnny’s doesn’t have a large menu…that said, even you “veal parm” eaters out there, should have no problem finding something delicious to eat. My recent “outing” was for dinner…the restaurant has a certain “vibe” to it…can’t put my finger on it, but I really enjoyed the “people watching” and the “closeness” of the tables. Don’t know why, but the characters of A Bronx Tale would probably feel right at home here.

Like I said before, the food is very good. A recent outing had me doing…linguine in white clam sauce, chicken milanese, gnocchi, clams oreganata, lasagna, chicken/peppers/sausage. Check www.frankieandjohnnys.com for menu/prices/photos.

Something- very different than the “red sauce” joints that dot the South Florida landscape.

Frankie & Johnny’s is open Monday-Friday 11am-4pm for lunch and 7 days a week for dinner 4pm-11pm.

33 Comments to “Frankie & Johnny’s Corner Ristorante (Fort Lauderdale)”

  1. karyn says...

    I hate Frankie and Johnny’s. They are pretentious and over-priced. The waiters are snobbish and it takes forever to get in. Once we did, we left!

    Try Cafe La Buca. Very authentic … very schmaltzy but it’s an experience. Family is from Naples, Italy.
    You’ll love it.

  2. Dennis says...

    Overpriced? Say what?

    You missed the eggplant parm, man. Its the best I’ve had in South Florida.

    The trick is go for lunch, after 2pm. Huge portions, no crowds, lower prices. Order the Eggplant Parm Sandwich, no bread, with linguine. Fantastic.

  3. ggold says...

    had a great lunch today at F & J’s, delicious food, Meatballs with ricotta and sauteed red peppers with onions, huge portions,amazing sauce, priced lower than I would have guessed (considering the quality of the food and portion size) and the greeting and service was excellent. Great choice Jeff.

  4. JRE says...

    This has to be one of your greatest picks since you started this site. The staff is the nicest bunch of people going. The restaurant itself is small and really cool and the outside patio is perfect for those with dogs. The food is sensational. Those clams oreganta and lasagna that you mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg on great food.
    Thanks,
    JRE

  5. JG says...

    Small place. More seats outside than inside. Jammed all of the time with regulars. The meatballs are phenomenal. I love this restaurant.

  6. redman says...

    Hey, Jeff, this was a great find. I had lunch there and the food is incredible. I had meatballs with ricotta cheese. Amazing.

  7. KSA says...

    Outrageously good food. Small but outside patio is nice on a good evening. Call for reservations.

  8. Nativesun says...

    My wife and I ate here last Sat. night..walked in no reservations..ah yes summer time..couldn;t do this in season though. No tables inside so we sat outside perfect weather..large portions very reasonable priced..very fast service..people watching was great some true characters!!!
    Frank Sanitra signer was too funny!!!NNever felt rushed cant wait to go back.

  9. JT says...

    Ate outside. Great food and service. Never would have even thought about this one. Thanks, JT

  10. POPS says...

    This is a real happening place. Small inside but outside patio is real hops at night. Super food.

  11. Dr. Z. says...

    tried to get a resv. impossible unless you want to sit outside.
    i’ll keep trying.
    heard great things about this restaurant from you and several others.

  12. GGS says...

    Jeff, dinner this evening for 4. fabulous reasonably priced food. had meatballs with riccota cheese some of the best i’ve had. also had chicken “our way” sort of like chicken scarpiello. love the look of the place and the great singer Tony doing standards of Dean, Frank and countless others. Great recommendation.

  13. CC says...

    Can’t believe other poster Dennis that called Frankie’s overpriced and pretentious.
    My wife and I have eaten there twice. First of all. Both times we started with meatball appetizer which was enough for 4 people. We also had a house sald which was big enough for 3 people.
    The single order chicken dish (“our way”) is enough to feed 2.
    The waiters couldn’t be more accomodating and Johnny stopped by out table at least twice at each outing.
    That poster Dennis doesn’t know what he is taking about.
    By the way the food is terrific.

  14. JGD says...

    What a fun restaurant.
    Good food.
    Good service.
    Large portions.
    Eclectic clientel.
    The night we were there fun music from a Sinatra-Martin- singer.
    For the same price as some local pizza joint we had a great night out.

  15. Ronnie D. says...

    half the fun of this joint is the onwer Johnny and the cast of characters that eat there. nobody trying to impress nobody.
    lreally enjoy the food.
    too bad there aren’t more inside tables because on ahumid night sitting outside is a BIG problem.

  16. Dennis W. says...

    Enjoyed the food. Loved the closet ambianace. Nice cast of characters.

    • Johnnie G. says...

      Vibe is better than the food.But still a pretty good package.

      • sg says...

        Have to agree with you the ambiance is better than the food. Food is okay but nothing to go running for. The waiters are pleasant but are real amateurs. The whole package is enjoyable but if top notch food is what you are looking for don’t bother.

        • DA says...

          you are sooooo right.
          food is fair.
          the ambiance is the fun part.

  17. Johnny B. says...

    good food. ggod drink. good crowd.
    good find, jeff.

  18. Karyn & Richard says...

    Did not like it at all. Overpriced and pretentious is also my take. Around 2:30 lunch — (or late breakfast??) and no one was there. We felt as though we were being an imposition on the people who ran the place. We ended up leaving because we had such bad vibes from the servers who did not want to be there with no other customers at the restaurant… We simply got up and left. Don’t do that often but here it seemed like a good idea: (Why waste our time, right?)
    I looked at the dinner prices too — I don’t know how good the place is, but it seemed overpriced. For pasta? Must be gold-plated!
    But people love it so maybe it was an off-day

    • joe z says...

      i’ve had much better.

  19. JOEY CORAL says...

    NICE LOOKING JOINT ….FOOD WAS JUST OK ….ACTUALLY MY CLAM SAUCE IS BETTER ……SERVICE NOT GREAT ,,
    PRICES WERE JUST ABOVE AVERAGE ……
    WOULDNT BE GOING BACK

  20. luca braze says...

    food is ok
    service is just fair

  21. nonna says...

    hey jeff, ate there earlier this evening.
    our first time. they just opened an add on dining room. we were put in there. sort of like eating in a prison cell totally unconnected from main bar room.
    food is fair.
    nothing that i would say was even close to being delicious.
    wont be back.

  22. mmmary says...

    Sorry Jeff you really missed here. As you have said in many other revbiews your favorite neighborhood pizza joint makes better food.
    I ate there one time. The lasagna was just a mush of crap.
    The meatlballs were huge but were way too soft and fell apart as you ate them.
    The shrimp scampi tasted spoiled.
    This joint will never see me again.

  23. lynn says...

    Jeff, four of us ate dinner there last Saturday night. We sat inside in a new room which just opened. It isn’t connected to the main restaurant so it’s like eating in something that has nothing to do with the restaurant.
    We were very unhappy with the seating.
    The food is second rate.
    The prices are fair.
    The service was good.
    This was our first and last time here.

    • NELLI says...

      lynn,
      My husband and I were also put in that new room a couple of nights ago. It is absolutely disgusting.
      Prior to that, the fun of this restaurant is the ambiance of the bar area. The food isn’t the greatest but the bar area and all of its hustle and bustle made for a fun and enjoyable meal.
      being put into a crappy room ruins the whole thing.
      I will never eat here again unless I am guranteed a spot in the main dining area.

  24. John K. says...

    I have eaten there 3 times. Twice in the main room and most recently in the new room. Don’t like the new room.
    The last time out the food was VILE. Shrimp were very fishy tatsing.
    The lasagna fell apart and was tasteless.
    Even their signature roast chicken was tasteless.
    The new room and its sterile atmosphere and the lousy food did me in.
    Not going back for round 4.

  25. zaza says...

    first time food was very good. second time the food was lousy.

  26. ernie k doe says...

    food was lousy.

  27. chewy says...

    not good.
    dnt waste your money.

  28. This is a great spot!! Sit at the bar, drink the house red and ENJOY !! You can’t finish the portions !!

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