Franco's - Tendring

We had been to Franco's many times before and loved it, both under the original ownership and the new. However, it seems that it has changed hands yet again and not for the good I'm afraid. Although, judging by the November reviews maybe it is back on track again. I also note that late September/early reviews are similar to ours, which was very poor. In fact we left before the food arrived, mainly due to the extremely poor level of service we received with our drinks. We were out to celebrate my wife's birthday and to start the evening, the four of us all ordered double Gin Tonic's. However, it took 40 minutes for the drinks to arrive. And if if we thought the time taken to bring the drinks was bad, then you can imagine our disappointment when one of the waitresses brought four large dirty glasses with what looked like water in them. No ice, no lemon, and the mixers already poured in the glass, so no way to judge what level of gin we had received. When we asked about the ice and lemon they looked at us in astonishment. We assumed that they had none of neither, otherwise why bring drinks without the basics? It was like they had never worked in a bar/restaurant before and had just wandered in off the street. To make matters worse, they then arrived later with a glass of lemons and a glass of ice. By this stage we could see the evening descending into chaos and we decided to leave. No apology from the staff or questions, they just allowed us to leave and got on with their business. Very off-putting. We decided to try Killocks, which was surprisingly good. Unfortunately, that's another restaurant off the go-to list.

We're visiting and found Franco's by chance and goodness are we pleased we did!! The service is spot on, traditional, honest to goodness customer service. Made us aware of their presence but were not overbearing. Friendly, chatted just enough for us to feel warm and comfortable but not so much to disturb our meal. I cannot find an appropriate adjective for the steak... I asked for a blue rib eye and was not disappointed. A perfect sear on an otherwise beautiful piece of butter soft meat. The sautéed potatoes were a seasoned offering to the gods. Excellent, cannot recommend enough. We will be traveling back the 120 miles just to eat here again.

Wasn’t expecting to find this in Clacton. A great Italian restaurant, food and service fantastic and in true Italian portions!! Wide selection of wines as well as other drinks. Great value for money too. Best I’ve had in Clacton for years.

Would have an extra star but our rib eye steaks were over seared, burnt. On our visit not many daily specials, only 3 starters and 2 mains.

What can I say about this place apart from it’s absolutely amazing The staff are so so friendly and welcoming Nothing was too much for them The food is some of the best I’ve eaten The scallops and tiger prawns were to die for and the fillet steak cooked to perfection Then can the desserts WOW This place is a real gem and we are so lucky to have it close to us We will be regular customers from now on If you haven’t tried Franco’s and you enjoy fresh seafood top quality meat and excellent service you really must go