Cathy W
Google
Francesca’s – Frankfort, IL
This disappointing experience started on Monday, January 5, when I called to make a reservation for a party of six. I was told there were several open tables and that a reservation was not necessary.
When my party of six arrived, there were indeed several open tables, yet we were still asked if we had a reservation. The host—wearing a wrinkled T-shirt and gym shoes—eventually seated us at a lovely table in a private room with a fireplace. It felt perfect. I was dining with my elderly parents, and the quieter space made conversation easier. We thought we were in for a great night.
Service began well, our food arrived, and everything seemed fine—until a party of about 30 people (roughly 20 adults and 10 children) was seated right next to us in the same room. As they waited for everyone to arrive, children were running around while adults stood clustered near our table. At first it was manageable, but the noise quickly escalated. The screaming got louder, the crowd grew tighter around us, and children began running into our chairs, knocking our coats to the floor.
At that point, our server completely disappeared. We were left with only water while all attention shifted to the large party. We felt uncomfortable, ignored, and overwhelmed by the chaos.
I asked to speak with a manager, who was sitting on her phone in the room next to us. She appeared completely unconcerned, as if this situation was perfectly acceptable. Even a simple acknowledgment or an effort to assist the clearly overwhelmed server would have gone a long way—but instead, nothing was done.
We sat there unable to carry on a conversation, without drinks, having our chairs bumped and handled by other people’s unruly children, and with no staff stepping in. Our quiet family night out was completely ruined.
This was unacceptable and has cost Francesca’s our repeat business.