Restaurant Impossible - Casa Di Francesca's

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Buffalo, New York to makeover Casa Di Francesca's. Casa Di Francesca's is owned by single father Steven Marchione who is struggling to keep it open after a series of tragic life events.  The restaurant is filthy, rundown and is losing money.  Robert Irvine needs to turn Steven into a leader if he wants to save his restaurant which will help support his family.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Casa Di Francesca's to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Positive Reviews:

• "We finally made it to francescas last weekend and the food was fantastic!! The spinach artichoke dip and the ricotta bites were amazing... I definitely recommend those appetizers... We ordered the fried lasagna and the tenderloin and fettuccine and both were delicious. The restaurant has a beautiful interior... However if I had one suggestion it would be to have some music playing it was pretty quiet in there... But other than that it was a fantastic experience"
• "I have to say, I didn't think I was going to be overly impressed as I drove up to Francesca's tonight. But boy am I glad I don't judge books by their cover! Inside, a clean, completely renovated, quaint bar/restaurant welcomed me. From the service, to the food, to the prices, I could not have been more impressed. We had a friendly waitress who did not miss a thing. The food was served in a timely manner and, may I add, delicious. I got the spaghetti and meatball (if you need any help deciding what to order). We couldn't believe how cheap everything was, especially for the portion sizes we were served! Definitely would highly recommend and plan on going back ourselves!"
• "The portions were huge and more importantly, taste amazing and perfectly seasoned. The service was spot on. We never waited or needed anything. We were celebrating a birthday and the cake with the "Happy Birthday" decorated plate was on the house! Would highly recommend and plan on returning soon! Thank you!"
• "My husband and I ordered take out and both loved our food. Their homemade meatballs were great! The owner was so friendly and we love the atmosphere there. We will definitely come again."
• "I have been to this restaurant 5 times over several years. It has always had high quality dishes that are delicious. I came in this evening and ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo with Beef Tenderloin. Wow. I didn't expect it to be that delicious or a portion that generous. The sauce was to die for and the beef was melt in your mouth. Presentation was spot on as well. The owner is so friendly and genuinely appreciates his customers."

Negative Reviews:

• "Ooff! Not even a 2. Immediately tossing out both orders of the Gnocchi Lobster I took one bite of. Too bad I can't post a video of what it was like waiting in a completely empty restaurant at the bar for several minutes before a child legit came out of the kitchen. Not disappointed because I should've known better: marketing is FAKE! Thought the pictures on GrubHub looked pretty good, but oh my god!. Avoid food poison, go somewhere else!"
• "We'd seen Casa Di Francesca's featured on a TV show and wanted to support a local business. Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed in the fare. The portions were good-sized, but we weren't blown away by quality. The pasta dishes we ordered (Chicken Parm and Crispy Eggplant) tasted OK, but the pasta was a bit dry and could've used more sauce. Lobster gnocchi appetizer was very good and lots of it. Could've been an entree! The Warm Marinated Olives were a big disappointment, however. Not sure what the (all same variety) olives were marinated in, but they had a super-salty, odd flavor. As an appetizer, they were not very appetizing. The House Salad was very good. Overall, our experience with cuisine was OK, although CDF probably won't be on our shortlist of go-to restaurants moving forward, we're sorry to say."

*Reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google

Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover for Casa Di Francesca's happened in October 2020.
• Here is the Casa Di Francesca's Facebook page. 
• In a local news interview, Steve said since the makeover his food and labor costs went down due to changes implemented by Robert Irvine.
• In multiple interviews, Steve said the show reached out to him about filming at his restaurant.
• Casa Di Francesca's is going to extend the days they are open to Tuesday through Saturday 4-10pm. They have been open Thursday through Saturday before this. (Link)
• They are currently not allowed to stay open past 11pm due to state laws regarding COVID. (Link)
• Here are the reviews for Casa Di Francesca's on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Google.  The reviews since the makeover seem to be much better.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Casa Di Francesca's since the Restaurant Impossible makeover have been mostly positive with customers liking the food and generous portion sizes.  The reviews after the makeover are definitely more positive than they were before the Restaurant Impossible visit.  Steve said his food and labor costs have gone down since the show and the restaurant is looking to extend the amount of days and hours open.


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