Franco Di Roma - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Middletown, New York to makeover Franco Di Roma. Franco Di Roma is owned by married couple Franco and Karen and a mistake in the past has driven a wedge between them. Franco refuses to change, Karen is not showing up and their son refuses to work for them.  Robert will need to bridge the divide and help them forgive each other in hopes of saving the restaurant and the family. 

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Franco Di Roma 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:

• "I visited first time with my husband. I wanted one slice of pizza just to sample and I got the eggplant parmesan. I'm from Queens so I know good and great pizza. The pizza here was quite good, authentic with a nice sauce . The eggplant was delicious and prepared properly.... My husband enjoyed the lasagna. Although that's his favorite and said he prefers mine. Smart man. Lol. Will definitely come back when I'm visiting the area. Thanks for a wonderful experience."
• "We are on holiday for 4th of July 2022 and wanted Italian. So happy we came here! Authentic delicious AND the service we were waited on by Franco himself!!!"
• "We went back for our first time since the remodel and updated menu...Everything new we tried was outstanding, even the little one ate everything on her plate. Service was outstanding and franco even swung by to check in on us to be sure everything was good. He's so humble and feels like he's part of your family by the time we left. The new look makes you feel like your in a rustic italian barrel wine cellar with a warm atmosphere. We loved it and will deff be back."
• "Wonderful local place for a delicious dinner! When all the chain restaurants were packed and on a wait, we found a little gem and enjoyed our dinner. We will be back for sure!"
• "I always got pizza here since I was a kid and it’s always been really good. The staff are really nice and helpful. The place is really nice and somewhat nostalgic, I definitely recommend people to check it out."
• "Great little Italian gem off the beaten path. Not a lot of people know of it. Pizza was excellent. Perfect service. Very reasonable prices. I will definitely be returning."
• "This is one of our favorite pizza places in town. The owner works hard and the pizza is thin crust, balanced sauce, and quality cheese. I think a regular cheese pie is a difficult food to get just right, and Franco Di Roma's is consistently excellent."
• "I love this place and they recently renovate the inside and I must say it is beautiful....the food is really good and the ppl who work there are very friendly."

Negative Reviews:

• "I ordered a ragu which was not that good and the wine was turning. The pie I ordered for my grandchildren was good but expensive. 10" margarita was $18. I wasn't a regular of the old restaurant but did go occasionally and liked it. Possibly I'll try it again but will stick to parmigiana meals that were always good."
• "So new menu is for dine in, which comes with nothing. No salad, no bread. Our food was bland and just not that great. The waitress was very nice and told us that the old menu is still available but only in the "cafe" and for take out. It's all very odd and really not worth the time. People aren't that friendly here and even with a renovation and a new menu nothing really has changed. Attitudes are still the same."

*Reviews from Yelp, Google

Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover for Franco Di Roma happened in June 2022.
• Here is the Franco Di Roma website and Facebook page.
• The restaurant posted an updated menu on their Facebook page in January and they also have a takeout menu with a lot more items on their website.(Link)
• There was enough drama in this episode that the episode is actually 90 minutes vs. the usual 60 minutes. 
• Here are the reviews for Franco Di Roma from Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Franco Di Roma since the Restaurant Impossible makeover are mostly positive with people complementing the food and friendly service.  It seems that the restaurant offers a different menu for dine-in vs. takeout orders and a few reviews did mention that.  


*Visit Our Restaurant Impossible Update Page to see all Restaurant: Impossible updates, and which restaurants are open, closed, or have been sold. Also Follow Us on Twitter