franco's restaurant & catering

leave your diet at home, this is the place the locals go to enjoy ground steak, fried catfish, chicken, collard greens, yams.

i had the fried catfish, cornbread and collard greens. my wife has had the ground steak covered in onions and gravy, accompanied with yams. portions were generous, everything was fresh (not canned), not overly seasoned and price very reasonable. staff was friendly, place was clean and well kept.

we hit this place around 2:00 in the afternoon and the line went from the counter to the door, but line moved quickly.

if you're looking for authentic southern cooking, this is it!!

best southern cooking in louisville. if you were a fan of jay's cafeteria, this is the place for you. by chance, i found out through a mom at my daughter's school that the people who ran jay's are running franco's. everything tastes even better than i remember. the mac and cheese is perfectly sticky with cheese and has that yummy baked-cheese crust on it. the cornmeal muffins are crunchy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth perfect on the inside. sweet tea is perfect. smothered pork chops were absolutely delicious. my friend and i had a total of six items on our plates and everything was absolutely delicious. the cole slaw was the best i have ever had. crisp, fresh, slightly sweet and just the right amount of slaw dressing.

the place was super crowded when we went, word is getting out i'm sure. prices are just right at $7.77 for a meat entree with two sides and about $6 for a veggie plate with three items and cornbread muffin.

they had lots of cobbler when i was there. i looked for banana pudding - i'm sure they have it - but i didn't see it. that was a jay's specialty that i miss a lot. take-out is an option if you're in a hurry but i recommend sitting in the dining room and savoring every single bit of their delicious food.

what a great restaurant! best wishes for franco's success. it's located north of the watterson - i almost blew right past it.

soul food at its best!!!. i loved the smothered pork chops, collard greens, corn bread, fried chicken, fried catfish and my absolute favorite was the mac and cheese......to delicious for words!!!

love the food, hate the wait! this is by far the best and imho the only "soul food" restaurant in the city. i can't get past the smothered pork chops. i know the line process could be expedited a little better to halt the long wait. that would be the only reason that this isn't a top spot in the city. overall 9/10.

i enjoyed the food.
had wings, greens, yams, cornbread ( dry), corn & grape kook aid 😋 atmosphere was nice. prices are too bad for the amount of food you receive.

turkey and dressing. best turkey and dressing i've ever had. most definitely the best soul food restaurant in louisville

way over priced for what you get.. after several months of passing the place, we decided to give it a shot. upon entering, we notice the cafeteria style arrangement. plenty of seating and plenty of room, but not very engaging or welcoming. this is a southern comfort restaurant. where is the hospitality? after much confusion on how to order, the first of three line workers started to tell us they have a menu. which, was hidden behind the fried chicken under heat lamps. well, we figured it out and to our surprise, the prices were high and they didnt include the sides or drink. $10 for an entre of liver and onions? $8 for 4 wing? the food must better be good.

after we assembled our order, for two basic meals and nothing extra, our total was $26. again, the food better be good.

we sat down and with i had ribs and sauerkraut with yams and spinach. my partner had the chicken wings with mac and cheese and also the yams. the veggies were great. the kraut was very good and seasoned. food was hot and the mac cheese lived up to expectation. the wings were big too. yams were sweet and spinich pretty good and not salty.

their sweet tea was spot on. being from georgia, im very particular bout how its made and tasting theirs... its fresh sweet and crisp. spot on.

now, their music.. was something like on-hold music from the 90s. or elevator music or something. rather loud and distracting. the decor is... well pink and lacking. but they provided napkins and salt/pepper etc. the bathrooms are single stalled and clean.

wished that they'd let me take a drink to go at no additional charge. most places offer your drink to go with, but here they wanted me to pay full price for another drink. maybe this is a nitpick as i had to wait in line to inquire

was it all worth $26, i'd say no.
here is my assessment:

pros:
- amazing sweet tea
- food is tastey
- plenty room in booths/not crowded dining
- clean bathrooms
- they have a bus boy

cons:
- no greeting/customer relations
- loud/unfitting music
- confusing ordering/obstructed menu and drink selection
- way overpriced for what you recieve.

in conclusion,
franco's is decent food but largely overpriced. maybe itd be worth it if you could get unlimited rolls and have better customer engagement. the sweet tea was great, but be better if i could take it with me as i leave.

over all, i wasnt impressed. i most likely only return for the tea. thats about it. was glad to see what appeared to be a patronage, but the place wasnt for us.

franco's. food good. service poor. too much playing and talking of workers.

the best food in the ville. absolutely delicious best restraunt in louisville

lunch at francos. food was not cooked all the way, poor service too much noise,

another good experience. i had a craving for good down home food so headed to franco's for lunch. so many choices but i got fried chicken, mac n cheese, greens and corn muffin. loved the fried chicken, it was crisp and juicy with a little spice. i am also a big fan of their mac cheese. it's just right. i will say the greens weren't as good as last time. they seemed under seasoned. i kept adding salt and vinegar to get some flavor. anyway,overall , i was pleased and stuffed and full of their good sweet tea. again no room for dessert. well, there is always next time.


-----08 may, 2014-----

i recommend and the staff were friendly and helpful.. stopped by for the first time today. i love southern comfort cooking so this was a find! i got there after the lunch rush after 1 and was lucky enough to hit a lull. right after i got my food and sat down the line got long. the choices were many but i settled on chicken w dressing, corn casserole and greens. large portions and very good. couldn't finishing it all and i can eat! lots of good looking desserts but had no room, next time i'll save room. it's not fancy but clean and comfortable. i will be back but i can see it being very busy during regular lunch hours.

getting from good to bad. $14.00 for meatloaf ( some prefrozen concoction i would not recommend) fried potatoes (had raw places. not fully cooked.) greens (actually the only part of this meal worth eating) and pinto beans/rice.( no seasoning, whatsoever ever). i live within 2 blocks of this restaurant, so i have eaten here before, i don't remember it being, this bad. someone does not know how to cook.

great food, great time!. my husband and i were looking for southern food restaurants while vacationing in louisville. urbanspoon listed franco's with a high % liked, so we decided to try it. it was well worth it. the portion size is great! the food was delicious- especially the greens! the staff was warm and inviting. franco's will be my southern food spot whenever i'm in louisville, ky.

this was my third try at franco's. first time food was good but cold after waiting in line for 45 minutes . second time once again food was good but cold and the help was just rude. this time the one lady was just too rude. i'm done

good soul food. i just recently went to franco's for the first time and i enjoyed my food. there was a little wait, but when i got my pork chop, mac n cheese, pintos, and cornbread it was worth it. i am looking forward to going back and trying more. i cant comment on the dining in experience since my food was to go.