Lil’ Frankie’s
“Other good dishes include the Spaghetti Limone (citrusy & cheesey!), Mezzi Rigatoni Polpettini Ragu(not too heavy, just right), Pizza Polpettine and Pizza Margherita.”
“This place has a similar menu to Supper, but includes delicious pizza bubbling with gooey overcooked (in a good way) cheese.”
“It must be said that even with THREE loaves of bread dipped in olive oil, we ALL finished everything on that table.”
Lil’ Frankie’s
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Holy Hell, I think I have a new contender in "Who has the best slice in NYC?!" My photos say it alllllll. Of course I got 2, unscrewed the garlic powder off the jar and went to town. Didn't even want any crushed red pepper, I just grabbed a snapple, hopped back in my Uber and wondered "Can my driver hear how fast I'm eating this thing right now?" #butgavezeroPhox wasn't overly greasy, has that perfect thinness, flavorful sauce, toasty cheese and pepp and I'm just a happy girl when I visit my hometown. Cya next time!
However I just remembered according to YELP it's actually on other side of the street and called Lil Georginos or something… not Frankie's.. glad I ran in anyway!
Best food! Best atmosphere! We got Burrata, fried calamari and two pizzas. Plus, wine.
Burrata is life, I might also be obsessed with tomatoes so I have to mention that Burrata was served with flavorful, mouthwatering, delicious tomato.
Fried calamari was super fresh, not chewy, cooked to perfection.
Pizzas one of the best in NYC.
Next time we're coming for pastas!
So good. A couple of my favs are the margarita pizza, limon pasta, and the baked eggplant. I had to come back during my visit for my fix. It's a small little restaurant, ingredients are insanely fresh, the service is great. They only take cash so it was an inconvenience to leave in the middle of dinner and run to an ATM, and the space is VERY tight.
The restaurant is beautiful! I came for a weekend brunch with a large group of friends. We were seated upstairs, and it felt like we were eating in a greenhouse. There are hanging plants all over the ceiling and plenty of natural light streaming in.
The food was very good and very affordable. I had the Eggs Benedict. The ham nice and crispy, and there was a tang to the hollandaise sauce that was actually quite pleasant.
The hash brown that comes on the side has a pretty notable rosemary taste. I love the incorporation of herb flavors. It makes the meal taste fresh and healthy. Most of the brunch plates also come with a dressed bunch of arugula that I couldn't get enough of. I was stealing it off friends' plates when they had their heads turned.
I think Lil' Frankie's is most well-known for their Napoli-style pizza, but I have to say, they do a mean brunch! They also have a buy-one-get-one drink special that I didn't avail myself of, but my friends did and it seemed like a great deal. I really enjoyed the honesty of the meal. No excess frills, just some solidly good nourishment for a great price.
Finally visited the critically acclaimed Napoleteana in NYC. This one is hidden amongst the line of bars and restaurants on the Lower east side, has no huge signs and does cash only as expected of a famed Italian business.
The pizzas menu is simple but do hear out their special pastas. They have a fair beer and wine list, not very expensive. Got a nice communal table designed to seat folks both inside and outside, pretty near.We tried the pizza bianca and their special summer squash gnocchi. The crust on the pizza was very chewy and well done. The mozz, herbs and hint of truffle oil all blended in great. The gnocchi was clearly fresh and home made though a heavy portion ( can easily be split between two), especially considering that it was in a rich creamy sauce. Service is friendly and the complimentary portion of olive oil the server got us was definitely top notch.
Am a fan, will try and visit back to try their red sauces and spaghetti. Hope to visit them hours past midnight (open till 2 am),when the food has an even higher chance of earning its missing fifth star.
It's taken me a little while to get around to this review, but I was disappointed with my Lil Frankies experience, particularly given the largely positive things I've read about it.
I booked my birthday dinner here back in March and paid $100 a head for a group of 15. In short, our large group was forced to wait 20+ minutes past our reservation time outside in the cold / cramped into the tiny entryway, while an extraordinarily rude host alternated between completely ignoring me and brusquely suggesting my displeasure was unwarranted and an overreaction. The food was pretty good overall and our waiter was great, but my interaction with the lousy host set a really negative tone for the birthday dinner, starting it out on an unfortunate sour note.
I'll head to one of Frank Prisinzano's other oft-praised spots (Frank / Supper / Sauce) for affordable Italian fare in the Village, just so I don't have to deal with the Lil Frankies host again.
I love the simplicity of the pastas. The pastas are done al dente so if you prefer soft pastas I guess you won't like this place. 🙂 My favorite was the spaghetti with garlic and oil (I lOVE garlic…but definitely not good to eat for a date! It's so garlicky, mints afterwards still don't help!).
My friend had the gnocchi pomodoro and also said it was super yummy and tasted like home.
The pizza was also delicious but I think the pastas out-shined the pizza.
My only complaint is that the space is too small for the number of tables they had. My bum was basically up against the guy behind me. A little awkward but I forgot about it as soon as I started eating.
Had a reservation for a party of 6 here, and waited about 30 minutes past our reservation time. During our wait time, the hostess was incredibly rude and disaffected, which did not make for a good start to our experience. Waiting kinda sucks already, but the hostess did nothing to help the situation. Also, big picture: what exactly was the point of making a reservation? What is this, Seinfeld?
However, after we finally got seated, everything began to flow a lot better. Our servers were very efficient and friendly, and we managed to somewhat forget our 30 minute wait with pitchers of cold Blue Point. With that said, be aware that the space is SUPER cramped and I don't think there's any amount of beer that makes the constant bumping okay. The food we got was pretty delicious. Split the fried calamari with the table, and the free focaccia was quite good. We then shared the burrata pizza and the pappardelle with pork ragu. I do like that they focus on making fresh pasta (really should be the standard in New York), and the textures were all really great. The burrata pizza was slightly creamier than your normal margherita, which I really enjoyed.
Service, as previously mentioned, was actually pretty good, with the exception of the hostess (duh). Prices were pretty competitive for Italian in the LES/EV area, and we all only paid about $40 per person, which included tax, tip, and drinks. Pretty good, although I guess you get what you pay for in ambiance and general hospitality.
In all, their table management seems to be pretty dang awful on the weekends, and while the food is good, I can't say it's worth braving the lines on the weekend. I'd probably try Lil' Frankie's on an off-peak weekday if I had a really big craving for cheap Italian food.