Cafe Franco’s

Big order. Made our family to-​go dinner tonight!!! Spaghetti putinesca, Linguine and white clam sauce, Ziti ala vodka with shrimp, Ziti aka vodka with chicken, Caprese, Antipasto, Italian sausage,
Sautéed Vegs, Chicken piccata.
Staff was very nice and helpful. They completed our big order correctly and we had some special requests. Everything was excellent and the closest chef in our midst said the linguine white clam sauce was the best he ever had.
A definite go-​to place whether it is dine in or take out. Thanks for making the family night a success. I can’t say enough good words to describe.

Two visits to Café Franco’s during this trip to KDH. We have always enjoyed our food here. It is a little surprising that there are not more customers. I guess people come here to eat seafood, as do we, but when we are here for a month or more, we branch out to other things.
We enjoyed another pizza. They do a good job and offer the green olives that we like. Their mozzarella is very good quality, nice and rubbery. The Italian sausage is decent, I just would prefer lumps of bulk sausage. We could still try Sal’s and maybe New York Pizza pub but we like Café Franco’s pizza and don’t really need to. It surpasses Dare Devil which is OK and blows away Max’s which was a one and done for us.
Our most recent visit was for pasta. We have not had a bad dish out of four. This time it was Ziti Sangiovanella and Lasagna. The Ziti was particularly good with a tomato cream sauce that had delicious mushroom flavors. My Lasagna was fine, with that sliced sausage added on top and the very good mozzarella. The sauce is sweeter than I prefer, but the dish was good overall. Servings here are generous and we took a lot home, more than half.
Someday we will try Josaphine’s but for now we are very happy with Café Franco’s.

Excellent service, authentic red sauce and family friendly. Thank you for making us feel at home.

We dropped by for lunch — had the Caprese salad, spaghetti puttanesca, and extra meatballs. Every single morsel was over-​the-​top delicious. The service was outstanding. Don’t be concerned that this restaurant is in a strip center. Go there and you will have no regrets.

We were craving a really good and hearty pasta dish and decided to have lunch here on New Years Eve. We were worried because not only were we visiting in the off-​season, it was also a holiday — but… it was soooo good! The service was fantastic! From the moment we walked in to the moment we left the environment was relaxed, warm, and friendly. The place was clean, food came out in reasonable amount of time (they only have one man in the kitchen but I was impressed), and our meals along with the homemade bread with herb oil was awesome! Best dining experience I’ve had in a long time! I only wish we found it sooner! Definitely worth the drive from Hatteras into KDH.

Wonderful family Italian restaurant! Great for a b inner date or the whole family. His sauce is the best I have ever had. We had the chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan, spaghetti with meatballs, chicken marsala, and a pizza. Not a bad thing in the group!

We started off with the bruschetta, which was topped with a sweet balsamic reduction. We also shared a fig and gorgonzola cheese pizza. It was deliciously balanced and the dough was one of the better that I had in the Outer Banks (maybe because they use filtered water, as they note on their menu). We also got a basket of bread with a plate of herbs to which we could add olive oil to dip in. I loved it-​beware the danger of this, though, since the amount of olive oil you consume is under your control since the bottle is on the table.
I ordered the eggplant parmmy, which comes with a huge side of fries (I would have preferred salad or something to counterbalance the fried eggplant). It was a lot to eat but I was glad to do so-​it was tasty just like everything else. Even though I was full, I still ordered dessert. It was difficult not to since the server brings over a platter of all the options. I liked seeing the dessert so I could have a better idea of what most enticed me. I ended up with a chocolate crusted cheesecake that had peanuts on the bottom with caramel and brownie pieces on the top.
My few criticisms have to do with the service. The food came out a little too quickly and the server had somewhat of an attitude with us. Still, this place is a great option for dinner in the Outer Banks. It has a great variety of really yummy food.

On our 2015 return visit, my wife said «You’d better change that to five stars» — and I agree. I don’t give out five stars easily.

This was an unexpected surprise. It was lovely. Our server was so wonderful. I had the veggie spaghetti and it was the BEST pasta I’ve ever had at the beach. The zucchini appetizer was really special and my kids devoured the pizza. My mom had the garlic and oil spaghetti and they made it just right. Real Gem! Big fan, and I’ll be back for sure.

My family came here last week after searching for an Italian restaurant in OBX. I wasn’t expecting much because it is in a shopping strip. This place is awesome! Awesome service as well as delicious food! I got the Philly steak sub and was blown away! I highly suggest going here!

Excellent atmosphere, excellent service, and most of all, superb food! Our party of seven thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We were in the mood for Italian food and this place more than satisfied the urge. My only wish is that they were in my home town! If you want genuine Italian food while on vacation, please don’t hesitate. This recommendation is from someone who grew up on Italian food «up North.»

The figgy pizza is the best pizza we have EVER had! We are from NYS and have visited Italy– this was unbelievable! It’s a bit hidden in the Food Lion plaza, but cute inside. Friendly service too.

This is now one of our must-​go places at OBX. The manicotti was cheesy and wonderful, the spaghetti and meatballs also very good. Bread with olive oil served upon ordering. Desserts are to die for, had canolli and a wonderful lemony italian cake! It is located where the Good Life used to be, and the other end of the shopping center from Belk. Open kitchen, booth seating, wood floors, exposed brick all yield to nice ambiance.

Nice environment, food is great, waiter a little bit slow

Whined up here with no other choice of pizza restaurant before leaving the beach. All the pizza joints opened up either 4 or 5 pm and we was not waiting round.
In the same shopping center as Belk, we saw this Italian restaurant. Very nice, clean, modern restaurant with a big TV over the bar for some entertainment.
The only waitress there was nice. She proceeded to take our order and checked on us a quite a few times before our pizza came out.
We Received our side salad first and let me tell you, the salad was so small you get more lettuce on a burger. I wouldn’t pay for a salad from here again. Our Margherita pizza was good but it had too much garlic flavor. I liked it but hubby didn’t. It was like you were trying to keep vampires away with that much garlic in it. It was made fresh, very cheesy, and hot.
I wouldn’t discredit this place if we come back to the area but we’ll try the pasta next time.

You must try Café Franco’s!
I was in town for the OBX Marathon and looking for a place to carb load on pasta before my run. As you would expect, most restaurants in the area are seafood restaurants (which I love) but I really needed pasta.
I saw positive reviews for Café Franco’s so I decided to check them out. I was not disappointed in the least. It’s a small restaurant in a strip mall but don’t let that fool you. The inside is quaint and cozy with nice mood lighting. It’s not overly decorated so it has a simple Italian feel.
We went in early, around 5:30 and had a 15 minute wait. We checked out the menu and had a cocktail. As we waited, the line to get in got longer and longer. Just another testament to this restaurant.
We started off with excellent, crusty, Italian bread… dipping it in olive oil and spices. A little sweet with a great garlic flavor. A modest side salad came next. Then on to the main course. I decided on the baked ziti and it was unbelievable!!! Layers of melted cheese baked on to ziti mixed in a light meat sauce.
I will definitely be back soon and can’t wait to try something else on their menu!

We got takeout. Nice atmosphere. Fast, friendly service. Food was fresh and hot. Salad which was an additional charge was very small, wouldn’t recommend spending extra for this.

We went for dinner. I had a clam linguine; it was a generous portion and delicious. They also serve fresh bread with an olive oil dip, which is delicious.
I also tried the (mousse) bowtie (?) and it was AMAZING. Highly recommended. The outer layer is crunchy and the inside was silky smooth.
Service was also spectacular. Everyone was super nice and very attentive.
They’re located in a shopping center with Belk and Food Lion. They’re in the construction area which made it slightly difficult to spot but it doesn’t affect anything indoors.

In a nutshell, this place is adorable. Fabulous service, amazing food and great music .
We are here on vacation and I was running through the list of local Italian joints and they all had more than an hour wait except for this place and I have no idea why (but I’m awfully glad). I can only attribute the lack of patrons to the exterior construction making it difficult to tell if they are open or not. They are open and you won’t be disappointed.
We were a party of 6 (four adults… two kids). Two of us got pasta entres and everyone else had pizza. All of the food, down to the homemade bread, was delicious.
If you’re in the area go and in the mood for some tasty Italian, this place rocks.

The food was amazing… the attentiveness of the waitress was terrible. Water was refilled when the main course was brought then never agian. We had to flag for parmesean cheese. The hostess was cleaning a table and asked how our food was but the waitress never did until we were scraping the plate from dessert. The booths were full but not the tables. I expected better service.