Don Francesco Ristorante

I’ve never left a 1 Star review before but this was the worst restaurant experience I’ve ever had, from start to finish. We arrived on Friday at 1PM and the restaurant was mostly empty but there was no host. Waited 2 min while server staff ignored us. Should have left but didn’t want to over react so I grabbed a bartender and asked for help. Seated right beside a large table in an awkward spot where my chair was right in the middle of a high traffic area. I was bumped every time a server rushed past 4-5 times so asked if we could move. 5 more minutes and we still hadn’t been asked for a drink order. Waved server down and got our drink order but it was 10 min before they arrived and similar but longer experience to order and receive food. The restaurant wasn’t busy but the server was grouchy and acting rushed even though I can see him standing around at the pass. The food finally arrived and it was terrible. Fish undercooked and soggy. Chicken parm tasted like reheated meat wrapped in soggy bread. Green beans were boiled to the point of mush, carrots were still raw, and one piece of broccoli was brown and wilted next to the normal looking green piece. Pics attached so you can see for yourself. Whatever you do... dont risk your health on the Lobster Bisque. The Antipasto was fine but was a weird mix of American Cheddar Cheese blocks mixed with more traditional Italian selections. Like a cross between a charcuterie board and a kid’s snack-pack for recess. I have sent food back only once before but I would have refused these entrees if they were served on an airplane or in a hospital. Took another 5 min to get attention and after taking my plate away in an aggressive and rude manner, I could see the server rolling his eyes with a colleague at the pass again and shaking his head while looking back in our direction... until he saw that I could see him. He came back and with a passive-aggressive tone said to me, “you seem upset, is there something wrong”? At this point I’m now furious and demand he bring the bill and remove the entrees that we didn’t eat. He says “Fine” and snaps away to get the bill. When he brings it back my wife says she is shocked at how aggressive he is being and he just shrugs his shoulders at her with a facial expression that said “I don’t care” and he refused to speak. We paid our bill and left. We agreed later that the only silver lining is we both had the single worst restaurant experience of our lives and had a crazy story to tell our friends and family.

Truly excellent food! The Buffalo Burrata was the creamiest cheese I have ever tasted - full stop. I ordered the squash agnolotti and it was delicious. Not a single agnolotto was damaged and every bite was delicious. My partner had the filet mignon and said it was equally delicious. Service was attentive but not overly so and overall had a fantastic evening!

Went here for dine out Vancouver!!! So delicious. Love the food. My waiter David was so amazing, gave excellent service. Definitely coming back! Very busy though. Best to make a reservation.

I am truly shocked by some of the negative postings on this restaurant as this was truly not our experience. My husband and I brought another couple with us for dinner and we were so impressed with the service and food. All four of us would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant, in fact we plan on going back before we head back to Calgary! The level of attention and care was exceptional. Two of our party has food sensitivities and he made sure that their needs were met, plus the owner made a point of checking in with our table to make sure that everything was to our satisfaction. The food was incredible, the service even more so, and the location and ambiance was superb. I would truly recommend this restaurant - so please check this out.

We came here tonight randomly for dinner, and it was AMAZING! We ordered the lobster linguine, crab & lobster lasagna, the antipasto & the scallops and prawns. Everything was cooked to perfection! Our server Lindsey was so sweet and polite! We met the owner as well, he was very nice! Definitely will be coming back here for the food & service :

Nice looking restaurant in a very nice setting. Menu was quite varied. Service was horrible. Sat and waited a long time between courses. Kind of felt bad for the 2 servers on hand. Kitchen staff was undermanned as well. Food was OK which was surprising considering the amount we spent. Over heard that one table could not get what they wanted on the menu due to the fact that they had run out. Would rather dine elsewhere when downtown Vancouver again.

Had an excellent dinner with 5 of my colleagues. The service was top notch and the food & presentation were fantastic. I had Linguine with Vegetables & it was delicious. All of my colleagues were equally satisfied. David, our waiter, was great & very friendly. A definite place to visit.

The interior of the restaurant is nice, and it’s in a fantastic location. Unfortunately the food really disappointed. All the dishes were under seasoned, the seafood didn’t taste fresh, pasta was overcooked, vegetables were cold, deserts were unbalanced and overly sweet. I was actually concerned that the lobster may have been bad as it was quite fishy. Our server was kind and attentive.

Terrible customer service. Arrived to our reservation to find no table ready for our party even though the restaurant was not half full. Waited 20 minutes to finally get a table that did not fit the whole party and had to wait some more. After seating us on a dirty table, we waited to be served. Another 20 minutes before someone had to ask for water. Then another 15 minutes till we were informed that they were sold out of the main courses of their expensive set menu. We were told that we could just replace it with a vegetarian option as they were sold out of all meat dishes. Group of 10 got up and left after wasting 50 minutes without even being served a glass of water. On the way out, no one helped bringing our coats back out of the closet, had to fetch it ourselves. Talked to other customers walking out who said we did the right thing walking out as they were at the restaurant for 3 hours enjoying a not so pleasant Christmas dinner with the family. Terrible experience - do not recommend.

There was a little wait at the door even when the restaurant was empty. They just had one party in their private room but other then that the place was pretty empty when we got there for dinner. The service was friendly and the servers were very knowledgeable. But overall it was a very slow dining experience. The restaurant itself is very nice and upscale. If you are planning on going here give yourself lots of extra time. The food was really good also.