Franchesco's Ristorante Reviews
Reviews
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![Dajonna]()
Dajonna Sent on 01/03/2026My dream wedding
I’m very grateful for my experience. From the first day I decided to book with them they laid a full couse meal out for me my family to select our entrees. Very much available when needed. Great communication, friendly, understanding, and accommodating. They go above and beyond to make your dreams/vision come true. Planned in a 1 1/2 month so they definitely do well under any pressure. -
![Arianna]()
Arianna Sent on 11/25/2025Wedding Review
Communication was great. They took the time to meet with my husband and I a few times to go over everything and to make sure all the details were correct. The dinner and dessert were delicious. We got several compliments on both! The dessert table was also set up beautifully. When we had an issue, we were able to get ahold of someone, and they were more than willing to help fix the issue. -
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![Tessa]()
Tessa Sent on 11/23/2025Amazing food and experience!
Franchesco’s was an exceptional partner for our wedding, and we could not be happier with our decision. We worked closely with Michelle and Jocelyn, who provided a seamless and enjoyable planning experience from start to finish. The food options were generous in portion and outstanding in quality—many of our guests commented that it was “the best wedding food they’ve ever had.” While their pricing is comparable to other vendors in the area, the value, quality, and quantity they deliver are truly unmatched. On the night of the event, the staff was professional, attentive, and efficient in serving our guests.
We also opted for the late-night pizza, which was a huge hit and something we highly recommend.
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![Arianna]()
Arianna Sent on 11/10/2025A Dream Wedding from Start to Finish!
My spouse and I were married at Franchesco's Ristorante on July 25th, 2025, and we cannot recommend this venue highly enough! Our experience, from the moment we first walked through the doors to inquire, was absolutely seamless and filled with joy! The communication throughout the planning process was superb; the team was always responsive, organized, and truly listened to our vision. The food was exceptional—all of our guests raved about the quality and portion sizes, which is so important for a reception. The entire staff ensured the evening flowed perfectly, culminating in a packed, unforgettable dance floor. If you are looking for a venue that offers top-tier service, incredible catering, and a beautiful atmosphere, Franchesco's is the only choice. They made our wedding day perfect, and we are so happy we chose them! -
Shelby Sent on 10/26/2025
Best Wedding Food Ever
We had the best experience working with Franchescos! They are probably on the pricer side of our vendors, but we got what we paid for and more! We could not be more happy with how the cocktail and dinner went at our wedding. Our family and friends raved over their food and how delicious everything was! We went with steak for one of the options and our guests were amazed and never had such a large delicious steak at a wedding before. 10/10 would recommend to anyone! -
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![Ava]()
Ava Sent on 10/16/2025Wonderful Experience
I had my wedding reception at Fresco at the Gardens, catered and ran by Franchesco's. They made the process leading up wedding day a easy process for me and they took care of everything on the wedding day. I planned my own wedding in 6 months, without a hired planner and booking Franchesco's to do the reception was the best choice I made. Kim Salamone helped me to make sure I thought of everything and helped me plan the food, drinks, cake, decor, floorplans, and flow of the evening. The tastings I did at Franchesco's made me feel special and cared for. Their food is amazing. All of their entrée choices were top quality, we especially loved the miso salmon and the fun sorbet options. Kim's cake was so delicious, I wish I could have more of it now months later. Thank you to Kim and Jocelyn for all the work you put into my wedding day! It was magical! -
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Lori Sent on 11/13/2024
What an experience!
Kim and her staff were amazing and felt like family when it was all over. Kim was so accommodating and helpful during the stressful planning process. The venue was spectacular and so comfortable to our family and guests! Thank you Francesco's, for giving our son and his wife the wedding of their dreams! -
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![Meagan]()
Meagan Sent on 11/07/2024Fantastic food and wonderful people!
We are so happy we chose Franchesco’s for our caterer (And “Fresco at the Gardens” in Anderson Japanese Gardens for our reception venue)! The space was beautiful and all of the food was amazing! We’ve even had guests asking us about menu items after the wedding because they enjoyed it all so much. Michelle and Jocelyn were great to work with. Very friendly and quick to respond to any questions we had.
Our wedding cake was also through them with Kim and it made the whole process a breeze. The cake was beautiful and delicious! And the gelato was a wonderful touch! -
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![Anastasia]()
Anastasia Sent on 11/05/202410/10 would recommend!
If you only have time to read one sentence of one review, please read this “Franchesco's made my wedding dreams come true”.
If you only have time to read one sentence of one review, please read this “Franchesco's made my wedding dreams come true”.
In June 2024 I had my wedding at the Anderson Japanese Gardens. When I found out, I could have my reception at Fresco catered and organized by Franchesco's I was ecstatic! This immediately eliminated so much worry planning, and endless research for wedding related items. From decor, to a delicious menu, to actually helping organize and run my wedding on the big day, Franchesco's made it all possible in an easy one stop shop. There are some services they don’t provide such as a DJ, but they conveniently host a bridal expo at their restaurant which gives you a chance to meet vendors in the area, which is also where I found my photographer and make up artist! Everyone I worked with really made me feel like I was their top priority, even though I know they have tons of weddings occurring in the same time frame . They helped make small details of reality, such as including the father of the grooms favorite dessert at the sweet table for his 65th birthday. I must also point out. They always made time for me to hear all of my concerns. (I may have been a bit of a neurotic bride haha). But they were always quick to respond and reassure me and answer any questions I did have.
The staff was so helpful quickly, setting up our event and helping to coordinate my bumbling groomsman.
I can’t describe to you how delicious their food is. My best advice is to go in and try some of their items yourself (especially the cakes) because it was truly delicious and one of the only weddings I’ve been to where guest talked about how good the food was months afterwards.
If you are considering using Franchesco's, pull the trigger!
You won’t regret it. Again, I want to thank everyone who helped make my wedding dreams come true.!!!
- The Lipchik’s
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![Omar]()
Omar Sent on 10/25/2024People are still complimenting our wedding dinner!
It was a top priority for my wife and I to have a good dinner service for our wedding and Francesco’s blew everyone away. The team was very helpful and responsive leading up to our wedding. Pricing was very transparent so I felt good about budgeting correctly our food cost. And when I tell you family and friends still talk to us about how good the food was 6 months after, we know we made the right choice! -
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Carly Sent on 10/25/2024
Book them now!
Franchesco’s catered our wedding in June 2024 at The Standard and people are literally still talking to us about how good the food was. They were so helpful and flexible from start to finish. We had a variety of guests with dietary restrictions that they were able to accommodate - they also did late night pizzas for us. My only regret is that I didn’t spend more time eating appetizers during our cocktail hour! Highly recommend this family business. -
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![Dana]()
Dana Sent on 12/04/2023Fantastic!!!!!
Having Franchesco's be our caterer for our wedding was absolutely the best choice and caterer we could've gone with. From the tasting to the day of the wedding, everything was fantastic. We had to have one dish cooked off-site to accommodate guests allergies and even that dish, we were told, was delicious and cooked to perfection. My husband and I will make it a tradition to eat there at their restaurant on a regular basis! Thank you for giving us such a great service and even more delicious food! -
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![Michelle]()
Michelle Sent on 11/09/2023The wedding was perfect thanks to them!
We got married at Fresco at the Gardens in Anderson Japanese Gardens. They did an absolutely phenomenal job with the wedding! They had plenty of employees there to ensure everything was running smoothly. When the toasts went too long, they quietly started getting the dinner plates passed out so we wouldn't be behind in our timeline. We did not pay for a wedding planner, but honestly the employees at Fresco were so fantastic we wouldn't have needed one. We also had a wedding brunch the next day at Fresco where way more people came than we accounted for, and Fresco was flexible, adaptable, and ensured the brunch was a success too. The rehearsal dinner at Franchesco's was also superb! -
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![Christina]()
Christina Sent on 10/27/2023Highly recommend Franchesco’s for wedding caterer
We chose Franchesco’s for our wedding caterer and honestly cannot say enough good things. From the very start, everything about our experience was exceptional. We set up a tasting where we had our choice of trying several appetizers, salads, and entrées for a group of six of us. She even had them make us a pizza to take home as we were planning to have pizza as a late night snack. The food was so wonderful we decided to book them on the spot at our tasting. Throughout the time leading up to our wedding, Michelle LaMay walked us through everything and was so accommodating with all of our food allergies/preferences and ensuring every detail was well taken care of. On our wedding day, the service was incredible and Michelle went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect including checking on us frequently to see if there was anything she could do for us. She even helped break down extra tables when we needed more room for the dance floor! We received so many compliments from guests on our appetizers and dinner choices. I highly recommend Franchesco’s to anyone looking for a wonderful caterer to provide great food and excellent service for your wedding or special event! -
Zach Sent on 10/26/2023
Superb Service!
This was an easy decision for us from start to finish.
We were looking for a place to cater our wedding in the Rockford area. There were a few options but luckily Franchesco's was our first stop. Michelle brought our whole family in for a tasting and we were able to choose ahead what we wanted to try. There were so many options available and it was hard to choose what we wanted as they were all so good. We booked right then and there after the tasting. Michelle stayed diligent throughout the whole process accommodating us and even bringing us in for another dinner to finalize everything.
Come to the wedding day. The setup was fluid, the service was impeccable from the apps to the dessert (highly recommend serving the gelato!!), the linens were wrinkle free and the guests noticed! We had so many compliments for the chefs from our family and friends. Not to mention ending the night with their delicious pizzas.
My wife and I often reminisce on our big day and we always go back to the food and service from Franchescos! I would steer anyone in the direction of them who is wondering if this is the right decision. Rockford or somewhat near there; book them! -
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![Meighan]()
Meighan Sent on 10/26/2023Wedding reception
I am so happy we chose Franchesco’s! The staff was great. They were very accommodating to our needs. Everyone at the reception said the food was great. They worked with us closely to make sure we were happy and had everything we needed. Thank you for making our big day perfect for us and our guest. Kim’s cakes are amazing too! -
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![Tatum]()
Tatum Sent on 10/20/2023Amazing food!
I could not have been happier with the team at Franchescos! Everyone was so kind and went above and beyond to make sure we were cared for on, and even before, our wedding day. The food tasted amazing! We received so many compliments after the wedding on how great everything tasted! From the appetizers, main entrées, late night snack, and cake, we were so happy with how everything turned out. We are so grateful we booked Franchescos as our caterer on our wedding day! -
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Bernadette Sent on 10/29/2021
It was a wonderful experience. I really enjoyed working with franchescos. They really did go above and beyond!
We had a wonderful experience with Franchesco's catering our wedding! Michelle was amazing and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the whole process. The food was delicious and we got tons of compliments for it afterwards. I would definitely recommend them to my friends and family for future weddings! -
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![Toni]()
Toni Sent on 10/26/2012We had our wedding reception on a Friday evening at Franchesco's Ristorante and could not have been happier with how everything turned out. The wedding coordinator, Kim, was extremely helpful and experienced. We wanted a romantic evening celebration and she attended to every detail perfectly. It was absolutely gorgeous. She also did our wedding cake which was a absolutely delicious.
We were wined and dined before the wedding with a tasting and the food that we chose was devoured by all our guests with incredible wine, an amazing soup and perfectly cooked filet mignon. The service was wonderful and we are frequent patrons of the restaurant. It is our favorite restaurant in Rockford.
We highly recommend Franchesco's for your wedding reception or special event.
Thank you Franchesco's for an evening we will never, ever forget.
Toni and Scott Kruger
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Greta Sent on 10/22/2025
Catering Review
We loved working with Michelle at Francesco’s! She was super flexible with us, and after we felt that everything we asked for was worth it! There was some confusion the day of such as lack of signage for the guests, and other small things with the service during the reception. Overall, we loved the food and the help that we got from Michelle! Our guests still talk about how amazing everything tasted! -
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![Annie]()
Annie Sent on 09/05/2019Friendly and Professional
Kim and her team are super friendly. Kim has a lot of weddings so she does tend to not remember every single detail but don't let that worry you, she is awesome and wants to make sure you are happy with everything. The day went smoothly and her team is quick to remedy any issues you have. -
![Megan]()
Megan Sent on 08/12/2016Me and my husband had our reception here on July 30th 2016. Overall we were happy with the service and hall was beautiful and the way I asked for it to be done. My only complaints were that my top tier melted half way before the end of the night was over and it was left in the brides room I was not told that it was sitting there for I don't know how long. When I brought it to their attention they tried blaming us for it by saying we left it the car overnight; which we did not; however they were willing to make a new top tier which was fine. The other complaint came from my guests when they said they didn't any cake and Ice cream. I was told that everyone was served cake and Ice cream whether they are sitting or not and my guests would not tell me they didn't get cake if they did. I was told that they do this every week and there are never any complaints about not everyone getting cake. I was told by Kim herself that she has been doing this for 22 years and there as never been a day that no one has ever not gotten cake. After all the complaints the night was wonderful for my husband and I. All my guests said they loved the food and that they full by the end of the night. I mainly seen Kim's daughter Andrea through most of my planning and only saw Kim twice and at the night of my event. When it came time to meet a month before the event she called me at the end of the month like it was me that was supposed to contact her sometime in June, when she was my wedding coordinator and was supposed me all the time unless I needed her for something than I would call her. She is organized to a point and unorganized through the rest of the way. I received a phone call one day prior to my event to try to tell me that I owed another 1200 dollars for my guests because I was about 8 guests over my seating chart and that I needed to pay that night or I had to drop 8 people the night before my reception.
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