Review Frank's Italian Restaurant - Van Buren

I have driven by this restaurant dozens of times and never thought of stopping. Italian is my least favorite and wouldn’t you know it, I married an angel who calls it her favorite. We were about halfway between Tulsa and Little Rock when providence urged me to treat my bride with Italian. Imagine my horror when our server alerted us that she had just seated a table of 32 ahead of us. We were delighted when our food was plated at the same time (if not before) the others. We were even more delighted when we tasted. My wife loved it and I am pleasantly surprised to say I did as well. What a treat! Praying God’s blessings on this establishment and the staff.

Amazing!! We even were witness to a proposal. Get the spinach artichoke dip. Yum. As well as the chicken parmigiana. There was enough food to feed us for days.

Delicious food, great prices, exceptional service, and a very clean and well kept environment!

The place was a little slow at 430 pm on a Sunday, wich was perfect for my wife and I as it made us feel special. But the alone time didn't last long as others trickled in to treat their palates to some great Italian cousine. From the nice atmosphere to Mrs. Anna our delightful waitress the whole experience was delightful. My wife and I don't go out often and usually to only a few specific haunts. This however will be a new favorite of mine. Thanks Franks for the great dining experience and the relaxed atmosphere.

Very good food and nice atmosphere. Pictured is the Shrimp and Crab Alfredo.

We were passing through Van Buren on a road trip and decided to give Frank's a try...so happy we did!! Delicious, hot food served up quickly in a clean, peaceful environment. Our waitress was very polite and helpful. Would definitely eat here again.

Shrimp and crab is shrimp and ARTIFICIAL crab. No taste whatsoever. The bread was good and my husband likes the lasagne. Be aware that you may not be getting what is advertised. Overall, most chain Italian restaurants are better.

I will start by saying Frank's appears to be in a remodeled fast food joint. When we pulled into the parking lot I actually asked my wife if it was fast food based on the building shape and how it sat. Beyond that initial moment of question, the way the building was remodeled looked very well done, inside and out. The interior wet an ambiance expected of an Italian restaurant. Service was very good and we were given rolls and ordered mozzarella sticks. Both were outstanding, and the marinara sauce was very good. At this point we were heading for what we thought would be a 5 star review, and my wife even commented on how slow business was, for such a great place. Then our main course came out. I will say that while fast food service is something I like, there are some places you want the food to take just a bit longer to be fresh. Authentic Italian is probably one of them. This was not the case at Franks. Service was very fast, but no complaints, but goes with what we felt about the entrée quality. I had the Chicken-parm cremera. The chicken was not breaded like I have had before, but that was not a negative or a positive of the dish. The chicken was nice and tender, and tasted really good. It was served with spaghetti noodles, and topped in cremera sauce and what I assume was supposed to be parmesan cheese. My only issues with the dish were the sauce and cheese. The sauce was good, but tasted like it was either not homemade or was not fresh.it had a resemblance of sauce from a jar that had not been seasoned. The cheese on top seemed to be pre-shredded cheese froma bag. Over all the dish was good, but was either not authentic or possibly just not made fresh. My wife had the pasta sampler with ravioli (substituted meat for cheese), manicotti and lasagna. I tried the ravioli and it tasted just ok. The marinara sauce was again very good, but there was nothing special about the ravioli. It seemed again like it was not homemade. My wife said the manicotti was decent, but there was something about the lasagna she couldn't figure out. She said the meat tasted "weird" and I will refrain from saying how she actually described it. We are thinking maybe this was bout frozen and maybe was old. Overall the food turned out to be okay. It was definitely worthy of eating the whole dish, but beyond that there is not a ton to praise. I wouldn't count this a bad review, but also can not count it as great. If we were from the area I would probably give it a try again, but it is not a place we would be running back to.