The good: No reservations required when we went for dinner. Our server was polite and attentive…read more The less good: The decor is circa 1975 and communicates tired and drab. The food, while fresh, is mediocre-tasting. Nothing to write home about. It'll do if you go in with tempered expectations.

Very busy on a Friday night but you would never know from the outside. We had come in after a full…read moreday in the sun and heat and made it through our breadsticks before we realized it may have been warmer in the restaurant than outside in June. We asked if we could take it to go which they accommodated quickly. Very basic Italian menu options - prices seemed a little high for some of the entrees but I think at one time it was more upscale. Cloth napkin was dirty. Food wasn't bad but not great.

Note: I had wrong location before. My bad…read more This is the fourth Italian restaurant I have tried in the area: two in Waynesville and two in Maggie Valley. I still haven't tried the one in Sylva (heard good things), and I think I'll pass on the one in Bryson City. As for this joint, the outdoor dining area is supreme. Well, maybe it was just supreme on that day thanks to the weather. I was on my way to poker (it went well again thanks to me designing and applying TNP a year ago), and I wanted to get some good calories under my belt since tourney poker players don't eat much for 7-10 days when WSOPC is in town. I definitely got the calories! The Chicken Parm and pasta portion here is HUGE! The salad is also the best salad of the four Italian restaurants I have tried in the area. For bread, the garlic knots were very high quality, and if you like garlic knots, you will love it. But in the bread category for me, Frankie's wins with ease, simply because it's a large portion of traditional Italian bread with butter. I love butter. In fact, it's one of my favorite things in life. Sometimes when I'm driving and I glance at my rearview mirror, it looks like a stick of butter, especially during sunrise. For Chicken Parm, I have Frankie's and Bizzaro's tied for the lead over Vale and Bocelli's. But all four are good! For pasta, Bocelli's is in last. For some reason, that sauce works well with the Chicken Parm but not with the linguine. I give Bizarro's the nod for best pasta of the four. For service, all four are amazing. For value, Bizarro's. For atmosphere, Frankie's. For outdoor dining, Bocelli's. For quality red wine, Vale by a mile. Best red wine I have ever tasted! For storytelling, Vale! He will feel like a good friend within a 15 minutes. So ... for Bocelli's, solid Chicken Parm, best salad, great garlic knots, didn't love the pasta, and excellent service and outdoor dining. Definitely recommended! I need to try the pizza at all these places next round.

The good part... the atmosphere is cool with its dramatic 2 story staircase and the cute lighted…read morefront courtyard. The staff was very efficient and friendly. The food however was disappointing. My husband had the Tortellini which he said was good but not the best he's ever had. I had the Eggplant parmesan which was the worst I've ever had! I'm not sure if it wasn't cooked enough or what but there was so much breading that I couldn't taste the eggplant and it was so thick it was hard to swallow. When I scraped it off to eat the eggplant I realized the eggplant was paper thin sliced. The mozzarella slices on top were hard! The worst part was that the waitress never asked how our food was and never questioned the MOUND of breading I left on my plate at the end. Guess we were paying for ambience alone.

We made our visit today (Mar., 2026), on a Sunday afternoon…read more The decor, both outside and inside, is much improved. Visitors will absolutely love the outdoor seating. I was super disappointed to learn that they have no gluten-free bread or pizzas. But I'm forging ahead. We both ordered small plates. I ordered the Sausage & Grits. This is a delicious, beautiful concept. I did think the grits were slightly watery, and could have used more salt, but, Yes, I would order this again. Hubby ordered the Pork Belly. Having tasted this, I highly recommend it. And hubby ate every bite, people. Even though I could eat most of their menu today, I would put this among the top of the list for restaurants in Franklin. Eat here.

Culture 828 we are so excited that you are open! What an amazing job the owners have done. The…read morerestaurant has a dining and bar area. If you come between 3-5pm they have small plates and cocktails in the bar area. Dining starts at 5pm. The service from everyone was warm and friendly. Our server Elia was wonderful. Whoever created the Smoked Rosemary and OO martini you are amazing! They have a great selection of cocktails, beer, and wine to choose from. For dinner we stared with the oysters as our appetizer (shucked perfectly) & they were very good. As my entree I went with the tomato soup and Ceasar salad. Both were fantastic. The Ceasar is not a traditional Ceasar and had banana peppers in it and I am here for it! My husband had the Bestia pizza and didn't leave a crumb behind. We loved everything about our dining experience & can't wait to come back. So excited to add this to our Franklin staples.

Quaint Quality Italian in the mountains! We were very…read moreimpressed with the quality of food and excellent service we received at Magliocca's tonight. The Arancini appetizer was the best I've ever had. Served on top of a pesto sauce with a little side salad, it was the perfect appetizer for two. The bread service was so fresh and delicious, and we sopped up every bit of that pesto sauce with the bread. My husband ordered the snapper francaise special and I got the tortellini with pancetta. Portions were plentiful, and the flavors were exceptional. Only drawback to this quaint restaurant is there's no alcohol service. They're happy to cork your wine and serve it to you for a small fee. We were very impressed and can't wait to return!

Established in 2024, Chef Danny Magliocca works his culinary magic at this cozy Italian find on my…read moreway to Highlands. The restaurant has eight tables, so reservations are a must. Our party of four enjoyed a squash blossom appetizer that I'm still thinking about. The crispy exterior contrasted with creamy ricotta -- next time, I'm not sharing! The chicken piccata was tangy, fresh and comforting. There is a corkage fee when you bring your own wine. We were surprised to see a $10 (split plate) charge for one of our guests with a smaller appetite when she ordered a soup and shared a salad and entree with her husband. I recognize this is a very small restaurant, and perhaps this charge was noted on the menu, but we missed it. Otherwise, a satisfying evening with good service and food, and I'm eager to return.

This is my second time here. Menu varies throughout the year and always very interesting items. My…read moreonly complaint is the serving sizes. For example, I love the meatball over polenta appetizer but there is such a small amount of polenta. And for the price, it would be nice to be have a little more pasta served with the entrees. I've never gotten a doggie bag here because the portions are small and after spending over $100 for 2, it would be nice to have a little bit of leftovers. That said, food is delicious and obviously all homemade. Cocktail selection is very unique, hip and good. Service is excellent and the servers really know their stuff! Service

This was my first time at Ilda and it was really good! We started with the grilled caesar salad…read morewhich was my favorite thing! We also tried the mussels, mushroom fettuccine and a rabbit dish that I'm totally forgetting the name of. The rabbit dish was amazing but it had too much salt. The mushroom fettuccine on the other hand was lacking something, it didn't have that umami flavor to it. However, both were really good selections and you could tell that the pasta was handmade. As for the mussels they were good, but I probably wouldn't order them again. Our server was wonderful and the inside of Ilda is super cute! I would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends, but I think you need to make a reservation in advance. Also - give yourself some time to find parking ahead of time - they don't have a designated lot.

My wife liked her spaghetti and meat sauce but I got the veal with the lemon sauce (Paolo's…read morePiccata? -- didn't see veal as a option on the online menu) and it wasn't good but I ate it after sending it back and received the same rubbery veal... the lemon sauce it was swimming in was also too strong. We will still go back and I'll try other things on the menu because the area is very quaint, the service was good.... and the other Italian restaurant in the area (Frankie's) has other issues (in the headlines for non-restaurant, owner related incidents).

We had the salmon piccata. The fish was overcooked and the piccata sauce was way too lemony. The…read moreonly flavor you taste with this dish is lemon. We will come back and try another dish because the food looked great on other peoples plates.

Our shuttle driver Josh, from Sherpa Shuttles, put us onto this place last year, and we liked it…read moreenough to come straight back this year without a second thought. We ordered the Sasquatch pizza both times, no debate needed, it's just that good. Consistently excellent, exactly what we remembered from the first visit. The place has a cozy, local hangout feel to it, the kind of spot that makes you want to settle in, and they've got live music out back which adds a nice bit of energy without overwhelming the conversation at your table. Staff here are genuinely friendly, and we ended up talking with two different people, our server and one of the bartenders, who both turned out to be from Jacksonville, same as us. Small world moments like that make a place feel less like a stop on the road and more like somewhere you belong for an evening. Great value for what you get, too. This is officially a return-trip tradition for us now. Five stars, no hesitation.

Excellent yet not overwhelming beer choice from local breweries, fantastic pizza, and excellent…read morevalue. I'll definitely be returning

We had family in town on Memorial Day weekend and were looking for a place that was open. It was…read moreour first visit and we were not disappointed. Beautifully decorated with colorful paintings and sculpture type wall hangings that were very interesting. Bright and airy with tables and booths, kinda causal elegant. Our waitress was Megan and she was really cool. She was funny and took very good care of us. Mondays special is $10 hamburgers so 3 of us ordered the Cowboy Burger which came with homemade wavy fries. The burgers were huge and very good. (I couldn't finish mine!). It was cooked exactly as I ordered and came with cheddar cheese, thick sliced bacon, and house made onion fries. Yum, great burger. The fries were thick, cross cut potatoes that were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, not greasy at all. My partner got the 2 chili dog meal and he enjoyed it very much. Overall a really good experience so we will be back

Went for Easter Sunday dinner with a friend. The server didn't come, but sent the hostess to bring…read morewater. Once the server came, we ordered appetizers, then he wanted to know what we wanted for our entree. We said we wanted to wait, as we all hate when we are eating our appetizers, and the main course comes. 3 times he came and asked us if we were ready to order. Umm. No, there are still appetizers, and yes, we told him we'd order when we were through with our appetizers. Finished the appetizers, had to ask the waiter for water 2x. Ordered main dish, our friend ordered the special which was on a chalk board when you walk in. About 5 minutes later the waiter says we're out of the special. She asked to see the menu. He didn't offer it. Our dinner came out about 2 minutes later, and she had to wait another 8-10 for her dinner. If you knew you were out of the special - wouldn't you hold the rest of the tables order so everyone could be served together? Once we all had our main course, as did our friend had to ask for steak sauce twice. Didn't see the waiter again. The hostess came by once. Once dinner was completed, the waiter brought the check and let the dirty plates on the table. The hostess came by and asked how the food was. And said "I'll get your server to clean up these dishes". Never did. Once we said No thanks for dessert - he was gone. At first we thought It's Easter Sunday - they're busy. Nope, only 3 tables full. And as we left, we noticed the special was STILL on the chalkboard. If you're out - cross it off, or erase it. Not a difficult step. The food itself was "good" but not excellent. We have been 3x now since they opened, and probably would not go back.