We are deeply grateful for this honor, and thank each and every one of our patrons for your many years of support. We look forward to seeing you soon at Francesco’s Ristorante & Pizzeria in beautiful Maitland, Florida.

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Readers’ Choice: Best Italian

Francesco’s Ristorante & Pizzeria

The open kitchen at this Maitland restaurant invites diners to watch Executive Chef/Owner Francesco Aiello cook, ask him questions or even stop by for a hug. “I love that people enjoy being in my restaurant, eating my food. It’s an amazing feeling,” he says. This approachability has built trust over the seven years he’s been in business, emboldening his customers to try things like whole branzino, a European sea bass. Seeing the fish head and navigating around its bones can be intimidating to the novice.“People now, they trust me more, they know me,” he says. Aiello says he wants people to understand the value of fresh, scratch cooking, so he offers classes, teaching techniques he learned in his native Sicily. One popular class teaches fresh mozzarella-making. Aiello says he has a hand in every dish that goes out of the kitchen. When he’s on vacation, he doesn’t run any specials. “I make every single dish,” he says. “I want to make my customers happy, 100 percent.” South Orlando Avenue, Maitland; francescos-rist.com —M.S.

Source: http://www.orlandomagazine.com/Orlando-Magazine/May-2019/2019-Dining-Awards/