151 Queen Street
905-982-0200
When you step out the front door of Francesco's Ristorante in downtown Port Perry, you will see Lake Scugog to the left and the quaint little shops of the downtown everywhere else. It is your typical small town. Just like Mooseport. After all the movie Welcome to Mooseport was filmed in Port Perry. Francesco's was transformed into the Pig and Whistle for the movie.
Back in 2003 we decided to keep our boat at the Port Perry Marina for a month. We liked the idea of having all the amenities of the town at our fingertips. That first Friday night we walked up Queen Street and went into this restaurant to have a drink and check out the menu. We told the bartender that we were from Whitby, and she said she was also. I told her what street we lived on, and to our surprise, she lived only 5 houses up from us. Small World! We then met her parents, Franco and Alice, who had recently acquired the restaurant which was formerly Emiel's.
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Franco and Alice were considering re-naming the restaurant. My vote was for Alice's Restaruant. After all I was a big fan of the Arlo Guthrie song and movie. But Francesco's Ristorante won out. After all what better name for a great chef. Franco was featured in an article in East of the City. Click here to read about Franco.
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There is a dining room, lounge and bar area, back room with bar, and at one time an adjoining coffee shop. What we like most is the coziness of the place. Our favorite is the tables in the bar area.
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There is even a backroom (pictured above) for private parties, or meetings.
As you can see from the snow in some of the photos, not all of our visits to Francesco's Ristorante was in July 2004. We have visited the establishment many times over the years, and always enjoyed walking over for breakfast or dinner while staying on our boat. We even stop for dinner after visiting the Great Blue Heron Casino, as we noticed the food was not as good at the Casino anymore. We found out why, Franco was their previous chef.
My favorite when we opt for dinner, rather than the bar snacks, is the prime rib and french onion soup. Some of the favorites to choose from are the Veal Marsala, Piccata or Parmigiana; Rack of Lamb, Baby Back Ribs, New York or Peppercorn Steak. Pasta specialties such as Spaghetti, Fettuccini or chicken or portabella penne. Seafood lovers will enjoy pan fried rainbow trout, fillet of Sole Almondine, grilled salmon or orange roughy. Linguini Al'Mare is a favorite of many. (Shrimp, scallops, mussels, white wine, garlic and tomato sauce) Plus much more to choose from. Francesco's kitchen is open 7 days a week from 11 am to 9:30 pm.
