Franina


58 Jericho Tpke.
Syosset, NY
516-496-9770

For many years, you had to search for Franina, even though it's on a main road. The modest storefront could be identified by a canopy. The addition of Doric columns and the balustrade now have taken care of that.

McMansioned outside, Franina also is a lot fancier indoors, with flowing fabric and polite artwork. But, image aside, what counts today is what mattered before. The food is very good, and a lot of first-class wine flows.

Smooth and attentive service, even when there's a party under way in an adjoining dining room, completes the picture.

Start with an opulent seafood salad, with tender lobster meat, shrimp, scallops and squid, well dressed in a lemony vinaigrette. Or warm up with baked bluepoint oysters, capped with bread crumbs and accented with a light, herbaceous garlic sauce.

Grilled octopus with white beans, finished with olive oil and oregano; and a plump crab cake, paired with a warmed salad of shaved fennel, add to the fine openers. The salad of red and golden beets, with good greens and toasted goat cheese, adds a comparatively contemporary element.

Pastas are available in appetizer portions. The best: pappardelle Bolognese, in a delectable, almost sweet, meat sauce. Linguinette with dime-size imported clams almost rivals it, expertly done in white sauce.

There's less to the cavatelli caponata, with that warm Sicilian relish surprisingly bland. And goat-cheese ravioli in a walnut-Parmesan sauce arrives quietly, more underseasoned than subtle.

Gummy gnocchi flank an otherwise excellent braised beef braciola, a textbook production spiked with pine nuts. A juicy little hen with shiitake mushrooms benefits from the company of lemon and rosemary.

Flavorful, moist lobster fra diavolo packs the heat, as requested. It's easily recommended. Lobster pescatore takes a milder route, surrounded by shellfish, atop linguine.

Whole, delicate branzino, or sea bass, slightly smoky and sweet, brushed with olive oil and herbs; and whole orata, the flaky, white sea bream, dabbed with olive oil and completed with shavings of garlic, are the house's tastiest swimmers. A heartier choice: striped bass with olives, peppers, onions and potatoes.

Franina's desserts aren't as consistent. The mascarpone cheesecake veers toward dry; and the "tortino Vesuvio," a souffle-style cake, never erupts. The warm apple tart: toast.

But crepes with fruits are flambeed with aplomb. And zabaglione, whisked into a luscious cloud then set on berries, provides a tableside show -- and an apropos finale.

Reviewed by Peter M. Gianotti, 11/4/07.

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday for dinner. Tuesday to Friday for lunch. Closed Mondays. Weekend dinner reservations recommended.

Website

www.franina.com

Assessment

The people’s choice.

Cuisine

Italian

Directions

South side, west of Underhill Boulevard and the overpass, at Oak Drive.

Major Credit Cards Accepted

All major cards except Discover.

Notable dishes

Seafood salad, pappardelle Bolognese, grilled whole fish, braciola, zabaglione.

Price Range

Expensive ($25-$50), Moderate ($15-$25)

Rating

Very Good (2 stars)

Reservations

Recommended

Special Features

Business Lunch/Dinner

Wheelchair Access

One-level dining area.