A husband-and-wife culinary team behind several Michelin-starred restaurants has brought a casual fine dining Italian concept to Round Rock.  

Renowned chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee took time from rubbing shoulders with Gordon Ramsay and other celebrities to open Frank and Margie’s on May 16. The restaurant – in the Renaissance Square shopping center at 1401 S. Interstate 35, Suite 120 – is described as “a chef-driven take on a neighborhood Italian restaurant where the food always comes first.” 

Stop by Frank and Margie’s – named after the husband and wife duo – and you’re likely to forget you’re in Texas. The restaurant bustles with energy from the kitchen and its bar, while dark drapery covers the view of the Centex landscape and highway, giving it a downtown New York or Chicago vibe when combined with the menu and the aromas it brings with it.  

There, you’ll find thin crust pizzas, handmade pastas, scratch mozzarella, seasonal salads and desserts from Kallas-Lee. Wagyu beef and elk meatballs and bone marrow pizza, as well as lobster and lamb dishes, are prime examples of the types of offerings you’ll find on the menu, as well as providing insight into the skill of the chefs.  

Frankland Lee became a sous chef at age 21, opening his first restaurant, Pasta|Bar, four years later out of space in a Hollywood café. Lee captured Michelin stars for Pasta|Bar and Sushi by Scratch concepts.  

He’s competed on culinary series “Top Chef” and “Chopped,” and operates Scratch Restaurants Group with Kallas-Lee. They maintain about 30 locations nationwide, including NADC Burger spots. The Rock Sports Bar began offering NADC Burger last month.  

Frank and Margie’s hours are 5-9 p.m. each Wednesday and Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5-9 p.m. Sunday. Reservations are a must.  

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