Frances

Frances feels back to its old self when it carried a 1-star Michelin rating. The food was excellent, the service was good with perfect pacing.

We started with the sourdough, beignets, asparagus fritto, and the caviar and we ended up with the pork chop and the salmon for our mains. The flavors in both of our main dishes were amazing. We ordered a bottle of champagne, but was a little surprised it had more than a 100% mark-up on the bottle. I'm used to a large mark-up but that did seem a bit much.

Overall, add Frances back into your rotation if it has been awhile, you won't be sorry!

I very rarely can be bothered to write a review, but Frances really deserves a 5 star one :). Had the tasting menu last night. It's a total steal at $95, would easily pay $150 for it.

Shellfish appetizer: oyster, mussel, prawn. I generally don't love oysters, but this one was fairly drenched in fruit/vinegar so it was actually pretty enjoyable. The prawn seemed a bit plain and not very flavorful. The mussel was not bitter at all :). Would be nice to have some sort of utensil for the oyster, as it was fairly giant and a bit of a stretch to suck in.

Scallop crudo: This was where the fun began for me. Such a fun idea to put scallop in a gazpacho. The watermelon really brought out the freshness of it. Didn't love the turnips, and they were cut a bit unevenly.

Peaches: I mean yes they were perfectly ripe, but I also appreciate the placement in the menu as a transition from crudo to lettuce.

Lettuce: So fresh and leafy and juicy and crunchy! It was with various creamy/crunchy additives but the lettuce was definitely the star here and I loved that it wasn't overpowered.

Fettuccine bolognese: A fair bit spicy. Maybe a bit overly drenched in sauce? Could use a spoon.

Salmon: soft, tender without being overly moist, flaky crispy skin.

Lumberjack cake: Hmm. I mean it was perfectly fine, but not really that memorable. I would've preferred a bit less of cake and a bit more of the cardamom ice cream and grapefruit marmalade to spread on it.

Lovely ambiance, we somehow got a last-minute spot last Saturday around 8pm and had a very delicious dinner. The stewed short ribs were to die for.

We also got the corn appetizer and the prawn, which were also pretty good.

Came on a Friday night with reservation at 6 and got seated right away. The tables are definitely close together, but I expected this after seeing some reviews and photos on yelp.

Got a gift card from my boss here because it's her favorite restaurant, and the food looked good so I was happy to try it. I had never heard of Frances until then.

My boyfriend and I did the chef's tasting menu, $95/person. The only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars is because the cold/raw seafood first course was such a miss for me. The oysters had too much going on, and it didn't taste as fresh as I've had before. The mussel was just ok. The cold shrimp was not very flavorful.

However, the scallop crudo tasted super fresh, and I liked the sauce it was in and the shaved turnip gave it a good crunch. The salmon collar we got was also SO good! It had some type of anchovy sauce on top I believe.

The second course was a wedge Caesar and fettuccine bolognese (off menu). The Caesar was delicious, and the pasta was so yummy and you could tell it was homemade. The meat in the sauce was so good too.

The king Ora salmon entree came with a small side of potatoes, green beans, and salmon roe. It was all delicious. It also came with a side of corn riblets which were yummy too.

Since we were celebrating my birthday, they gave us 2 free chocolate cookies with sea salt. So yummy! And the dessert with the tasting menu was a chocolate mochi cake with strawberry ice cream. I loved the ice cream and the cookies more than the mochi cake. But it was still ok.

The ambiance between 6-8 was not too loud and not too dark since it was still light outside, but I read some reviews that it does get loud the later it gets. It didn't seem too loud when we were there though.

The service is excellent. Everyone is super attentive, super friendly, and super knowledgeable of the menu.

The only other thing about dinner that surprised me was when our server asked if we wanted bread, I said yes. She said it was a sourdough levain, which is always a good choice. It was tasty and so soft. And the butter they serve with it has fleur de sel which is always good. However, when the bill came, I realized that it wasn't complimentary. It was $8. Just something to be aware of!

One of my top favs, whether for a date or a small group of friends. I don't think I've had a single dish here that I didn't like. My favorites here are usually the soups. The ingredients and texture are always on point and unique. I'm not super into the meat dishes given how amazing the veggies are. Love their wines as well! Great service and living room like vibe, very relaxing. Highly highly recommend!

Food was spectacular, but the tables were so tight. If your butt is larger than a kid's basketball you risk knocking over your neighbor's wine glass when you go to the bathroom. This place should definitely be on your list if you're a foodie. Very interesting, unusual ingredients balanced beautifully.

Frances is a warm, inviting, laid back restaurant with delicious, seasonal American eats and an impeccably curated wine selection. There's little to complain about here, though some portions were a bit smaller than we would have liked. Overall, the food ranged from solid to excellent and the wine was very very special. Great for date night or a low-key friends hang if you're looking for refined food in a down to earth setting.

I came here with my sister and husband at 8:15 on a Saturday night. One thing that's exceptional beginning to end here is service. Everyone we interacted with there -- host, servers, those explaining wine -- all just so friendly and warm. The ambiance is already friendly and warm, so this really enhanced the entire vibe of the place.

Frances only serves wine and beer, and as I mentioned, the wine here is really next-level. I tried two different glasses and both were excellent -- particularly the first, which was the Suertes del Marqués "LISTÁN BLANCO" 'Trenzado' Tenerife, from the Canary Islands. One of the more unique wines I've tried at a restaurant, high acidity and kind of smoky due to the grapes growing in volcanic soil (we got a crash course from one of the servers which was interesting and much appreicated). My second wine was the Negotians Vinarius "POŠIP" from Croatia, a low-intervention skin-contact wine. Also very good, but nothing could compare to that first wine.

Food-wise, we opted for a la carte so we could split a bunch of options. There's decent variety on the menu, with lots of seasonal produce which I always appreciate. Eats, below:

Roasted beets w/ pt.reyes bay blue cheese, pistachio, makrut lime leaf: A-
We almost ordered two of these because we just wanted more of that bay blue! A solid salad but on the small side. The beets themselves were fine -- they served as a nice canvas for all other flavors/elements to shine.

Asian pear w/ owari mandarin, persimmon, pomegranate, fermented spiced honey: B
I do love pears but this dish was a little boring. Nice use of seasonal ingredients though. Very small portion.

Grilled octopus w/ honeynut squash romesco, farro verde, fennel: A-
A refined octopus preparation. I appreciated the starch element being incorporated into the romesco as potatoes/squash tend to be roasted and served as a side to octopus in many dishes. The farro verde was delicious and really made the dish.

Lettuces w/ purple daikon, house croutons, burnt satsuma dressing: B
Skip these. Letdown of the night, pretty boring. With those ingredients it had potential but I'd say it's not worth the price. Tasted fine but you could do better.

Snapper w/ creamy cauliflower, brussels sprouts, fines herbs: A+
The mains are where this meal really took off. Sadly I don't have a picture of either of them, probably because they smelled so good and we were still pretty hungry when they arrived so we dove right in. Melt-in-your-mouth fish, perfectly cooked, with the winter veggies complementing its flavors perfectly.

Wagyu short rib w/ king trumpets, toasted farro, torpedo onion, coriander caper jus: A
I'm honestly not a big red meat person. I don't like steak. It's strange, but it's my truth. Short rib is a tad different for whatever reason, and this preparation was right up my alley. Rich and earthy, all around great flavors. More winter veggies and grains that blended well together.

Pavlova w/ shinko pear, roasted pear sherbet, finger lime creme legere, mint: A
I rarely order dessert at meals but that's what makes the few times I do special. My husband got the pot de creme and I let him enjoy that without trying it, but it was finished swiftly. The pavlova was the perfect sweet treat to end the night. Very light with delicate flavors, a tasty and super sophisticated dish.

The service was nice, and the atmosphere here was decent. However, the food was meh ... we got the spot prawns ($10 for 1 prawn, so $20 for 2) and the scallop crudo. The prawns were really overcooked to the point that you couldn't taste whether the prawn was fresh or not, and spot prawns have a very short season and should be ultra fresh. The crudo didn't taste like anything. The lettuce salad was fresh and decent. We got the beef rib and pork chop, and neither was anything special ... not terrible, but not good either. Just Ok. Meh.

When I got the bill, I saw there was a 7% surcharge, which was kind of ridiculous because everything was already overpriced. I had a glass of wine (which was one of the decent parts of the meal) for $25. Then another 7% on top of that. Maybe they were too embarrassed to charge $27, but Ok with $25 and a 7% surcharge?

So the meal itself was unexceptional but not terrible, and probably deserves 3 stars, but a 7% surcharge and $250 total for two diners (with only one glass of wine and no dessert) makes me upset. We had a much better dinner the next night for $100.

So the way I think about it is that I would never come back to this restaurant, even if our whole meal cost $50. The food just wasn't that good ... literally the salad was the best part and it was just a salad. But it actually cost $250, so I'm upset.

Anyway, it was packed with customers, so I guess a meh meal $250 and a 7% surcharge doesn't bother a lot of people ...

I had walked by Frances several times over the last year and I finally decided to give it a try - very glad I did

My girlfriend and I stopped by here two weekends a go for a late(r) dinner and both of us had a great time.

In terms of ambiance, the restaurant is very warm and cozy - definitely smaller but not to the point of feeling cramped. Service here is also incredible - between the staff accomodating dietary restrictions and also taking care of us during our experience this was one of the best meals service wise I've ever had.

For our meal , we decided to do the tasting menu along with the wine tasting.

Everything we had was great ( see photos attached) but the highlights were

* pesto / mushroom pasta - they nailed the sauce on this one. The contrast in flavor of the rich pesto and pickled mushrooms was perfect and the crunch y breadcrumbs on top were a very nice touch

* short rib - cooked to perfect and very rich in flavor. I only wish there was more

* side dishes/ smaller plates - the rice cake , straw berry kimchi, and soup were all stand out items leading up to our main course

The menu here is seasonal, so I'm curious to see how it changes over time. But , with that said, I'd highly giving this place a shot if you can. Definitely an experience I would recommend.

5/5

This was a very delightful experience! Everything was delicious and we had wonderful service from Emily D. and the rest of the crew. We shared all of the dishes among three of us and were prepared to have smaller bites from the starters.

The scallop crudo was my favorite from all the starters with a good balanced flavor of dashi.

The beet salad was well seasoned and warm which was a nice surprise.

The sweetwater oysters were fresh and delicious but the passionfruit was just a tad overpowering and tart for my taste.

The casarecce pasta was okay. I liked the al dente texture of the pasta but it was slightly salty and took away from the freshness of the sauce.

The short rib was a generous portion, super tender, well seasoned and had a nice sear on the outside.

Dessert! This is one of the few occasions where all all desserts were equally impressive. The pot de creme was the favorite of the table with a good hazelnut crumble for texture. The lumberjack cake was moist and well paired with cardamom ice cream. Finally the restaurant gave us some birthday sea-salt chocolate cookies which had the perfect richness of chocolate.

Highly recommend the pork chop and the dessert Pavlova. Pork chop is super juicy and tender with Fuji apples. I love the refreshing combination of utilizing fruits with the meat dish. The Pavlova also comes with pear sherbet and a very light dessert that is not super sweet for my liking.

We also love the kampachi crudo with black sesame which is something different from many other crudo that are more ponzu based. It is a quite unique flavor. The autumn fruits are also a great appetizer to eat if you want something refreshing.

Restaurant has more of intimate ambience due to dim lighting. One thing to note is the rather closeness of the table. It is slightly hard to get in or out and you can easily hear conversation of others. Waiters have to move the tables to the side for people to get in and sit.

Overall, Its still nice place to bring your date here due to the quality dishes. I would love to come back to try new dishes. I like how many dishes utilize fresh fruits!