FrancesFrances is my best friend'sFrances is my best friend's favorite restaurant, so I was really excited to try it on my recent trip to SF - the team at Frances certainly delivered! From the "Market shot" (grapefruit juice and sweet vermouth) to the bouchées (we tried the bacon beignets and the beet salad - so well balanced!) to the entrées (bavette steak/sonoma duck) and dessert (fresh strawberry shortcake), everything was beautifully executed. The house blend red wine was a great complement to our meal and our waiter was very attentive. The ambiance of the restaurant was casual yet obviously held itself to a high standard. I can certainly understand my friend's enthusiasm for this establishment and will add it to my own list of notable restaurants!5/14/2013 12:00:00 AMMemorable Mother's Day!From start to finish, we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our meal at Frances. The service was incredible being attentive, welcoming and attentive l all at the same time! We had twelve different plates between the four of us and everyone said each of them were very good to great. We will definitely return!5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMFrances was beyond beliefFrances was beyond belief delicious. There were four of us and we had a delightful time.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMFrances , Favorite,Fantastic!If the new Pope dined here I'm sure he would change the spelling of his name! I've watched this fine place over the years and it's really come into its' own. Very smooth orchestrated service-the spinach soup was the most heavenly dish I've had this year-it almost floats away-weighted down by the unseen mushrooms at the bottom. The rest of the meal was superb-desserts are always a surprise. The large portions are always welcome, sometimes not the case at a Michelin star restaurant. Absolutely fantastic.5/7/2013 12:00:00 AMA lovely restaurantWhile the menu is small, everything you sample is delicious. We had a lovely corner table. All the starters were delicious and perfect to share.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMA wonderful welcome to SFI came across Frances while reading several reviews online and instantly booked a reservation even before flying out to SF. The atmosphere is vibrant, friendly, relaxed yet still excellent. I love dining in a place that serves awesome food but doesn't require you to be stuffy and all high brow.
Loved the duck. And the beet salad. And the strawberry shortcake!
Thanks for a great welcome!5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMHard to do ingredient-driven,Hard to do ingredient-driven, technically-focused but simple CA cuisine any better tan this -- quite simply one of the best restaurants in San Francisco or anywhere..4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMWe had a very good dinner.We had a very good dinner. Would like to return with friends4/24/2013 12:00:00 AMIf you go to one restaurant in SF..I loved the "juice of the day" shots. The one they had when I went this week was grapefruit juice with agave and white wine. Delicious. Service was lovely, and the food was excellent. Get the chickpea fritters. The Sonoma duck I got was perfectly tender and served in a flavorful broth. Delicious.4/17/2013 12:00:00 AMYum!It was quint and cute inside. I liked that one out of every several chairs was red. The handmade dishes under the napkins and all those little touches were throughout and I totally appreciated it. The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable. We tried the house wine blends but decided to go with an Oregon Pinot instead. The little boozy market shot was pleasant. We really liked the Leek side and our mains. I think it was the first time I liked Kale in a dish. The duck I had was done just right and paired succulently with the fixins. My husband’s steak was equally mouthwatering.
Now the dessert. I had strawberry shortcake. Yum! The strawberries tasted like strawberries in the coulis and the biscuit was delicious and flaky pairing well with th4/16/2013 12:00:00 AMA wonderful dinner experience.A wonderful dinner experience. Everything was delicious. Unique dishes. It is a small restaurant so you need to plan ahead with reservations 4-8 weeks. Be persistent in looking on Open Table even when it says no tables available. I found that a day or two later they put up more openings.4/11/2013 12:00:00 AMvisitor from france. firstvisitor from france. first timers, both of us. loved everything. had the cauliflower with curry yogurt, avocado with mozzarella, black sesame seeds, grilled beets and sunflower seeds, chickpea fritters, squid ink tagliatelle with calamari, rare steak with potatoes, peas and bordelaise sauce and ricotta gnocchi with pesto and walnuts.
incroyable.4/9/2013 12:00:00 AMHoping for an Earlier SeatingMy Halibut was perfect, and I loved the way the food was served in those shallow bowl-like plates, so handy at the end in facilitating any soaking up of sauces. The squid-ink pasta and the tarte tatin were both memorable. What I liked about the dessert was that it wasn't too sweet and left upon the tongue a tingling sensation.
I hope to dine there again as there are many other small dishes I want to try: the bacon beignets, in particular. I did very much like the one we chose instead, though, a puree of califlower, so delicate yet satisfying, served with tall thin crackers. The Dolcetto was excellent, and I was so pleased to find it on the wine menu.4/9/2013 12:00:00 AMOutstanding. Frances servesOutstanding. Frances serves some of the best food in San Francisco. It was always a great restaurant but the food is better than ever.
Had dinner with friends from London. They LOVED it.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMBig yum in elegant, loud eateryExquisite. Impeccable service. Chef clearly loves & thinks about food. We started w/ yummy cauliflower spread. Squid ink pasta w/ roasted calamari--delish! Perfect chew on the noodle. Kale salad was a standout--w/ shaved fennel & incredible charred mandarin sections! We had well-cooked duck which perhaps needed a more assertive sauce. We couldn't decide between two cakes so got both lumberjack and chocolate stout. Good but both could use a bit of improvement. The ice cream was sort of sticky in texture and lacked maple flavor. The chocolate cake needed more anise crumble; we couldn't detect any and had ordered it for this flavor.Kudos for the market shots, house wine by the ounce, & Madeira selections! Very loud & crowded place.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMI had plans for somewhereI had plans for somewhere else but saw Frances had a rare opening for 5pm-This is the finest meal I've had in ages-the flavors and generous size dishes sent me in to another sphere-and large wine glasses with the same amount you would pour yourself at home.I absolutely love this place and know several staff by name-they are so friendly and professional. The finest cooking i have ever experienced-Melissa really has the touch of genius.3/27/2013 12:00:00 AMThis was one of the greatestThis was one of the greatest dining experiences in the city that I have ever had. The food was incredible and the service is impeccable.3/26/2013 12:00:00 AMWorth every penny!Consistently amazing. Amazing ambiance- great service. Very kind, real, not pretentious servers. Overall just great. I would go back as much as I could if I could just get a reservation.3/24/2013 12:00:00 AMDon't miss FrancesDon't miss Frances. It's slightly off the beaten path but really close to the Castro and near the Mission.
It's difficult to get a reservation. Why? The quality , taste and plaiting of the food was fabulous. Service was friendly and helpful.
Small restaurant ... Huge dining experience.3/19/2013 12:00:00 AMI like that you can by wineI like that you can by wine by the ounce. Also, the food was very tasty, and it seemed to be open fairly late, which is nice.3/14/2013 12:00:00 AMThis is the first time I haveThis is the first time I have dined at Frances. My friends and I ordered everything on the menu, with the exception of 1 entre and 2 deserts. Each dish was delicious and memorable! The chef made every taste sing - with wonderful surprises of smokiness in some. Absolutely loved the food and the service. Truly exceptional!3/13/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat local restaurant. TheGreat local restaurant. The chef-owner knows what she is doing. The beignets are not to be missed. My wife had the bavette steak - done to perfection. I had the duck breast - wonderful. Another big plus is that the have their house wine blended to their spec - and you pay for what you consume - what a deal!1/16/2013 12:00:00 AM