French Restaurants
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Electric Brasserie
Whether it’s for breakfast (£5 to £10) or brunch over the weekend, a hearty lunch or a full dinner, the Electric draws a trendy and wealthy Notting Hill crowd with its Modern British/European cuisine. If you’re feeling decadent, lobster and chips (£36) is the way forward.
reviewed
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Crèmerie Restaurant Polidor
A meal at this quintessentially Parisian crèmerie-restaurant is like a trip to Victor Hugo’s Paris: the restaurant and its décor date from 1845 and everyone knows about it (read: touristy). Still, menus of tasty, family-style French cuisine ensure a never-ending stream of punters eager to sample bœuf bourguignon, blanquette de veau à l’ancienne (veal in white sauce) and the most famous tarte Tatin in Paris! Expect to wait. No credit cards.
reviewed
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Café Solé
Conch carpaccio with capers? Yellowtail fillet and foie gras? Oh yes. This locally and critically acclaimed venue is known for its cozy back-porch ambience and innovative menus, cobbled together by a chef trained in southern French techniques who works with island ingredients. The memory of the anchovies on crostini makes us smile as we type. It's simple – fish on toast! – but it's the sort of simple yet delicious that makes you feel like Mom's whipped up something special for Sunday dinner.
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L'Express
This place is so fantastically French, you'd half expect to see the Eiffel Tower out the window, especially after guzzling too much of the excellent wines. The food's classic Parisian bistro – think steak frites, bouillabaisse, tarragon chicken – and so is the attitude. Reservations essential.
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Le Cordon Bleu Bistro@Signatures
This sensational dining experience, housed in a Tudor-style castle, is the on-site restaurant of the prestigious Cordon Bleu culinary school. Fear not, your meal won't be cooked by fumbling students; the à la carte dinners are prepared by the well-seasoned instructors and the weekday lunches are crafted by the graduating students. Award-winning menus feature some of Canada's finest harvests, and the lengthy wine list looks more like an encyclopedia.
reviewed
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Hôtel du Nord
The setting for the eponymous 1938 film starring Louis Jouvet and Arletty, the dining room and bar at this vintage venue by the Canal St-Martin feel as if they were stuck in a time warp with their Art Deco posters, zinc counter and old piano. The food is correct if not mind-blowing; stick with basics like the jumbo hamburger (€16) and its trimmings and you’ll be fine. The plat du jour is usually €10.
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Café Der Provinz
A charming little café near the Piaristenkirche, Café der Provinz brings a touch of France to Vienna. Choose from sweet crepes, served with the likes of Nutella, chocolate, or honey, or sour galettes (buckwheat crepes, cooked on one side only) complemented by ham, cheese or egg. It's a sweet spot any time of the year - inside in winter it's warm and cosy and outside in summer the streetside seating is cool and breezy.
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Bistrot Bistro
A charming, snob-free neighborhood bistro with a casual contemporary feel, the menu here combines traditional French recipes with seasonal local ingredients and simple, flavor-revealing preparations. Expect hearty nosh like apple-sweetened pork tenderloin still simmering in its skillet and the kind of robust boeuf bourguignon that makes lesser chefs weep. Great value, especially the Sunday to Thursday prix-fixe special.
reviewed
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Bathers’ Pavilion
Spanish Mission–style architecture, harbour views and outstanding food collide at one of Sydney’s most enduringly popular restaurants. The seasonal menu focuses on produce from small local providers, with plenty of seafood; there’s also a full vegetarian menu. Under the same roof, Bathers’ Café opens for breakfast at 7am, serving equally scrumptious fare (including delicious pizza) at more democratic prices.
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Restaurant Bar Bozo
While the food is average tourist fare and the service is incompetent (a two-hour wait for your meal to arrive is not unusual), Restaurant Bar Bozo is superbly located at the mouth of Mopti harbour. The passing panorama of Mopti river life could easily occupy an afternoon, so even if you don't eat here, stop by for a drink, preferably at sunset. It's a shame it starts running out of everything by 20:00.
reviewed
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Brasserie Jo
This huge, open place serves wonderful food from Alsace, where owner Jean Joho was born. From the signature beer specially brewed by a local microbrewery to the hot, fresh baguettes, all the details are right. Try the great choucroute (smoked meats and sausages on sauerkraut) or the shrimp in a bag. Wear a fancy hat on Thursday and get a free chapeau au chocolat (chocolate hat) dessert.
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L'Echappée Belle
For flavours of cumin, saffron and ginger infusing regional produce; or for homemade pastry and tea, Avignon's new restaurant/salon de thé (tearoom) is a treat. Named after the Nicolas Bouvier novel of the same name (which translates as The Beautiful Escape), L'Echappée Belle is a chic yet relaxed spot amid Avignon's architectural and artistic highlights.
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Café Paris
Within a spectacularly tiled 1882 butchers’ hall and adjoining art-deco salon, this elegant yet relaxed brasserie serves classical French fare like croque-monsieur (toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich), croque-madame (the same, but with a fried egg) and steak tartare (minced meat, but pan-fried, not raw). Its breakfast for two is a splendid feast.
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Brasserie Métropolitain
This trendy hot spot puts a modern spin on the typical brasserie with a swirling zinc countertop, flamboyant fixtures and the subtle oompah-pah from a distant accordion – you'll feel like you're dining on the set of Moulin Rouge. 'Hill Hour' (4pm to 7pm on weekdays) buzzes with the spirited chatter of hot-blooded politicos as they down discounted drinks and $1 oysters.
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Le Bouchon
Cast aside any preconceived notions of pretentious waiters and intimidating menus; this homely bistro in the middle of one of Bangkok’s more ‘colourful’ districts is a capable and fun introduction to French cooking. Choose your dishes from the blackboard menu toted around by cheery waiting staff, but it’d be a shame to miss the garlicky frogs’ legs or the savoury foie gras pâté.
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Le Jardin de Paris
A regular haunt of staff from the French Institute across the road (who should know their cuisine française ), the ‘Parisian Garden’ is housed in a wonderful old townhouse with interesting reliefs on the facade and abutting an ancient castle wall. The back garden is a delight in the warmer months. Set lunch is a snip at 1500Ft for two courses.
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Chez André
Housed in a huge villa on the eastern extreme of Chaussée Prince Rwagasore, this is one of many contenders for the best restaurant in the city, with a flamboyant menu that wouldn't look out of place in Brussels or Paris. The wine list and desserts are well worth a closer look. There is also a popular health club here if you feel the belt busting after a major meal.
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Café Flo
Run by a Frenchwoman hailing from Nice, and located inside the Alliance Française, Café Flo provides the ultimate Parisian dining experience in Karachi. This restaurant is particularly popular with foreigners living in the city; reservations are essential. Try the divine pâté, the decadent chocolate mousse, the luscious lobster...C'est magnifique!
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Gregoire
The best takeaway by the bay offers classic French. The weekly menu features what's in season locally, maybe grilled artichoke with aioli, impeccably fresh salad, steak in a wine reduction and always, the ethereal potato puffs. Just a few blocks from the park-like UC campus or the Berkeley Rose Garden (on Euclid at Rose), this is a perfect place to outfit a picnic.
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Les Dix Vins
This tiny restaurant, on the far side of Montparnasse, is so popular that you will probably have to wait at the bar even if you've booked. Not such a bad thing, of course, in a temple devoted to Bacchus, as you'll be able to sample one of the carefully chosen wines while you wait. Excellent value, good service and stylish decor combine to form a true winner.
reviewed
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Greenfield
Tucked away off Route de Kpalimé, near Tokoin Hospital, this funky French-owned garden bar-restaurant is decorated with dancing Keith Harring figures and colourful lanterns. It is family-friendly, with a menu for children and teenagers, and films screened for youngsters on Saturdays, in addition to the adult films on Tuesdays and live jazz.
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Chez Toinette
The atmosphere of this convivial restaurant is rivalled only by its fine cuisine. In the heart of one of the capital’s most touristy neighbourhoods, Chez Toinette has kept alive the tradition of old Montmartre with its simplicity and culinary expertise.
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La Fourchette
An enduring classical French bistro west of place de l'Horloge run by the same family for generations, La Fourchette offers a tempting choice of dishes on its fixed-price menu (prices are the same for lunch or dinner). Along with tender lamb, specialities include marinaded sardines, and a sinful meringue ice cream with praline.
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Bistrot Mosaico
A slice of Paris just west of Av Insurgentes, this unpretentious bistro is the successful creation of French restaurateur François Avernin. It’s trendy for a reason: the service is stellar, the salads fresh and varied, and the wines well chosen. Picnickers can stock up on pâté and escargots at the deli counter.
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Le Bistro
In a pleasant Kabuli house, this French restaurant has its own bakery attached, making the continental breakfast (US$10) a treat of bread, pastry and croissants. Evening meals are good, even if the servings are a little on the small side. Carpets and paintings festoon the walls, and there are regular art shows and sales on site.
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