Review: Frenchie
While I was doing research for my Europe trip on Paris’s most-loved restaurants , I began to notice that the name “Frenchie” would come up over and over again. When I dug a little deeper, I found out that this restaurant was reputed for serving some of the best food in the city at very reasonable prices as well as being one of the most sought-after establishments in all of France. I also discovered that the reservation process was notoriously difficult: Bookings are accepted exactly 21 days before the date of the reservation (they fill up fast!), and while the restaurant does have an online LaFourchette page, your best bet is calling them directly. For me, since I was calling from outside of France, I added some money to my Google Voice account and called via Google, which I also highly recommend to those planning to call internationally. After waking up in the middle of the night and going through several failed attempts the days before, you can imagine just how ecstatic I was when I finally placed a successful reservation at Frenchie for May 31, 2016.
Outside of Frenchie
Now on to the restaurant itself. The inside of Frenchie is extremely cosy, and only seats about 20 or so diners. In addition, the restaurant essentially only does two covers per night, so you’ll likely be eating either around 7:30pm or 9:30pm, which I found out is quite early for standard Parisian dinner times! The guests here are also mostly international, and if you listen closely, you’ll discover that most people are speaking English, so rest assured that the staff here will be able to communicate with you. While it seems that there used to be a pri-fixe menu that you could choose from, Frenchie now exclusively offers a 5-course tasting menu that showcases seasonal ingredients and rotates nightly. It seemed like all the best restaurants in town were serving tasting menus, so we were very excited to see what the chef would create for us.
Inside of Frenchie – all tables filled!
Dinner started off with an amuse-bouche of Black Truffle Crisps along with a fresh bread basket with Normandy butter. The chips were a delightful way to begin the meal – very light and delicate, and we also really appreciated that butter was served with the bread (not the norm in most Parisian restaurants).
Next up were the Cured Trout with Chive Sabayon and the Foie Gras with Pistachio Crumble, Pistachio Butter, and Cherries. The trout dish was a really strong way to start off the tasting, and I absolutely loved the chive sabayon – airy and flavorful. I’m also usually not a huge fan of foie gras, but this one wasn’t overly rich and went really well with the pistachios and cherries.
Our next courses were Asparagus with Smoked Eel and Trout Roe (with some sort of sabayon) and the Trout with Turnips, Asparagus, White Mushrooms, and Butter Sauce. This was the third time that asparagus had appeared on a tasting menu, but it was also my favorite preparation! The smoked eel packed a lot of flavor too. While the trout dish was prepared well and the fish itself was delicious, I would probably have to say that this was one of the less memorable courses of the night.
Our last savory course of the night was a Duck with Spicy Lamb Sausage, Faiselle Cheese, Artichoke, and Zucchini. This was definitely one of the highlights of the entire evening and a dish that I keep thinking back to – perfectly cooked duck paired with very flavorful accompaniments. I felt that this dish was very representative of Frenchie’s style and food.
Now for the part that we’ve all been waiting for: Dessert! Our first dessert was a Pea Panna Cotta with Pea and Peach Sorbet, Freeze Dried Strawberries, Meringue, and White Chocolate Discs. I really enjoyed all the different textures in this dish and found it refreshing that the chef chose to incorporate peas into the dessert. The second dessert was a Light Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Cookie, Salted Peanuts, and Peanut Butter Ice Cream, a wonderful blend of salty and sweet and the perfect way to end a meal.
So was the food worth all the effort and stress in making a reservation? YES. At the end of the meal, I even made a promise to myself that I would try to eat at Frenchie every time I came back to Paris. It is the quintessential Parisian restaurant, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a taste of what French cuisine is like.
Frenchie at the end of the night.
Price: $$$
Final Rating: 5/5