Café François
14-16 Stoney Street
London
GB
SE1 9AD
What’s the vibe?
Tucked away under the arches in Borough Yards, Café François is a slick proposition with cool logos (the chic red branding turns up everywhere from the staff’s khaki or burnt orange chore jackets to the crockery), so-functional-looking-its-hip wooden furniture, exposed brickwork, a cute counter bar, and an open kitchen. Having been rammed since it opened, it’s just as well it has even more covers than the original Maison François in St James’s, with two floors of seating and an awning-covered terrace. Styling itself as a modern-day French canteen, it’s open from breakfast ‘til dinner, so you’ll find a happy, animated crowd no matter what time you go.
What to eat?
The menu runs the gamut from hors d’oeuvres, charcuterie plates and salads through to sandwiches and bigger dishes, including several designed to be shared between two. Founder François O’Neill and his team have kept several items from Maison’s menu, such as the moreish, puffy comté gougères, the rustic pâté en croûte and the utterly addictive flatbreads; from these, choose from the croque monsieur, lamb merguez or moules marinière – the latter in particular sees plump, yielding mussels with traces of the white wine, garlic and cream sauce they’ve been cooked in, piled lavishly on top of a buttery, flaky, almost roti-like piece of warm dough.
What you order next depends on how French you’re feeling - if you’re an avid viewer of Emily in Paris, you’ll want to dig into a bowl of onion soup topped with grated cheese and crispy croutons, while if you regularly wear a beret, it’s the escargots dripping in garlic butter for you. If you’ve read more than one novel by Proust, get the crispy frogs legs with the accompanying tarragon-spiked ravigotte sauce (relax, they really do taste like chicken). The kitchen’s indulgent take on a McMuffin is stuffed with bacon, egg and foie gras ‘à la Joe Beef’ – a fashionable Montreal restaurant – while steak frites and a quiche du jour also make an appearance. If you’re all about sharing, try the rotisserie prime rib, or make it surf and turf with half a lobster. The rotisserie chicken comes swimming in an intense, wine-spiked jus. While CF may not have its own dessert trolley, it at least has a dessert cabinet, displaying pretty, pastel-coloured petit fours, eclairs and macarons.
What to drink?
Have a cocktail at the counter while you wait for your table; they do a twist on a Negroni featuring Botivo, while the Cant’elope gimlet, with cantaloupe melon cordial, is deliciously tart. There’s a sizeable global selection of wines, many very reasonably priced and available by the 500ml carafe as well as by the glass. They also offer ‘3 Colours Cafe’ wine; a red, white and rose exclusively created by a biodynamic vineyard in Bordeaux with the aim of encapsulating the Café François spirit.
