"The food at France-Soir is as textbook bistro as the charismatic, suited-up waiters plonking it unceremoniously onto your table. You’ll eat escargot, duck confit, and crème brûlee, and you’ll drink champagne (or something else suitably French) from a 3,000-strong wine list. The food isn’t the best in town, but you’re here for the ambiance. Ditto the business-types in the corner, and a younger generation that seems to have just discovered the place. Despite the mixed demographic, just about everyone orders the same thing: an assertively seasoned steak tartare that’ll transport you to mid-century Paris. France-Soir has been open since 1986, but sibling Le Splendide—a snack-focused, no-photos cocktail bar next door—is brand new." - Ellen Fraser
