Café François

"Café François is good whatever time of day you visit. The useful, all-day Borough Yards spot, and Maison François sibling, serves reliably tasty French food and is likely to solve a good chunk of your dining dilemmas. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Come with a gaggle of friends or solo, in those jeans that are more destroyed than distressed. Either way, staff will call you ‘Sir’ and ‘Madame’, and present you with a little monogrammed napkin. We've seen a baby announcement go down at brunch, when the fancy passion fruit chia puddings and alcohol-free gooseberry and rhubarb spritzes feel suitably special for the occasion. And we've witnessed tourists escaping Borough Market to perch at the art deco bar at dinner. Because staring at good-looking veg while taking three elbows to the ribs is fun and everything, but eating decadently gooey comté gougères and moreish lamb merguez flatbreads is better. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Food Rundown photo credit: Sinéad Cranna Avocado Toast If you’re still in your contrarian avocado toast era, this will melt your scepticism. It’s a great iteration of the overdone dish. The feta is a nice salty addition, pumpkin seeds add a pleasing crunch and smug health halo, and we like the garlicky, basil-heavy pistou. Breakfast Burrito We’ve had better breakfast burritos and worse ones. This is perfectly tasty and we’d order it again. There’s a nice level of spice and smokiness from the piperade and chilli, and they don’t skimp on the merguez sausage. Bowl Of Berries We must talk about this bowl of berries. It was, simply, a bowl of berries. So, to be fair, it is exactly as advertised. But it’s also £7 and contains not that many berries. Don’t get these hoping for some surprise that isn’t in the description. Like us, you’ll be disappointed. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Lamb Merguez Flatbread The moment this proud, puffed-up flatbread was delivered to our table, with a golden drizzle of oil escaping from the minced sausage, we knew we were onto a winner. It’s delicious—like meat on bread should be. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Ratatouille Dish detectives will realise that this is the same pistou used on the avocado toast. And it brings the same zesty, herby hit here. This is less of a ratatouille that you curl up in front of the TV, wrapped in a heated blanket with, and more of a dinner party dish. It’s perfectly presented, all scalloped vegetables, layered to perfection, but we don’t feel the need to reorder it. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Half Rôtisserie Chicken We’re declaring this Café François’ signature dish. It’s all tender meat and a jus that made us get territorial, having little chip sword fights in order to secure every last drop. Get the chips and béarnaise sauce with this—it’s the perfect creamy foil for that salty jus. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Pistachio Macaron The macarons here are great and picking between them is like choosing a favourite child. But… it’s the pistachio one. It’s perfectly made, with a satisfying crackly top and smooth paste inside. It’s a little sweet, a little toasty, and a lot cute." - Sinéad Cranna

"We’re big fans of Maison François—especially their full English breakfast—so we’re excited that they’ve opened a laid-back sibling spot in Borough Yards, Café François. The in-house boulangerie at this ‘modern-day French canteen’ will make breakfast sandwiches with ham, egg, rösti, and spiced ketchup. At lunch there’ll be croquettes monsieur flatbreads and escargot, and bigger evening meals include steak frites. " - sinead cranna, rianne shlebak