Francois X.
Yelp
This is a review of the bar/ French "small plates" place ( tapas?). There is a full service restaurant associated with this concept in addition to a separate take-out place.
This place is rather small, congested, hot, and the outside seating in a dank , smelly alley lined with garbage bins when we were there. Across the street, the restaurant proper is spacious , quiet, and not-crowded....but reservations are definitely required.
We walked into the bar-a-vins and were promptly seated at a shared table almost rubbing elbows with another couple. So, for those suffering from claustrophobia, Covid-19, or monkey-pox fears, this is not your place. It can also get very loud.
The food concepts are clever, well executed, and with great service. By great, I don't mean fast service by American standards. The staff is young, polished, but casual and elegant. The crowd is younger, hipper, well-dressed, and classy.
We had a few dishes inclusive of their version of deviled eggs (oeuf mayonnaise) , a country terrine topped with picked mustard seed ( which was served a tad too cold), and a pappardelle pasta. The eggs and terrine portions were generous given it's a "small-plates" place. However, the pappardelle pasta was essentially three, short ribbons of pasta, but topped with shredded lamb. The dish was very delicious but very skimpy for the price. We filled up by sopping up the sauce with the bread provided.
This is not a place to expect a full dinner. The food is delicious, creative, but it's too hot, too loud, and too crowded to linger for too long. It also does help to speak some French, but there are menus in English . Overall, it's nice place, the food is delicious, and we will definitely visit again.