Frances

The restaurant is very small and quaint!! Perfect for a romantic night.. they are extremely accommodating in terms of us moving our reservation around and willing to make the necessary changes if we didn’t like any.. The food was exquisite!! We ordered there $65 sample menu where you get 8 entrees (portion size) and loved every little ounce of the food.. The staff was very friendly and helpful too!! Highly recommend for couples.. would not suggest with little kids as the place is relatively small They had very little vegetarian options but the options they did have were all very yummy

A well curated dining experience with a fantastic, eclectic staff and beautiful dishes. The prix fixe is well balanced, with a great mix of fish, meats, but also pastas and vegetables. A must try!

It was very crowded on a Saturday night but the food and service were excellent. Special props to sourdough bread, oysters, wagyu short rib and chocolate mousse.

Frances offers beautifully crafted testing menu which features the best seasonal produce cooked to perfection and with memorable flavours. The uni butter spaghetti was to die for!

We celebrated our 20th anniversary there and were delighted by the finesse of the food and excellent service. We had a great time.

Delicious food, thoughtful European fusion just the right portions and friendly staff. Simple fine dining done well

Fabulous place. Superb service. Food is incredible. Beautiful ingredients paired well together and perfectly seasoned.

We had a great dinner here, comfy and warm place with food that feels just right, not overwhelming

Excellent cozy meal at Frances. Sat at the counter and loved that experience. It's definitely tight seating in the whole restaurant which is small, but it adds to the cozy vibe. The lighting is great, it's not too noisy. The food is superb. I got the chef's tasting menu with wine pairing and the food was absolutely on point. The wine pairings were good at the price point. There's no need for me to get into the details of every dish because every single dish was utter perfection. Local oysters were awesome I was so glad this is my first time trying hog Island. Every single dish was familiar flavors but done like you haven't had them ever before. And exceptional but still approachable. Just really good comfort food with the experience of it being novel. This is a very hard thing to accomplish but Francis does it perfectly I have to come back and get the tasting menu every time, it was a magic experience and the perfect amount of food. The lumberjack cake is in fact that good and the combined bite with the burnt honey ice cream is unforgettable texture and flavor experience.

What a cute neighborhood restaurant just off the Castro, also walking distance to the mission. It's a very small plane so you sit very close to your next table dinners. The food is worth it though. They serve a 4 course tasting menu, which really is 10 courses. Lot's of food. They serve a modern American cuisine. The diakon cakes and pasta were my favorite. Definitely be back.

Wonderful dining experience. Service was personable and attentive. Food we opted for chef taster and wine pairing. Creative and fresh. They accommodated my last minute reservation and was seated in the park-let. It was intimate and made my experience that much better. Can’t wait to go back and try chefs new creations!

Was in SF for work and chose Frances for a solo dinner — it was perfect. Emily’s service made the evening memorable, and the masa tartlet, pasta, and daikon cakes were all highlights in my 4 courses. The lumberjack cake was nostalgic and comforting. The tasting menu with wine pairing is definitely worth it if you’re looking to splurge or celebrate a special occasion.

I went here for a birthday dinner with the tasing menu. Food was amazing. All items were a great mix of different food cultures. Staff were exceptional in their quality of service. Super nice and welcoming. I love this place. Definitely recommend it for any type of celebration or just a casual date night.

First, it was an overall good experience. Food was fairy good and staff were friendly. Easily one of the best salmon I have had. Crispy skin but tender and juicy inside. However the restaurant was so tightly laid out, it was very difficult to be seated and you could hear people talking several seats down, which also made people talk louder. With the slow services, it became a little unbearable after 2 hours of dining for a three course meal on a Wednesday night. I don’t think I would try weekends there.

The food and service were great. Menu changes approximately month to month, but some consistent offerings. Good wine list, including by the glass. Smaller menu as this is a limited seat restaurant, but that helps them keep the quality high. Made many trips here over the years as it is consistently good and will return before you know it.

Really enjoyed the bacon beignets, corn soup, scallop crudo and the Wagyu. For such a grand meal I will say the ambience was lacking! Gray walls and lackluster lighting didn’t make it feel like a premium experience.

This is a small, cozy space with really excellent food. Despite a last-minute reservation, this place handled allergies fantastically. Great spot for date night, or just any special meal.

Solo dinner, took a table overlooking the street. The tasting menu with the wine pairing was phenomenal. The real show stopper was the Cobb Chardonnay. Service was efficient and thoughtful. I was served by what seemed to be their entire team and they all seemed knowledgeable and kind. I can’t recommend this place enough.

I was delighted to dine at Frances. I love to support Women-Owned Businesses. The food was FANTASTIC! We had wonderful service and delicious wine and each course was bursting with new and interesting flavors and ingredients. I AM SO IMPRESSED with food and atmosphere. I have already been telling all my friends to dine at Frances. I will definitely be back! Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Frances is a great dining experience. Excellent food, superb service, lovely ambience. The celeriac soup is amazing and their house-made bread is fantastic. There’s a slight lull between the pasta dish and the main but other than that, a delightful dinner. The salmon and leeks were cooked to perfection.

The menu was a welcoming and fun mix of experimental and rustic, the wine pairing hitting all four corners of a well rounded wine menu. There's nothing more San Francisco than walking through the Castro, taking a right on 16th, and slipping off the street into this inconspicuous yet cozy dining room with a slight "old-church" smell that gives the whole experience a wink of rustic and a nod to nostalgia. Food was focused on quality and seasonality and was, start to finish, delectable. The service was perfect, added even more warmth to the evening. Tradition and surprise intermingle to paint a new picture of hearty, staple dishes and ingredients. Next level. Thanks Chef Melissa! 🙏

Delicious. Had the tasting menu and the waitress was very accommodating and traded a few easy things out which I thought was above and beyond. Wish they had a full bar, but I know those licenses are hard to come by. The best meal I’ve had so far in 2025.

Had their Starbelly burger and a kale Caesar salad. The burger was juicy with a soft brioche bun, and the salad was crisp with a punchy dressing. The place feels laid-back, with lots of locals dropping in. Staff were chill but fast. One of those spots where you can just relax and not overthink it.

After so many recommendations, we finally decided to give this New American spot a try! The food is definitely on the richer side—a bit heavy for my usual taste, but a wonderful treat for when you’re craving something indulgent. It’s a great neighborhood gem, tucked away from the main street, making it a lovely, quiet spot for a date or a gathering with friends.

Been here like a dozen times. Food is always solid here. The food selection is sometimes small. It is usually difficult to get a reservation here but they recently added outdoor seating that I think now or is easy to get a table here. They changed the menu to a family style prix fix menu, which is interesting. The food was solid. It is very odd that I had to keep asking for serving spoons and sharing plates and it was hard to get them and I had to wait for them a number of times during one meal.

Great food. Great service. Great wine. Closest round to a Danny Meyer restaurant I’ve found in San Francisco.

Frances definitely know how to wow with the best starters and dessert. Should you want to try this place, you need to sign up for their email list so you can snag a reservation. This is based on their current set up (as of September 2021) I booked mine a month ahead. It is $110 per person pre paid. The food is pretty solid. The only thing I didn’t really care for is the fish entree. The outdoor dining set up is very nice. Very cozy and beautiful!

The wine list and food were amazing. Would have liked to have a little more space between tables.

Loved the food and service at Frances! The place is very small though, so tables are very close together, making it pretty loud and impossible to ignore the conversations from the table next to you.

Went for NYE dinner. Service was excellent. Food was good. Didn't care for the ricotta dumplings, and the salmon and sides were quite salty. Roasted chestnut soup, daikon cakes, and chocolate mousse torte were delicious though. Very loud though. Could use some sound absorbing.

This would have been a 5 star review were it not for the very unfriendly and sarcastic host who was rude to my group despite us being forced to wait 30mins after our booking time for our table, with absolutely zero offered as an apology for making us wait so long. All's well that ends well but a little kindness and hospitality would have gone a long way.

Very good food. Quiet small neighborhood spot- if I lived closer I would come here instead of cooking. Wine list might not be doing it for me due to being a horribly spoiled brat.

I had high hopes for Frances, especially for my mom’s birthday, and didn’t want to be deterred by the recent negative reviews. But unfortunately, the experience fell short and I left disappointed. The appetizers were underwhelming—scallops were overpowered by the citrus flavor and the bacon beignets were too heavy and bready. The house made sourdough and squash risotto was just okay, and while the soup was decent, it wasn’t memorable. The wagyu short rib was the highlight of the meal. For the price point (nearly $300), I expected much more. Overall, it was a decent meal, but not worth the cost or the hype.

Nice night out, but wouldn’t return. The best part of the experience was the service. Food was fresh, but all of the dishes lacked balance and cohesion. The agnolotti was swimming in butter and the wagyu short-rib was over cooked. Too expensive for the quality delivered. Octopus in mole sauce was the one stand out of the night.

Came here with some friends for a group dinner, and while the food was tasty, it definitely underwhelmed. There were several pairings that were just strange (petra sole and pasta, mole-ish and squash) and just didn’t quite work. The chicken was also very underseasoned, with only the caramelized onions and chantarelle mushrooms attempting to give it a flavor boost. We also paid $6 for 5 pieces of sourdough bread. Much like its sister restaurant Octavia, Frances kind of fell flat for us unfortunately!

table is hard to get so make your reservation ahead ! i got to say the baked clams were so good i can order few more for myself and the beignets with maple chive creme fraiche, oh la la. the appetizers are slightly bigger than tapas portion and is good for sharing. the mains were okay-ish especially the snapper i ordered and both mains took more than awhile to arrived and we were both so tired from jetlag we didnt order any desserts to end the night. oh bread was not offered or should we request ?

A friend picked this place for a meet up. Apparently it’s hard to get tables but we managed to get an early seating. They have a nice selection of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. The bread was warm and the butter nicely salted. We split the thinly sliced scallop appetizer. For our main, we ordered the spaghetti, risotto and tuna. While the food had presentation were great, the portions were tiny. Even though I wasn’t super hungry, I could have used a few more bites of my risotto despite the appetizer. We ordered the lumberjack cake which was delish. One of my dinner companions said irl that it was his favorite dish out of the whole meal.

The food was very disappointing. Scallops crudo were bland. So were bacon beignets, and crem fresh did not remedy it. Corn soup was very sweet. My date said that oysters were really good though. The main course were excellent: both the black cod, and wagyu ravette. And then the deserts were disappointing again. Lumberjack cake tasted like a slightly sweetened bread. The dates and ice cream were good with it though. And strawberry and rhubarb eton mess was also bland and tasteless. The service was excellent.

A little bit disappointed overall as we were pretty excited about this one. It ultimately just didn't deliver anything all that unique food-wise. Thursday night with 4 people. First note - service/staff were great, and the ambiance was uniquely vibey for SF. Design of the space is nice, dark, busy. Food was just mixed, especially for the overall price. First off I was a bit uninspired by the menu/mains especially - a short rib and atlantic salmon did not totally mesh with the more creative starters. Quick review of what we ate - Beignets (probably best dish - really unique), figs (pretty good and sauces were unique, though the figs themselves were all over the place with size/taste), shrimp (solid - sauce was delicious), lettuce (nice lettuce but very basic), spaghetti (I enjoyed it but my wife, who loves pasta more than she loves me, literally couldn't eat it because she said it was the most acidic red sauce pasta she's ever had), short rib (thought it was way overcooked and just not particularly unique - wasn't in enough sauce, and it's short rib; probably our mistake for ordering it in the first place), atlantic salmon (also our mistake for even ordering this as it just wasn't very special and we also felt overcooked, and the beans were really not cooked), peanut butter desert (this I recommend).

Disappointed. We tried their tasting menu. Oysters were bland - would not recommend at all. None of the other dishes were bad, but every dish was forgettable. They let us sub the main pork entree for the bavette but it was way too salty. Dessert was probably the best of the dishes. Service was lackluster. We got counter seats and we were mostly ignored. Didn't get service unless I got up and went to the host and asked for something