Franco

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1535 S. Eighth St. St. Louis, MO 63104

314-436-2500

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Critics'
Pick
Best Service in a Restaurant
Award Winner 2010

Cuisine(s): Contemporary, French, New American

Hours: Fri 11am-11pm, Mon-Thu 11am-10pm, Sat 5pm-11pm

Price: $$$

Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash, ATM/Debit
Attire: Business-casual to dressy attire

Features: Banquet Facilities, Delivery, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Private Party, Smoking, Takeout, Wheelchair Accessible

Serving: Dinner, Evening, Lunch

Entertainment: Live Entertainment
Alcohol: Full bar

Reservations: Accepted, Recommended

Parking: Lot Available, Street

Description

Tom Schmidt thought he'd open a diner. After a reasonably priced meal at a trendy Manhattan restaurant, he realized what St. Louis really needed: hearty, affordable French bistro fare smack in the middle of Soulard. You'll find favorites like braised lamb, cassoulet and pommes frites, as well as escargot, frog legs and sweetbreads. A classy, utterly unpretentious restaurant in a beautiful space, Franco also sports an elegant bar fashioned from reclaimed barn wood. The mixologists here almost look too young to be this freaking good at making immaculate, heart-stopping cocktails. Franco's signature drink, the Silver and Sand, features Lillet Rouge, lemon juice, a Danish liqueur Cherry Heering, lemon ginger scotch, lemon bitters and an egg white.

2010 | Best Service in a Restaurant

When you have the best server in St. Louis, it gives you a leg up on the competition for Best Service in a Restaurant. That server is 28-year-old Angela Raines. If she doesn't know Franco's French-bistro dishes as well as the restaurant's chef knows them, then she must be no more than a whisker short. (All the more remarkable considering that she herself adheres to a raw-food diet.) To that intelligence you can add a tableside manner that is gracious, engaging and funny but never falsely... More »
2007 | Best French Fries

Now that we've entered the latter half of the decade and that whole us-versus-the-French unpleasantness has passed -- that Sarkozy is one handsome, charismatic bastard, n'est �e pas -- can we finally admit that the French make better French fries than we do 'Cause they do. Doubt it Visit Franco for an order of pommes frites. (Don't worry: Calling fries pommes frites won't make you French.) The frites arrive wrapped in paper inside a metal cone, their exterior a deep golden brow... More »
2007 | Best New Restaurant

Owner Tom Schmidt and executive chef Justin Keimon didn't reinvent the wheel when they opened Franco late last year in Soulard's stately old Welsh Baby Carriage Factory. The menu fits squarely into the lightly French-accented modern bistro mold so beloved by the city's better restaurants. Though you might order sweetbreads, foie gras or frogs' legs, even the most conservative palate will find something to love: steak frites, braised lamb, steamed mussels. Yet Schmidt, Keimon and their staff... More »

Chef Chris Williams Parts Ways with Franco, Nico

By Ian Froeb | Mon, April 9, 2012

Franco (1535 South Eighth Street; 314-436-2500) and its two-month-old sibling restaurant Nico (6525 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-727-0200) have parted ways with executive chef Chris Williams... More »
Eat Me in St. Louis: Ten Splurge Restaurants for March Madness Visitors

By Gut Check | Wed, March 21, 2012

Hello, fans of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Kansas and Ohio, and welcome to St. Louis for the -- deep breath -- 2012 NCAA Division One Men's Basketball Championship Midwest Regionals! You've... More »
Nico Opens Friday, February 24, in Delmar Loop

By Ian Froeb | Thu, February 23, 2012

Nico, the highly anticipated "younger brother" to Soulard's Franco, will open this Friday evening, February 24, at 6525 Delmar Boulevard in University City. (This, of course, was the longtime home of ... More »
The Gut Check Valentine's Day Reservation Guide: One Day Out

By Ian Froeb | Mon, February 13, 2012

Valentine's Day is TOMORROW, you guys! If you haven't made your dinner reservations yet, you must be screwed, right? (Or not screwed, as it were.) Fear not! Gut Check's perusal of OpenTable has foun... More »
The Gut Check Valentine's Day Reservation Guide: One Week Out Edition

By Ian Froeb | Mon, February 6, 2012

Valentine's Day is a week from tomorrow, you guys! Last week's edition of our Valentine's Day reservation guide found some decent tables available, via OpenTable, at some of St. Louis' favorite resta... More »
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Main Menu

Soups

$7.00

French Onion Soup Gratinée
onion soup with crusty baguette and melted gruyère cheese

$5.00

Soup Of The Day

Salads

$8.00

Winter Montrachet
mixed greens, red wine poached pear, spiced walnuts, fried gorgonzola, spiced red wine-champagne vinaigrette

$8.00

Frisee
roasted baby beets, goat cheese, watermelon radishes, roasted garlic vinaigrette

$7.00

Caesar
romaine lettuce, caesar dressing, croutons and baked parmesan

Small Plates

$5.00

Pommes Frites
with black pepper, sea salt, mayonnaise

Oysters
on the half shell, mignonette and cocktail sauces

$9.00

Sauteed Dumplings
rabbit confit, wild huckleberries, dried cherries

$11.00

House Country Paté
with classic garniture

$15.00

Seared Foie Gras
pineapple upside down cake style with sage and sage oil

Each $1.25

Shrimp Cocktail
with traditional garnish

$9.00

Escargots
baked in shell with garlic-herb butter

$12.00

Cheese Plate
daily selection with grapes and nuts

$8.00

Braised Pork Belly
roasted beets , molasses-bourbon gastrique

$13.00

Seared Scallops
arugula, orange supremes, spiced pepitas, apricot canelazo dressing

$6.00

Trout Rillette
preserved lemon and arugula pesto, crostini

Entrees

$19.00

Pacific Cod
celery root gallette, foraged mushrooms, chestnut-madeira butter

$19.00

Grilled Pork Rib Chop
potato gratin, roasted brussel sprouts with fig and bacon, fig gastrique

$26.00

Local Illinois Ribeye
red wine braised cabbage, bordelaise sauce and pomme frites

$21.00

Seafood Stew
shrimp, mussels, clams, squid, and scallops, red wine-roasted shallot broth with olives, capers, fennel and mushrooms

$21.00

Cassoulet
spicy house sausage, pork belly and duck confit in great northern white bean stew

$19.00

Pan-roasted Free Range Chicken Breast
correze style stuffing, brocollini, and chausser sauce

$18.00

Mussels And Pommes Frites
cider broth, sauteed apple, savory

$28.00

Brasied Lamb Shank
roasted shallot and root vegetable risotto with natural braising jus

$27.00

Seared Baramundi
potato croquette, glazed butternut squash, pumpkin seed bechamel

$22.00

Grilled Missouri Rainbow Trout
stuffed with goat cheese, caramelized onion and apple, warm fingerling potato, roasted garil and spinach sald with warm bacon vinaigrette

$18.00

Winter Vegetable Stew
buttermilk bechamel with orzo and grilled balsamic endive

Extras

$4.00

Marinated Olives

$3.00

White Anchovies

$4.00

Marinated Asparagus

Desserts

$9.00

Chocolate Beignets
housemade buttermilk sherbet

$6.00

Apple Tarte Tatin
with vanilla ice cream

$9.00

Praline Pave
bacon caramel and chocolate ganache

$5.00

Tahitian Vanilla Créme Brulee

$8.00

Plum Tart
oven dried plum, candied kumquats, cream

$4.00

Ice Creams
dolce de leche, vanilla , malted milk chocolate, peanut butter, peach

$5.00

Sorbet

$6.00

House Cookie Assortment

Looking for another city?

Franco

1535 S. Eighth St. St. Louis, MO 63104

314-436-2500

Description

2010 | Best Service in a Restaurant

2007 | Best French Fries

2007 | Best New Restaurant

By Ian Froeb | Mon, April 9, 2012

By Gut Check | Wed, March 21, 2012

By Ian Froeb | Thu, February 23, 2012

By Ian Froeb | Mon, February 13, 2012

By Ian Froeb | Mon, February 6, 2012