Frances - SF

robert · April 13, 2017, 6:45pm

I was going to a movie at the Castro, parked around the corner, Frances was having a slow night, so I finally got to eat there after years of not being able to get a reservation.

I like their thing of serving house wine in a graduated cylinder and charging by the ounce. That night it was a very nice Stony Hill Chardonnay. I didn’t care for the red.

Fritto misto and octopus salad, small servings but reasonable for the price and quality.

Cauliflower side, I’m not sure why they call it “tabbouleh,” great mix of flavors and textures. I’ll have to try the fried farro at home.

Halibut, perfectly cooked. There’s some black rice hiding under there.

Went back after the movie for dessert. The Lumberjack Cake was light and had a great texture, reminded me of Parkin minus ginger plus coconut. I think the server said they vary the dried fruit and that night it was made with figs. On the side is brown sugar ice cream on slivered dates.

This is pretty much my favorite kind of restaurant.

Chowseeker1999 · April 13, 2017, 9:19pm

Thanks for the report @robert. Looks pretty good.

robert · April 13, 2017, 9:26pm

Overall I found it quite similar to Bar Jules, Melissa Perello’s old second place, only with nicer furnishings. I presume Octavia is also similar.

honkman · March 22, 2026, 12:04am

One of the very first restaurant we visited when we moved to the Bay Area was Octavia from Chef Perello. We really liked her approach to cooking focusing on local ingredients but with dishes which had many different influences (what often is described as New American). Her “original” restaurant, Frances https://www.frances-sf.com ,which has a similar approach to cooking was an obvious choice for us for a “follow-up” visit. And the dishes had indeed a similar sensibility and were well executed with the mussel tartlet or rotolo as some of the standouts. (The pork chop was very tasty but would have benefited from some starch and/or a bit more vegetables). The pours for the wine pairing were quite generous. Service was good but sometimes small things can be missing to make it a great service, e.g. we were never asked or had the chance to order coffee for dessert and overall the pacing was OK but felt a bit rushed sometimes.