Maison François — Restaurant in London

Disappointing Experience at Maison François – Not Worth the Price

I recently visited the brasserie with a friend and while I had high expectations given the £266 price tag for two people, the experience fell short in several areas. Although the setting and meal had potential, a number of aspects detracted from what could have been a more enjoyable evening.

Service Lacked Coordination and Professionalism

Right from the start, the service felt slightly disorganised and invasive. Two different waiters repeatedly approached our table to check if we were ready to order, despite us still studying the menu. It was unnecessary and somewhat bothersome—when customers are clearly still looking at their menus, it’s best to wait until they place them down, indicating they are ready. It gave the impression that the waiters were competing for the table, as if rushing to see who could take our order first.

Additionally, the tables were placed too close together. Throughout the meal, waiters attending to the tables next to ours would bump into my chair or elbow, which was both distracting and uncomfortable.

Inadequate Lighting for a Fine Dining Experience

As the evening progressed, the lighting was dimmed to the point where it became impractical. By the time we reached the dessert course, the lights were so low that I had to use the torch on my phone so that my friend could even read the dessert menu. While dim lighting can enhance ambiance, this was impractical and detracted from the dining experience.

Inconsistent Food Quality

The meal itself was a mixed bag. For starters, my friend ordered the "anchovies, burrata, chilli, pain grillé à la tomate", but the bread was burnt in some parts. I had the "crudités, panisse, tapenade, aioli", which was pleasant but portioned rather small. We shared the "Comté gougères", which were a real disappointment. Proper gougères should be light, spherical, and airy, but these were small, flat, and about half of them were burnt on the side.

For the mains, I found it surprising that none of the dishes came with vegetables, which we ordered separately. My friend had the "côtelette de porc", which was large and satisfying for him. However, I had the "cod, cauliflower, raisins, hazelnuts", and the execution fell flat. While the cod was well-prepared, the dish arrived almost cold, and the sauce had begun to congeal. The cauliflower, which should have been a key part of the dish, was practically nonexistent—just two thin slices, which you had to search for.

Dessert – A Misstep in Tradition

For dessert, we both ordered the charlotte aux fraises, which was nice in taste but failed in execution. It tasted more like a "fraisier" rather than an authentic charlotte. Traditionally, a charlotte should feature crème bavaroise with ladyfingers soaked in a strawberry and alcohol-based preparation but what we received had crème pâtissière and lacked the expected texture and flavour profile. While pleasant enough, it was not what one would expect from a classic charlotte, especially at this price point.

Overall Verdict

For £266, I expected a much higher level of attention to detail, both in terms of service and the quality of the food. From the over-eager waitstaff and cramped seating to the inconsistent food preparation and impractical lighting, this brasserie experience left me feeling disappointed. While some elements of the meal were enjoyable, they were overshadowed by the numerous missteps that simply shouldn’t occur at this price level. I would hesitate to recommend this restaurant, especially given the many other excellent dining options in London offering far better...

I think we would have had a much more favourable opinion of this restaurant had we not had such an unpleasant welcome from the hostess.

We went through the normal formalities and asked the hostess how her day was - she barely acknowledged the question and mumbled something back to us.

We had booked ahead for four and arrived as a group. Me and my partner went ahead to the table with my friends hanging back to sort out their 3 month old baby’s bag.

They probably took 30 seconds longer than us but the hostess stopped and said in monotone “are they with you?” - followed by an eye roll - she knew we arrived as a group and she was taking us to a table of four so it felt either ignorant OR (as I suspect) deliberately disdainful.

The waiters who dealt with us subsequently were pretty fine - highlight was the chap blond haired younger waiter who found us a new table we could put the pram next to and the man who made the Caesar salad at the table who was charming.

The food was again pretty standard - provincial high street brasserie standard at best.

Everything was pretty slow and I saw the staff wine tasting in the corner - I get why this is done and would have no problem with it if it was an empty restaurant, but quite frustrating when we’ve been seated for 10 mins or so and are desperate to spend some money on a drink.

I noted that there was some kind of staff party happening in the downstairs part of the restaurant - perhaps there was a sense of FOMO in the staff forced to work the Saturday service.

We had just got engaged and our friends were very kindly treating us to lunch but had if Been me paying, I’d have either walked out pretty much straight away or demanded the service charge be removed from the bill.

I would have rather gone to a Côte brassiere where the service might have sh*t and the food would have been average, but at least you’re not paying premium St James’s prices.

I’ll caveat all of this by saying that I may have been put in horrible mood by the attitude of the hostess but…. She’s literally the welcoming face of the business - the first impression that ...

I'd heard very good things and had been looking forward to taking a friend for dinner hear but our experience was sadly a disappointment compared to the high expectations.

We both ordered the veal along with a range of side dishes. The sides, like the overall experience, were a mixed bag, some were very good, others seemed to be too busy, too potent in flavours to enjoy. As for the veal itself i found that mine in particular was lacking, the sirloin side of the T Bone was chewy to the point of being unenjoyable. My friends veal didn't have the same issue.

Here where I made a mistake, I carried on eating the veal thinking this was just how it was done until I offered my friend a piece of mine. He agreed it was much more chewy than his. So when one of the servers asked how it was an I relayed this they first lectured me on the nature of a T Bone, something I was already familiar with. They were apologetic but said something to the effect of "well you've eaten it all, you should have told us before". I should have known better but when entertaining a guest and talking this wasn't my first thought when eating my meal.

This summed up the experience. Servkce was mixed. Plenty of politeness and enthusiasm but lacking. We'd sat down for mere seconds when we were asked if we were ready to order. At one point two more of the same soft drinks were ordered, one regular one diet coke, two coke zeros were brought. For dessert we asked to see the menus, were told the trolley was on its way it was taken to a near table then taken away and we were left out, I had to signal to the main server to get his colleague to return with it. I asked if I could get some cream with my Paris Brest. I was told creme fresh would go better and cream would ruin it, I took the advice, my pallet wished I hadn't.

The desserts however were actually excellent and the highlight of the meal without question. The Paris Brest looked outstanding and tasted outstanding.

A mixed bag for sure, lots of friendliness and helpfulness, clearly some excellent dishes, but also a few reasons not...