Franny's Bistro — Restaurant in Camden

We were greatly pleased with our first dinner evening such that we changed our plans for our second dinner evening on a two night stay in Camden. As a belated Valentine's Day celebration, I made a special request of a charming table, which was nicely adorned with an "I Love You" balloon, which we thought was a nice touch. We were then greeted by a nice young man, who as it turns out, was new to the server role...he did quite well! He felt badly about breaking a cork in our wine and the owner then approached us with another bottle. We told her we would gladly take the first bottle, but she insisted. We started with the grilled romaine, which was out of this world and by far the best I have had. Then, I had the Portuguese Seafood and Linguine, which was just the right amount of heat and the seafood was incredibly fresh, with large sweet, tender mussels, large shrimp and scallops that were perfectly tender and not overwhelming. I will say my entree selection was a toss up between this and their lamb special-but I will get back to that. The chef, also co-owner, made a visit to our table which was a pleasant surprise. I had to share my impressions of his creations...they are quite good. So, with this experience, my wife and I decided we were not going to go to our other planned restaurant the next night, but rather return to Franny's since our experience was just that good. That allowed me to have their special lamb chops, which were out of this world. They were clearly New Zealand lamb and Chef's presentation and mastery were not lost on me. I had to share with him that they were by far the best lamb chops I have ever enjoyed...including my own! We had limited options since this is the off season, but that ended up being a special bonus because we cannot think of having dinner anywhere else when we return. If you like a wonderful atmosphere (also a special nod to the 70's decor and vibe), great food, great service & an overall wonderful experience, then give Franny's a try, you will not be...

My wife and I dined here last night. It was incredible. We arrived for our 7:15 reservation and we were sat within a few minutes at a corner table right in the window. Our waitress was excellent and helped us navigate drink orders right away - there was also a number of great NA options, which we’re appreciating these days.

We started with the crab cakes, calamari, and the Caesar salad. The crab cakes were unbelievable - the slaw was a star too. The calamari was a substitute for the shrimp dumplings, which had just run out - they had a light and crunchy breading, and a super unique flavor with the parm, red onion, and balsamic. The Caesar was not our favorite - it was a warm Caesar with grilled romaine; it was not the best order on a HOT day.

For our mains we ordered the shrimp and grits and the mussels and scallops. The shrimp and grits were fantastic - rich with flavor and spice, tender shrimp and bold andouille sausage. The mussels and scallops were also fantastic, with perfectly cooked seafood, but perhaps a little rich after-over ordering on the appetizers.

Overall our experience was fantastic and it lived up to the hype we heard from the various friends that recommended Franny’s. Our only critique is that it is hard to limit yourself when everything looks so good...

Super frustrating experience tonight at Franny’s Bistro in Camden, ME. We have eaten here numerous times over the past 15 years and have enjoyed our meals.

This evening we arrived on time and were seated in the back outdoor tent area. The restaurant was not busy.

Our waitress was very friendly. The bottle of wine we ordered as well as our appetizers arrived in a timely fashion but then we waited….and waited…for over 45 minutes for our entrees. Eventually we were told they were coming. Unfortunately my wine glass was cleared during that time but I had not yet finished it. And, when our meals finally arrived, my halibut was room temperature/cool at best. My husband’s dish was okay, but not spectacular.

The restaurant gave us a 10% discount for their incompetence. But the coup de grace was that they “cancelled” our reservation on Open Table AFTER we finished and paid for dinner, which obviously prohibited me from making a review of our meal tonight. That felt like a slap in the face. Ugh. Franny’s you...