Frances — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Such an interesting meal for their Valentine's Day prefix menu. First I have to say that our server was wonderful. She, and the rest of the staff we interacted with, were all incredibly kind. Besides that there were some very high highs, and low lows. The amuse-bouche was pita with hummus, red peppers and olives, and dolmas. All of them were very cold (not just like warm, but actually cold), but we figured this was what the chef intended. Then we had the mussels and the lamb chops, these were the high points in our opinion. The green curry was really nice with the mussels, and we liked the pineapple with it as well. The lamb chops were cooked to a nice Medium Rare and went perfectly with the balsamic. Then came the pasta course. The risotto with peas was nice, and had nice flavor and texture as well. The meatballs with spaghetti were our least favorite part of the meal . The marinara was quite obviously canned, and didn't seem to have any added seasoning. It had that expectable sweetness that you get with premade sauces. On top of this it came out rather cold. About this time, the owner came out to say hi. She was incredibly nice and we really enjoyed her sense of humor, as well as her taking the time from her own dinner to stop by our table. Next was the entrees. Both were great. We had the porchetta and the beef wellington. Beef wellington is so hard to do right. I think the dough was perhaps a bit undercooked, but it still tasted fantastic. The pork belly served with the porchetta was sinful. The one thing we didn't enjoy about the dinner course was the broccoli served with both dishes which had been either steamed or boiled, and had no (or very little) salt. Finally, we had the dessert trio. Again, there was a level of disappointment with this as it consisted of a baklava (which does constitute a part in a "trio"), as well as a small chocolate covered cherry and a macaron (which were both fantastic, but are more of accoutrements than pieces themselves). We did love the baklava though, as it had terrific flavor. The cinnamon inside it was a really nice touch.

I do not try to be so critical, but at $100 per person, I feel this is the level of criticism I think is warranted. I will definitely be back later to try their $50 dinner for two, but will probably abstain from dinners of this price tag at Frances in the...

Overall great dining experience. We made a reservation about 24 hours prior for 9pm on a Sunday evening through opentable. At 730, we get a call from the manager indicating they actually stop seating at 830 and that the reservation system was taking inappropriate scheduling. We said that we could get there by 840 or 845 the earliest, and they kept the kitchen open to accomodate this. Once arrived we had the restaurant to ourselves, essentially, and chose whatever seat we preferred.

The menu had a great broad selection of French food. Cocktail options were also numerous and were typical in terms of pricing for a high end restaurant in Pittsburgh. Appetizers and soups were excellent, and for a French restaurant the portions were impressive. The mac and cheese appetizer could easily have been shared by two or eaten as a main course. The asparagus puff pastries may have been a bit oversalted but the quality and the presentation was overall excellent. They weren't trying to rush us either despite the timing hiccup, which I appreciated.

Entrees were also, great - beef was cooked to the desired temperature (I went puff pastry again with beef wellington) and my girlfriend's mushroom polenta was excellent. Once again the portions were much larger than most French restaurants at which I've dined. We had dessert to go - baklava and German chocolate cake. Not the most typical options you'd expect at a French restaurant (they did also have creme brulee but not exactly a to-go item).

Hopefully they'll sort the issues out with the reservation system immediately to avoid other people having similar mishaps, but I won't hold it against them since they were accommodating. Will...

So, we came here saturday 1/30. @5 because of the good reviews & photos looked good however, our experience was sub par. I don’t make it known when i go out, but I am a Culinary Institute of American graduate & have owned and operated my own restaurant for 14 years & in the business for 20+ years. When I do get the opportunity to go out I do have a certain level of expectations and unfortunately they were not met here. 1. spicy margarita terrible too much spicy (not for heat but whatever was used was terrible & it wasn’t even very spicy) & turns the flavor bitter and not enjoyable. 2. poached pear salad needed work. not enough dressing & lacking in other ingredients to balance it out for the money. 3. & most important, i ordered the porchetta & when i got my entree the string that the chef used to tie it up was still on it! yes it was! an absolute kitchen no no. rookie mistake & this is unacceptable in the culinary world. i mentioned it to the waiter and he basically made a joke of it & said “we’ll, that happens sometimes” ah... no it doesn’t. it should never happen and is absolutely unacceptable. nothing should ever be on a plate that is not edible, ever! someone untrained or older could have choked on this. my entree should have been comped & the manager should have addressed it & they did not! unfortunately this is not somewhere i will be returning. there are plenty of other restaurants in the PGH that are much better & care more & better trained than this place. i would...