Francois Frankie Le Carousel Bar

Even thought the bar area was busy, one table opened up and the manager and staff took great care of us. We had a show to attend at 7pm and were in/out in an hour or so. Thank you Chato and staff!

Food was fantastic. All staff was friendly and energetic. They were able to accommodate a large group with no issue at all. Highly recommend.

Beautiful restaurant with outstanding attention to detail, attentive service and nicely plated food and drinks. Perfect for before or after a performance at the Cadillac Palace. We celebrated my daughter's 25th birthday with dinner and a performance of The Phantom of the Opera. Thank you for making it a memorable night.

Fantastic choice if you're in the area. We made a dinner reservation prior to seeing Phantom of the Opera at a nearby theatre. My son ordered a burger (he loved it) and we shared some small plates, as well. The steak tartare was fantastic - highly recommend you try it at FF if you're a fan! The ambiance was lovely, and the carousel bar was unique and fun. Prices are what you would expect given the location and menu options. Honestly, they could probably get away with charging more, so I appreciate that they are fair with their guests. The service was outstanding - prompt, friendly, and welcoming. Truly a wonderful experience. We've already decided that we will be back next time we're in the area!

Don't waste your time or money. Great ambience, BUT the food is overpriced and subpar. Ordered calamari and got maybe 5 pieces as it was bizarrely mixed with other fried foods you wouldn't want to eat like lemons and jalapenos. Ordered mussels and got a pile of French fries, MAYBE 10 mussels and a tablespoon of sauce... It was inedible. Everything else we got was just fine, not great, fine...but we could have gotten all of it somewhere else for half the price. We won't return.

We were so disappointed in the food. We both had the French Onion Soup that was mediocre but our greatest disappointment was the Cowboy Ribeye Steak. It was cooked properly but served cold. Then afterwards we had to wait 15 minutes for our coffee and tea. The worst part was that the teapot was ill designed and our table ended up covered in hot water and no tea in the cup! The wait staff was wonderful though especially the bussers. Thank you for the no ice in our water and making sure the hot water got cleaned up.

The atmosphere, carousel, drinks, and service were amazing. The food and cleanliness the other hand were a different story. The food was subpar, I got the steak Diane and crème brûlée. Both of which were still cold. My mother noticed a fly was inside of her drink. Finally a boisterous man was walking from table to table ordering each table drinks was loud and swaggering about the place. Unfortunately we will not be going back or recommending.

Always impressive Francois Frankie. Checks all of the boxes quite nicely. Certainly my go-to!

It was a great little place to stop and have dinner before a play had numerous appetizers and they were all fantastic and the cocktails were also great

This was our first time dining here and it will not be our last time. The food was delicious. The best part was our server Gus! Fantastic service. Super knowledgeable and super friendly. He really knew his wines and was so helpful with our selection.

Staff was wonderful. Food was delicious. Gustavo was amazing!!🤩

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

So glad to discover Francois Frankie! We enjoyed both the food and the ambiance, and felt it was good value for a "downtown" restaurant. The beef bourguignon and burrata salad were favorites, and the service was friendly with attention to getting us on time to the theater. It is a very convenient location for attending the theaters, with public parking right next door and the Cadillac theater just a couple minutes walk away. We will return!

I can say that never have I experience that which I did on Saturday night at Francois Frankie. Please note that I am quite generous with my reviews: I prefer to spread happiness and a good experience rather than negativity, however after the other night, I am forced to pen this review. We arrived 3 minutes later than our reservation and were seated immediately. The waiter came out with the water and then we did not see him until 26 minutes later.... after my partner spoke with the Maitre D' asking that he come to our table. He assured us that we would have dinner served and completed by the time that we had to leave (allowing us now 50 minutes, rather than 80 that we had planned). We did not order anything fancy-- just steak and frites and sea bass. My partner's salad came out 20 minutes later and then we just sat and waited. The waiter kept passing by our table, albeit from carousel bar area, never speaking to us again. At 7:17 we informed the Maitre D' that we had not received our food, the waiter was inattentive, and that we had to leave for our performance. The manager did pick up the cost of the salad........ I had been to this establishment once before, just for a glass of wine. I had high hopes to have a lovely dinner that evening, but instead, we were treated with the utmost disrespect and lack of professionalism. It was so obvious that no on cared-- the manager may have picked up the check, but he never apologized, nor the Maite D', and most certainly that waiter said nothing (he wasn't even in sight). This is extremely bad business. We will never set foot in that establishment and will warn everyone that we know about our disappointing evening (I had to eat a bag of chips in 3 minutes at the Opera house to give myself a little sustenance before the program. Bad, bad, business! (and the only reason why I gave it 2 stars rather than 1 is that the restaurant's ambience is very nice... but that most certainly is not enough to win us over to visit there again). Thankfully there are plenty of French restaurants in the area that we can patron on a regular basis!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

Reliably delicious food. Service was excellent and atmosphere and location, especially if you're attending the theater or the opera is perfect.

Exceptional!!! Wow, we are impressed and have found another restaurant in Chicago we definitely will come back to! Our server was also absolutely top notch and didn't miss a beat! Great knowledge, too. Great job Francois Frankie