My wife and I came in today, Friday 12/1, for lunch and were greeted and seated. Usually we just sit at the bar for a quick bite and a cocktail, but it was full so we sat at a table. After sitting for about 10 minutes we we were finally greeted and we placed our food order followed by our drink order. We ordered a soup to share, followed up with a burger and mac&cheese to split. After another 10-15 minutes we got our drinks and my wife was given a cold espresso and I got a glass of red wine. Another 7-10 minutes goes by and we were given bread. Time ticked by and we both have finished our drinks while having fun coloring on our table. Now a good 30 minutes have passed and no soup, no food, no server. My wife and I noticed the server was completely slammed and overwhelmed while a young manager sat and had fun with a table sipping bubbly. Now 45 minutes have passed and our server has passed us numerous times, even speaking to the table next to us, taking their order. So now my wife and I are feeling completely ignored and hungry, so we got up and left since there was zero manager presence and no food in sight. It's a shame to see it so understaffed, and if that's the case you should limit the amount of tables a server can handle. It was an absolute disappointment to be welcomed then completely ignored while the tables around us enjoyed and celebrated. It definitely ruined the lunch I wanted to share with my wife because we don't get much time together. I hope this helps your business because if it were my business and this low level of service was happening, I would want to know. Sincerely disappointed.
GLtripp
The service was terribly slow. The place seems to be significantly short of staff. Our waitress was covering way too many tables. It took forever to get our small portions of food. The food must have been sitting in the kitchen for a long time because it was not hot when served. The only thing that keeps this restaurant from being rated a 1 was half of our entrees had good flavor. We won’t be back!
Eugenia B
Excellent menu containing fresh quality ingredients. Fantastic soups!! Great service and great value!!
DaniQ_12
The French Crust across #FindlayMarket offers a unique combination of ambience, gourmet french cuisine and great service. And for a Fantastic experience, sit at the bar and let Billy take care if your party. Their motto…”we are here for a Good Time!”…Indeed… try the drinks specials and be surprised by a mixologist in disguise.
Polka-Dot-Umbrella
Location - adjacent to Findley Market - air conditioned - cute French cafe atmosphere - everything on the menu looked delicious. I had the quiche of the day - shrimp; My friend had the salmon croissant - like tuna salad with salmon. We both had sides of fruit. - a delightful stop on our Cincinnati Connector tour of downtown. Jean Robert is our top local chef. First visit to this one of his restaurants.
chapmale
This is the perfect spot for brunch/ lunch/ or dinner while visiting Findlay Market. The place is adorably French, and the food is fresh, delicious, and well priced. The menu is very French, especially the dinner entrees. The service is good, and they are working to make it better. I send many people to this restaurant and they always rave about it afterward. Best: poutine (not your average poutine), steak frites, eggs benedict, and the cocktails.
Musix40
With all due respect to the late and wonderful Chef John Robert, we were very disappointed in our experience at the French Crust Cafe. The service was terrible – we waited for an hour to get our food. And we all felt that the food was not great. It certainly didn't shape up to our expectations. We did not receive coffee refills unless we flagged down the server. They didn't seem to respond to our curiosity as to why the food was not at our table. Overall, it was just disappointing experience and we will not be coming back.
rogersober
We stopped and got a pistachio chocolate croissant to go and enjoyed our picnic desert atop the view in Devon park. Our server was gracious and kind.
Rebecca B
The food, service and ambience were fantastic. Javier was our server and he went out of his way to make sure we were happy. After talking about macaroons, he provided each of us with a free one! They were delicious. The food was simple and of very high quality. The interior was charming and uplifting. The eggs and soup were delicious! Will go again soon!
Discover52918528830
My brother and I visited here and had such an excellent brunch! I had eggs Benedict and coffee while my brother enjoyed lunch. The service was fantastic and all the ingredients were very fresh!
Fantastic food - we had the Eggs Benedict and the Quiche De Jour with creamy chicken soup - and our waiter Javier was delightful. Highly recommended!
Morishe
I grew up having one special lunch a year at the Massoinette way back when and had really high expectations for this restaurant. The dinner experience and food just was not the quality I expected. The champagne drinks were the best part of the meal. We started with the muscles - they were not P.E.I. and seemed to be not very fresh. The Caesar salad was half head of romaine lettuce, was warm and wilted, spit long-ways and dressing just drizzled over it. The snapper was good but way over seasoned. The creme brulee was served in a disposable aluminum foil container. With so many culinary options in the OTR area this is not one that I would revisit.
TR26
We were visiting Cincinnati's Findlay Market and, needing lunch, found this intriguing looking place just catty-corner from the Market's main entrance. The xterior looks vaguely continental, with a large rooster sculpture beside the door. It was a little early for the lunch crush on this "Sunday, so we were seated almost immediately and were promptly attended by a server who explained the specials of the day and took my request for coffee. And it was all downhill from there. Many minutes passed and the server, passing by after eserving another table, paused and asked if we'd ordered a drink--oh, yes, coffe, black. OK, so the cup of French roast arrived not too long thereafter. Many minuets later our food arrived. via a different server, who aptly noticed that we had no tableware. So she promised to get some--and then we waited and waited. Finally my wife noted that her food was at risk of getting cold, so I headed back toward their kitchen intending to find some--but there was another server who I could ask, and he steeped back and brought me two sets. My wife was having goetta in puff pastry. Goetta is a unique Cincinnati dish, a mix of oats and pork thaqt you slice and fry like sausage, normally. In this case it was flavorful with an interesting sauce, but the exterior was a wrap of some sort of thin pastry with one sheet of genuine puff pastry on top--not at all a goettta Wellington like might be expected. I wanted to go light so I ordered a salad. Apple, Endive, Gruyere looked good. When it arrived however, it was mostly arugula (listed on the menu as a secondary ingradient), with about a quarter cup of raw walnuts (also secondary), a few leaves of endive, some apples matchsticks, and very few tiny cubes of gruyere. So the flavors, in order, were arugula (bitter), raw walnut (bitter and bone dry), endive (even more bitter), and faintly apple, some sweetness that failed to balance. The greyere was invisible unless I picked out the little cube by itself.If I was in charge, I'd use a lot more apple, I'd toast the walnuts in some walnut oil, and I'd incorporate the gruyere more. So, disappointing food, disappointing service, a restaurant with a hostess who seemed harried even though they were not crowded. I guess they're surviving on location and decor.
Robyn_in_GA
Great brunch! The wait was long and service was slow, but the food was worth the wait. Great drink menu! For brunch, we had the Lorriane quiche. I had the side salad with arugula and candied fruit. My husband had the side white bean and sausage soup. Great food! Servers were very nice and fun decor as well! We’ll definitely be back if we are in Cincinnati again!
Ahadhope
We had the tuna burger which was described as “like a crab cake but tuna” I wanted something different, so I ordered it and was very pleased. We had a sparkling cocktail with elderflower and it was perfect for an early spring lunch! Busy but COVID safe
My wife and I came in today, Friday 12/1, for lunch and were greeted and seated. Usually we just sit at the bar for a quick bite and a cocktail, but it was full so we sat at a table. After sitting for about 10 minutes we we were finally greeted and we placed our food order followed by our drink order. We ordered a soup to share, followed up with a burger and mac&cheese to split. After another 10-15 minutes we got our drinks and my wife was given a cold espresso and I got a glass of red wine. Another 7-10 minutes goes by and we were given bread. Time ticked by and we both have finished our drinks while having fun coloring on our table. Now a good 30 minutes have passed and no soup, no food, no server. My wife and I noticed the server was completely slammed and overwhelmed while a young manager sat and had fun with a table sipping bubbly. Now 45 minutes have passed and our server has passed us numerous times, even speaking to the table next to us, taking their order. So now my wife and I are feeling completely ignored and hungry, so we got up and left since there was zero manager presence and no food in sight. It's a shame to see it so understaffed, and if that's the case you should limit the amount of tables a server can handle. It was an absolute disappointment to be welcomed then completely ignored while the tables around us enjoyed and celebrated. It definitely ruined the lunch I wanted to share with my wife because we don't get much time together. I hope this helps your business because if it were my business and this low level of service was happening, I would want to know. Sincerely disappointed.
The service was terribly slow. The place seems to be significantly short of staff. Our waitress was covering way too many tables. It took forever to get our small portions of food. The food must have been sitting in the kitchen for a long time because it was not hot when served. The only thing that keeps this restaurant from being rated a 1 was half of our entrees had good flavor. We won’t be back!
Excellent menu containing fresh quality ingredients. Fantastic soups!! Great service and great value!!
The French Crust across #FindlayMarket offers a unique combination of ambience, gourmet french cuisine and great service. And for a Fantastic experience, sit at the bar and let Billy take care if your party. Their motto…”we are here for a Good Time!”…Indeed… try the drinks specials and be surprised by a mixologist in disguise.
Location - adjacent to Findley Market - air conditioned - cute French cafe atmosphere - everything on the menu looked delicious. I had the quiche of the day - shrimp; My friend had the salmon croissant - like tuna salad with salmon. We both had sides of fruit. - a delightful stop on our Cincinnati Connector tour of downtown. Jean Robert is our top local chef. First visit to this one of his restaurants.
This is the perfect spot for brunch/ lunch/ or dinner while visiting Findlay Market. The place is adorably French, and the food is fresh, delicious, and well priced. The menu is very French, especially the dinner entrees. The service is good, and they are working to make it better. I send many people to this restaurant and they always rave about it afterward. Best: poutine (not your average poutine), steak frites, eggs benedict, and the cocktails.
With all due respect to the late and wonderful Chef John Robert, we were very disappointed in our experience at the French Crust Cafe. The service was terrible – we waited for an hour to get our food. And we all felt that the food was not great. It certainly didn't shape up to our expectations. We did not receive coffee refills unless we flagged down the server. They didn't seem to respond to our curiosity as to why the food was not at our table. Overall, it was just disappointing experience and we will not be coming back.
We stopped and got a pistachio chocolate croissant to go and enjoyed our picnic desert atop the view in Devon park. Our server was gracious and kind.
The food, service and ambience were fantastic. Javier was our server and he went out of his way to make sure we were happy. After talking about macaroons, he provided each of us with a free one! They were delicious. The food was simple and of very high quality. The interior was charming and uplifting. The eggs and soup were delicious! Will go again soon!
My brother and I visited here and had such an excellent brunch! I had eggs Benedict and coffee while my brother enjoyed lunch. The service was fantastic and all the ingredients were very fresh!
Restaurantji Recommends
Fantastic food - we had the Eggs Benedict and the Quiche De Jour with creamy chicken soup - and our waiter Javier was delightful. Highly recommended!
I grew up having one special lunch a year at the Massoinette way back when and had really high expectations for this restaurant. The dinner experience and food just was not the quality I expected. The champagne drinks were the best part of the meal. We started with the muscles - they were not P.E.I. and seemed to be not very fresh. The Caesar salad was half head of romaine lettuce, was warm and wilted, spit long-ways and dressing just drizzled over it. The snapper was good but way over seasoned. The creme brulee was served in a disposable aluminum foil container. With so many culinary options in the OTR area this is not one that I would revisit.
We were visiting Cincinnati's Findlay Market and, needing lunch, found this intriguing looking place just catty-corner from the Market's main entrance. The xterior looks vaguely continental, with a large rooster sculpture beside the door. It was a little early for the lunch crush on this "Sunday, so we were seated almost immediately and were promptly attended by a server who explained the specials of the day and took my request for coffee. And it was all downhill from there. Many minutes passed and the server, passing by after eserving another table, paused and asked if we'd ordered a drink--oh, yes, coffe, black. OK, so the cup of French roast arrived not too long thereafter. Many minuets later our food arrived. via a different server, who aptly noticed that we had no tableware. So she promised to get some--and then we waited and waited. Finally my wife noted that her food was at risk of getting cold, so I headed back toward their kitchen intending to find some--but there was another server who I could ask, and he steeped back and brought me two sets. My wife was having goetta in puff pastry. Goetta is a unique Cincinnati dish, a mix of oats and pork thaqt you slice and fry like sausage, normally. In this case it was flavorful with an interesting sauce, but the exterior was a wrap of some sort of thin pastry with one sheet of genuine puff pastry on top--not at all a goettta Wellington like might be expected. I wanted to go light so I ordered a salad. Apple, Endive, Gruyere looked good. When it arrived however, it was mostly arugula (listed on the menu as a secondary ingradient), with about a quarter cup of raw walnuts (also secondary), a few leaves of endive, some apples matchsticks, and very few tiny cubes of gruyere. So the flavors, in order, were arugula (bitter), raw walnut (bitter and bone dry), endive (even more bitter), and faintly apple, some sweetness that failed to balance. The greyere was invisible unless I picked out the little cube by itself.If I was in charge, I'd use a lot more apple, I'd toast the walnuts in some walnut oil, and I'd incorporate the gruyere more. So, disappointing food, disappointing service, a restaurant with a hostess who seemed harried even though they were not crowded. I guess they're surviving on location and decor.
Great brunch! The wait was long and service was slow, but the food was worth the wait. Great drink menu! For brunch, we had the Lorriane quiche. I had the side salad with arugula and candied fruit. My husband had the side white bean and sausage soup. Great food! Servers were very nice and fun decor as well! We’ll definitely be back if we are in Cincinnati again!
We had the tuna burger which was described as “like a crab cake but tuna” I wanted something different, so I ordered it and was very pleased. We had a sparkling cocktail with elderflower and it was perfect for an early spring lunch! Busy but COVID safe