An air of quaintness and cozy surprise pervades both food and space at Franck, a brasserie serving a menu du jour of hearty French cuisine at charming Ferguson Lane. Quality ingredients rendered skillfully elevate the simple fare to delightful. Service is friendly and knowledgeable.

French | Franck May 2010

Franck has long been popular with the French expats here in Shanghai. And though there have been some mixed reviews lately on our website, we went found it to be as good as ever. Located in intimate Ferguson Lane, Franck makes you feel at home right away. The Parisian-style, well-dressed restaurant is dimly lit, with a single old-fashioned bulb hanging over each table. Jazzy lounge music plays in the background to further soften the mood.

Franck boasts an extensive wine list with a glass of the house reserve starting at ¥85. Their menu, however, is presented not on the page but on two chalkboard easels that silently sidle up to your table courtesy of one of the attentive waitstaff. The menu is in French and there’s not a lot of room for elaboration on the board, but the servers are well-versed in the menu and available to answer questions.

The house bread (and accompanying salted homemade butter) is a fantastic start to the meal. Even better are the smoked salmon (¥110) and tomato and buffalo mozzarella (¥120) appetizers. The silky salmon is made in-house and goes great with a touch of the fromage blanc sauce, while the creamy buffalo mozzarella plays well with the vine-ripened tomatoes.

The ragout de boeuf (¥190) entrée is a solid choice that comes with subtly sweet creamed carrots. The good-sized chunk of off-the-bone beef has deep, intense flavors, and is tender, juicy and chewy in just the right amounts. Our favorite was the roasted codfish (¥200) though. Covered in a basic beurre blanc sauce and a sprinkling of pepper, the fish is light with a soothing creamy base and a peppery snap. This is one spot that keeps it simple and gets all the details right.

■ Geoff Ng

An air of quaintness and cozy surprise pervades both food and space at Franck, a newly-opened brasserie serving a menu du jour of hearty French cuisine at charming Ferguson Lane. Quality ingredients rendered skillfully elevate the simple fare to delightful; cold tomato soup (¥45), beef tartare (¥140) , and asalad of dark greens and soft-boiled egg (¥40) have us exclaiming "très bien!" For a sweet ending t o a n a lre ady wonderful afternoon, our waiter was insistent, "get the clafoutis." We did and were pleased by the dessert of baked fresh cherries, raspberry sorbet, and meringue (¥60), as well as by the confidently knowledgeable service. So how much do we love Franck? Oh, mon cher, in so many delicious ways. –Andrea Y.See