sid at the french cafe

it was such a fantastic experience having dinner at thefrenchcafe. have to say i was a bit of surprised to see that many customers during the alert level 2.5. it must because the high-quality food and premium service. all dishes were superb!

i have wanted to goto thefrenchcafe for a number of years and tonight my number was up.

absolutely divine tasting menu. enjoyed every single thing.

very populated wine list. beer and wine less so.

great staff fantastic venue

this was our first trip back since the change of ownership. the dining room is still relaxed yet sophisticated, the service was excellent as you would expect. i enjoyed the a la carte dining instead of the degustation for a change. the standard of the food was excellent in my opinion, highlights for me were the venison tartare with walnuts (amazing combination) and the wagyu beef. sid at thefrenchcafe is forging on with a slightly different style but maintains the high standards of the original

it’s already very rare to havefrenchcuisine in nz but fortunately we foundfrenchcafe as for celebrating my mother and father’s 20 anniversary. i picked the place for them and was nervous if the food and service can amaze my parents or not. turns out all the lovely ladies and gentleman who work there supplied us a fabulous service and the gentleman with decent glasses very helpful with the food ordering. and when we about to leave they surprisingly gave my parents a cute cheese cake with cute candles on it to cheer their anniversary. we were amazed by the food and their service and even though it’s expensive for us but we still want to go there again and again. wish sid atfrenchcafe be the nz n0.1 fine dining restaurant forever!

we are fans of the oldfrenchcafe so we thought we should check out the new place. the reviews were mixed so we went with an open mind.

it is still awesome! in fact we thought the presentation was better than before. so great to see familiar faces with the wait staff. we will definitely be back. expensive but you could never do this at home yourself. sid is very talented!

after a recommendation from a foodie friend, we finally tried out sid at thefrenchcafe to celebrate our anniversary and it was by far the best fine dining experience we have ever had!

we were greeted politely on arrival and the wait staff remained attentive the entire evening. they were also extremely accommodating of my being "dairy-free" & assured me that the chefs would be able to modify most menu items for me.

we intended to have the 4-course a la carte menu but didn't realize we would receive 4 extra canapés + bread, even before our appetizers were served! we ordered the cured trevally & crab cannelloni for appetizers, the quail & the free range pork for entrees and the duck breast & wagyu for mains. our favorites for the evening were the cured trevally (for its really well-balanced tasty flavor profile), the quail (buffalo curd replaced with a truffle coconut cream which was an incredibly delicious accompaniment) and the wagyu beef (for its taste, tenderness & the accompanying purée). the husband also enjoyed the complimentary amuse bouche of a buffalo yoghurt & vanilla cream served after the mains - it tasted like a tiny cheesecake.

being so full from all those courses & canapés, we opted for just one dessert between us. we chose the green apple, blackcurrant, fennel pollen which came in the form of a sorbet, dill(?) oil infused apple pieces, fresh blackberries, a soft fluffy white "snow" (delicious but not sure what it was exactly!), blackcurrant shards and a fennel pollen custard (kindly served in a separate bowl on the side for us due to its dairy content). it was the perfect light & refreshing end to an amazing dinner experience, but the surprises didn't stop there! we also received a complimentary frozen coconut espuma with a mandarin(?) gel, freeze-dried mandarins & raspberry dust, just to acknowledge our anniversary!!

we left feeling we had been treated like royalty all night - they even helped me into my jacket & opened the door for us as we left! we will definitely return & highly recommend this restaurant to all who want to have a truly exquisite dining experience.

my girlfriend and i went to sid at thefrenchcafe for our anniversary and also valentine's.

when we first arrived, the staff were very welcoming and treated us warmly, and this is true for the entirety of the night. they gave us privacy but always there when needed. all the staff were friendly and accomodating.

we got the four course a la carte, and all the food were fantastic. we loved the four amuse bouche that came before the first course. the highlight was the pork terrine which was crumbed, fried, wrapped in proscuitto and topped with black garlic.

overall it was a terrific and very memorable experience for both of us who doesn't get to go fine dining often. great food and great service. 10/10.

date night with wife.frenchcafe is one of the best restaurants in new zealand, they stand out for their amazing creatively and thats what sid does best. amazing food and very modern interior. service is outstanding all the menus ordered are explained in so much detail that you may get confused understanding.

although the portions are small, its worth every money spent. they also give you little fill in dishes while waiting for your course at no extra cost. feels like you having a tasting menu.  wine selection is almost like reading a book.  we ordered one of our favorite wine 2015 pegasus bay bel canto - riesling.

to our surprise sid was the head chef during our dining experience. did not get a chance to meet him in person. but we did past our compliments to him for doing an amazing job. we ordered a 3 and a 4 course a la carte menu loved every bit of it. 

first
trevally, brown butter, blood orange, pauapomme souffle, chorizo, macadamia cream

second
scampi, lovage emulsion, spruce, daikon
free range pork, celeriac, horseradish

third
cambridge duck, parsnip, masterstock 
market fish, charred onions, sorrel, dill

fourth
chocolate, elderflower, caramelised cream

highly recommend this place a total food entertainer. everything comes with a price, our final bill was $330 for two.

i enjoyed going to thefrenchcafe with friends & on special occasions. sid at thefrenchcafe is now on the same path as sidart, whose chef manages both, and provides the same style of nice degustation menus. there were "wows" throughout the course of our dinner, but there was something lacking. it's an "à la carte menu" of signature dishes of finefrenchcuisine. i won't mind going to antoine's, l'assiette, or any otherfrenchrestaurants on consecutive days, but i do mind if i have to go to siadart and then sid at thefrenchcafe, because they are simply too similar. (so from a customer's point of view, they are sharing the same customers, instead of welcoming new ones.) but anyway, i did enjoy wholeheartedly my recent visit.
(food - 5/5; service - 5/5; ambience - 5/5)
visited on 17 november 2018

one word: amazing!
i didn’t have a chance to try thefrenchcafe before it changed hands but sid has done an amazing job (to be expected). the food is not pretentious and highlights the natural flavours of the fresh ingredients. he doesn’t over complicate and all the components worked together and by themselves. highly impressed. the staff were really friendly too.
a bit expensive but definitely worth a try if it is within your budget.
and don’t worry, you will definitely be full.

9/10

thefrenchcafé. one of auckland's hottest technically-not-really-a-café in town. is the $100+ meal really worth it? 💵

we ordered:
the three course meal ($110 pp). went with mum and we shared each meal so we basically had 6 courses! 💓 would highly recommend sharing your meals because each meal seems like it is designed to be split👯‍♀️ . might not look too classy, but who cares💁🏽‍♀️?! you get double the goodness😍!

appetiser: little savoury goat's cheese cups, salmon roe with crème fraiche. both very aesthetically pleasing, however nothing too special. ✨

first course:
scampi, vegetable ash, lovage, spruce. was fresh🍋, but portion sizes were quite small and wish there were more flavours and textures to it. wouldn't order again😕.
venison tartare, carrots 🥕 , brown butter, fennel. was mum's favourite meal 💕! venison was wrapped in thinly sliced carrots. what a concept✨! paired divinely with the brown butter powder. nom nom nom. 😚

in between the first and second course:
organic rye bread with the softest and greenest parsley 🌿butter of my life. the butter glided over the bread 🥖, which was soft in the inside but crunchy on the outside. absolutely adored the little wooden butter knife.

second
free range pork, celeriac, horseradish. my favourite dish of the whole 3 course menu ❤️. crispy outer and soft inner. seasoned to perfection🤗. if you love pork belly i would definitely recommend! best pork belly i've had in my life 😍!
beef fillet, parsnip, cavolo nero, charcoal. i did not realise a steak could be this soft ☁️! they didn't ask how we liked our steak but seemed to get it right! if you like your steak anything other than medium rare, should specify when ordering.💫

in between the second and third course:
the staff were considerate enough to help cleanse our palate, and offered us some parmesan cheese 🧀 ice cream 🍦! they said that the savoury of the cheese and sweetness of the ice cream makes a great transition into dessert 🍮. super extra but loved it 😝! cheese and ice cream are my favourite things in the world, so makes sense that i loved this!🤩

third
chocolate 🍫, coffee ☕️, hazelnut financier. the waitress poured molten chocolate on the dessert at the table which felt super fancy 🙌🏽. really rich but not too sweet 🌹. writing about it makes my mouth water🤤. so many different textures in this dish; crunchy hazelnut, soft pudding, the warm liquid chocolate, and delicate chocolate coating. it really was an experience💝. my sweet tooth was definitely satisfied with the large portion size too 👅!
sourdough ice-cream, raspberry, mandarin. seems like savoury ice cream 🍨 is a running theme in this meal. the ice cream was apparently made with actual sourdough 🍞 baked on site. and it actually tasted like sourdough🤯! was definitely a weird experience trying a savoury ice cream and would 10/10 try it again🤪. surprisingly paired well with the raspberry. definitely enjoyed switching between the rich chocolate dessert and this one which was more light and fresh.

average price: $130 including drinks 🍷

vibes: celebrations💍! or fancy business meetings 🗣.

parking: paid parking along or off symonds street, or there is a carpark next to thefrenchcafé. 🚖

negative: pretty pricy! was conned into buying still antipodes water for around $9😰. ummmm surely that's not ethical😠. when they asked if i wanted sparkling or still i gullibly thought that water was free. they should have asked if i wanted sparkling, still or tap🚰! oh well, what's an extra $9 on a $110 meal. need to book in advance👉🏼 if you want to eat here, especially during the weekends!

positive: the room we were in was bright and décor was simple and elegant💋. staff were very friendly and non-judgemental, which was really nice because i felt out of place in my jeans and shirt 👚👖. i'd say this was fine dining at its finest. felt like i was eating works of art 🔮. great if you're into mindful eating! the menu was well crafted and you can tell that every flavour, texture, garnishment was intentional💗. also appreciated the small dishes in between the courses💘.
was happily stuffed by the end of the three course meal😌💕.

so was it really worth it? i believe so! if you wanted to be treated out and have a bit of cash to spend, why not? thefrenchcafé definitely opened my eyes to fine dining💎, and helped me appreciate the beauty of food❣️. mum and i decided that we'd go every year to see what the next menu offers😝.