FRANCIS west

营业中

休息中

Item: FRANCIS west
Rating: 4
Author: eatwai

21 食记

味道

环境

服务

卫生

抵食

3397

中环

$401-800

中东菜

eatwai

等级4

188

[ Francis West | 中环 ]After the disaster at Bedu, I was a bit wary of trying new Middle Eastern restaurants but decided to try again for this newly opened restaurant specialising in Northern African cuisine. I’ve been to Francis Wanchai before and found the dishes quite underwhelming so I was intrigued by the intense and bold flavours that are present in this cuisine. The restaurant is located on Peel Street and the interior is much more spacious and refined than the Wanchai store but still conve

[ Francis West | 中环 ]

After the disaster at Bedu, I was a bit wary of trying new Middle Eastern restaurants but decided to try again for this newly opened restaurant specialising in Northern African cuisine.

I’ve been to Francis Wanchai before and found the dishes quite underwhelming so I was intrigued by the intense and bold flavours that are present in this cuisine. The restaurant is located on Peel Street and the interior is much more spacious and refined than the Wanchai store but still conveys the same vibe. Like last time, I chose to sit at the bar as I get a perfect view of the staff and how the kitchen coordinates.

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Mussel Escabeche $120

Started off with this room-temperature appetiser of mussels on a bulgur (a pre-cooked cracked wheat) toast. I had a similar dish at Agora (same flavours but much more refined) and I definitely enjoy this one more. The mussel is fresh and not sandy or fishy (in a bad way) and plump enough to get a nice bite but not too chewy to be tough. The fennel and tomato mixture is very sweet and aromatic and went well with the mollusc. The only flaw was the bulgur toast which is very hard and resembles stale bread. It is still edible but requires a big bite and a long chew.

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Stoned Baked Frena $110

Their signature hummus and flatbread got a makeover! This time, the bread is the star and the hummus is the accompaniment. I will say that their bread is so much better here. The exterior is golden with speckles of charred goodness whilst the interior is fluffy, chewy and perfectly soaks up any and all sauce, though it was delicious on its own too due to its salty, buttery taste.

The hummus is okay, with enough seasoning and garlic taste but could be fluffier and more tahini-based. It is served with some red zhug for a spicy kick which went well with the hummus and bread, the chickpea garnish on top surprised me by how soft and delicious it was, great additional texture. But I preferred dipping the bread into the matbucha (a Moroccan condiment of cooked tomatoes and red bell peppers) with a strong taste of tomato and sweet undertones, as well as the creamy and luscious tahini sauce that’s slightly bitter and balances out the rich flavours.

The only flaw is that you cannot get more bread (for free) if you finished and have leftover dips, each costs an extra $55, not like Francis Wanchai which gives you unlimited flatbread. I understand why since this bread requires more effort, they should calculate the portions better as I had to order another piece for 10% of hummus left and eat 90% of the 2nd bread plain.

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Cuttlefish $180

This was actually our favourite seafood dish tonight. The texture of the cuttlefish definitely surprised us as it was extremely and unbelievably soft and tender. It required little to no chewing and easily melted in my mouth. The flavour is also really good as the harissa definitely shined with its spicy and umami sauce. The squid ink puree on the side helps tone down the spice and adds another layer of umami richness that goes very well with lemon. It can get quite salty as they added more salt as a garnish but nothing too extreme.

Each piece is only half of a cuttlefish so it may seem quite little for this price but it also allows you to order more dishes.

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Jerusalem Artichoke $100

This dish was actually my favourite dish of the night (the Frena follows closely behind). Artichoke is uncommon in HK, but it is absolutely delicious when done right. The texture is similar to a potato but crunchier, sweeter and more refreshing, similar to a carrot. Here, they fried and roasted it so the outside develops this beautiful crust from caramelisation whilst the inside remains juicy and tender. They also fry up the leaves which could have been crispier and less oily but not too unctuous. Since the preparation is quite oil-based, the light and bright sauce made from tomatoes, brown butter, and yoghurt truly picks up this dish and makes it very memorable. It’s very impressive how they made such a fat-based sauce (with butter and yoghurt) without it splitting. Nonetheless, this dish is on the oily side.

A very good portion size, enough to be satisfied mentally and physically. I would happily order this again.

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Whole Turbot $350

This was perhaps my most anticipated dish (aside from the Frena) as the presentation of it is magnificent. However, it did not live up to my expectations. Firstly, turbot is a flat fish and is known to be quite skinny and filled with small bones. I love eating bones but my guest found it annoying to pick out the small ones every bite. The skin was also on the chewy side (my favourite) but some people (my guest) would not enjoy it.

As mentioned, there is very little flesh on the fish, and the size is nothing too large, so I believe any party of two or one could finish this. The meat itself is quite under-seasoned and heavily relies on their sauce for flavour, funnily, their ‘sauce’ is most oil which actually tastes pretty good with the fish. There are olives for saltiness, pumpkin (inspired by chershi, a Libyan pumpkin spread) for sweetness and some preserved lemon for tang. Pretty addicting if I must say.

A problem I had with this dish is the slight burnt taste I get throughout this dish. I understand that they grill it and thus it may just be the ‘char’ but there is a strong smell of burnt fish that is thankfully not a strong taste. I did voice out my concern to the staff and hopefully, they will adjust.

As a party of two, we ordered quite a lot and were going to order their Crab, but our server said that would be too much. We should have gotten the Crab dish instead of this Turbot.

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推介 🙆🏻‍♀️

💬 Overall, a great night here at the new Francis. There are still a few kinks and flaws in each dish they should work on but I expected nothing less from a restaurant they newly opened. As for the service, I specifically enjoyed the service from Raphael as he was welcoming and friendly, everyone else was also nice but he was the most memorable. So try and seek him out and tell him I say thanks 😂. Another thing to note is they served the dishes quite fast, a new dish comes around 30% through the previous dish.

I will definitely be back to try their other dishes. Hopefully, they won’t increase the price yet 🤭

🗓 Revisit? ✅ ⭕️/ ❎