New restaurant in Wan Chai: Francis serves Middle Eastern food with charm and enthusiasm
With great Middle Eastern flavours and textures, affable and knowledgeable staff and no reservations, you had better show up early if you want to get a chance to enjoy bar dining at its best
There's been a lot of buzz around Francis, the new Israeli/Middle Eastern restaurant on St Francis Street in Wan Chai. Foodie friends have been posting their photos on various social media sites. The restaurant, which is open all day, doesn’t take bookings, so I arrived at 6pm to make sure I wouldn't have to queue. Soon after 7pm, the restaurant was packed and by the time we left at around 8.30pm, people were lining up outside.
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The menu is brief – just 10 mezze, four vegetables, four “more” dishes (slightly larger than mezze) and two desserts.
Veal cigars (HK$120) were the weakest of the dishes, oddly because they were too meaty (some people wouldn’t complain about that, though), which made them heavy and one-dimensional.
The falafel with tahini (HK$50) were also dense but they were made with fava beans, rather than chickpeas, and they had a slight bitterness that made them interesting.
For dessert, knefeh (HK$80) – mozzarella wrapped in kadaif pastry (like finely shredded filo) – sounded as if it was going to be heavy, but it wasn’t. We loved it because it wasn’t too sweet; it had a small amount of orange blossom syrup and chopped pistachios.
Francis, 4-6 St Francis Street, Wan Chai, tel: 3101 9521.
About HK$350 without drinks or the service charge.
While you’re in the area: