The French Cafe
from 27 reviews
The French Cafe offers contemporary European cuisine in a sophisticated and intimate environment. AWARD WINNING SERVICES - SEE LISTED AWARDS BELOW AND ON OUR WEBSITE.
The restaurant has a relaxed bar for pre and post dinner drinks, conservatory room overlooking the courtyard and courtyard dining when weather permits.
Distinct dining areas are available for group bookings offering privacy, comfort and alfresco dining.
THE ACCOLADES
The French Cafe has been attributed some of the highest calibre restaurant awards and nominations.
METRO RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR AWARDS - The French Cafe — 5 spoons. There is no more impeccable dining experience in Auckland than at The French Cafe when the place is full and the ninja waitstaff do their speedy, super-efficient silent gliding around the room.
This is the restaurant where you can look up and catch a waiter's eye and they will come straight over — why is that so hard elsewhere? And where the concept for every dish has been finely honed and the execution is sublime: chef Simon Wright is the senior chef in Auckland kitchens and it shows on the plate; he's got his own classics, such as the astonishing delicious duck, but his menu keeps evolving, keeps freshening itself. And where not only the wine list is superb but so, too, is the line-up of aperitifs, digestifs, cocktails and beer. We almost love them for that alone.
METRO RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Winner
– Best Service
Winner
– Best Drinks List
Runner Up
– Best Fine-Dining
METRO RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR AWARDS- Winner Best Service & Best Drinks List.
Service makes the meal. At The French Cafe, the large and impeccably trained staff get every little thing right, over and over, and at the same time each of them establishes a warm relationship for the evening with each of their customers. This is the gold standard.
On one of our judging visits, we were met in the anteroom by the maître d', who handed us over to our waiter and — apart from passing back and forth from time to time — didn't see the need to come back. He trusted the waiter to know what to do, and although we tested that waiter with tough questions about the food, difficult wine preferences and all the little things judges do to see if they're being looked after well, he came through brilliantly. No other restaurant in town is that good. They take staff training extremely seriously at The French Cafe, and it shows. What a pleasure.
WINNER
Best Drinks List at the Metro Restaurant of the Year Awards
This terrific list is mindful of regular clients while inspiring new customers to try something different. A strong French influence tips its hat to the restaurant's history and is nicely balanced by stunning wines from some of our best vineyards. The cocktails are great, there are good non-alcoholic options derived from seasonal foods, and the aperitifs and digestifs are to die for. As for the beer, there's a choice of 15, eight from local craft brewers. That's so impressive.
MORE ABOUT US
Simon Wright is the Chef/Owner of the restaurant. He has trained in Europe's top Hotels and Michelin Star Restaurants. Simon changes the menu monthly in order to utilise the best ingredients available.
Creghan Molloy Wright is the Maitre'd/Owner of the restaurant. The service is professional and welcoming. The waiting staff have an excellent understanding of the wines available, sourced from New Zealand, Australia and France.
With the combination of food and wine offered, there is no doubt that this is a unique dining experience.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
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Business Hours
Mon Closed Tue 6:00pm – Late Wed 6:00pm – Late Thu 6:00pm – Late Fri 6:00pm – Late 12:00pm – 2:30pm Sat 6:00pm – Late Sun Closed -
Cuisines
French , Continental/European
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Payment Options
- Cash
- EFTPOS
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Diners Club
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Brands
-
Dress
- Smart Casual
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Licensing
- Fully licensed
- Beer - bottled
- Wine
- Spirits
- Cocktails
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We offer
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Vegetarian Meals
- Vegan Meals
- Gluten Free Meals
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Entrance Fee
- Never
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Meal Price
Premium - $30 and above
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Size
5 - 49 Employees
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Products/Services
- Contemporary European cuisine
- Sophisticated intimate environment
- Degustation
- Conservatory room
- Courtyard dining
- A La Carte Menu
- Friday Lunch
- Dinner
- Group and Private Functions
- Wine
- The French Cafe Cookbook
- The French Cafe Vouchers
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About the venue
Children Allowed occasionally (call for details) Smoking No smoking Capacity 75 -
Facilities
- Private Functions
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Venue Type
Restaurant/Cafe
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Food Served
- Full menu
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Reviews (27 reviews)
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mannza
Wonderful evening spent here. Superb food,service and attention to detail. Definately on list of places to return to for a special occcasion
7th February 2012
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PayalN
Great atmosphere to just stop for a break. Very friendly staff and the food is great. i would love to go back there again and again. their service is awesome as well and everything is very much on time. would love to have a branch in manukau as well. love it simply !
6th October 2011
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Spheric
We went to the French Cafe for our first wedding anniversary and although it was mentioned several times (when booking, on arrival) we didn't get so much as a "Happy Anniversary". Now this isn't really a big deal but little things like this can really improve the customer experience. The food was superb, the service was attentive and overall we enjoyed our meal. On the negative side, we found it a bit noisey and the matching wines for the tasting menu were overpriced in our opinion at $65.00 for five 1/2 glasses. We were glad we went but won't be rushing back.
20th September 2011
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