Frenchy's Bistro. Long Beach
4137 East Anaheim St. Long Beach, CA 90804
562-494-8787
Hours of Operation:
Lunch: Tuesday - Friday 11:30am -2:30pm.
Dinner: Tuesday - Sunday 5:30pm - 9:30pm.
Wine Bar, Wine Bar Menu, Special Events, Private Banquet Room.
THE ROOM:
Frenchy's Bistro was opened in Long Beach in 1996 by Andre and Valerie Angles in a very nondescript building in a local Long Beach neighborhood. The restaurant is actually storefront industrial in appearance and I honestly had to look twice at the door before I realized the building was indeed Frenchy's Bistro. The interior, somewhat cozy, with local artists displayed on the walls has two main rooms one of which houses their wine bar. The room felt "tired". The decor could certainly use a sprucing up but they better not touch their food. What comes out of that kitchen is a huge surprise. This little unassuming restaurant serves incredible food. It is a jewel.
THE FOOD:
Frenchy's menu is a blissful delight of all my favorite French foods. Their dinner menu appetizers include foie gras, escargots, pate, salmon gravlaks and crab timbale with caviar, duck stuffed mushrooms and a tomato tart tatin with goat cheese. Salads like a Belgian endive with pears and walnuts, a Lyonnaise salad with frisee, a warm goat cheese salad with mesclun and a hearts of palm salad are served as well. Soups include a cream free (for all those dieters out there) Soup Du Jour, a French Onion Soup served in a Cocotte Staub (a individual casserole pot made by Staub) and an incredible crab bisque. Entrees on the menu include a Chilean Sea bass, poached chicken, a beef chop, wild King salmon, quail, veal sweatbreads, duck, rack of lamb, pork tenderloin, braised lamb shank, hangar steak and several other delightful fish selections. They also have a wonderful dessert menu but I never have room for dessert so I can only tell you what other people tell me and that is that their award winning warm apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream is to die for.
I can tell you that their preparation of French onion soup is a delicious classic and their crab bisque with polenta quenelles and a crab claw gave me goose bumps. I also just had to have the foie gras with its smooth port wine and orange sauce. The sweet, rich earthy flavors melted in my mouth. I had the wild King Salmon which was beautifully prepared, as I describe it, just slightly short of done, which to me enhances the deep flavors of this magnificent fish. You can get to that point in fish preparation where you have just cooked it too much and it looses it's delicate flavor. The fish was served with a crabmeat, lobster sauce. Fabulous. Ken is a fish eater and he ordered the Chilean Sea Bass and again Chef prepared and incredible piece of fish. Frenchy's is famed for their braised lamb shank and I did see it go buy to another table looking splendid. I know one thing for sure and that is Frenchy's gets many return visits becauce for fine dining you cannot beat this little surprise. I was in awe and still am of the quality of the food that Frenchy's prepares. I must also compliment them on their wine menu. They have a very good but not overwhelming or pretentious selection of French wine as well as a decent California selection.
THE SERVICE:
We were very well taken care of. You do get the sense of being in someones home in the smaller room. The larger wine bar room has a community type atmosphere. The server knew her menu and was able to answer all our questions especially about wine pairings.
Ratings:
Food: **** Cost: $$$ - $$$$
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