[Hong Kong] FRANCIS - Wine Bar with Middle Eastern Cuisine

March 20, 2018

[Hong Kong] FRANCIS - Wine Bar with Middle Eastern Cuisine

Rating: ❤❤❤❤ (4/5)

FRANCIS has been the talk of the town lately but good luck getting a seat - the super hip wine bar/restaurant doesn't take reservations with a waiting period of over an hour at peak times. Located on Francis Street (hence the name), Chef Asher Goldstein takes inspiration from childhood memories of the street food in Tel Aviv with a strong focus on ingredients and flavors of the Middle East. The menu is simply divided into 4 sections (Meze, Vegetable, Main and Dessert) while all dishes are meant to be shared. The prices are also very wallet-friendly as food starts from just HK$50 while a glass of wine starts from HK$80. There's also an option to let the restaurant choose the dishes for the whole table to share (HK$360 per person) so we did just that - the portions are sized down and we got to try ~60% of the menu. It ended up being too much food for us actually so I would recommend a la carte instead unless you are really hungry. The food was tasty for the most part and some of my favorites included the hummus, baked halloumi, grilled octopus, lamb ribs and chicken schnitzel. It's definitely a restaurant that I will revisit - whether it's for a quick bite and drink or a full-blown meal.