Bistro Franc is a sunny and stylish French restaurant in the heart of Liverpool. My fiancé and I came in here for lunch on my birthday, and it was a wonderful place to spend the afternoon. Rustic decor made us feel like we were in France. They offer a 3 course lunch for £10.50 which is an amazing deal, and we went for it. They call it the "lunch rapide," and while it was quite tasty, there was nothing "rapide" about it! Service was incredibly slow, and though our friendly waiter was apologetic and aware of the issue, we waited absolutely ages to order and receive each course. This was disappointing as we wanted to get more sightseeing done, and we were confused as the restaurant wasn't full to capacity and surely they should be able to handle a normal Tuesday lunch service with greater speed?
Aside from that, we really enjoyed our meals, for the most part. My soup course was divine, the soup changes often but it was some sort of delightful vegetarian soup (I think the soup is always vegetarian?) and I really enjoyed it with warm bread. My main course was slightly disappointing - it was a chicken fillet and though I enjoyed the flavor of the creamy leek sauce, the texture of the chicken wasn't very pleasant. I'm not sure why, but there was something just odd about it, as my fiancé agreed. He loved his main course though, though it's been two weeks now and we've forgotten what it was! I'll never forget that dessert though, it made up for the average main course, because it was probably the best creme brûlée I've ever had in my life. It was totally simple and yet absolutely divine; for a creme brûlée purist like me, it doesn't get any better. And all for £10.50!!!
Even though the service was slow, our food was quite good (great in some cases), and I'd certainly come back if I was in Liverpool again and hope for things to move a bit quicker. I feel bad giving it 3 stars, but with 4 star food and 2 star service, I guess that's how it averages out! Do give it a try though, if you have time to kill, as you'll get a good deal for your money. read more