French in South Florida

Le Comptoir

1904 Harrison St. Hollywood

954-926-5585

French, Best Of, Sponsor

2 articles

Bistro 1902

1885 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood

305-316-3136

French, Bistro, Critics' Pick, Takeout-Home, Takeout-Cuisine, Takeout-Neighborhood

In Hollywood, Bistro 1902's menu of bistro-style classics encourages adventurous orders: frogs' legs, boeuf bourguignon, foie gras, and escargots.

3 articles

Cafe de Paris

715 E. Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale

954-467-2900

Continental, French, Best Of, Menu

Ooh la la! What iz ze problem, my sweetie? Romance iz not dead; it's alive! Le Cafe de Paris, Las Olas French fixture since 1962, is any hopeless romantic's dream. The space is chic yet charming. With antiques and a piano bar indoors and sidewalk seating outdoors, diners can play Parisians while dishing on classic French cuisine. The extensive French wine collection has bottles from cheap to extravagant prices. Watch out for the dessert cart -- once the server rolls it over to the table, it's nearly impossible to resist. Bon appetit!

2 articles

Cafe Maurice

419 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-674-1277

Bistro, French, Recommended

Café Maurice enjoyed a successful 11-year run in Los Angeles before relocating to South Beach -- more specifically, to the spot held by longtime local bistro L'Entrecote de Paris. Owners David Meunier, Jean Michel Collet, and executive chef Maurice Azoulay have left L'Entrecote's laminated bar and back-room mural and mirrors intact. The rest of the walls are lipstick-red. This place feels just like a real Parisian bistro, right down to the laissez-faire attitude of an inattentive wait staff. Country pté was coarse but tasty and one of the only items on the menu that requires any culinary skill. Of the dozen or so entrées, about half are composed of grilled chicken breast surrounded by one sauce or another. Other options are grilled salmon, grilled lamb chops, grilled steak, a few pastas, and shepherd's pie(?). Steak-frites is the best thing we tried. All main courses are under $20, and the wine list is kept affordable as well. Cafe Maurice's finer attributes become apparent later at night (it is open until 5 a.m.), when a vibrant cabaret scene is likely to break out, with singing, swaying, and dancing to Gypsyish music.

Cafe Sharaku

2736 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale Wilton Manors

954-563-2888

Asian, French, Fusion, Japanese, Recommended

This boutique, six-table restaurant located off of Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale takes French technique and merges it with the ingredients of Japanese chef/owner Iwoa Kaita's homeland. The result is as enticing as a well-written line of poetry. A specials board denotes what's fresh daily and includes offerings like vibrant Florida stone crab baked with wasabi/garlic aioli and slender enoki mushrooms and New England clams sautéed gently with spinach, butter, and yuzu, a tart variety of Japanese lemon. Not everything works perfectly, as with the cold dishes like chilled deep-fried salmon with sour lemon sauce. But thanks to a competent, friendly staff and a broad menu, Café Sharaku is a charming and pleasant experience.

4 articles

Charlotte Bistro

Miracle Mile, Coral Gables South Dade

305-443-3003

French, Bistro, Critics' Pick

Charlotte's distinctiveness begins with the eclectic décor: a quaint and quirky collage of patterned wallpaper, floral nosegays, and white ovoid lamps hanging from a high black ceiling. It all fits together to form an utterly charming ambiance. The cuisine weaves a similarly enchanting web, fusing strands of French bistro fare with ingredients such as the curry and coconut milk that globalize a beurre blanc pooled beneath three bacon-wrapped langoustines. Other winning starters include an onion soup fragrantly fingered with fresh thyme, and coarsely textured pheasant terrine accompanied by a sweet confit of tomato and sharp caper-raisin sauce. A half-dozen entrées are equally fresh, light, and well balanced, none more so than a tender lobster tail poached in brown butter and afloat with five ravioli rounds of minced lobster in saffron-spiked broth. On the other end of the heft spectrum: two hearty domestic lamb chops marinated with thyme and nutmeg and sauced in lamb jus touting just a trifle of truffle oil. The signature dessert is "chocolate soup," dressed with a quenelle of homemade coffee ice cream and a buttery, wispy tuile. Venezuelan chef/owner Elida Villarroel's Charlotte Bistro offers an elegant, enjoyable dining experience at a fair price.

1 article

Croissan-Time French Bakery

1201 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale

954-565-8555

French, Bakery, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Paris is far away and expensive, but its reasonably priced, delicious flavor is right around the corner at Croissan-Time in Fort Lauderdale. You can't beat a breakfast composed of Bernard Casse's sublime croissants, hot from the oven. He's got chocolate or almond paste-filled varieties, sure, but check out those buttery crescents stuffed with sour apricots and custard, tart raspberries, silky prunes, walnuts, apples, strawberries, cinnamon, ham and cheese, or guava. Hang for a couple of hours with a cup of café au lait and you won't even notice when it's time for lunch. The deli features a selection of charcuterie including mergez and boudin noir; paté; game meats like pheasant and partridge; freshly cut cheeses; and, for dessert, homemade ice creams, fresh fruit pies, and cream puffs. Ooh la la!

10 articles

Dining Room at Little Palm Island

28500 Overseas Highway, Summerland Key Florida Keys

305-872-2551

Caribbean, Contemporary, French, Latin American, Seafood, Recommended, Menu

You've got to drive three hours south and then hop on a boat to get to the dining room at Little Palm Island Resort, but for a special occasion, it would be worth twice the trouble. Your complimentary glass of champagne on the skiff ride over is just a prelude to your photo-op dinner right on the west-facing beach at sunset; to the exotic cocktails and the opulent wine list; to the courtly service; and to the cooking courtesy of chef Louis Pous, which changes nightly and seasonally but always draws on Pous' Cuban-Caribbean heritage and what's available from the surrounding waters. Pous has the smarts and the organizational skills to source bounty from Keys waters: blackfin tuna, stone crabs, pink shrimp, grouper, snapper, pompano, wahoo, conch, lobster. As the sky darkens, an outdoor fireplace and torches provide illumination. As romantic as it gets, and you'll pay for it.

1 article

Escargot Bistro

1506 E. Commercial Blvd. Oakland Park

754-206-4116

French, Bistro, Slideshow

3 articles

EuroBread & Cafe

1000 Seminole Dr. Fort Lauderdale

954-568-3876

Bakery, French, Best Of, Menu

Lisa Amaral and her husband, pastry chef Christain Cabanettes, moved to Fort Lauderdale ten years ago and built EuroBread & Cafe from the ground up, hoping they could eventually create franchises. The duo sold the joint in 2004 only to return and take back the reins in June 2010. Christian Cabanettes, trained throughout France, brings to Broward amazingly fluffy, sweet little pasteries that will make you want to say, "Oui!" Located around the corner from the Intracoastal Waterway and the Sunrise Bridge, this Provencal-inspired cafe is known to draw a French-speaking crowd for coffee, quiche lorraine, croque monsieur and mille feuille for dessert. EuroBread & Cafe also sells imported gourmet goodies, so you can bring home a treat to your sweetie.

3 articles

The French Place

360 SE McNab Rd. Pompano Beach

954-785-1920

French, Music Venues, Music Venues

Frenchy's Table

235 Commercial Blvd. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

954-533-2580

French, Seafood, Critics' Pick, Best Of

Since 2014, Sea Restaurant chef-owner Edith Barthelemy has been cooking up some of the best French-inspired seafood in Broward County. Lucky for us, she knows a thing or two about French food -- the chef grew up in Limousin, France, and worked at her parents' bed and breakfast for many years before enrolling in a culinary academy, then gaining further experience as a Relais & Chauteaux Maitre’d. Today, South Florida guests can get a taste of her seafood-focused fare (and exceptional service) at her Fort Lauderdale restaurant, where you can order à la carte, fresh catches listed daily on the chalkboard menu. Or go with the flow via a three-course tasting menu that offers a taste of the restaurant's best dishes. That includes a creative riff on the classic bolognese, here served with seared, diced fresh tuna tossed in a homemade tomato sauce. There's also the whole Florida red snapper, baked and finished in a luxurious beurre blanc sauce. The 25-seat dining room blends mid-century modern accents with an Old Florida fish mural, making for stylish environs while staying true to the city's beachy aesthetic. Servers dressed in chef whites add polish to the experience. Whatever you do, don't leave without a taste of one of Barthelemy's signature desserts, perhaps the only thing she does better than seafood.

6 articles

La Bonne Crepe

815 E. Las Olas Blvd. Fort Lauderdale

954-761-1515

French, Best Of, Menu

In France, crepes are eaten warm, frequently sold on the street for a quick lunch or served at the dinner table. In Quebec, Canada, the crepes are served for breakfast stuffed with fresh fruits and drizzled with maple syrup. La Bonne Crepe, on Las Olas you can taste all kinds while you sit on the chic terrace and watch the swanky crowd go by. La Bonne Crepe is not all about crepes -- they also serve the traditional egg breakfast; 12 specialty omelettes; waffles with sliced bananas, nuts and sour cream; and yummy stacks of pancakes loaded with fresh fruit. And yes, they also sell French toast, monsieur.

4 articles

La Creperie

4589 N. University Dr., Sunrise Plantation

954-741-9035

French, Recommended, Best Of

La Crêperie's savory crepes are made from buckwheat flour in the traditional style of Brittany: They're golden, nutty, and aesthetically beautiful. With 31 varieties of the dinner crepes and another 11 for dessert, it would take some time to work your way from chicken, spinach, and white sauce (number one) through ground sirloin, ratatouille, and Swiss cheese (number 30). And if you did manage it, sweet crêpes made with sugar and butter or apple and ice cream or pears Belle Helene with chocolate sauce are waiting for you. This charming mom-and-pop restaurant also offers delicious homestyle French fare, with a different duck special every night, frog's legs Provençale, poullet roti, and scrumptious onion soup, all in a brisk and welcoming atmosphere.

3 articles

Le Bistro

4626 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point Pompano Beach

954-946-9240

French, Bistro, Slideshow

This intimate bistro has been serving modern French dishes & fine wines since 2001. The menu features the highly sought after Beef Wellington, as well as mushroom soup, grass fed rack of lamb, Long Island duck and more. End your meal with a homemade dessert: the creme brûlée and the apple tart are two favorites.

8 articles

Le Patio

2401 NE 11th Ave. Wilton Manors

954-530-4641

French, European, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Le Patio, a place that bills itself as the "tiniest, cutest restaurant in South Florida," just might be telling the truth. The inside is no larger than a hallway, with a miniature kitchen to match. Owners Veronique Leroux and Jean Doherty do their cooking off site in the mornings and afternoons and truck the goods into the store to sell for lunch and dinner. The food ranges from comforting, hearty French fare like boeuf bourguignon to simple dishes like goat cheese salad and a plate of patés. Even more comforting, though, is the outdoor patio, a beautiful, quaint space in the sun with mismatched tables and chairs made from old sewing machines and vintage tin French beer signs hanging on the wooden fence. Prices are very low, even for wines by the glass.

4 articles

Mustard Seed Bistro

8616 Griffin Rd. Davie/West Hollywood

954-252-0002

Bistro, Continental, French, Recommended

Tim and Lara Boyd sure have built a following over the many years they've been running restaurants in South Florida. Like their last few ventures, the Mustard Seed is a quaint, chefy place set in the bistro mold. The room feels classic but not antiquated, with rust-brown chandeliers, white chair rails along the walls, and lacy curtains that obscure the orange strip mall outside. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it packs up at almost all times. At lunch, you'll find the place stocked with well-heeled ladies canoodling over bistro favs like crab cakes with black bean salsa and tuna Niçoise as host Lara works the room. For dinner, the lacquered wood tables get covered in white linen and service stiffens up a notch. Entrees tip the scale in terms of price, and though some deliver, the rough edges are slightly exposed - examples: excellent cherry gastrique coating a so-so portion of duck, perfectly cooked bison tenderloin mounting uninspired mashed potatoes. Still, in terms of charm, this bistro has it. Just book early, and bring your good card.

2 articles

Nanou French Bakery & Café

2915 E Las Olas Blvd Fort Lauderdale

954-470-2191

French, Bakery

Cozy French bakery and cafe offering artisanal breads, breakfasts, salads, sandwiches, and sweet/savory pastries.

Paneterie French Bakery

16950 N Jog Rd., Delray Beach, Delray Beach

561-403-5192

Bakery, French, Menu

An authentic European neighborhood café and bakery experience, PANETERIE French Bakery welcome patrons with a warm, retro ambiance in which the simple pleasures of high-quality, just-baked goods, and specialty sandwiches and salads can be casually enjoyed. Oven-fresh croissants, breads, and Danish will be baked throughout the day at the store, and specialty items such as macarons, chocolates and finer pastries will be made daily in the bakery’s commissary kitchen. A full menu of coffee, tea wine and beer options will also be available. The concept for PANETERIE French Bakery is based on the idea of providing high-quality, fresh products at affordable prices, with pasties starting at $2.75 and sandwiches starting at just $6.50. More information and the café and bakeries’ full menu are available at www.Paneterie.com.

Sage Bistro and Oyster Bar

2000 Harrison St. Hollywood

954-391-9466

French, Seafood, Recommended

You really have to hand it to chef Laurent Tasic. His Sage Bistro and Oyster bar juggles two completely different concepts and nails them both: a high-end raw bar, with its $52 shellfish tower and a $28 "trio" of jumbo pink Gulf shrimp, oysters, and crab meat on the one hand; and on the other, gourmet French comfort food for the budget-conscious, with meals ranging from $10 to $24. A crepe du jour wraps the lightest of pancakes around sirloin tips, carmelized onions, and rich stewed mushrooms; steak Maurice tops a ten-ounce rib eye with asparagus, mushrooms, and a slice of slightly warm Brie. Many of the dishes at the new Sage are shared with the original Lauderdale restaurant, but new contributions include short ribs Parisienne, pork-chop paillarde, and tuna Provençale. It's all delicious in an elemental way. The physical space of the restaurant is gorgeous, the martinis are strong, and the wine list is a knockout: a recipe to get us through hard times.

2 articles

Sage French Cafe

2378 N. Federal Highway Wilton Manors

954-565-2299

French

In a shopping center on Federal Highway, this cozy bistro offers soft lighting and original art on its brick walls. Colorful leatherette chairs complement the warm wood tables. The cuisine includes classic rustic French dishes: onion soup, pate, quiche, coquilles St. Jacques, duck sausage cassoulet, and bourride - a seafood stew. A solid crepe menu accompanies the nice brunch list - pain perdu, salad Paradis (a fruit salad topped with frozen yogurt), eggs Sardou, and a carved roast. Dessert crepes, crème brûlée, and apple tart, plus a chocolate cake, round out the dessert menu. Critics gripe about uneven service, but legions of fans lament there aren't more Sages elsewhere. (There's one in Hollywood too.)

5 articles

Sugar Reef

600 N. Surf Rd. Hollywood

954-922-1119

Caribbean, French, Best Of

Anybody who dropped in to Sugar Reef years ago could go back today and suffer no future shock: Nothing seems to change - the open-air restaurant on the Hollywood Broadwalk still follows a rhythm as soothing and predictable as the sea its ocean-colored rooms open out on. Paper-covered tables offer jars of crayons for doodling, and a French-Caribbean menu features dishes beloved by the Reef's many return customers: Jamaican pork with authentic French-style gratinéed potatoes, a tropical fish stew redolent of coconut milk and green curry, and roasted duck topped with mango salsa. An eclectic wine list offers lots of vin by the half bottle. The staff patters in polyglot tongues - Spanish, French, Russian, and if you show up twice, you'll find yourself inducted into a coterie of beloved regulars.

3 articles

French in South Florida

Newsletter Sign Up

Enter your name, zip code, and email