Francois Frankie Le Carousel Bar

Tasty lamb shank. Enjoyable experience. Will return.

My husband And I had a great time Hugo the bartender was super attentive and very hospitable.. kudos to him ..!!

Very fun atmosphere. Great drinks and kind bartenders. Just wish the food menu was a bit more extensive

Attempted to dine here on the night of 1/13. Note on the door said "closed for a private party." Not a single soul was inside. Was this an offsite private party? Not only was it below zero outside during my walk from my hotel, but the restaurants reservation system, Tock, was still taking reservations a mere hours before I arrived. You'd think a restaurant would be smart enough to post a heads up on their Instagram page, but nah, they decided to make another post that day about their restaurant's food. Great job folks, way to care about your patrons. Stay away from this spot. Management couldn't even answer a simple email as to why they weren't open.

Living and working in the Loop, Francois Frankie had been on my radar for a while. Finally deciding to check it out on a Thursday evening around 18:00, I left with mixed feelings about this trendy spot. Let's start with the positives - the place is absolutely beautiful! The decor is chic, and the seating exudes a sexy ambiance. Francois Frankie is an ideal after-work spot, perfect for hanging out with friends or having a cute little date. As I arrived solo after a long day at work, I decided to sit at the bar. The bartender, unfortunately, left me with mixed impressions. I had to flag him down for both my drink and food order, which was a bit frustrating. However, I must say the cosmo I ordered was perfectly balanced, hitting the right notes. Now, onto the not-so-great part - the French onion soup. Having tried over 15+ variations of this classic dish, Francois Frankie's rendition left me underwhelmed. The taste was off, with hints of staleness and an over-seasoned, salty profile. The cheese wasn't fully melted, and the overall experience felt like eating soggy bread with a thick beef Au Jus. It fell short of the expectations I've built from my experiences with French onion soup.

Had a great experience at Francois Frankie last night. Our server Lucy was great and the french onion soup and Caesar salad was delightful. The carousel bar was a site as well. Will definitely be back!

Can’t really fault this place for anything! Atmosphere & vibe are amazing. You walk right in & the carousel bar pops right out at you. The service was impeccable from the super friendly host to the service people who kept re filling our water glasses to the food handlers & waiters. We went for Chicago restaurant week & I got the ham croquettes, short rib & chocolate mousse. The food was well executed & well seasoned. The noise level was perfect & we could hear ourselves talk. It was a very lovely & enjoyable experience. Good place to take a date our out of town guests.

We stopped in at 8pm after a movie, so I was a little nervous about feeling rushed since they close at 9. Fortunately, this was not the case. The wait staff was still super attentive and friendly. This restaurant definitely caters towards pre-show light dinners and before/after show drinks.The rotating carousel bar is the star of the show, but was not turned on while we were here. The cocktails were pretty standard — there was not anything special to really justify their $16-18 price tag, but they definitely were boozy and not watered down. I thought the food was pretty good too, definitely an 8/10. The menu selection is fairly limited, though. This was not a problem on our first visit, but I’m not sure I would return to try something else since there are not many options. All in all, this was a good dining experience and I would recommend stopping in if you are seeing a show around the restaurant.