The story
Maison François is a Classic French restaurant at 34 Duke Street, St James's, London, and the AA awarded it 2 Rosettes for culinary excellence in 2026. The room takes its cue from the French grand brasserie and serves from breakfast through to dinner.
The menu follows Gallic classics such as hake with sauce bouillabaisse and entrecôte de boeuf au poivre. On a recent visit, the Good Food Guide found the cooking consistently sound, with pâte en croûte, Comté gougères and jambon noir de Bigorre with celeriac rémoulade all arriving just right. Côte de veau came precisely cooked, its fat well caramelised.
A double-height ceiling and an open kitchen give the light, spacious dining room its character. Seating is comfortable and the tables are reasonably spaced. Frank's, a moodily lit wine bar in the basement, opens as a bar à vin from 3pm and takes no reservations. The salon privé and wine room host private dining for groups of up to eighteen.
The dessert trolley carries macarons, tarte aux pommes, Paris-Brest and mousse au chocolat. The wine list leans on France, with bottles from the rest of Europe and the New World alongside.
Recognition
Details
History
Inspired by the French 'grand brasserie', and running from breakfast to dinner, Maison François is light and spacious, with an impressive double-height ceiling, an open kitchen at one end and Frank’s (a moodily lit wine bar) in the basement. The vibe is smart-casual with comfortable seats, reasonably spaced tables and unfailingly warm service (judging by feedback we've received). Indeed, one contributor who took advantage of a special offer of ‘very good’ moules frites for £15 had this to say: 'we were eating the cheapest meal on the menu, but were treated as though we had ordered the most expensive.' The carte is a dream line-up of Gallic classics (hake with sauce bouillabaisse, entrecôte de boeuf au poivre), and everything we ate was spot-on at our most recent visit. Pâte en croûte, Comté gougères and jambon noir de Bigorre with celeriac rémoulade proved to be just perfect, while côte de veau arrived precisely cooked with the fat beautifully caramelised. Then, as a finale, the desserts appeared. Can anyone resist a trolley laden with macarons, tarte aux pommes, Paris-Brest, mousse au chocolat and much more? Prices aren't greedy considering the well-heeled location (a short walk from Fortnum & Mason), while the lengthy wine list genuinely offers something for everyone, with France as the main contender but back-up from the rest of Europe and the New World.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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