Ah the French. Love them or hate them, but the food is an experience all on its own. I have to admit that after visiting Paris over the summer, I did fall in love with the city and so when I saw a quaint little restaurant in Limassol’s old town, Le Frenchie, it was hard to ignore. The décor is immediately captivating, as the outside is surrounded by red foliage and fairy lights create a warm welcome.

rest3Stepping inside, we are met with a more sophisticated look – though not too over the top – and tables glittering with (fake) candles and wine glasses. The walls are adorned by French artists and posters, with flowers interspersed around the restaurant.

Onto the menu. It offers many classic dishes: snails, onion soup, foie gras and even frogs legs. We didn’t feel brave enough to try many of these so started with the onion soup and cheese.

A piping hot thick soup with mounds of warm cheese and ample onions, the texture just oozes comfort. Once the spoon digs through the thick layer of cheese, it is met with the clumps of chopped up onion swimming in the soup. Served with some thick bread, dipping it into the soup – with butter of course – just creates a guilty pleasure that feels incredibly comforting. The soup is far more filling than I had anticipated. Hopes of making it through a main quickly withered away as there was no more room for more food – even though I walked in quite ready to enjoy a variety of dishes.

Nonetheless, the duck leg confit with potatoes Sarladaises (garlic, truffle) and vegetables followed, and that was a whole other experience on the senses. The potatoes were delightfully crispy while the duck was incredibly soft. The truffle (which they kindly served separately upon request) was strong on the garlic but went amazingly well with the dish and was evidently heavy on the quality. Attention had also been given to presentation, which was classy and simple. Even the vegetables, not the heart of the dish, had a nice full texture to them and were not something that had just been served for the sake of it.

rest2Le Frenchie gives the impression that every ingredient is carefully chosen with a lot of focus on quality. Naturally, there is a large selection of wines available, and they even feature as part of the decoration and after enjoying a nice full-bodied red, the time was right to dig in to dessert. We got the French apple pie which comes with vanilla ice cream, and I have to admit I have never tried anything like this in my life.

I’ve eaten many an apple pie over the years but the here, the apples were warm but not too gooey, the pastry was thick and buttery and just merged so wonderfully well with the apples and the ice cream. We cleared that plate in no time, even though I had already been seriously full.

Huge credit also goes to the staff, who are warm, friendly and incredibly classy in their manners and the way they carry themselves.

VITAL STATISTICS

SPECIALITY French cuisine

WHERE Le Frenchie, Irinis 11, Limassol

WHEN 11.30am–11pm every day (Wednesday from 11am)

HOW MUCH most main dishes around €25 (many go well above that)

CONTACT 25 212333