The French Table Bistro

Do you like cheese fondue? If so, this is the place! Always, always excellent service, nice wines and the fondue is soooo good! Limited parking in the back, but check their first!

Rarely does a restaurant get it right with all fronts: food, atmosphere, and service. This place is excellent and I can’t wait for my next visit. Thank you for a lovely evening!

For the price they charge the food is not meeting the expectations. Service was very good, but the restaurant was empty… only one other table was occupied before we arrived and nobody else showed up. The bouillabaisse was not bad, but half potatoes only. The stake is not the finest cut, but the price is high and the fries are not fresh. The coque au vin is leg only — a rip-​off for the price.
Definitely not worth the price!

A very disappointing experience. We had high hopes of this French bistro but from the moment we walked through the door it was down hill. The service was unfriendly and indifferent. The food was barely mediocre. I am happy to pay top dollar for quality but nothing about this experience was quality. No one ever asked how our food was or said «thank you» or or «I hope you enjoyed the experience» or «we hope to see you again». This was perhaps was one the saddest dining experiences I can remember. There are so many better French restaurants — or restaurants in general in Vancouver — to bother paying good money for little value.

I had just finished a workout at the gym and had a big craving for a nice piece of steak. I drove by The French Table randomly and decided to give them a try.
The French Table is a quaint restaurant. We were greeted and seated promptly and told the specials of the night.
We decided on the mushroom soup and garlic prawn appetizer to start — both were very good and the mushroom soup was nice and hearty. For dinner I ordered the steak (of course) topped with peppercorn sauce and fries on the side. My friend ordered Coq au vin. My steak was nicely done, but I felt that the sauce was a bit salty and one dimensional. I had a bite of the Coq au vin and it was very fall-​off-​the-​bone tender — you could tell that it had been cooking on the stove for a while. For dessert I had the Pear Almond Tart was which was pretty good.
There were two people who served us that night, I believe one was a server and the other was the owner. Both were very attentive and the service was very good. Next time I will try the Cheese Fondue and some of their seafood dishes.

5 stars all the way. The French Table is a dining experience everyone should enjoy.
I have a a slight crush on Gilles our waiter. He’s sweet, professional, funny and ever so charming. A real delight! He does his job with such ease he makes the whole dining experience that much more wonderful.
Tonight they had a set menu for Valentines. Initially I was a little disappointed but soon got over it when I saw my appetizer arrive.
I had the salt spring mussels and clams.
Wow, they were much more than I expected. Smoky and rich on top of a toasted piece of bread. I ate it as slow as I could.
For the main I had lamb done three ways, with a white bean ragoût. The lamb chop wa so tender it just melted in my mouth… it was incredible.
The lamb confit in phyllo pastry was nothing I’ve tasted before. The shredded lamb was rich with flavour while the pastry was crisp.
Dessert was a spinach cake with sweet layers of what seemed like jam. It was delicate and flavourful.
This restaurant is perfect for special occasions or just for a romantic night out. They do not have loud blaring music or an obnoxious TV.
After many visits, I’ve now decided that this restaurant is my favorite, hands down. I was so sad when it was all over.

We ate there last night and had an exceptional meal! Bison carpaccio and escargot for appetizers, salmon and coq au vin for our entrée. Sadly, no room for dessert. Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by the owner and promptly seated. Excellent service by the waitstaff, upon leaving the owner gave us a jar of his homemade quince jam! Anytime we’re visiting Vancouver we always make sure thus is one of our foodie stops!
Jim and Toni

Literally didn’t order food cause the server was very short and abrupt and made us feel like we weren’t welcome.

I had a black winter jacket on (’cause it was cold!) and black toque and black jeans. Hardly dressy casual on the outside but definitely not trashy or looking like a bum. Nevertheless I was met at the door by an older man who walked up very close (as in, inside your private space bubble close), with arms crossed and a voice tone that challenged me to be in his restaurant. WTF? Fortunately I was part of a reservation.
Never have I felt this sort of turn-​you-​away-​at-​the-​door «welcome» before anywhere, even in Vancouver, though I’ve seen it happen to my very casually dressed friend at Jules Bistro in Gastown.
My friend convinced me to try their Burgundy Beef Fondue claiming that the amount of meat was way more than pictured online. It is $ 36 online but $ 38 in the restaurant and you must have a minimum 2-​person order.
I haven’t felt so ripped off on meat since Wildebeest’s tiny meat portion on their supposed 32-​oz ribeye for $ 93. The portion of meat in the picture online (and in my pictures) is for TWO PERSONS. Yes, that small bowl of meat is $ 76.
They give you a lot of mayo in five flavours, which you could spend on the potatoes and bread. If you insist on throwing your money away at this restaurant, keep asking for bread and potatoes to fill you up and use up the mayo. We weren’t charged for extra potatoes and bread but we had to ask. Make sure you stop before they actually charge you money for cheap carb filler on top of your $ 78.
TIP: Go to the Keg and get your meat there instead.
As for beef in a wine fondue — Waste of time. It comes out of the fondue pot more or less tasting like beef. Also the small chunks of beef cook pretty fast, so don’t leave your beef in there forever or it’ll be pretty tough when it comes out.
For dessert we tried two smallish slices of their pies ($ 9 each) — pear and almond; and lemon. Both were decent, but not at $ 9. Sorry. Maybe $ 8 if you are in Yaletown. Which you are not. More like $ 6 at the most given the size.
They also have Crêpe Suzette ($ 10) swimming in sauce and melted ice cream but no fire at the table. Pass on that too.

We went there for Valentine to have a french experience at a romantic atmosphere! But that was not the place. We ordered cheese fondue and the waiter told us it is a lot of food don’t order anything else. So we listened to him. When the fondue came, it was JUST Cheese fondue and BREAD and POTATO! A very small side of aweful salad. That’s it! They called bread and cheese dinner for 90 $! That was the worst choice for Valentine unfortunately. We won’t be going back.

We had Garlic Prawns, Charcuterie, Escargot and 2 glasses of wine.
The bill was about $ 85.
The service was good, but the food was just ok, the portion was pretty small.
For this price I can have better food somewhere else.
nothing really special here:(

The service was great however the food was very very disappointing. I had the chicken and my husband ordered the duck it tasted like it was old and out of the crockpot. The garlic prawns where yummy. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Hopefully this was just a one off night as they where very slow

We had the opportunity to dine at The French Table, while in Vancouver. We did not have reservations, however were accommodated at the bar. Seating was very comfortable and atmosphere quite nice. For starters we had the Nicoise Salad, which was one of the best ever, seared tuna with a hint of anchovies in the dressing! We had the fresh Mussels and Bouillaisse, both outstanding! Highly recommend if looking for casual French dining.

One of my favorite restaurants in Vancouver, I’ve been here for a quite dinner for two, with good friends and for family birthday parties. Always great, the owner and staff are friendly, fun and professional! Every time, I feel I’ve gotten excellent value and a great meal,. And for me that is what it is all about!
Rob (White Rock)

Mature, classic French food.
My partner and I were looking for a reminder of our fabulous trip to France earlier in the year and weren’t disappointed. I had a lovely tender sweet breads dish to start. For the main I had cassoulet, which wasn’t quite the rustic stew we’d tried in Toulouse; the beans weren’t quite as flavourful, but it was nice that the duck confit was crispy.
Dessert we felt was the low note: the lemon tart didn’t have the nicest texture. This is the only reason I wouldn’t give 4 stars.
Overall a good experience though, and recommended if you’re craving French food.

Phenomenal food. Mediocre service. Came here with Dragon girl for a group gathering and you could tell that the wait staff were having none of it. Stuffy old french waiters who serve here have a very no nonsense attitude and are only there to take an order and put the food on the table. I didn’t even get a refill on my water.
That aside, the food was fantastic. Started with the escargot which was good and on a fluffy pastry. I had the Coq au Vin which smelled amazing and tasted even better. The thick cut chunks of bacon just made it that much better. Dragon girl’s lamb special was good, but a little burnt and overcooked.
Overall I think the service could have made this place a lot better. I prefer Les Faux Bourgeois in terms of service and price.

Great food. Came here last night for a group dinner. Restaurant was a bit small to accommodate a large party (approx 20 people) but they had enough seating to fit us all. There wasn’t much room to stand and mingle so they asked us to all sit down so as not to bother the other tables.
Waiters were all French. Very serious and to the point. Started off with the escargot. Portion was small. I estimate we only had about 5 snails in the entire dish. It was hard to tell because they added a lot of mushrooms which looked pretty similar to the snails.
I had the lamb which was a feature of the day. It was delicious. There were lamb chops and lamb sausages with a potato gratin. Highly recommended if you happen to be there and it’s on special!
Overall a good dinner. A quaint restaurant with serious waiters. No jokes or laughing here.

Came here for brunch on a Friday. There were no customers in the restaurant yet, so we had the pick of our table. Decided to sit by the window.
I loved the atmosphere of this restaurant. It felt like I stepped into France. And the wall of wine. That was very impressive.
Our waiter was spectacular. He made sure our glasses were always full, attentive and had a very strong French accent.
I ordered the Omlette du Jour. The Omlette was smaller than I had expected to be, however upon finishing, it was just the right amount. It also came with salad and french fries which were also very good.
My friend ordered the Tuna Salad. They had the appetizer and main sizes to pick from. She felt that it was bigger than anticipated and a little on the pricy side.
I would come back again for dinner and to sample some of their wines.
All-​in-​all, a good experience. However, you may want to check to see how much the specials are so you won’t be surprised when your bill comes.

Been here twice. The first time was actually pretty good but the second time was a disappointment. Have been to much better French restaurants. The wine list is decent but the servers aren’t that friendly and definitely very snooty. Maybe brunch is better than dinner. It’s not that busy anymore

I’ve been here twice now — the most recent being last night.
We made reservations, arrived and were promptly seated. The server was friendly enough, we made our selections and off he disappeared.
He then returned with one plate — because me and my mom were going to share the Nicoise salad she had ordered as a starter. The plate came out, but not the salad.
Another server brought out some bread — but with no butter. I had to ask for them to bring some butter, and the server didn’t seem too happy that I did. There weren’t any plates for the bread either — usually you have a small side dish to place it on so that not everyone is holding their pieces without being able to put them down.
Finally after what seemed like a long gap between the sharing plate coming out, the Nicoise salad arrived. It was good — not amazing, but good.
Our dishes followed suit with a reasonable wait time. All 3 of us agreed that our dishes were too salty — that’s the french, c’est la vie. What annoyed me was that our server never once came to ask how the meal was (I think he was miffed that I asked for butter with my bread — shock/​horror). I barely ate any of mine, it was so salty — and the server took it away without asking if anything was wrong (usually when you see someone hasn’t eaten half their meal, you inquire as to why). We asked to have it packed up — but they never returned with the doggie bag.
When it was time for dessert, my mom ordered the crème brûlée and my boyfriend ordered a coffee. The crème brûlée came out — the coffee did not. It never arrived, and by the time we managed to flag down the waiter (who again, didn’t come to check on the dessert) for the bill, he didn’t want to have a coffee while we waited.
The bill arrived — with the coffee on it. The waiter again seemed annoyed when my boyfriend pointed out that his coffee didn’t arrive, and that he didn’t want it now. It was also apparent that my doggie bag was never going to arrive either.
So that experience was pretty blah.
The first time I went, we had the same server — and he was definitely much friendlier if memory servers. What I remember thinking both times was that their menu was quite limited — there weren’t a lot of options, and since I don’t eat pork, I struggled since most things had bacon or sausage in them.
What really made me angry about this place is that my mom had a coupon for it, from the Entertainment book. It’s a buy 1 dinner entrée, get the 2^nd free, But if you read the fine print on the coupon, it says it’s only valid for orders placed before 5:30 pm, and it isn’t valid for lunch. WHO HAS DINNER AT 5:30PM? If you’re going to give a coupon, give an actual coupon, not something that no one will ever use for the sake of being able to say you gave a coupon. That’s a great way to piss off your potential customers.
Meh. I’ve had much better.