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What to drink at Café François
Louis Thomas discovers how the wine list at the newly-opened “more casual version” of Maison François aims to find “the sweet spot” between playing it safe and pushing it too far.
Daniel Illsley, who serves as the wine director for St. James’s Maison François and its younger sibling Café François on Stoney Street in Southwark, explained why the list claims to keep “one foot in France”: “Café François is the more casual version of our French brasserie, Maison François. Both wine lists explore the wine world through the lens of French wine, and with our modern interpretations of classic French dishes, the regional wines of France will always be the star.”
While the debate about which wine-growing nation offers the best bang for the London diner’s buck may rage on, Illsley claims that we may perhaps be looking too far afield and ignoring what lies just across the English Channel.
“France offers the best overall quality/value of any country producing wine at the moment, especially when you consider the sheer diversity,” he claimed. “Bordeaux is chronically underrated by the cool kids which is a big mistake. If you ignore the big ticket icons,
Bordeaux is a treasure trove of wines and vintages. France is bursting with bargains if you use your imagination and dig deeper.”
The wine list at Café François, like that of Maison François, does feature a range of wines available by the carafe, though Illsley shared that they have gone “further” at the former “by adding a 250ml mini carafe”.
The 250ml carafe options are fairly extensive, with the current version of the list including six whites, ranging from the Languedoc’s Bergerie de la Bastide (£12) to Swartland’s Rall Wines (£28). The rosé option is from Domaine de Triennes in Provence (£18) and the orange by Spain’s Pedro Olivares (£20).
As for the six reds available in 250ml serves, one, designated as ‘Les Rouges Frappés’, is Café François’ own-label Clairet (£18), intended to be served chilled. The other five include the likes of Tenuta delle Terre Nere’s Nerello Mascarello (£25), a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (£16), and, for those seeking red Burgundy but unwilling to commit to a full bottle, Mercurey’s Domaine Charton (£30) is available.
“We wanted to give people a lot of flexibility when ordering for a table with mixed preferences,” he added.
Dynamic trio
The aforementioned Clairet is one of three Café François-labelled wines (called ‘3 Colours Café’) produced for the new restaurant by biodynamic Bordeaux champions Franck and Véronique Terral.
“One of our wine suppliers, Theatre of Wine, already worked with them. The estate was able to produce short runs of an own label so we were able to trial the Café François own label without a massive commitment,” explained Illsley, who went on to call the partnership “a huge success”, though shared that there are no plans for further bespoke wines “at the moment”.
Asked about the draw of working with a biodynamic producer, Illsley argued: “It’s a real plus that the Terrals work so holistically, but it isn’t a prerequisite for a listing. You won’t find industrial wines here, but we are not dogmatic about certification. Farming is a highly-charged discussion right now, so having the right environmental credentials is important to us.”
Given the extent of the list, there may be certain wines which prove divisive – as should be the case with any restaurant’s wine selection.
“We are still figuring out the sweet spot between pushing the boundaries and meeting the expectations of our guests. Lambrusco has been a step too far, but will come back at a later date,” said Illsley. “Clairet has been a success, however. A deep, coloured chilled red that goes down a treat with just about every dish on the menu.”
Outside of the realm of wine, one category which Café François’ drinks offering seeks to shed some light on is cider.
“Cider is having a bit of a moment, and I wanted to capture that within our menus. I chose two examples of organic, artisanal ciders in 75cl format for gastronomy as a wine alternative. Little Pomona [£28] is a delightfully whacky version of the cider and black of my childhood.”
The other expression in that section is a perry from Eric Bordelet (£40), which Illsley described as possessing “the complexity and finesse of fine wine”.
Providing his own suggestions for a starter, main and dessert, and which wines would fit the bill, Illsley plumped to begin with a dish of fried frog legs, which he described as “if KFC” did amphibian limbs, and the Café François Blanc from the Terrals: “The crispy crunch with the verdant, pond green Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc is knockout.”
For the main, he opted for a monkfish vadouvan curry with mussels and the “luminous” Rall Wines White Blend from Swartland: “It has Chenin Blanc, Verdelho and Viognier, lots of layers, good acidity, and rippling muscles. It will spar perfectly with the aromatic spices and gentle heat of this signature.”
The dessert menu features a wealth of cakes, pastries and petits fours, prepared by executive pastry chef Jérémy Prakhin. Illsley’s pick was the pecan and vanilla eclair with a “joyful, uplifting and fabulously light Moscato d’Asti from Sandro Boido [£55 for a 75cl bottle]”.
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