How Café François is bringing the spirit of a classic French canteen to Borough Yards

Maison François is a very singular restaurant. Was a second site always part of the plan?​

François O’Neill:​ The hunger of wanting to go into another site is always there, but a lot rests on the outcome of the last opening and what the first few months look like. Certainly, when we opened Maison François we were received well with the client base and critics. It was a confidence boost and put us on the map. People started talking. For this site we were approached by the landlord on the basis of doing an informal takeaway concept.

Tell us about Café François​

Ed Wyand:​ It was born out of the second Covid lockdown. We had only opened Maison François a couple of months before, and we were looking to keep active.

FON:​ It was a vision of doubling down on our patisserie and pastry offering and looking at ways of doing a deli. That led to this site, which allowed the concept to evolve into something more substantial and foundational. We have actually ended up taking two sites next to each other, rather than one, so we’ve gone from 4,000sq ft to having more than 6,000.

How has the extra space influenced the concept?​

EW:​ When we were looking to have just one site, a big part of it was going to be takeaway that was inspired by trips to the US and visiting places like Tartine. That concept is still a massive element, but we’re restaurant people first and foremost and wanted to have that as part of what we did too. Taking the second site allowed us to have that while retaining the original takeaway and deli format that the original idea was conceived around.

FON:​ Our work with Bar Frank’s, which is below Maison François, has really helped us. It’s a basement and has a different feel and look to the restaurant, and so we began using it as a deli counter during the day for breakfast and lunch before transforming into a wine bar in the evening, and it’s been incredibly successful. We have a lot of weekly repeat business and it does 150 covers a day just as a deli. It’s having that mentality of making the most of the space that’s driving our approach to Café François. If you’re an all-day venue, you don’t want pockets of your real estate sitting empty during the day. It’s about maxing ourselves within the site’s square footage, and Borough is a natural segue for that. We have a large audience who are interested in coming for food, but not all of them want to commit to a full dining experience, and that’s what we want to capitalise on.

What’s on the menu?​

FON:​ My vision for the menu was accessibility in terms of price point and what people want when they’re out and about. A lot of the grab-and-go options play on classic French dishes. We have a lot croque madam flatbread; and a cheese toastie that comes with a French onion soup dip.

EW:​ We’ve brought over some signatures over from Maison François, too, like the comté gougères, which are our bestseller. If Maison François is the brassiere luxe, this is our take on the corner café where you can get a quiche and salad; a steak frites; or a whole lobster. It’s a place for all day and for everybody.

You also have a dedicated merchandise counter in the restaurant…​

FON: ​Yes. We’re obsessed by merch. We do a lot of clothes and jumpers - we’ve got a Picon Biere one that’s really fun; and we’ve got Café François caps and tote bags. It’s a part of the business that we really want to grow, but it’s challenging. If you get it right it’s a great revenue stream, but there’s a commitment to it. Real estate is expensive, and you don’t want to be sitting on 100 caps upstairs taking up a load of space. But it’s such a nice thing to offer back. We enjoy how it keeps us connected with customers. Plus, it’s fun, and burns off a lot of creativity.

Was Café François developed with scalability in mind?​

EW:​ As an identity and concept, you can look at elements of it to scale. Realistically, though, when you design a restaurant, you design it for that location and to make sure you’re doing the best you can for there, so our thought was only on that and making sure it’s a huge success. Without that we can’t do anything else.

FON: ​Café François has been designed as a love letter to our interpretation of the French canteen. Anyone in their right mind would want to think you can replicate things over and over, and it’s maybe the anchor for something that we could do again. But as this point we’re focused on establishing these key sites that have meaning and purpose, and see what comes from that.