We came here when for their happy hour and had some of their appetizers which were behind the glass case at the inside front of the restaurant. We sat at the bar. The staff were friendly and helpful. Our server even gave us a drink sample. My favorite appetizers were the lobster egg and the salmon roll. Their entrees looked too. We also got a couple of their desserts, a rose dessert and a cheesecake. The rose dessert was surprisingly good— and I don’t normally like the taste of rose. The cheesecake was unique and different from regular cheesecake. Since the space is limited inside, I recommend getting a reservation. We just happened to come at a good time when there weren’t many people. They also have a small patio. Lovely little French restaurant in the downtown mall.

What a fantastic meal in a lovely atmosphere with great staff. Our server was Claire, who was knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. The food was awesome. We had the chicken/ham croquettes to start, which were quite the treat. For the main meal, we enjoyed the scallops and the skate. Both were amazing, and the sides were five stars. I would recommend this place highly. Make reservations. :)

Perfect bistro experience. Not over the top, high dining, service. The wine pairing excelled and the bustling crowd included several acquaintances and friends all having their own dining experience.

We were looking for something tasty on a Monday night, when many restaurants are closed, but not Cafe Frank! Our meal was delicious, with excellent service. This was our first visit, so we had many questions, all of which were patiently answered. From 4-6 PM, the bar is open, with various small bites available - a nice selection to choose from! Dinner service starts at 5 PM, which worked perfectly for us. We had the Old Fashioned Seafood Cocktail, which was a pleasant take on multiple seafood tastes - shrimp, lobster claw, & crab salad with veggies and delicious toast points. For mains, we tried 2 of the evening specials - mushroom risotto with bay scallops (actually an appetizer, but it was the perfect portion for my main) and Icelandic Cod with succotash & smoked broth - yum!! The wine list and cocktail list has something to please any taste - everything was good! We ended our meal with the day’s dessert special, Espresso Pots de Creme with almond cookies! and Rose Pavlova - so good! The pots de creme had a lovely coffee layer on top, with chocolate beneath, perfect for dipping the cookies in. The Pavlova was exactly the light dessert needed to finish the meal - whipped cream with raspberries and raspberry sorbet, topped by meringue coated with raspberry syrup - a lovely way to end the meal. Service was spot on, including when I accidentally knocked over a wine glass - whoops! We are returning soon!

We just happened in to Frank's and it was a pleasant surprise! The food was delicious! The cocktails ohh the cocktails! So good hand crafted gems. I must say that the STAFF was incredibly friendly, engaging and on spot! Everyone there had a smile on their face! You must go and check this place out. Bonus Frank is a trip! Funny and engaging. I have told everyone what a great time we had! Go and enjoy.

Wow, hubby and I came here for dinner. Reservations are generally needed, but we didn't have one, and a table was a available on the FRIDAY we went. Host was our waitress, she was very bubbly, and we spoke to her about what we considered for dinner the wagu beef and vegetables, she said she recommends it, and we do too! The experience was amazing. The atmosphere is welcoming and warm. Food was literally the best food I had ever eaten at a restaurant! Highly recommended cafe frank. The only other thing I can add is, be prepared for the bill. And don't skimp on the tip either.

A gorgeous French restaurant on Charlottesville’s downtown mall with a kitchen serving up a wagyu steak dish (5/5) that deserves attention. The daily special spinach dish (5/5) was so tasty our table unanimously agreed it was fire. I also can highly recommend the shrimp and grits dish (5/5).

I've been here a handful of times at this point and up until about a week ago the food and service had been phenomenal with very reasonable pricing. So credit where credit is do, I'd summarize my previous visits to a solid 4/5. Unfortunately, the latest visit was very lacking. To start off, the majority of prices had increased from just a few weeks prior which is unfortunate but I suppose understandable. My friend and I ordered 12 oysters which came out to $33, the Skate, and the Lamb. The oysters were good (the yuzu mignonette was not) and came out in a reasonable timeframe (~10min). Our entrees took an additional 40min from the appetizer which wasn't the waitress's fault (who was great despite the wait), but still undesirable. The lamb I ordered at rare/medium rare came out medium well/well done and tough, but still edible. The skate my friend ordered tasted, unfortunately, highly of ammonia. About halfway through, we scraped it into a napkin and tossed it. Since we had already waited a long time, we didn't ask for it to be remade and simply left after paying ($110 for oysters, two entrees, only water). Hopefully this was a hiccup and Cafe Frank will return to the quality that drew us to them time and time again previously.

I live in Manhattan now, but every time I come back to Charlottesville, I look forward to visiting Cafe Frank. The food, the ambiance, and the service are all top-tier. World-class. The duck I had tonight is one of the best dishes I have ever had. My one criticism is that the cocktails are too dry. In the past I chalked that up to cultural differences, but tonight I got the margarita and that was totally dry. Similarly, the woman seated next to me complained that her cocktail was too dry and had something else made. That said, it is still a treat every time. The wine selection is great. If you enjoy French cuisine, don't skip Cafe Frank.

I have been here a few times lately and every time has been amazing! The staff here are always so nice and make sure their customers are happy. The food here is top tier and the cocktails are very creative!

My husband and I went here for our anniversary and we both got food poisoning. It was so bad we had to end our trip early and go home. I called and told them what happened and they were very arrogant saying we did not get sick from their restaurant when we absolutely did. We didn't eat anywhere else that day. After a long conversation going back and forth, they said they would refund our money. They never gave us a refund even after calling them back. They just said they would to get off the phone with me. They truly didn't care that they ruined our anniversary trip which we haven't taken a trip in years. I would never recommend this place. There are plenty of other places to eat in Charlottesville that care about what they do to their customers.

Please don’t fall for this TRAP of a resturant. The only good thing about this place was the waitstaff. We really appreciated your accommodations and help. The food was absolutely horrendous and not what you’d expect at all from the prices the resturant was charging. A list below of everything we ordered and why I was just really bland or gross. we order 4 different appetizers and mussels as a main. We also asked the kitchen if they could make accommodation for a toddler and they said they could try to make a simple gnocchi w tomato sauce. *perfect* we agreed. The adults got escargot, steak tartare, ham croquettes, and a side salad to share together. 1. The escargot genuinely tasted like it was from a CAN it was chewy and plain. Absolutely zero flavor. Usually when you order escargot it is drenched in herbs and butter. That was unseasoned and barely dressed. 2. The steak tartar was bland as hell too. I couldn’t taste anything at all. I’ve had steak tartare many many times over the years and this was just a disappointment flavor profile that normally steak tartare has. 3. The mussels were probably the biggest offense to me as it was my dish. They were rubbery and the sauce was soupy and felt day old. The mussels also tasted as if they were not cleaned properly and just days old. They didn’t not taste fresh which makes me question they’re sanitary practices when it comes to seafood. 4. The ham croquettes were okay… forgettable but fine. The romesco sauce that comes on the side helped the croquettes enough. Very one note though. 5. The side salad tasted like they took it out of the package and tossed it on the bowl and just that. Zero dressing what so ever. I expected it to be refreshing but it was just that. Raw greens 6. They didn’t have a kids menu (fine not a problem) so we asked for a simple accommodation if the chef can just boil gnocchi w/ simple tomato sauce. KNOWING it was for a 4 year old. The chef didn’t listen and made the sauce spicy. The toddler could not touch it at all. And you as a chef should know that children are sensitive to spicy stuff and can’t handle it like adults can.

Just short of perfect marks. I tried to order 3 items (2 cocktails and a dessert) and they were sold out on an ingredient at the time I ordered, which was strange considering we started dinner early (5pm). Otherwise, the food and service were excellent. I had the sea bass special with braised piquillo peppers and chorizo velouté; the sauce was flavorful and the chef demonstrated their skill with searing quite nicely. Special marks as well for the Bukowski’s Widow cocktail.

We went for my husband’s birthday with a large group of friends during restaurant week, and we’re totally blown away! Amazing service, exceptional food (and extra choices that weren’t originally on the menu posted!) and a great selection of wines to pick from. It was a busy night and even so everything seemed to run like clockwork. Thank you to the chef, management, and staff for an amazing evening!

One of the BEST restaurants in town hands down!!! Bar service is out of this world 🤩 (check out their daily aperitif hour) John and Kate rock it. Service staff is phenomenal and don't get me started with their farm to table seasonal menus. HIGHLY recommend when visiting downtown Charlottesville! p.s try the paté

I would recommend taking your dining experiences elsewhere . Overpriced horrible food. place is way too small. you are shoulder to shoulder with people you don't even know. it almost felt as if i could feel the person next to me breathing down my neck. the water they serve taste as if it just came out of the toilet, the bread is so small if you order any you better order 1-2 orders PER PERSON. other then the staff being wonderful this place has no redeeming qualities. i would highly recommend reconsidering making a reservation at this place. just about any place in town is better. and that's really sad:(

An absolutely incredible dinner spot in Charlottesville with friendly and accommodating staff as well as amazing dinner entrees. My partner and I celebrated his birthday here this past weekend and it went way above our expectations! From the drinks all the way to desserts there was nothing we weren’t completely satisfied with. The steak was seasoned and marinated to perfection and cooked to the perfect medium rare, it was a decent sized piece of meat as well! Overall a 10/10 we will be returning very soon.