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Chef Frank's Bistro

4.8 (36 reviews)
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La Meridian Barbera wine.

Delightful dining with Chef Franks and his team. The restaurant is small - 10 tables - and it was elegant, white tablecloths, fresh flowers in each table. The service wa attentive and friendly. The wait staff are all experienced and from what we saw, know how to serve their guests well on a busy night. We were lucky enough to get a last-minute table on a cancellation on the Friday before Valentine's. The food was wonderful. For appetizers we started with a salad (featuring pomegranates, butternut squash and goat cheese) and Oysters Rockefeller. The salad was fresh, crisp, and delicious. The oysters are very tasty, with gouda that paired well with the spinach and pernod. Our entrees where grilled sheepshead, and a filet mignon. Both were well prepared. Extremely tasty and simply delicious. For dessert, we had a butterscotch budino, featuring homemade butterscotch that was simply delicious. We sent our compliments to the kitchen - after the meal, Chef Frank came out and introduced himself. We cannot wait to return!

Rack of Lamb
David K.

Fine dining done right. Excellent creative food, generous portions, relaxed yet elegant atmosphere, the plain room spruced up with nautical paintings, white tablecloths and fresh flowers on the tables. Chef-owned and operated. I started with an appetizer "Crabkopita", a crab-containing version of the Greek Spanakopita. 6 pieces, plenty of crab (instead of the usual spinach), and perfect phyllo texture: just enough fats so it didn't feel dry or shatter into shards when you bite into it. Very curiously seasoned, in a good way. Almost too good by itself to use the sauce but I did, sparingly; it was great too. The dinner rolls - complimentary - were very good, slightly sweet and served warm. I asked and learned they are the only item not made in house. Almost though: the pre-formed dough is purchased from a local bakery and baked here. There was a good selection of wines by the glass that I'm not familiar with, for prices considered normal these days. I had three and all were very good: a Cabernet from Sonoma, a Washington Pinot, and a Rosé from Provence. Don't judge me; I had a very long walk afterwards before driving. My entree was Marinated Rack of Lamb, with cannellini beans, fennel and rosemary ragout, garlic glazed green beans, and red wine demi glacé. A full rack of 8, artfully arranged on the plate and cooked exactly as I requested: medium-rare. Assertive pepper herb crust. Green beans done just to al dente. Almost perfection, the slight excess of salt a minor and completely forgivable flaw. I'm not the least bit embarrassed to use my hands when needed, which in my option is the correct way for rack of lamb. I got no disapproving stares from staff or other diners, so I say go for it if that's your preference. Dessert was a coconut cake, an enormous slice of which I ate 1/3 that night and got two snacks from the leftovers over the next two days. With buttercream between the layers, toasted coconut around the top and sides for boosted flavor, and mint and whipped cream for garnish. Simple and plain but perfectly executed: texture was light and airy and so much flavor. A few words on the staff: My waitress reminded me of Sookie from Gilmore Girls in so many ways: appearance, voice, and mannerisms. And from my research it seems she's also involved with the food preparation and menu design so, the Gilmore character being a chef, the similarity holds there too. And my interaction with Chef Frank was amusing. He came out to say hello towards the end (very appreciated) and I complimented him on the Crabkopita and inquired about the herbs - the flavors which I couldn't identify. He said there are no herbs in it! Eventually as we continued the short exchange I realized he meant there are spices in it but no herbs. Well excuse me! This layman tends to use the terms interchangeably (I'l try to be more precise from now on). I don't think he was being flippant or condescending in his response; it's just that to a chef they really are completely different things. He did reveal that there was lemon zest in it but he never did tell me just what those amazing spices were!

Not sure what was better the food or the service. Had an excellent meal with family, every entree was so good and don't miss the crème brûlée.

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3 years ago

great food, great service, reasonably price. we have been there four times and have never been disappointed. highly recommen!

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We sat out on the porch on a very pleasant balmy evening. If you have someone with you that doesn't…read morelike loud places or is hard of hearing (we had both), the porch is perfect. We could have a very enjoyable conversation. I first ordered their special mojito but it was not what I was expecting. So I sent it back and ordered a gimlet. That was better, although the drink was a bit tart... not sure if brand or quantity of lime juice was the issue. I ordered the salmon, at 120-125 degree temp... well it was still cooked medium instead of medium rare. Tasted good. No sauce, which I asked for. But too salty... unnecessarily salty. I will try again but order RARE and see if they can cook to temp. The roasted potatoes were delicious, but for someone who watches oil intake... way too much oil was used. But I loved the way they smashed them a bit. The vericot verts were cooked to perfection and not salty. Yummy. My husband ordered the grilled tuna. He said his was great. So next time, I may order tuna instead. Staff was very friendly and helpful!

Whenever I think burger, she crab soup or a beautiful steak and or a wonderful fish plate whether…read moreit be on the menu or a special I always think Madisons. Anytime there is a special event I go to Madisons. The staff is friendly. The food is some of the best in Port Royal that I've ever had hands-down. And the bar and the bartenders they do a great job.

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Back for our annual trip and review of Dockside. This is probably our favorite restaurant. Friendly…read morewait staff, excellent food and beautiful view. My only negative feedback is the temperature in there. I know it's hot outside but the restaurant is uncomfortably hot.

We went there for the hush puppies we love and were denied. They apparently had a larger turnout…read morethan expected after the 4th of July holiday and ran out by the time we were seated (7:30 PM). This was really disappointing since we drove one hour to get there so that one of our party could taste the hush puppies. Fortunately, they still had the cornbread which we also enjoy because it is light and not dense like most cornbread. It's more like a cake than traditional cornbread. The butter that accompanies the cornbread is also quite tasty. Our meals consisted of the Shrimp & Grits, Seafood Pasta, Pan Seared Mahi-Mahi and Crispy Scored Flounder. The Shrimp & Grits were good as always. It comes in a large bowl with lots of grits. The Flounder and Mahi-Mahi were both good as well. The Seafood Pasta was swimming in so much cheese sauce that I could not see the pasta when the plate was first brought to me. It had lots of shrimps and scallops in it. I would have preferred more pasta and less cheese sauce. Our wait would have been 1 1/2 hours had we stuck with our original choice of sitting inside where it is air conditioned. However, since there was a nice breeze, we switched to sitting in the screened in porch area. Our server was very friendly.

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The front of the restaurant.

Chef Frank's Bistro - seafood - Updated July 2026

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