Diners' Choice: French restaurants in Houston

OpenTable

Updated 05 December 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best overall French cuisine in Houston? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyses more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favourites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Chez Nous French Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (2267)

$31 to $50

French

Kingwood / Humble / Atascocita

About the restaurant

Chez Nous is a modern French Restaurant where traditional French cuisine meets the needs of the American market. Chez Nous is renowned in its new world interpretation of the Parisian Classics. Seasonal menu items are prepared by Chef Stacy Simonson and highlight the fine locally produced ingredients served in an elegant yet comfortable setting.

Top review

Tom

Dined today

Fantastic. Food, service, and ambience made us feel like we were in Paris.

Bistro 555

4.9

4.9 (801)

$30 and under

French

West Side

About the restaurant

Bistro 555 is under new ownership by a group of long-time friends including the owners of former Le Mistral and Cafe Rabelais, established French institutions in Houston. With a joint-experience of over 5 decades, Bistro 555 will transport you to the different regions of France with traditional bistro fares. Our specialties include Escargot in sizzling garlic butter, onion soup topped with melted gruyere cheese, Moules-Frites, Cassoulet, and profiteroles. We also serve wood-oven fired pizzas. Bon appetit!

Top review

Bonnie

Dined 1 day ago

Bistro 555 was fabulous, we had the salmon lunch special and blueberry salad. The ambiance feels like a French bistro although the noise level is higher than I would prefer. I really like this restaurant.

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Experience

Christmas Eve Prix Fixe Dinner

Experience

New Year's Eve Dinner

Etoile Cuisine Et Bar

4.8

4.8 (3835)

$31 to $50

French

Galleria / Uptown

About the restaurant

The owners of Étoile Cuisine et Bar, Chef Philippe Verpiand and Monica Bui, have created an inviting, warm European environment where both traditional and seasonal French food are front and center. "We want to dispel the notion that French food is heavy and pretentious," says the team, recently transplanted to Houston from San Diego, where they owned the famed Cavaillon Restaurant. Everything about Étoile Cuisine et Bar, from the inviting outside facade to the intriguing interior design to the high quality service, is meant to convey a feeling of truly being in France. With Chef Philippe's take on a seasonal menu using a French technique, it's a place where fine food lovers come together, not on a special occasion, but to enjoy every day.

Top review

AnneVIP

Dined on 12 Dec 2024

Love Etoile! Never disappoints. Food is excellent. Wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable about selections. Can’t beat the ambience. One of my favorite Houston restaurants for dinner or lunch.

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4.7

4.7 (2870)

$50 and over

French

Galleria / Uptown

About the restaurant

Artisans Restaurant, under the visionary leadership of owner Jacques Fox and the culinary expertise of Executive Chef Eric Cruz, delivers a unique dining experience that melds French eclectic cuisine with fine steaks and fresh seafood. The expansive menu includes French favorites such as Le Tartare de Bœuf, Les Escargots Bourguignon à la Crème d’Ail, La Poêlée de Foie Gras, Le Loup de Mer du Chili, La Longe d’Agneau Poêlée, Le Canard Confit with Sauce à l’Orange Pimentée, and La Côte de Veau. Each dish showcases artistic flair and is served in a setting of breathtaking décor. Guests at the Chef’s Table can watch as the culinary team expertly crafts these creations, making every visit a memorable event. Recognized as one of the "Best of the Best" by the Houston Chronicle, Artisans sets the standard for exquisite dining. For connoisseurs of the finer things in life, Artisans is the quintessential culinary destination.

Top review

LuisVIP

Dined 7 days ago

Great food, ambience, and the restaurant is very nicely decorated. Service sometimes took a bit longer than expected but overall was excellent.

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Une Poêlée de Foie Gras

Maison Pucha Bistro

4.7

4.7 (1861)

$31 to $50

French

Heights / Washington

About the restaurant

Maison Pucha Bistro is the culmination of Chef Manuel's 25 year culinary journey. Securing a location in Houston's historic Heights neighborhood, Manuel, Cristian and Victor have reunited in the true sense of fraternité, to open their very own restaurant to showcase their talents and vision of true hospitality. We hope you will join us and be a part of something, truly special...

Top review

DianaVIP

Dined 4 days ago

This is a gem of a restaurant! Everything that comes out of the kitchen is expertly crafted. Flavor & presentation are top notch. Great job, brothers.

Brasserie 19

4.8

4.8 (2682)

$50 and over

French

River Oaks

About the restaurant

Brasserie 19, located in Houston’s 77019 neighborhood, offers a modern amalgamation of French brasserie fare and well-known American influences. The menu utilizes the freshest seasonal ingredients in thoughtfully prepared dishes. Brasserie 19 boasts an expansive, carefully developed wine list. Brasserie 19's sophisticated yet unpretentious interiors are bathed in deep blues, cool greys, and whites, with antiqued woods and white marble used throughout. Blue velvet banquettes are paired with woven chairs and complemented by white linen-covered tables to create a casually elegant setting for lunch, dinner or weekend brunch. Brasserie 19 serves lunch and dinner 7 days a week, as well as brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

Top review

GaryVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Very pleased with everything! Food and service were outstanding!

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Popular dish

Charcuterie & Cheese Board

4.8

4.8 (1772)

$30 and under

French

Montrose

About the restaurant

Bistro Menil offers European-inspired, American fare paired with craft beer, cask wine and thoughtfully selected wines by the glass or bottle.

Top review

James

Dined 6 days ago

We were a party of 7 celebrating a graduation. A perfect evening. NIce menu choices for all. Goat cheese fondue a must!

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4.7

4.7 (971)

$31 to $50

French

Rice Village

About the restaurant

Houston’s Café Rabelais serves sumptuous French cuisine in its classic, European-inspired eatery. Fantastic starter options include the mouth-watering smoked salmon plate, the white bean and vegetable soup, as well as a variety of decadent cheese plates. Café Rabelais’s specialty dinner entrées include the seared duck breast with Szechuan demi-glace, the seared snapper in rich beurre blanc, the vegetarian orzo pasta with purple cauliflower and feta cheese and the red wine marinated ribeye with eggplant.

Top off your Café Rabelais French feast with an unforgettable dessert, like the mixed nut and chocolate silk pie “fondant au chocolate sur croute de noix” or the fruity “sorbet du jour” and wash it down with a fresh, hot espresso.

Top review

annaVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Attended the annual fixed price champagne dinner. Food and champagne were excellent

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Experience

CHRISTMAS EVE Prix Fixe

Experience

New Year's Eve Prix Fixe

Le Jardinier - Houston

4.7

4.7 (176)

$50 and over

French

Heights / Washington

About the restaurant

Michelin-starred Le Jardinier is a unique and refined restaurant from Michelin-starred Chef Alain Verzeroli located in The Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Rooted in timeless French approach, Chef Verzeroli has created a menu where plants play a prominent role: seasonal fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, and greens are complemented by wild and sustainable fish with local Texas meats. All our breads are gluten-free and baked in house.

Le Jardinier's light-filled space will evoke a feeling of relaxed-luxury and incorporate custom art pieces with outdoor dining set within an Isamu Noguchi-designed sculpture garden. In 2024, Le Jardinier was awarded one Michelin Star at Texas' Inaugural Michelin Guide.

Top review

David

Dined 4 days ago

Beef is flank steak but prepared Parisian style unlike anywhere else in TX. Sole for 2 is the main of choice. Butterfly desert not to be missed, take photo of it. Order wine by the bottle, by glass is 4oz paring pour instead of typical 6. Well worth the wait for a reservation. Ignore sticker shock when the tab comes. A dining experience not to be missed. Don’t have to travel to France.

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Experience

Christmas Eve with Le Jardinier

Experience

NYE at Le Jardinier Houston: 2nd Seating $295

Toulouse - Houston

4.8

4.8 (2515)

$31 to $50

French

River Oaks

About the restaurant

Toulouse Café and Bar recalls a Fin de Siecle Parisian Café where you are likely to bump into friends and find yourself in conversations with neighboring tables. At first glance you will notice the bustling activity that characterizes Toulouse: wait staff with wine openers and hot plates of food, people chatting and laughing, the clink of wine glasses… the atmosphere is sophisticated and good moods are contagious.

In the tradition of all fine bistros, Toulouse has imaginative and seasonal menus that provide exactly what its patrons long for: cozy tables open to the street, mouth-watering specialties a la Française, delicious desserts made from scratch and an extensive wine list. Enjoy the tastes of France with our exciting yet comforting dishes such as our famous quiches, an expertly cooked trout almondine or the best mussels in the city.

Dine with us and be transported to Paris, if only for a moment.

Top review

EdwardVIP

Dined today

My table had a wonderful time at Toulouse tonight, and I feel I should review some of the many positive things we experienced. The biggest win of the night was our waiter, Bryan. The guy was perfection as a waiter. My date and I are both OpenTable VIPs who know excellent service, and we agreed that the service experience was perhaps the best of the year. Bryan answered our detailed food questions, adapted to our crazy idiosyncratic requests, kept the drinks going on a busy Saturday night, and coordinated the valet at the end of our meal so the car was ready when we headed out. Flawless! The food here is excellent. The bread service features some of the best butter in town, so I recommend you start there. After the bread service, we continued with an order of lobster mini-tacos and the fromage cheese plate. We both got seafood specials for entree (scallops for me; sea bass for her). The $75 asking price for each entree special includes top ingredients like truffles, truffle oil, etc. I loved it and trust that you will, too.

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Popular dish

Octopus

Popular dish

Zucchini Squash Chips

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